Parts of Speech
The Eight, The Rules and Sentence Types
Nouns…
…are the name of a person, place, thing (all
Concrete), or idea (feeling).Abstract
WILL ONLY BE ONE WORD UNLESS IT IS
PROPER!!!
ALL nouns are…
1. Common (farmer, hospital, ocean, giraffe, love,
doubt)
OR
2. Proper (Jordan, Dodgers Stadium, Beanie
Baby, The New York Times)
Two specific types of nouns are…
1) Collective Nouns
jury, herd, school, club, class, group
2) Compound Nouns (ONE WORD)
basketball, sister-in-law, hotdog
My favorite subject is history.
Basketball is fun.
Class is hard.
Pronouns….
A pronoun refers to a noun or
another pronoun in a sentence.
There are 6 types of pronouns:
1. Personal
2. Reflexive
3. Interrogative
4. Demonstrative
5. Indefinite
6. Relative
Personal Pronouns…
Singular
Plural
________________________________________
First person
I, my,mine,me
We, our,ours, us
Second person
(the person spoken to)
you, your, yours
you, your, yours
Third person
he, his, him, she,
they, their,
(some other person
or thing)
her, hers, it, its
theirs, them
(the person speaking)
Reflexive Pronouns…
…are formed by adding –self or –selves to
certain personal pronouns.
Examples:
Myself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
themselves, yourself, and yourselves
Hisself and theirselves ARE NOT WORDS!!!!!
Interrogative Pronouns…
…are used to ask a question.
They include:
Which, Who, Whom, and Whose
Relative Pronouns…
…are used to introduce subordinate clauses and
are related to nouns usually right before them:
• Who: animate subjects of clause
• Which: inanimate subjects/object
Example:
The kids who take class with Ralph think he is
dumb.
The crayons which Mrs. Modarelli gave us were
all broken.
Demonstrative Pronouns…
…are used to point out a specific person or
thing.
They include:
This, that, these, and those
Indefinite Pronouns…
…do not refer to a definite person or thing.
These are ALL the indefinite pronouns:
All
each
more
one
Another
either
most
other
Any
everybody
much
several
Anybody
everyone
neither
some
Anyone
everything
nobody
somebody
Anything
few
none
someone
Both
many
no one
A pronoun’s antecedent is…
…simply the word that the pronoun refers to.
Examples:
Each of the men went to the game.
Everybody in the class wanted to know his or her
grade.
The mechanics use their own tools.
Adjectives…
…modify a noun or pronoun.
Ask yourself the question What kind? Which one(s)?
How many? How much? when in doubt.
Carrie read an interesting story. (What kind of story?)
The recent article has that information. (Which
article? Which information?)
*Why isn’t that a pronoun in this case?
*Ask these questions and if a noun is following the
word, it is probably an adjective!
3 kinds of adjectives…
Proper adjectives:
Italian bread- She is Italian.
Midas touch
Herculean strength
Compound adjectives:
Landmark decision- The decision was landmark.
Black-and-blue mark
Hometown hero
Possessive adjectives:
Bob’s, girl’s, groups’, students’, student’s
Degrees of Adjectives…
Comparative adjectives:
Adjectives that compare 2 things
Magic Johnson is taller than Matt Kemp.
N*Sync is a better boy band than One Direction.
Superlative adjectives:
Adjectives that compare 3 or more things
Marisol is the smartest girl in her class.
Out of steak, chicken or shrimp, shrimp is the best.
Capitalization Rules…
1) Proper adjectives= Greek food, American cheese
2) Proper Nouns= Mount Whitney, Matt Kemp, Earth
3) Languages= Spanish, English
4) Brand names= Ford car, Spalding football
5) Major time periods/ Events= Great Depression
6) Months and Days= September, Tuesday
7) Religions= Catholic
8)
Titles with Names= Dr. Smith, Senator Richards
9) Books/Movies/Art= Of Mice and Men, The Replacements,
Mona Lisa
10) Buildings/Ships/Monuments= World Trade Center, Voyager
of the Seas, Mount Rushmore
11) Races/Nationalities= African American, Irish, German hotdog
Verbs…
The three types of verbs include:
1) Action- tells the action the subject is performing
(Can be physical or mental)
• Physical: hit, sing, jump, sing,
snore, cry, etc.
• Mental: think, dream, hear, love, wonder,
believe, etc. *Transitive, IF followed by a noun
(direct object)
2) Linking- connect the subject to a noun, pronoun,
or adjective in the predicate (ALWAYS
intransitive)
Most common are “to be” forms (is, are, was, were,
been, being, am) AND
Appear, become, feel, grow, look, remain, seem,
smells
Verbs continued…
Example:
My sister is a doctor.
