Parts of Speech
UNIT 10
Nouns
A noun is a word that names:
 Persons
 Places
 Things
 Ideas
Nouns Types
A sentence may contain a noun of any
particular type:
 Singular or Plural
 Possessive
 Concrete
 Abstract
 Proper
 Common
 Collective
Singular and Plural Nouns
402
Nouns can be singular or plural, depending upon
whether they name one person, place, thing, or
idea or more than one.
To make most nouns take the plural form, add
“s.”
Other plural nouns are formed in different ways.
For nouns ending in s, ch, sh, x or zz, add “es” to
form the plural.
For nouns ending “y” change the “y” to “I” and
add “es.”
For most nouns ending in “f” or “fe”, change f to
“v” and add “es.”
Singular and Plural Nouns
Other nouns have irregular plurals
(eg. Woman/women). Examples of singular
and plural nouns:
 Singular: boy, body, watch wife, ox
 Plural: boys, bodies, watches, wives, oxen
Possessive Nouns
403
 The possessive form of a noun can show
possession, ownership, or the general
relationship between two nouns.
 Add a apostrophe and “s” to form the
possessive of a singular noun, even one that
already ends with “s.”
 Use an apostrophe alone to form the
possessive of a plural noun that ends in “s.”
Possessive Nouns
403
Singular possessive
Plural possessive
 The car’s hood.
 The cars’ hoods.
 A baby’s bottle.
 The babies’ bottles.
 The dish’s pattern.
 The dishes’ patterns.
 A valley’s towns.
 The valleys’ towns.
 The calf’s mother.
 The calves’ mother.
 The business’s payroll.
 The businesses’ payrolls.
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
 A Concrete noun





names an object that
occupies space or that
can be known by the
senses.
Petal
Smoke
Cough
Orange
Nook
 An Abstract noun
names an idea, a
quality, or a
characteristic.





Motion
Humor
Quantity
Tact
Rudeness
404
Proper and Common Nouns
Common: A general noun-not
particular-name of a person
 Person: actor, uncle, poet
 Place: country, lake,
canyon, store
 Thing: statue, book,
holiday
 Idea: movement, era,
religion
405
Proper: the name of a particular
person, place, thing or idea.
 Person: Sean Connery,
Uncle Peter
 Place: Mexico, Holston
River, Grand Canyon
 Thing: Statue of Liberty,
Great Expectations,
Christmas
 Judaism, Romanticism
Collective Nouns
406
A collective noun names a group
 Family
 (the) Public
 Team
 (the) Press
 Audience
 Senate
 Choir
Pronouns
408
A Pronoun is a word that takes the place of:
 a noun
 a group of words acting as a noun
 or another pronoun.
 The word or group of words that to which a
pronoun refers is called its Antecedent.
Pronouns Types
 Personal
 Possessive
 Reflexive
 Intensive
 Demonstrative
 Interrogative
 Relative
 Indefinite
Personal Pronouns
408
 A personal pronoun refers to a specific person




or thing by indicating the following:
The person speaking (1st person).
The person being addressed (2nd person).
Any other person or thing being discussed
(3rd person).
Personal pronouns also express number, they
are either singular or plural.
Personal Pronouns
408
Singular
Plural
First Person
I, Me
We, Us
Second Person
You
You
Third Person
He, She, It-Him, Her
They, Them
Third Person Pronouns also express Gender.
Possessive Pronouns
409
 A possessive pronoun shows ownership
Singular
Plural
First Person
My, mine
Our, Ours
Second Person
Your, yours
Your, Yours
Third Person
His, her, hers, its
Their, theirs
Reflexive and Intensive
410
 Reflexive and Intensive pronouns are formed
by adding-self or –selves to certain personal
and possessive pronouns.
Singular
Plural
First Person
Myself
Ourselves
Second Person
Yourself
Yourselves
Third Person
Himself, herself,
itself
Themselves
Reflexive Pronouns




A reflexive pronoun refers, or reflects back, to
a noun or pronoun earlier in the sentence. It
always adds information to a sentence.
You out did yourself when you wrote that
song.
Cathy always timed herself when jogging.
In dancing class we watch ourselves in the
mirror.
The basketball players prepared themselves
for the game.
Intensive Pronouns
 An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to
another noun or pronoun in the same
sentence. If it is left out of the sentence, the
sentence will still have the same meaning.
 I myself ate the pizza.
 The team itself chose the captain.
 Maria herself opened the door.
 George and Pedro planned the party
themselves.
What pattern do you recognize?
Demonstrative Pronouns
411
 A demonstrative points out specific persons,
places, things or ideas.
Singular
This
That
Plural
These
Those
•This is your homework.
•These are your textbooks.
•That will be your seat.
•Carla’s desk is cleaner than those.
Interrogative Pronouns
412
 Interrogatives are used to form questions!
 Who?
 What?
 Whose?
 Whom?
 Which?
 Whoever, whomever?
 Whichever, whatever?
•Who will lead the way?
•What makes a good leader?
•Whom would you choose?
•Which of these paths is easiest?
•Whose is the lightest pack?
•Whoever could have broke the window?
Relative Pronouns
412
 A relative pronoun is used to begin a




