parts of speech [dropdown information] [meanings of words]

Parts of Speech

• 1. There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.
• 2. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence.
• 3. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances.
• 4. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.

Nouns

• 1. A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. man... Carr Hill Primary... house... happiness
• 2. Nouns are often used with an article (the, a, an), but not always.
• 3. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not.
• 4. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract.
• 5. Nouns show possession by adding 's.
• 6. Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example:
• 8 A noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.
• Example : The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Pronouns

• 1. A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
• 2. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent
• 3. Pronouns are further defined by type:
• * personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things;
• * possessive pronouns indicate ownership;
• * reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun;
• * relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause;
• * and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.
• Example : The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Verbs

• 1. The verb in a sentence expresses action or being - jump... is... write... become
• 2. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs.
• 3. "She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.
• 4. A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural).
• 5. Verbs also take different forms to express tense.
• Example: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Adjectives

• 1. An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun - pretty... old... blue... smart.
• 2. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many.
• 3. Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.
• Example: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Adverbs

• 1. An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb - gently.. extremely.. carefully.. well.
• 2. An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun.
• 3. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree.
• 4. Adverbs often end in -ly.
• Example: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Prepositions

• 1. A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
• 2. By... with.... about... until - by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow
• 3. A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
• 4. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase.
• 5. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb.
• Example: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Conjunctions

• 1. A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses -and... but... or... while... because
• 2. A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined.
• 3. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.
• 4. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc.
• Example: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

Interjections

• 1. An interjection is a word used to express emotion - Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
• 2. It is often followed by an exclamation point.
• Example: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
  Oh my!

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