Parts of Speech

Eight Parts of Speech:

Nouns

Pronouns

Verbs

Adjectives

Adverbs

Prepositions

Conjunctions

Interjections

NOUNS

NOUNS NAME FOUR CATEGORIES:

Person

Place

Thing

Idea

NOUNS CAN BE:

Proper or Common

Concrete or Abstract

Singular or Plural

Collective

Compound

Proper & Common Nouns

Proper nouns name things that are:

SPECIFIC

Leonardo DiCaprio, The White House, January, etc.

Common nouns name things that are:

GENERAL

actor, house, month, etc.

Concrete & Abstract Nouns

CONCRETE NOUNS name objects that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted.

Examples: flower, rabbit, bell, apple, pencil, etc.

ABSTRACT NOUNS name ideas, qualities, or states (of mind).

Examples: independence, pride, sadness, happiness, love, etc.

Singular, Plural, Collective & Compound

NounsA COLLECTIVE noun refers to a group of people or things.

Examples: audience, family, staff, team, crowd.

A COMPOUND noun is made up of two or more words, either combined or separate:

Examples: airplane, sunlight, keyboard, rain forest, City Hall, runner-up, mother-in-law

SINGULAR nouns name only single items.

PLURAL nouns name more than one of the same item.

Examples: key or keys, stage or stages, foot or feet.

Test Yourself: NOUNSUnderline each noun in the sentences below.

1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland draws visitors from all over the world.

2. This unusual museum honors musicians for their creativity.

3. Fans can spend days satisfying their curiosity by watching videos and listening to recordings.

Check Yourself: NOUNS

1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland draws visitors from all over the world.

2. This unusual museum honors musicians for their creativity.

3. Fans can spend days satisfying their curiosity by watching videos and listening to recordings.

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun.

The word that a pronoun stands for is called its antecedent (note the root “ante” = to come before).

Notice the difference between the two pronouns in the following examples:

Ray (antecedent) said he (pronoun) wanted a new pair of shoes.

Sonia (antecedent) delivered her (pronoun) famous monologue.

Pronouns are either personal or possessive. Possessive pronouns

show ownership or relationship (they “possess” something).Personal

First person: I, me (plural = we/us)

Second person: you (plural is the same)

Third person: he, him, she, her, it (pl. = they/them)

Possessive

First person: my, mine (pl.= our, ours)

Second person: your, yours (plural is the same)

Third person: his, her, hers, its (pl. = their, theirs)

Let’s Practice:Write “PR” for personal, “PO” for

possessive.

1. At first, Laurents intended to follow Shakespeare’s plot in Romeo and Juliet in every respect, but he later changed his mind.

2. In Shakespeare’s play, the foes are two feuding families, and in West Side Story they are two feuding street gangs.

3. She remains loyal to him as the feud worsens.

4. Both versions of the tragic story remain popular in our day.

Check Your Work:Write “PR” for personal, “PO” for

possessive.

1. At first, Laurents intended to follow Shakespeare’s plot in Romeo and Juliet in every respect, but he (PR) later changed his (PO) mind.

2. In Shakespeare’s play, the foes are two feuding families, and in West Side Story they (PR) are two feuding street gangs.

3. She (PR) remains loyal to him (PR) as the feud worsens.

4. Both versions of the tragic story remain popular in our (PO) day.

Other Kinds of Pronouns

Reflexive

Intensive

Demonstrative

Indefinite

Interrogative

Relative

The “self”ish ones:Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself,

itself Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Reflexive:

Reflects action back upon the subject and adds information to the sentence

• Donna prepared herself for a long day.

• I bought myself an iced coffee.

Intensive:

Adds emphasis to a noun or pronoun in the same sentence

• The wait itself would take hours.

• Did the students themselves choose the classes?

Watch out!A common error is to use

a reflexive pronoun without an antecedent in

the sentence:

“The planning committee appointed Ted and

(me/myself).”

A reflexive pronoun must have an antecedent.

The answer is “me.”

Demonstrative Pronouns

Remember: Demonstrative pronouns “demonstrate” things in time or space.

• This is my house.

• The people at the front of the line will get better tickets than those at the end.

• Point out specific persons, places, things, or ideas. They allow you to indicate whether the things you are pointing out are relatively near in time or space or farther away.

