Parts of
Speech
Mrs. Withers
English 9
Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and
Adverbs

Noun


Verb


An action word
Adjective


A person, place, or thing
A word that describes a noun
Adverb


A word that describes a verb
Usually ends in “-ly”
Practice

Identify the part of speech for the underlined
words.
1. Odysseus escapes Poseidon’s wrath.
2. He flees quickly, in order to avoid persecution.
3. Telemachus searches unsuccessfully for his father.
4. Penelope’s enduring patience demonstrates her
unyielding love for Odysseus.
Subject

Definition: The subject of a sentence is the
person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or
being something.
Example:

Hermes delivers a message to Calypso.

Calypso acquiesces to Zeus’ mandate.

Odysseus is the epic hero in The Odyssey.
Direct Objects

Definition: A direct object will follow a
transitive verb (a type of action verb)
 Example:
 The
brave soldiers defeated the men at Troy.
 The brave soldiers = subjects
 defeated= verb
 The brave soldiers defeated who?
 the men = direct object
Direct Objects
 Subject

+ verb + who/what (direct object)
Example:
 Penelope
denies her suitors.
 Subject = Penelope
 Verb = mourns
 Direct Object (who/what) = suitors
Direct Object

Practice

Circle the direct object in the sentences below.

1. Zeus commands Calypso to release Odysseus
from captivity.

2. Odysseus stabs Polyphemus in the eye after
he falls into a drunken stupor.

3. Athena helps Odysseus recover after
Poseidon destroys his raft in a deadly storm.
Indirect Objects

For an indirect object to appear, a sentence must
first have a direct object.

Definition: When someone (or something) gets the
direct object, that word is the indirect object

Example:





Calypso built Odysseus a raft so he could return
home.
Calypso = subject
built = verb
Calypso built what? raft = direct object
Who got the raft? Odysseus= indirect object
Indirect Objects

Subject + verb + who/what (indirect object) +
who gets the indirect object

So that Odysseus would not die from his
injuries, Athena grants him restful sleep.




Subject = Athena
Verb = grants
Direct object = sleep
Who gets the sleep? Indirect object = Odysseus
Practice
1. Homer asks the Muses for assistance in telling his tale
to the audience
 Subject =
 Verb =
 Direct Object =
2. Odysseus tells his stories of adventures for King
Alcinous’ court.
 Subject =
 Verb =
 Direct Object =
 Indirect Object =
Practice
3. To avoid death, Odysseus tells Polyphemus a lie.
 Subject =
 Verb =
 Direct Object =
 Indirect Object =
4. Polyphemus did not have plans for revenge, so
Poseidon harasses Odysseus for him.
 Subject =
 Verb =
 Direct Object =
 Indirect Object =
Predicate Nominative

Definition: Predicate nominatives complete a
linking verb and rename the subject.

Predicate nominatives complete only linking
verbs.
Predicate Nominative

What is a linking verb?


Linking verbs connect the subject with the
descriptive adjective.
The linking verbs include the following:
The helping verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be,
being, and been
 The sense verbs: look, taste, smell, feel,
and sound
 And verbs like: become, seem, appear, grow,
continue, stay, and turn

Predicate Nominatives
I
am a student.

The subject is renamed. I  student
 Brian

Brian  dancer
 He

is the best dancer.
is a talented architect.
He  architect
Predicate Adjective

A predicate adjective modifies the subject of
the sentence, and is connected to the
subject by a linking verb.

Examples:
 Children
grow older every day.
 The baby remains happy during her bath.
 Her lasagna smells scrumptious.
Practice

Directions: Circle only the predicate nominatives in
the following sentences.

1. He is an excellent teacher.

2. I am a free thinker.

3. Jeopardy is a tough game show.

4. That lion was the king of the jungle.

5. The cat was old but was still a great rat-catcher.
Practice

Directions: Circle only the predicate adjectives in the
following sentences.

1. That car is extremely fast.

2. These students are wonderful!

3. This test seemed really difficult but was actually really
easy.

4. The apple pie smells delicious.

5. The computer used to be old and loud.

6. That woman is an amazing doctor because she is kind
and caring.
Practice

Directions: Label each sentence part. Then identify the
underlined word by writing its name on the line provided.

___________________1) These planes were beautiful.

___________________2) Snow and ice covered the streets.

___________________3) My best friend is Thomas.

___________________4) Everyone loves candy.

___________________5) The teacher gave us an assignment.
Practice

Directions: Label each sentence part. Then identify the
underlined word by writing its name on the line provided.

___________________6) The children bounce the ball.

___________________7) I brought a balloon to Diane.

___________________8) Connor is the best writer in class.

___________________9) The baby needs a nap.

__________________10) The students asked the teacher
many questions.
Practice

Directions: Label each sentence part. Then identify the
underlined word by writing its name on the line provided.

______________11) The building Andrea lives in is a
brownstone.

______________12) Can you send me a letter?

______________13) We ate steak for dinner.

______________14) Our coffee is warm and sweet.

______________15) She gives violin lessons to Jacob.