The Parts of Speech
An Overview
The Noun

A word or word group that names a
person, a place, a thing, or an idea.
The Noun

Names a person
– Secretary
– Mrs. Kathy
The Noun

Names a place
– School bus
– Pembroke Middle
The Noun

Names things
– Pencils
– desks
The Noun

Names ideas
– Love
– freedom
The Noun

There are 6 types of nouns
The Noun

1. common nouns
– Names any one of a group of persons, places,
things, or ideas
– Not capitalized

Examples:
–
–
–
–
–
–
scientist
woman
city
building
continent
day
The Noun

2. proper nouns
– Names a particular person, place, thing, or idea
– Is capitalized

. Examples
–
–
–
–
–
–
Marie Curie
Coretta Scott King
Cairo
Eiffel Tower
North America
Monday
The Noun

3. concrete noun
– Names a person, place or thing that can be seen,
heard, tasted, touched, or smelt
– Examples







Cloud
Poison
Ivy
Thunder
Silk
Yogurt
Sarah
The Noun
4.
Abstract noun
1. Names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a
characteristic
2. Cannot be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or
smelt physically
3. is mental
4. Examples
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Freedom
Well-being
Beauty
Kindness
Buddhism
The Noun

5. compound noun
– Consists of two or more words used
together as a single noun
– Examples



One word: firefighter, Iceland, newspaper
Separate words: prime minister, Red River
Dam, fire drill, race car driver
Hyphenated words: sister-in-law, Port-auPrince, pull-up
The Noun

6. collective noun
– A word that names a group
– Examples



People: audience, chorus, committee, crew
Animals: brood, flock, gaggle, herd
Things: assortment, batch, bundle, cluster
The Pronoun
A word that is used in place of one or
more nouns or pronouns
 Example:

– Stan bought a suit and an overcoat. He
will wear them.
The Pronoun

There are 6 types of pronouns.
The Pronoun

1. Personal pronouns
– Refers to the one speaking (1st person),
the one spoken to (2nd person), or the one
spoken about (3rd person).
Pronouns- Personal
– 1st person personal pronouns (the one
speaking)
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I
Me
My
Mine
We
Us
Our
ours
Pronouns- Personal

- 2nd person pronouns (the one spoken
to)
– You
– Your
– yours
Pronouns- Personal

- 3rd person pronouns (the one spoken about)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
He
Him
His
She
Her
Hers
It
its
They
Them
Their
theirs
Prounouns

2. Reflexive and Intensive
– Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject of a
sentence
– Intensive pronouns emphasize its
antecedent.
– Examples:



1st person: myself, ourselves
2nd person: yourself, yourselves
3rd person: himself, herself, itself, themselves
Prounouns

3. Demonstrative
– Demonstrative pronouns are used to point
out a specific person, place, thing, or idea.
– Examples:




This
That
These
those
Prounouns

4. Interrogative
– Interrogative pronouns introduce a
question

Examples:
–
–
–
–
–
Who
Whom
Which
What
Whose
Prounouns

5. Relative
– Relative pronouns introduce a subordinate
clause (a group of words that is not a
complete sentence, even though it has a
subject and a verb)

Examples:
–
–
–
–
–
That
Which
Who
Whom
Whose
Prounouns

6. Indefinite
– Indefinite pronouns refer
to one or more persons,
places, ideas or things
that may or may not be
specifically named.
– Refer to chart on page
381

Examples:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
All
Anybody
Both
Few
Many
Nobody
Somebody
Pronouns

Antecedents
– The word that a pronoun stands for or
refers to
– Example:

Why did Oscar give his camera to the film
school?
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that is used to
modify a noun or a pronoun.
 The word modify means “to describe”.

Adjectives

Adjectives answer three questions
about the word it modifies.
– 1. What kind?
– 2. Which one?
– 3. How many?
Adjectives
What kind?
 Example: gray skies

Adjectives
Which one?
 Example: last chance

Adjectives
How many?
 Example: five fingers

Adjectives
Adjectives usually come BEFORE the
noun or pronoun it modifies.
 Example:
 Ms. Barbara tells all students that good
workers will be given special privileges.