• Demonstrative pronouns are: this, these, that, and those.

Indefinite PronounsDo not refer to a specific person, place, or thing. They usually do not have antecedents:

• “Many of the fans had arrived at 6 a.m.”

Some pronouns can also function as adjectives:

• “Several people had to wait in the rain.” (adjective)

• “Several of the fans waited anxiously in line.” (pronoun)

Indefinite Pronoun list:

• Singular: another, anybody, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one somebody, someone, something

• Plural: both, few, many, several

• Singular or Plural: all, any, more, most, none, some

Interrogative and Relative Pronouns

An interrogative pronoun asks a question or “interrogates.”

• What is your favorite song?

• Interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, what.

A relative pronoun is used to introduce subordinate clauses.

• The seats that the students asked for were unavailable. (“seats” is the antecedent)

• Relative Pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that.

Compare:

DRAFT:

• The girl waited for someone to ask her to dance. She decided to ask a boy if he would like to dance with her.

REVISION:

• The girl, who had been waiting for someone to ask her to dance, asked a boy if he would like to dance with her.

• ** Relative pronouns can be used to combine sentences.

Let’s Practice:Underline and name each pronoun, double underline its antecedent (if it

has one). 1. What is the best way to get good seats for a concert?

2. Someone gets up before dawn in order to be first in line.

3. The seats that go with the tickets may not be very good.

4. A frustrated fan might ask himself or herself why this happens.

5. All agree that the best way to find out is to ask the ticket sellers themselves.

6. People at the end of the line might get better seats than those at the front.

Check Your Work:Underline and name each pronoun, double underline its antecedent (if it

has one). 1. What (Inter.) is the best way to get good seats for a concert?

2. Someone (Indef.) gets up before dawn in order to be first in line.

3. The seats that (Rel.) go with the tickets may not be very good.

4. A frustrated fan might ask himself or herself (Ref.) why this (Dem.) happens.

5. All (Ind.) agree that the best way to find out is to ask the ticket sellers themselves. (Inten.)

6. People at the end of the line might get better seats than those (Dem.) at the front.

Verbs

A verb expresses:

• an action

• a condition

• a state of being

Action Verbs:Transitive verbs are action verbs that require a direct object (the thing that receives the action).

• Danny plays (A.V.) the trumpet (D.O.) well.

Intransitive verbs are still action verbs, but they do not require a direct object.

• He travels around the country with the other musicians. (no object)

Action Verbs express physical or mental action:

• The band marches onto the field. (physical)

• The audience expects a great performance. (mental)

Linking Verbs: Link the subject to the predicate by using “to be” forms of verbs or verbs that express condition

• The instruments are safe in the bus.

• The students seemed bored during the long trip.

• “To be” forms: is, am, are, was, were, been, being

• Verbs that express condition: look, smell, feel, sound, taste, grow, appear, become, seem, remain

Hint: Some verbs can be either action or linking verbs:

• Action: We felt the cushions.

• Linking: They felt dry.

• Action: We tasted the popcorn.

Linking: It tasted salty.

Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs:

Combine with verbs to form verb phrases. They may be used to express a particular tense of a verb or to indicate that an action is directed at the subject.

• The stadium is filled to capacity.

• We should save a seat for Jeff.

Common Auxiliary Verbs:

• Is, am, are, was were, can, have, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would.

• Some of these auxiliary verbs can also be used as main verbs. Compare:

• Kelly has a pair of Conga drums at home. (main)

• She has practiced her drumming all summer. (auxiliary)

Let’s Practice: Circle action verbs, box linking verbs, and underline helping verbs in the following

paragraph. Every fall, people from across the country visit New York City for the big Thanksgiving Day parade. Even on cold days when strong winds or light rain might scare away spectators, the parade is on schedule. The crowd lines the parade route and will stay until the last float has driven out of sight. As bands strut down Broadway, drum majors pound their drums. Giant balloons of familiar characters are overhead. For young children, the parade remains an eventful experience and becomes a fond memory in their lives.

Check Your Work:

Every fall, people from across the country visit New York City for the big Thanksgiving Day parade. Even on cold days when strong winds or light rain might scare away spectators, the parade is on schedule. The crowd lines the parade route and will stay until the last float has driven out of sight. As bands strut down Broadway, drum majors pound their drums. Giant balloons of familiar characters are overhead. For young children, the parade remains an eventful experience and becomes a fond memory in their lives.

