Grammar for Grade Nine
Episode I:
Parts of Speech
Nouns: definition
• Nouns name people, places, things, or ideas.
– grandfather
– kitchen
– peacock
– vegetarianism
– downtown
– happiness
Noun Types: Concrete
• Concrete nouns identify objects that are
tangible or can be identified through the
senses (things we can see, hear, touch, taste,
smell).
– hoof
– fog
– yawn
– melodies
Noun Types: Abstract
• Abstract nouns name ideas, qualities, or
characteristics which cannot be touched,
seen, heard, tasted or smelled.
– fear
– spirit
– love
– kindness
– dreams
Noun Types: Proper
• Proper nouns name particular people, places,
things or ideas. Proper nouns always are
capitalized.
– Elizabeth Cousar
– Canada
– Islam
– Taj Mahal
– Fraser River
Noun Types: Collective
• Collective nouns name groups. The singular
form is sometimes considered singular, and
sometimes considered plural.
– committee
– choir
– (a) pride (of lions)
– (my English) class
Pronouns
• Pronouns are words that take the place of
nouns, groups of words that can act as nouns,
or other pronouns.
• Consider this sentence: When Mrs. Cousar
gets up, Mrs. Cousar makes coffee and takes
the coffee into Mrs. Cousar’s shower.
• This sounds better: When Mrs. Cousar gets
up, she makes coffee and takes it into her
shower.
Pronoun Types: Interrogative
• Interrogative pronouns are use to form
questions:
– who
– what
– whatever
– whom
…and so on.
Pronoun Types: Relative
• Relative Pronouns introduce subordinate
clauses.
ex: Rene, who is from Paris, drives a Porsche.
ex: The house that we spoke about has been
sold.
ex: The trait of writing with which students
struggle most is definitely voice.
Note: who = people, that = people or things,
which = things.
Pronouns: Cases I
• Subject pronouns are the ones which can be
used as the subject of a sentence. They are
sometimes called “subjective case” pronouns.
– I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who
• Object pronouns are the ones which serve as
the object (direct or indirect) of a sentence, or
as the object of a preposition
– me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom
Pronouns: Cases II
• Possessive pronouns show that the pronoun
(or its antecedent) owns something.
– my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, its, our/ours,
their/theirs
ex: This is my textbook, not yours.
ex. Our mother has talked to their teacher.
Verbs: Action Verbs
• Verbs are words which indicate an action or a
state of being.
• Action verbs describe physical or mental
action:
– jog
--smile
--think
• Action verbs can be transitive (they require a
direct object) or intransitive (they don’t);
sometimes an action verb can be transitive in
some circumstances and intransitive in others.
Verbs: Linking Verbs
• Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence
with words or groups of words that identify or
describe it.
• All forms of the verb to be can function as linking
verbs:
– Tomorrow will be bright and sunny.
– Oro is the Spanish word for gold.
• Other common linking verbs include seem,
remain, appear, smell, feel, look, become, taste,
and sound. There are others.
Adjectives
• Adjectives modify (describe) nouns and
pronouns. They answer the questions which
one(s)? or what kind?
– eerie room
--some people
--latest fad
• Many adjectives have comparative and
superlative forms:
Hot
Hotter
Hottest
Sharp
Sharper
Sharpest
Psychic
More psychic
Most psychic
• The adjectives a, an and the are called articles.
Adjectives: Proper Adjectives
• Proper adjectives are formed from proper
nouns. They are always capitalized.
– Italian opera
– French cheeses
– Buddhist thought
– Sikh culture
Adverbs
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other
adverbs.
– run quickly --deeply embarrassed
– quite nicely
• Adverbs answer the questions when? where?
how? and to what degree?
– when? soon, yesterday, earlier…
– where? there, here…
– how? carefully, eagerly, rapidly…
– to what degree? very, quite, completely…
Adverbs: Placement
• Adverbs always precede (go before) the
adjectives and other adverbs they modify:
– rather handsome
– just barely
• Their position in relation to verbs can vary.
– I disagree with you completely.
– I completely disagree with you.
– I disagree completely with you.
Prepositions
• Prepositions show relationships of nouns and
pronouns to other words in the sentence.
These relationships often involve space or
time.
– in the closet
– during the dance
– since yesterday
--after lunch
--outside the perimeter
--from the government
Prepositions II
• Compound prepositions consist of more than
one word:
– according to the law
– out of the question
--on top of Old Smokey
• Prepositions begin phrases that conclude with
a noun or pronoun. This noun or pronoun is
called the object of the preposition.
– A wounded deer stood in front of the car.
• prepositional phrase: in front of the car
• object of the preposition: car
Conjunctions
• Conjunctions are words which join together
two words, sentences, phrases, or clauses.
• Coordinating conjunctions give equal
emphasis to two main clauses. There are only
seven of them. Think FANBOYS.
– for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
• I hate to exercise, and I love to eat, so I am fat.
• When a coordinating conjunction is used to
connect two main clauses, a comma is
required before the coordinating conjunction.
Subordinating Conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions join two clauses to
that one clause depends grammatically on the
other.
• The clause introduced by the coordinating
conjunction is called a dependent clause. It
cannot stand alone as a sentence.
– ex: When he hit me, I gasped in shock.
• “When” is the subordinating conjunction.
• “When he hit me” is a dependent clause.
• There are many subordinating conjunctions in
English, including before, unless, until, while, as
soon as, in order that, since, while, although, as
far as, and after. There are others.