WEEKS 1 & 2 – Introduction to the Parts of Speech
PARTS OF SPEECH
Parts of speech
are the basic types of words that English has. Every word in the English
language falls into one of these categories.
Most grammar books say that there are eight parts of speech: nouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and
interjections. Some grammar books add another, articles, as a part of
speech. For this class, articles will be
included with the adjectives.
It is important to be able to
recognize and identify the different types of words in English so that you can
understand grammar explanations and use the right word form in the right place.
A fun and easy way to remember the parts of speech is
with the mnemonic, the name “IVAN CAPP.”
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I
= interjection
V
= verb
A
= adjective
N
= noun
C
= conjunction
A
= adverb
P
= Preposition
P
= Pronoun
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NOUN
Nouns are words, phrases or clauses that name a
person, place, thing, idea, or quality.
Categories for nouns:
– Common
– Proper
– Compound
– Collective
– As adverbs
– Concrete
– Abstract
– Countable
– Non-countable
– Verbal nouns (gerunds)
A noun can be used in a
sentence as
– Subject
– Direct object
– Indirect object
– Object of a preposition
– Predicate Noun
PRONOUNS
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. An antecedent
is a word or group of words to which a pronoun refers. If the antecedent is singular, the pronoun
must be singular. If the antecedent is
plural, then the pronoun must be plural.
Various types of pronouns
– Personal
o
Subjective case
o
Objective case
o
Possessive case
– Reflexive or intensive
– Demonstrative
– Relative
– Interrogative
– Extended
– Indefinite
ADJECTIVE
Adjective: An
adjective is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies (changes, limits,
describes, transforms, qualifies) a noun or pronoun.
– Adjectives answer the following questions: Which one? What kind of? and How many?
– Adjectives may be placed before the noun, after the
noun, or after a state of being or linking verb.
VERB
Verb: A verb is
a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main
part of the predicate of a sentence.
Categories for Verbs:
– Action
– State of being
– Linking
Verbs have voice
– Active: the
action of the verb is performed by the subject of the sentence.
– Passive: the
action of the verb is performed upon the subject of the sentence.
Agreement in number
– Singular subjects and singular verbs; plural subjects
and plural verbs
All sentences have verbs
– Imperative sentences may appear to be missing the
subject, but it is an understood “you.”
All verbs have 4 principle
parts:
1)
present stem;
2)
past tense
3)
past participle
4)
present participle. eg. look, looked, looked. looking.
ADVERB
Adverb: An
adverb is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies (changes, limits, describes,
transforms, qualifies) a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
– Adverbs answer the following questions: How? When? Where? To what extent? How
much? How often?
– Placement:
Adverbs of one word almost always come before the word modified. Clauses and phrases should be placed as
closely as possible to the verb is modifies.
– Formation:
Adverbs can be formed by adding “-ly” to an adjective. (e.g.
correctly, happily, sparingly)
Another way to form an adverb is to place an adjective in the following
formula: “in a _________ manner.”
PREPOSITION
Preposition: A
preposition is a word that links a noun or pronoun with some other word or words (usually nouns or pronouns) in
a sentence.
– A preposition always comes before the noun (object of
the preposition)
– Prepositional phrases can be adjectival or adverbial.
CONJUNCTION
Conjunction: A
conjunction is a word or words used to join other words, phrases, or clauses.
– Coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (“FANBOYS”)
– Correlative conjunctions: either … or; neither … nor; not only … but
also; both … and; etc.
– Adverbial conjunctions: although, if, because, since (these join
subordinate clauses)
– Generally, conjunctions appear within the
sentence. On rare occasions, a
conjunction may begin a sentence or paragraph.
INTERJECTION
Interjection:
An interjection is a word or group of words expressing emotion or
feeling, however slight. Also, this part
of speech doesn’t fit into any of the other categories of the parts of speech.
Examples: Well, I don’t think so.
Marvelous! You have done an incredible
job.
Oh no.
This is terrible.
Underline
the subject once and label it with “S;” 
Circle the predicate
complement, i.e. the Direct Object, the Indirect Object, the Predicate Noun, or
the Predicate Adjective