AdjectivesINDEFINITE & DEFINITE ARTICLES:

• The most common adjectives are the articles a, an (indef.), and the (def.)PROPER ADJECTIVES are formed from proper nouns. They are capitalized and often end in –n, -an, -ian, -ese, and -ish.

• American artists perform in international countries.

• Japanese crowds fill Yokohama Station.

Modify or limit the meaning of a noun or pronoun. Adjectives tell:

• what kind: famous song, squeaky noise, green light

• which one: this star, that way, these words

• how many: one dollar, three tenors, several years

• how much: some music, more room, less energy

Don’t overdo it!Fresh, original adjectives sharpen your writing, but be careful not to clutter your writing with unnecessary descriptions.

• Explain why the adjectives below can be omitted:

gentle breeze tall skyscraperhappy smile

Let’s Practice: Underline each adjective (do not include articles) and circle the word it modifies.

1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan.

2. The machine is a Japanese invention.

3. Years ago, American television featured shows in which people sang along with a chorus.

4. Powerful speakers play background music.

5. The real purpose is to have fun rather than to give a fabulous performance.

Check Your Work:

1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan.

2. The machine is a Japanese invention.

3. Years ago, American television featured shows in which people sang along with a chorus.

4. Powerful speakers play background music.

5. The real purpose is to have fun rather than to give a fabulous performance.

Adverbs

Adverbs modify:

• Verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs

• We instantly recognized (verb) Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.

• The famous notes rang out quite clearly. (adverb)

• The orchestra waited until the auditorium grew completely quiet. (adjective)

Adverbs answer:

• Where: The orchestra stopped here during a national tour.

• When: Will they be returning soon?

• How: Everyone played magnificently.

To what extent: The auditorium was completely full.

Commonly Used Adverbs

• Not all words ending in –ly are adverbs; for example, “friendly” and “costly” are adjectives.

• Other commonly used adverbs: afterward, already, also, back, even, far, fast, forth, hard, instead, late, long, low, more, near, next, not, now, often, slow, sometimes, still, straight, then, today, tomorrow, too, yet.

Many adverbs are formed by adding –ly to adjectives:

• frequent = frequently,

• true = truly,

• extreme = extremely,

• possible = possibly.

Be careful to note the spelling changes.

IntensifiersCommon Intensifiers:

• extremely, just, more, most, nearly, only, quite, rather, really, so, somewhat, too, truly, very.

Watch Out!• Intensifiers such as very,

rather, and really are overused in casual conversation. In formal writing, they can weaken sentences. Most of the time, it is better to leave them out.

An intensifier is an adverb that defines the degree of an adjective or another adverb. Intensifiers always precede the adjectives or adverbs they are modifying:

• We were rather surprised that classical music is very popular.

Let’s Practice: Underline each adverb.

1. Beethoven tirelessly devoted himself to his music.

2. He often worked late.

3. The composer was terribly shocked to realize that he was losing his hearing when he was in his late twenties.

4. It finally became so severe that Beethoven could not hear his own music.

Check Your Work:

1. Beethoven tirelessly devoted himself to his music.

2. He often worked late.

3. The composer was terribly shocked to realize that he was losing his hearing when he was in his late twenties.

4. It finally became so severe that Beethoven could not hear his own music.

Prepositions

A preposition shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence.

• The sounds of a jazz band filled the kitchen.

• The music was coming from a radio.

Commonly Used Prepositions:

• About, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, despite, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, outside, over, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, with, within, without.

Compound Prepositions . . .

Are prepositions that consist of more than one word:

• Jazz legend Louis Armstrong sang in addition to playing the trumpet.

• Some singers use only their voice instead of instruments to create music.

Commonly Used Compound Prepositions:

• According to, aside from, because of, by means of, in addition to, in front of, in place of, in spite of, instead of, on account of, out of, prior to.

Prepositional Phrases . . .

o consist of a preposition and its object, and any modifiers of the object. The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun that follows a preposition.

• Prepositional phrases often express relationships of location (by, near), direction (to, down), or time (before, during).

