Parts of Speech
NOUN = a word that names
o Proper nouns –name particular people, places, things or ideas
 Mrs. Adams, Paris, Astrodome
o Common nouns –name one or more of a class or group
 reader, faculty, English, politician, athletes
o Collective nouns –name a whole group in singular form
 navy, team, pair
o Concrete nouns –name tangible things perceived through the
five senses
 rain, bookcase, heat, odor, noise
o Abstract nouns –name concepts, beliefs, feelings or qualities
 courage, love, honor, enthusiasm, fortitude
ADJECTIVE = a word that describes/ modifies/ alters a noun
or pronoun
o limits, qualifies or specifies the meaning of another word;
describes another word
 sour, huge, red, soft, a, an, the, his, this, those, some, every
o suffix hints:
 -ous…continuous
 -able…capable -ible…illegible
 -ant…dominant -ent….opulent
 -ane…arcane
 -ive…comprehensive
 -ed….affiliated
o Participles (act as adjectives)
 Bereft (P/ADJ) of parents, Sam…(describing Sam the
noun)
VERB = a word that 1) asserts an action -hit or
2) express a condition, position or state of being –am
o Action verbs...fly, jump, come, feel, appear
o State of being verbs…is, are, were, was, am
o hints:
 to …to discuss
-ate…reiterate
-ize…scrutinize
o tenses of verbs
 -s
present tense
believes
 -ed
past tense
believed
 will… future
will believe
 -ing present progressive believing
 have… present perfect
have believed
 had… past perfect
had believed
o Auxiliary verbs –helping verbs used as helpers to form the
tense of the main verb
 can, be, do, have, shall, will, may, must, have, had,
would, was, been, shall
VERBAL = a word derived from a verb but functions as a noun, adjective, or
adverb (looks like a verb alone, but does not act like a verb in a sentence)
o Gerunds –verb form ending in –ing and used as a noun
 Smoking cigars is bad; I started smoking; All that smoking is bad.
o Infinitive –verb form usually introduced by to; may be used as a noun,
adjective, or adverb
 To smoke is to die; The right to smoke is mine; It had been illegal to
smoke.
o Participle –verb form ending in –ing or –ed; functions as an adjective when it
can take an object
 That man smoking the cigar is dangerous; Those smoked cigars…
ADVERB = (like adjectives) describes, qualifies or limits verbs,
adjectives, & other adverbs
o tells how, how much, how often, where
o Time, Place, Manner, Degree
 ran (V) fast (ADV)
 slid (V) smoothly (ADV)
 very (ADV) fast (ADJ) race (N)
 unquestionably (ADV) true (ADJ)
 ran (V) very (ADV) fast (ADV)
o suffix hints:
 -ly…effectively, quickly, warily