subordinate clause.
The people who invented Monopoly were
surprised by its success.
Dominoes is a game that many Texans play.
Mary, whose maiden name is Smith, married
a Greene.
They collected a large amount of money,
which helped to find a cure.
Indefinite Pronouns
413
 Indefinites refers to persons, places, or things
in a more general way than a noun does.
 Exp: Everyone needs food. (Ind. Pronoun
refers to people in general.)
 Exp: Did you get enough to eat? ( Ind.
Pronoun refers to a general, non specific,
amount.)
 Exp: After two hamburgers he did not want
another. (Ind. Pronoun refers to hamburgers.)
Indefinite Pronouns
All
Another
Any
Anybody
Anyone
Anything
Both
Each
Either
Enough
Everybody
Everyone
Everything
Few
Many
Most
Much
Neither
Nobody
None
No one
Nothing
One
Other
Others
Plenty
Several
Some
Somebody
Someone
Something
These pronouns are the most commonly used.
Verbs
414
 A verb is a word that expresses action or a




state of being and is necessary to make a
statement.
The violinists begin.
Rehearsals are important.
A flutist entered late.
The conductor seems enthusiastic.
Verbs
414
The primary characteristic of a verb is its ability
to express time- past, present, and future.
Verbs express time by means of tense forms.
Present Tense
They walk home together.
Past Tense
They walked home together.
Future Tense
They will walk home
together.
Action Verbs
415
Action verbs tells what someone or something does, hence “action.”
Transitive
Intransitive
 An action verb that is
 An action verb that is not
followed by a word or
words that answer the
question what and whom?
 It must transmit
information to the direct
object.
 It can not stand alone!
followed by a word that
answers what or whom?
 The verb does not need to
transmit information for
the sentence to be
understood.
 It can stand alone!
Transitive Verbs
 Cats see their prey in the dark. (what)
 Tom left Mike a PC. (whom)
 Jerry went to the store for milk.
 Hope has a cold.
 Mary runs track for the school.
 Notice how the sentences depend upon
words following the verbs for clarity.
Intransitive Verbs




Cats see well in the dark (how/where).
Jesus wept.
Some soldiers returned.
He gave (Tran) Lewis and Clark the horses
they needed.
 After roll call, Samuel left.
 Notice that the subject and verb contain
enough information to make a sensible
sentence.
Linking verbs
417
 Linking verbs link, or join, the subject of a
sentence with a word or expression that
identifies or describes the subject.
 They can be identified as “be” in its forms:
 Am, is, are, was, and were are the most
common linking verbs.
 Several other forms other than “be” can act
as linking verbs.
Look
Stay
Taste
Remain
Grow
Smell
Seem
appear
Feel
Become
Sound
Verb Phrases
419
 A verb phrase consists of a main verb and its




auxiliary or helping verbs.
The most common auxiliary verbs are the
forms of be and have. They help the main
verb express the various tenses.
We are working in the yard.
We have worked for the past two weeks.
We had been working for an hour before the
storm.
Verb Phrases
419
 The other auxliary verbs are not used
primarily to express time. They are often
used to emphasize meaning.
 I should be leaving.
 Could he have finished?
 Luisa may already be waiting.
Verb Phrases
419
 Below is a table of commonly used auxiliary
verbs.
Forms of Be
Forms of Have
Other auxiliaries
Am, is, are, was,
were, being, been
Has, have, had
Can, could, may,
might, must, do, does,
did, shall, should, will,
would
Adjectives
423
 An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or




pronoun by answering the questions of what
kind, which one, how many, or how much.
Nouns can also be used as adjectives. They
tell what kind or which one.
Exp: afternoon class, music lesson football
practice
Possessive pronouns such as, our, his, her,
their, my can be adjectives too.
Exp: our house, his car, their toys, my hands
Adjectives
423
 Many adjectives have different forms to
indicate degree of comparison.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Light
Heavy
Funny
Sad
Practical
Good
Much
Bad
Lighter
Heavier
Funnier
Sadder
More practical
Better
More
Worse
Lightest
Heaviest
Funniest
Saddest
Most practical
Best
Most
worst
Articles
426
A and An
 “A” and “An” are
indefinite articles.
 They can refer to any one
of a kind of person, place
or thing.
The
 “The” is a definite
article.
 It refers to a specific
person, place, or thing.
INDEFINITE
She found a
ring.
I bought a used
mask.
They spotted an
iceberg.
He was an
honorable choice.
DEFINITE
She found the
ring.
I bought the used
mask.
They spotted the
iceberg.
He was the best
choice.
Proper Adjectives
427
 A proper adjective is formed from a proper




