Parts of Speech 1

Noun
NOUNS: SINGULAR/PLURAL

USE:
To indicate two or more of the same object.

FORM:
Add an "s" to the noun.
a dollar two dollars
a guitar many guitars

Many nouns have spelling changes in their plural forms.

When a noun ends in "s", "ss", "x", "sh", or "ch", add "es".
a watch watches

NOTE: "es" is pronounced "ez"

When a noun ends in a consonant + "y" change the "y" to "i" and add "es".
a baby babies

When a noun ends in "o", sometimes add "es".

a potato potatoes

BUT
a radio radios

When a noun ends in "f" or "fe", change the "f" to "v" and add "es" or "s".
a shelf shelves

Sometimes the noun plural looks completely different:

a foot / feet
a woman / women
a man / men
a mouse / mice
a person / people
a child / children
 NOUNS: POSSESSIVE

USE:
To show who/what a thing belongs to.

FORM:
Add " 's " to the name of the person, place or thing that the noun belongs to. For plural
nouns, put the
" ' " after the "s".

EXAMPLES:
"The boy's pizza."
(The pizza belongs to the boy.)

"The boys' pizza."

(The pizza belongs to the boys.)

ARTICLES

USE:
"a" or "an" is used with all singular nouns that can be counted.

"the" is used to refer to a specific noun, singular or plural.

FORM:
Words that begin with a consonant take "a". Words that begin with a vowel take "an".

EXAMPLES:
"Give me a sandwich please."
(Sandwich is singular and can be counted.)

"This is a dog."
(Dog begins with "d", a consonant.)

"This is an orange."
(Orange begins with "o", a vowel.)

"I want the English book."

"I want the English books."
("the" is used with both singular and plural nouns.)

"I want water, please."

"I want the water, please."
(Water cannot be counted so only "the" can be used and not "a".)
 THERE IS / THERE ARE

USE:
To state that something exists or is present.

FORM:
Singular: [THERE IS + REST OF SENTENCE]

Plural: [THERE ARE + REST OF SENTENCE]

Questions: [IS/ARE THERE + REST OF SENTENCE?]

EXAMPLES:
"Are there any cookies left?"
"There is one more left."
THIS/THAT THESE/THOSE

USE:
To indicate specific nouns.

FORM:
"This"/"That"
used with singular nouns

"These"/"Those"
used with plural nouns

"This"/"These"
for nouns near the speaker

"That"/"Those"
for nouns not near the speaker

EXAMPLES:
"Is this your hat?"
(A specific hat that is near the speaker.)

"No, that is my hat."

(A specific hat that is further away.)

"Are these your gloves?"

(Specific gloves nearby.)

"No, those are my gloves."

(Specific gloves further away.)

"I'm going to visit friends this Friday."

(The specific Friday, nearest in time.)
Pronoun

PRONOUNS: OBJECT

USE:
To refer to the object of a sentence instead of using a proper name.

FORM:
To refer to people: me, you, him, her, us, them

To refer to things: it, them

EXAMPLES:
"Do you know him?"
"No, but I know her; she's my boss!"

PRONOUNS: SUBJECT

USE:
To refer to the subject of a sentence instead of using proper names.

FORM:
To refer to people: I, you, he, she, we, they
To refer to things: it, they

EXAMPLE:
"I am Mack."
"She is Matilda."
"He is little Spike."
"We are your new neighbors."

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

USE:
(a) to talk about actions where the subject and the object of the verb are the same person.
(b) to mean "that person/thing and nobody/nothing else".

FORM:
Singular Plural
MYSELF OURSELVES
YOURSELF YOURSELVES
HIMSELF THEMSELVES
HERSELF
ITSELF
ONESELF

EXAMPLES:
"How did you hurt yourself?"
"I decided to teach myself to ski."
"The manager spoke to me himself!"

NOTE: We do not usually use reflexive pronouns with WASH, DRESS, SHAVE, FEEL or after
prepositions, when it is clear who we are talking about.

"I don't feel very well." (NOT "feel myself")

Notice the important difference between reflexive pronouns and the expressions EACH
OTHER/ONE ANOTHER.

"Mary looked at Tom and Tom looked at Mary."

= "Mary and Tom looked at each other/one another."

Compare to: "Mary and Tom stood in front of the mirror and looked at themselves."

The expression BY + Reflexive Pronoun (BY MYSELF, BY HIMSELF etc.) means "alone" or
"without help".

"Fred loves company; he hates being by himself."

"The baby climbed the stairs by herself."

EXAMPLES:
"Be careful with that razor: you'll cut yourself!"
"I myself checked the figures; I'm sure they're right."
"Sharon looked at herself in the mirror."
"Nobody helped me; I wrote the book by myself."
Adverbs
ADVERBS: FORMATION

Most adverbs are formed by adding "-ly" to the end of an adjective:

clear/clearly,
wonderful/wonderfully,
clever/cleverly,
stupid/stupidly,
interesting/interestingly,
close/closely,
dangerous/dangerously,
bad/badly.

If an adjective already ends in "-ly" (e.g. FRIENDLY, LONELY) it cannot be made into an
adverb. In this case, we have to make an adverbial phrase.

EXAMPLES:
"She spoke to me in a friendly way."
"He sat there looking lonely."

In a few cases, the adverb is exactly the same as its corresponding adjective: EARLY, LATE,
FAST, HARD, LEFT, RIGHT, WRONG, HIGH, LONG.

EXAMPLES:
"I'm afraid the train will leave late."
"He runs very fast."
"Why do you work so hard?"
"Turn right at the next corner!"

The adverb form of the adjective GOOD is WELL.

"Michael is a very good cook. He makes cakes particularly well."