• Many early jazz bands played in New Orleans. (Location)

• Musicians traveled to other large cities. (Direction)

• During the 1920s, jazz swept the country. (Time)

• ** A sentence may contain more than one prepositional phrase. Each preposition has its own object.

Let’s Practice: Underline the prepositional phrase and circle the

object of the preposition.1. Jazz is a modern form of music.

2. Among these influences are gospel and the blues.

3. Rhythms from West Africa are also part of jazz’s heritage.

4. In an improvisation, a musician plays notes of his or her own invention.

Check Your Work:

1. Jazz is a modern form of music.

2. Among these influences are gospel and the blues.

3. Rhythms from West Africa are also part of jazz’s heritage.

4. In an improvisation, a musician plays notes of his or her own invention.

A Few Things to Note …

It is not considered proper to end a sentence with a preposition.

Wrong:

• Alaska is a hard state to live in.

• He finally discovered the great inner strength he was blessed with.

• She is the girl I got the gift from.

• Don’t confuse a prepositional phrase with an infinitive phrase: “to other cities” vs. “to hear the concert”

Which is it???

• She is going to the concert to hear her favorite band perform.

Conjunctions

Coordinating

Correlative

Subordinating

Conjunctive Adverbs

A conjunction connects words or groups of words.

Coordinating

Connect words or groups of words of equal importance in a sentence:

• Sonia and her friends watched the video.

• The action began on a beach, but the scene changed quickly.

Remember FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Correlative

Word pairs that serve to join words or groups of words.

• You will not only hear your favorite song but also see the performer.

• Either the music or the visual images will grab your attention.

• both . . . and either. . . or neither . . . nor whether . . . or not only . . . but also

More ConjunctionsSubordinating

Introduce subordinate clauses and join them to independent clauses

• The band waited while the director checked the lighting.

• Although music videos are short, they are expensive to produce.

• After, although, as, as if, as though, because, before, even though, if, in order that, provided, since, so that, than, unless, until, when, where, whereas, while

Conjunctive Adverbs

Really an adverb, but functions like a conjunction in that it is used to express relationships between independent clauses:

• The transistor radio contributed to the rise of rock and roll; similarly, the introduction of cable television helped launch music videos.

• Accordingly, also, besides, consequently, finally, furthermore, hence, however, instead, nevertheless, otherwise, similarly, still, therefore, thus

Let’s Practice: Underline the conjunctions and conjunctive

adverbs1. The face of the music industry changed when cable

television came along and began running music videos constantly.

2. Singers and bands began to make more and more videos; consequently, viewers turned in to watch.

3. According to critics, performers were creating works that were not only visually but also musically insubstantial.

4. It’s been roughly twenty years since videos first appeared.

Check Your Work:1. The face of the music industry changed when

cable television came along and began running music videos constantly.

2. Singers and bands began to make more and more videos; consequently, viewers tuned in to watch.

3. According to critics, performers were creating works that were not only visually but also musically insubstantial.

4. It’s been roughly twenty years since videos first appeared.

INTERJECTIONSAn interjection is a word or a

phrase used to express emotion.

Interjections

A strong interjection is followed by an exclamation point:

Yikes! Our project is due tomorrow.

A mild interjection is set off by commas:

Well, where should we start?

Examples: wow, gee, hey, ouch, aha, boy, hooray, aw, eek, unbelieveable

Interjections add realism to your writing, particularly in dialogue in short stories or essays. Notice the sense of guilt conveyed below by the interjection:

• “If Jim doesn’t kill me,” she said to herself, “before he takes a second look at me, he’ll say I look like a Coney Island chorus girl. But what could I do – oh, what could I do with a dollar and eighty-seven cents!”

• -- O. Henry “The Gift of the Magi”

Choose the better interjection:

1. (Great!/ Oh, no!) We’re almost finished with our multimedia presentation.

2. (Wow,/Well,) we still have to choose the background music for the introduction.

3. (Hey!/All right,) I forgot about that!

4. (Here,/Ouch,) listen to this.

5. (Alas!/Wow!) I think that’s perfect.

Check Your Work:

1. (Great!/ Oh, no!) We’re almost finished with our multimedia presentation.

2. (Wow,/Well,) we still have to choose the background music for the introduction.

3. (Hey!/All right,) I forgot about that!

4. (Here,/Ouch,) listen to this.

5. (Alas!/Wow!) I think that’s perfect.