noun with a capital letter.
Rembrandt was a Dutch painter.
Arthur was an English king.
The president must be an American citizen.
Mom makes wonderful Russian tea.
Adverbs
429
 Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other
adverbs by making their meaning more
specific.
 Adverbs answer the questions of: when?,
where?, how?, to what degree?
 An easy clue to identify an adverb is that
most of them end with “ly.”
Adverbs
429
 I will call tomorrow. When?
 His phone rings often. To what degree?
 The speaker will stand here. Where?
 Kim carefully polished the car. How/degree?
 We were truly sorry. What degree?
Negative words as Adverbs
430
 The word not and its contraction (n’t) are




considered adverbs. Other negative words
can function as adverbs of time and place.
The plane has not landed.
The plane is nowhere in sight.
They have hardly boarded.
I have never flown.
Adverbs that compare
431
 Like some adjectives, some adverbs have
different forms to indicate degree of
comparison.
Positive
Comparative
superlative
Runs fast
Arrived late
Works hard
Walks quickly
Reads carefully
Calls often
Feels well
Behaves badly
Cares little
Throws far
Runs faster
Arrived later
Works harder
Walks more quickly
Reads more carefully
Calls more often
Feels better
Behaves worse
Cares less
Throws farther
Runs fastest
Arrived latest
Works hardest
Walks most quickly
Reads most quickly
Calls most often
Feels best
Behaves worst
Cares least
Throws farthest
Prepositions
435
 Prepositions are words that shows the
relationship of a noun or pronoun to some
other word in a sentence.
 Prepositions begin phrases that must end
with a noun or pronoun that is called the
object of the preposition.
 Just remember the rabbit and log theory to
remember prepositions.
The Rabbit can do anything with the log, he can:
Go
Go
under
above
Go
around
Go
in
Go
through
Go
over
on
Be
from
behind
beside
against
with
Prepositions
Commonly Used
Aboard
Beneath
In
Regarding
About
Beside
Inside
Since
Above
Besides
Into
Through
Across
Between
Like
Throughout
After
Beyond
Near
To
Against
But (except)
Of
Toward
Along
By
Off
Under
Amid
Concerning
On
Underneath
Among
Despite
Onto
Until
Around
Down
Opposite
Unto
As
During
Out
Up
At
Except
Outside
Upon
Before
Excepting
Over
With
Behind
For
Past
Within
Below
From
Pending
without
Prepositions
 A compound preposition is made up of more
than one word.
According to
Ahead of
Along with
Apart from
Aside from
As to
Because of
By means of
In addition to
In front of
In spite of
Instead of
Next to
On account of
On top of
Out of
Owing to
Conjunctions
437
 A conjunction is a word that joins single
words or groups of words.
 A coordinating conjunction joins words or
groups of words that have equal
grammatical weight in a sentence. Think of
them as the “FANBOYS.”
F
A
N
B
O
Y
S
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
Conjunctions






437
Two and two are four.
She is good at algebra but not at English.
We must leave now, or we will be late.
The bell rang, yet everyone remained seated.
He could not sleep, nor would he eat.
When used as a coordinating conjunction, for
means “for the reason that” or “because.”
 The children were tired, for they had run a
long distance.
Correlative conjunctions
438
 Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join
words and groups of words of equal weight in
a sentence.
Both….and
Either….or




Just as…..so
Neither….nor
Not only….but (also)
Whether….or
Both she and I were there.
Either she or I can go.
Neither she nor I can go.
I met not only Jean but also Ed.
Subordinating Conjunctions
439
 A subordinating conjunction joins two
clauses, or ideas, in such a way as to make
one grammatically dependent upon the
other.
 The idea, or clause, that a subordinating
conjunction introduces is “dependent”
because it can not stand alone as a sentence.
Subordinating Conjunctions
439
 We rake the leaves because so many had





fallen.
We raked the leaves before we had lunch.
When more leaves fall, we will rake again.
We will go to the store after we finish.
If you get a new car, we will go to the beach.
Until the roof is repaired, we will have to use
another location.
Subordinating Conjunctions
 The following table has commonly used
Subordinating Conjunctions.
After
Although
As
as far as
As if
As long as
As soon as
As though
Because
Before
Considering that
If
Inasmuch
In order that
Provided that
Since
So long as
So that
Than
Through
Unless
Until
When
Whenever
Where
Where as
Wherever
while
439
Conjunctive Adverbs
441
 Conjunctive adverbs join two independent
sentences together.
 The adverb must be used in coordination with
a comma and a semicolon.
Exp: Most people think of deserts as very hot
places; however, desert nights can be quite
cool.
Mark can cook well; moreover, his campfire
cooking skills are excellent.
Interjections
443
 An interjection is a word or phrase that
express emotion or exclamation. An
interjection has no grammatical connection
to other words.
 Oh, I didn’t know that.
Whew, it’s hot.
 Ouch, That hurts!
Hey, look out!