Adjectives
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Some words can be used as either adjectives
or pronouns.
Examples: this, that, these, those
These words, as you may recall, are
demonstrative pronouns.
However, they can also be used as adjectives
when they describe a noun or a pronoun.
Example:
Did Jennifer draw this picture or that one?
That is my favorite.
Adjectives
Some words can be used as either
adjectives or nouns.
 You must look at the way the word is
used in the sentence to determine its
part of speech.
 Example:
 I love cheese.
 I would like a cheese sandwich.

Adjectives
Proper adjectives are formed from
proper nouns.
 Examples:
 Texas coast
 Picasso painting

Adjectives
The most frequently used adjectives are
the ARTICLES.
 Articles are the three small words A,
AN, THE.

Adjectives
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A and AN are called indefinite articles
because they refer to any member of a
general group.
The indefinite article A is used before words
with a consonant sound
EXAMPLE:
A girl
The indefinite article AN is used before words
with a vowel sound.
EXAMPLE:
An elephant
Adjectives
THE is called the definite article
because it refers to something or
someone in particular.
 EXAMPLE
 The dog ran outside.

Verbs

A word that is used to express action or
a state of being
Verbs
Show action
 Can be physical or mental action
 Examples:

– Juanita mailed the package.
– I believe you.
Verbs
Show a state of being
 All forms of the verb BE are verbs that
show a state of being
 Example:

– He is happy.
– I am disappointed.
BE Verbs
Being
 Am
 Is
 Are
 Was
 Were
 be

Linking Verbs
A verb that connects the subject to a
word or word group that identifies or
describes the subject.
 Example:

– The answer is correct.
– The winners are happy.
Common Linking Verbs
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Be
am
Being
are
Were
shall be
Has been
have been
Shall have been
will have been
Should be
Should have been
Would have been
Could have been
is
was
will be
had been
can be
could be
would be
Other Linking Verbs
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Appear
Become
Feel
Grow
Look
Remain
Seem
Smell
Sound
Stay
Taste
turn
Verb Phrases
Verb phrases consist of one main verb
and one or more helping verbs.
 Helping verbs are also called auxillary
verbs.
 Helping verbs help the main verb
express action or a state of being.
 Example:

– The dog is leaving with my homework.
Verb Phrases

More examples:
– She had always been thinking of her
future.
– Has my sister played her new CD for you?
– She should not have borrowed that
necklace.
Adverbs

Modifies a verb, an adjective, or
another adverb.
Adverbs

Tell
– WHERE
– WHEN
– HOW
– TO WHAT EXTENT (how long or how
much)
Adverbs

Just as an adjective makes a noun or
pronoun more definite, an adverb
makes the meaning of a verb, an
adjective, or another adverb more
definite.
Common Adverbs
There
 Up
 Here
 Down
 Tomorrow
 Weekly
 Later
 early

More Common Adverbs
Quickly
 Softly
 Carefully
 Beautifully
 Completely
 Hardly
 Slightly
 Partly

Adverbs
Modify ADJECTIVES
 Example:

– Beth did an exceptionally fine job.
– Slightly cooler temperatures are forecast.
– Mr. Lomazzi is an especially talented chef.
ADVERBS modify verbs

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Adverbs also modify (or describe) verbs.
When they modify verbs, they tell HOW,
WHERE, WHEN, TO WHAT EXTENT.
EXAMPLES:
She quickly agreed.
He hardly moved.
We lived there.
Adverbs
Modify other ADVERBS
 Examples:

– Calvin was almost never there.
– We’ll meet shortly afterward.
– She slept too late.
Prepositions

Show the relationship of a noun or a
pronoun to another word
– Example:

UNDER my bed
Common Prepositions
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Think about any place a mouse can go.
ON
OVER
NEAR
THROUGH
ABOVE
BELOW
IN
AROUND
Refer to page 400 for more examples.
Object of the Preposition
This is the noun that the preposition
relates another word to
 The object of the preposition is always
a noun.
 The object of the preposition always
follows the preposition.

– EXAMPLE:

There is a mouse NEAR my bed.
Conjunctions

Words that join words or word groups
Common Conjunctions

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And
But
Or
Nor
So
For
Yet
These are called coordinating conjunctions
Common Conjunctions
Both…and
 Either…or
 Whether…or
 Not only…but also
 Neither…nor
 These are called correlative
conjunctions.

Examples of
Conjunctions
You AND I are friends.
 Both Jim and Roberto were outstanding
athletes.