He appeared tired. (appeared is NOT an action)
NOTE: Sometimes a verb can be either a LV or
an AV. Think of a LV as an = sign.
Example:
The tree grew to be quite tall.
Grew is an AV here b/c the tree physically grew.
The man grew weary.
Grew is a LV here b/c it makes a statement and
expresses a relationship between "man" and
"weary".
Verbs continued…
3) Helping- assist the main verb (action verb) in a
sentence. These words are the same as LVs but
called helping when they have a partner.
HV (can be more than one) + AV= Verb Phrase
Most common are:
Am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, has, had,
have, do, does, did, may, might, must, can, could,
shall, should, will, would
Examples:
The members are going to the city tomorrow evening.
Are the members going to the city tomorrow evening?
That joke has been heard around the office.
Has that joke been heard around the office?
Verbals…
The gerund ends in -ing and functions as a noun.
Jumping is fun.
He liked skiing.
The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to. Usually it functions as a
noun, although it can also function as an adjective or adverb.
To jump is fun. (noun; subject of the verb is)
I like to ski. (noun; direct object of the verb like)
She had a suggestion to offer. (adjective modifying suggestion)
He called to warn her. (adverb modifying the verb called)
A participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n
(past participle). Participles may function as adjectives, describing or modifying
nouns.
The dancing parrots entertained the crowd.
The wrecked sailboat washed up on shore.
Homonym OR Homograph
• Words that are spelled the same, may sound
different and have different meanings
• Examples:
The back of the room is filled with boxes.
My back is hurting me because I fell.
The train leaves the station at 3:00.
I will need to train the new employees.
The drain is clogged.
Please drain the pasta before adding the sauce.
Homophone
• Words that sound the same, but are spelled
differently and have different meanings
• Examples:
The towel rack is made of steel.
It is not right to steal.
There is nothing I want more.
That is their stuff on the table.
Where are you going?
I would like to wear the red dress.
Subject of a sentence…
- the person, place, thing, or idea that is doing or
being something
- Ask the question, "Who or what 'verbs' or
'verbed'?" and the answer to that question is the
subject.
- The subject of a sentence is always a noun or a
pronoun.
Predicate of a sentence…
• The VERB in the sentence
• The thing the subject is doing
Subject
Predicate
Jill walked.
Michael ran.
Subject
Predicate
Simple Subject & Complete Subject
• The simple subject is one word
• The complete subject includes all the words
describing that one word
• The complete subject is everything BEFORE
the verb
The little girl named Jill ran to the store.
The curious and clumsy Michael fell off of his bike.
Simple Predicate &
Complete Predicate
• The simple predicate is one word
• The complete predicate includes all the words
describing that one word
• The complete predicate is the verb + everything
AFTER it
The little girl named Jill ran to the store.
The curious and clumsy Michael fell off of his bike.
Subject??? Verb???
1) Sam and I ran the New York City Marathon.
2) Jill is going to be fifteen on Thursday.
3) Joe went to the party, but Tim did not invite
him.
4) Erin had been sick for days, so Steve went to
the store for her.
Clauses...
Have a subject and a verb!!!
Phrases...
Do not contain the subject of the sentence or a
verb. All phrases can be taken out of the
sentence. They simply add DETAIL!!!
Independent Clauses…
• A fancy name for a sentence
• It contains a subject and a verb AND is a
COMPLETE thought!!!
• Examples:
I went to the store.
He ate cake.
Mom likes to cook.
Subordinate Clauses…
• NOT a complete sentence
• It has a subject and a verb because it is a
clause, but is NOT a complete thought!!!
Examples:
After I went to the store
When he ate cake
Because my mom likes to cook
HINT: Usually, at the very beginning or very end
of the sentence. (SEE LIST OF TRIGGER
WORDS!!!)
Interjections…
- Words that express emotion and are not
frequently used words
- Are always followed by an exclamation point
Examples:
Ouch!
Wow!
Bang!
Prepositions…
• Check your list for the most common
prepositions
• A word that introduces a prepositional phrase
and adds detail to nouns/pronouns in the
sentence.
The house on the right side of the street is for sale.
Prepositional Phrases…
• Add detail to a sentence.
• Always begin with a prepostion
• Do not contain the subject of the sentence or a
verb!!!!
• Can be omitted from the sentence and it will still
make sense because it is just a phrase!
• Remember clauses have verbs; phrases do not!!!
Phrase
or
Clause?