ADVERBS and ADJECTIVES: TOO and ENOUGH

USE:
Used to talk about adjectives or adverbs in terms of excess (TOO), adequacy(ENOUGH), or
inadequacy (NOT.. ENOUGH).

FORM + MEANING:
[TOO + Adjective or Adverb] (=EXCESS)

EXAMPLES:
"This restaurant is too expensive. I'm not coming here again!"
"I'm too fat; I must lose weight!"
FORM + MEANING:
[Adjective or Adverb + ENOUGH] (=ADEQUACY)

EXAMPLE:
"Can you lift that case?"
"Sure, I'm strong enough."

FORM + MEANING:
[NOT (-N'T) + Adjective/Adverb + ENOUGH]
(=INADEQUACY)

EXAMPLE:
"Don't go skating there; the ice isn't thick enough!"
"We lost the match because we didn't play well
enough."

ADVERBS: COMPARISON

USE:
Used to compare two subjects performing the same action. The comparative and superlative
forms of most adverbs are made in the same way as long adjectives:
COMPARATIVE

FORM:
[SUBJECT 1 + VERB + MORE + Adverb + THAN + SUBJECT 2 (+DOES/CAN etc)...]

EXAMPLES:
"I can sing more beautifully than you (can)."
"Ted writes more slowly than Brenda (does)."
SUPERLATIVE

FORM:
[SUBJECT 1 + VERB + THE MOST + Adverb (OF ALL)]

EXAMPLES:
"Of all the students in her class, Sarah does her homework the most carefully."
"Jimmy behaves the most childishly of anyone in the class."

Adverbs which have the same base form as adjectives also have the same comparative and
superlative forms. These are constructed by adding-er (for the comparative) and -est (for
the superlative) to the base form.

EXAMPLES:
"Fred can run faster than Martin can, but Sharon runs the fastest."
"My wife got up earlier than I did this morning, but our daughter got up the earliest."
IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES and SUPERLATIVE FORMS
There are also a small number of irregular comparative and superlative forms of adverbs:
Base form Comparative Superlative
WELL BETTER THE BEST
BADLY WORSE THE WORST
LITTLE LESS THE LEAST
MUCH MORE THE MOST

ADVERBS: ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

USE:
Used to talk about how often or how rarely something happens. The most important
adverbs of frequency are ALWAYS, GENERALLY, NORMALLY, USUALLY, FREQUENTLY,
OFTEN, SOMETIMES, EVER,
OCCASIONALLY, SELDOM, RARELY, and NEVER.

FORM:
Adverbs of frequency normally come immediately before the verb in affirmative sentences,
but after the verb "BE". In negative sentences, adverbs of frequency normally come
immediately after the word NOT. In questions, adverbs of frequency normally come
immediately after the subject.
AFFIRMATIVE
[ADVERB + VERB]

EXAMPLE:
"I always drink champagne with my supper."
[BE + ADVERB]

EXAMPLE:
"Peter is sometimes late for lessons."
NEGATIVE
[NOT + ADVERB]

EXAMPLES:
"We don't often go to the theater."
"My sister isn't usually so quiet."
QUESTIONS
[SUBJECT + ADVERB]

EXAMPLES:
"What do you usually have for breakfast?"
"Do you always eat a sandwich for lunch?"
"Are you ever going to finish that book?"
"We sometimes take the car and sometimes walk."
"Bill is rarely late."
"Jessica doesn't ever call me at work."
"Why don't Pam and Jim ever speak to Michael?"
 PARTICIPLES: PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVES

USE:
Participial adjectives are used with verbs which describe the subject's state, such as BE,
GET, or BECOME. A Present Participle generally refers to the state or condition of the noun it
modifies.

EXAMPLES:
"That film was boring."
"The political situation in Japan is very interesting this year."
"Fred's work is very tiring."

Past Participles generally refer to a "passive" state sometimes caused by something else.
Frequently these participles are followed by words like BY, AT, OF, WITH, etc., or by a
phrase which shows the cause of the state.

EXAMPLES:
"John was tired of his mother's constant complaining."
"Felicity was excited when she heard about the party."

PARTICIPLES: PRESENT/PAST

USE:
The PRESENT PARTICIPLES of many verbs can be used as adjectives before nouns. In this
case they often replace a relative clause containing an active verb.

EXAMPLES:
"There was a sleeping dog on the floor."
(In other words, "...a dog which was sleeping...")
"He has a working model of the locomotive."
(In other words "...a model that works...")

The PAST PARTICIPLES of many verbs can be used in the same way, but in this case they
replace a relative clause containing a passive verb.

EXAMPLES:
"He gave me a broken pencil."
(In other words "...a pencil which was broken.")
"The floor was made of varnished wood."
(In other words "...wood which was varnished.")

PRESENT PARTICIPLES can also be used with certain verbs in clauses which include nouns
or pronouns. In this case the noun or pronoun acts as the object of the first verb and as the
subject of the participle.

EXAMPLE:
"I saw Fred walking along the road."

This sentence contains two ideas: "I saw Fred" and "Fred was walking along the road". It is
the same as a single sentence containing a main clause "I saw Fred..." and the adverbial
clause "...while he was walking along the road."
 This structure is often used with other "verbs of perception," such as HEAR, SMELL, FEEL,
NOTICE, OBSERVE, FIND, and CATCH, etc.

EXAMPLES:
"She heard him singing in the shower."
"Mike noticed Pat looking at him."
"I found this cat sleeping on my chair."
"They caught the thief stealing a VCR."

Other verbs used in this structure include HAVE and GET. In this case the subject of the first
verb controls or causes the action described by the participle.

EXAMPLE:
"They had me working all night." (In other words, "They forced/persuaded me to work all
night.")