Reviewing the parts of speech
A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite nouns
A proper noun, which names a specific person, place, or thing (Carlos, Queen Marguerite, Middle East,
Jerusalem, Malaysia, Presbyterianism, God, Spanish,
Buddhism, the Republican Party), is almost always capitalized. A proper noun used as an addressed person's name is called a noun of address.
Verbs carry the idea of being or action in the sentence.
I am a student. The students passed all their courses.
First, some verbs require an object to complete their meaning: "She gave _____ ?" Gave what? She gave money to the church. These verbs are called
transitive. Verbs that are intransitive do not require objects: "The building collapsed."
A linking verb connects a subject and its complement.
Sometimes called copulas, linking verbs are often forms of the verb to be, but are sometimes verbs related to the five senses (look, sound, smell, feel, taste) and sometimes verbs that somehow reflect a state of being (appear, seem,
become, grow, turn, prove, remain). What follows the linking verb will be either a noun complement or an adjective complement:
Those people are all professors.
Those professors are brilliant.
This room smells bad.
I feel great.
A victory today seems unlikely.
Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.
The Articles — a, an, and the — are adjectives.
Examples the tall professor the lugubrious lieutenant a solid commitment a month's pay a six-year-old child the unhappiest, richest man
Adverbs are words that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb
An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as "how," "when,"
"where," "how much".
a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?) an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?) another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle.
— How slowly did she move?)
A word that replaces a noun
I, he, she, we, you, us, etc…
If a noun and a pronoun are used together, the noun comes first: “Tim and I are eating.”
Demonstrative Pronouns
As pronouns, they identify or point to nouns.
That is incredible! (referring to something you just saw)
I will never forget this. (referring to a recent experience)
Such is my belief. (referring to an explanation just made)
Relative Pronouns
The relative pronouns (who/whoever/which/that) relate groups of words to nouns or other pronouns
The coach will select whomever he pleases.
He seemed to say whatever came to mind.
Whoever crosses this line first will win the race.
Reflexive Pronouns!
The reflexive pronouns indicate that the sentence subject also receives the action of the verb.
When pronouns are combined, the reflexive will take either the first person
Juanita, Carlos, and I have deceived ourselves into believing in my uncle.
or, when there is no first person, the second person:
You and Carlos have deceived yourselves.