That he saw at the mall
CLAUSE
Of all the time in the world
PHRASE
Because she is having
trouble
CLAUSE
Before the light turned red
CLAUSE
Before eight o’clock
PHRASE
When she appeared tired
CLAUSE
Among all of the classmates
2 PHRASES!!!
Conjunctions…
For And Nor But Or Yet So= FANBOYS
*The FANBOYS (Coordinating Conjunctions) are
the most common conjunctions that join
sentences or parts of sentences together!
The girl and boy are going to the park.
The girl is going to the park, but the boy is staying
home.
My mom and Dad were mad at me, so I wrote
them an apology.
Simple Sentences…
• Have one subject or one group of subjects
doing one verb or a group of verbs.
Jill ate the cake.
Jack and Jill ate the cake.
Jack ate and drank at the party.
Jack and Jill ate and drank at the party.
Compound Sentences…
• Is two simple sentences joined by a comma AND a
conjunction
Jill ate the cake, and Tim watched the movie.
Taylor went to the party, but Tom decided to stay home.
Peter found my keys, so I could go home.
Complex Sentences…
• Have 1 independent clause and 1 or more
subordinate clauses
Subordinate
Independent
Example:
I went to the store because my mom was out of flour.
Independent
Subordinate
We ate ice cream after we sang “Happy Birthday.”
Independent
Subordinate
She likes to play tennis when she come home from
school because it is a good workout.
Subordinate
Compound-Complex Sentences…
• Have 2 or more independent clauses and 1 or
more subordinate clauses
Example:
I went to the store because my mom was out of
flour, and I needed to bake a cake.
We ate ice cream after we sang “Happy Birthday,”
so it was the best birthday ever!
She likes to play tennis when she comes home
from school because it is a good workout, but
she is really tired after.
Sentence Types Chart
SIMPLE
COMPOUND
COMPLEX
COMPOUNDCOMPLEX
Independent
Subordinate
1
0
2 or more
1
2 or more
0
1 or more
1 or more
Direct Object
• The object that directly receives the action of
the verb (transitive)
• Always comes after an action verb in the
sentence
• NEVER part of a prepositional phrase
Examples: All the verbs in these sentences are
transitive because the have direct objects!
She gave a present.
He likes strawberry pie.
Jill broke the bat.
Indirect Object
• Indirectly receives the action of the sentence,
but is not really what the action is doing
• Always comes before the direct object when it
is in a sentence
• NEVER part of a prepositional phrase
Examples:
She gave me a present.
Is she giving me or a present?
She is giving a present, so that is direct.
Me is indirect.
Indirect Object
Direct Object
He likes her strawberry pie.
Predicate Noun (Nominative)
• A noun in the predicate
• Always comes after a linking verb
• NEVER part of a prepositional phrase
• Another name for the subject
Examples:
She is a doctor.
I am a good person.
My students are girls and boys.
Predicate adjective
• Always comes after a linking verb
• NEVER part of a prepositional phrase
• An adjective in the predicate that describes the
subject
Examples:
She is pretty.
I am happy.
My students are nice and kind to me.
Adverbs…
…are a word that describe a verb, an adjective
(INTENSIFIER), or another adverb(INTENSIFIER).
MOST adverbs end in –ly (When in doubt!)
Ask yourself these questions to figure out whether a
word is an adverb. Where? When? How? To what
extent?
Adverbs that don’t end in –ly:
Again
Away
Never Yet (Conjunction??)
Always Later
Perhaps Already Somewhere
Just
Often
Sometimes Ever Not Quite Somewhat
Nowhere So
There (NOT A SUBJECT) Here (NOT A SUBJECT)
Seldom
Then (NOT THAN) Today
Also Now Rather
Soon
Yesterday Too
Very
Alone
Almost
Even
Adverbs that describe verbs:
John ate quickly.
I walk there.
Ashley will eat soon.
Adverbs that describe adjectives:
Rex is very happy.
The program was too unrealistic.
Adverbs that describe other adverbs:
Warren walks too quickly.
He moved rather recently.
PRACTICE
Adjective or Adverb?
My friend wore a red dress
to the birthday party.
ADJECTIVE
Nina was rather late to school.
ADVERB
He walks fast.
ADVERB
She was a good student.
ADJECTIVE
Why are you so tired?
ADVERB
Why are you so tired?
ADJECTIVE
I am not purposefully insulting
you.
ADVERB
I am not purposefully insulting
you.
ADVERB
Tired and hungry, the kids
arrived at camp.
ADJECTIVE
She is jealous.
ADJECTIVE