Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech
All words in the English language fall into eight groups. The eight parts of speech [Eight classes of words that have a particular form, function, and meaning; that is, verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs] are listed here. The function of a word determines its part of speech in that sentence. 1. Nouns (Person, thing, quality, place, idea) 2. Pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, they) 3. Verbs (think/thought/ had thought, change/changed/had changed, jump/jumped/had jumped, trip/tripped/had tripped, become/became/had become, happen/happened/had happened, occur/occurred/had occurred, is, am, were, was, are, be, being, been 4. Adverbs (They specify when, where, how, and to what extent. An –ly ending may signal an adverb.) 5. Adjectives (Red house, tall girl) describes or modifies a noun or pronoun 6. -------------------------------------------------
Prepositions (about, above, across, after, against, along, along with, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, for, from, in, inside, inside of, into, near, next to, off, on, onto, on top of, out, out of, outside, over, past, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, within)
A noun [The name of a person, thing quality, place, or idea] is a: 7. Person: For example, Jessica Simpson, reporter 8. Thing: For example, table, highchair, Mt. Vesuvius 9. Quality: For example, joy, mystery, complexity 10. Place: For example, town, Saratoga Springs, river, Red Sea 11. Idea: For example, love, peace, failure

Types of Nouns 12. Common nouns [Class of general names that are not usually capitalized] name a general class of thing and do not begin with a capital letter.
Example: hurricane, member, earth 13. Proper nouns [Refers to a specific person, place, or thing; takes an initial capital letter] name a specific person, place, or thing and begin with a capital letter.
Example: US Senate; San Diego Zoo; Boise, Idaho; Statue of Liberty 14. Count nouns [A thing countable in English for which a plural can be formed] name a thing considered countable in English and can be made plural.
Example: man, men; town, towns; baby, babies 15. Noncount nouns [A thing not countable in English for which there is no plural] are things or quantities not countable in English and do not form plurals.
Example: furniture, cash, poetry 16. -------------------------------------------------
Collective nouns [Refers to a group or type, rather than a specific thing] are singular in form but names a group.
Example: colony, litter, pair
Pronouns
Pronouns are used as a substitute for nouns. In the following example, the word he substitutes for Neven Martin, making the sentence easier to read: “Neven Martin learned how to walk when he was one year old.”
Pronouns fall into one of the following categories, depending on its use:
Personal pronoun refers to a specific individual or individuals.
Example:
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
You are my best friend.
Indefinite pronoun does not refer to a specific noun.
Example:
anyone, anything, everything, no one, somebody
Nobody move.
Pronouns (Continued)
Relative pronoun relates a group of words to a noun or pronoun.
Example:
who, whoever, which, that
Anyone who wants to go, get on the bus.
Interrogative pronoun introduces a question.
Example:
who, whom, whose, which, what
Whose book is this?
Demonstrative pronoun identifies or points to a noun.
Example:
this, these, that, those
Those dogs are Keeshonden.
Intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or another pronoun.
Example:
myself, himself, itself, themselves
The question itself is confusing.
-------------------------------------------------
Reflexive pronoun indicates that the sentence subject also receives the action of the verb.
Example:
myself, himself, itself, themselves
Colin outwitted himself.
Verbs [Words that express action or a state of being] are used to express: * An action in any tense, such as think/thought/ had thought, change/changed/had changed, jump/jumped/had jumped, trip/tripped/had tripped * An occurrence in any tense, such as become/became/had become, happen/happened/had happened, occur/occurred/had occurred * A state of being, such as is, am, were, was, are, be, being, been

Forms of Verbs
Verbs have five distinct forms. If the word can take on the following five forms—and still make sense in the sentence—the word is a verb.
Plain: The dictionary form of the verb. that is love, grab.
-s form: The singular present tense form of the word ends in –s or –es that is loves, grabs.
Past-tense: Indicates that the action of the verb occurred sometime in the past that is loved, grabbed.
Past participle: Is usually the same as past tense form (except in most irregular verbs) that is has created, was filmed.
Present participle: Adds –ing to the verb's plain form that is loving, grabbing.
Helping verbs [(had been working, was running) combines with a regular verb to indicate time, possibility, obligation, etc] combine with some verb forms to indicate time, possibility, obligation, necessity, and other meaning. For example, in the verb phrase can run, the main verb run carries the principal meaning and can is the helping verb that indicates possibility.
These are the most common helping verbs: be able to, be supposed to, can, could, had better, have to, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, used to, will, would
Forms of be: be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being
Forms of have: have, has, had, having
-------------------------------------------------
Forms of do: do, does, did

Adjectives [(Red house, tall girl) describes or modifies a noun or pronoun] describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They specify which one, what quality, or how many. In this example, careless is the adjective that describes a quality of the noun, girl:
The careless girl is my friend, Ella.
Adjectives also specify which one, what quality, or how many. In the following examples, frugal describes one and two describes how many doves:
Isaac is the frugal one.
-------------------------------------------------
He gave me two doves.
Adverbs [(Very friendly, hardly ever went) a word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, or a group of words] describe or modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They specify when, where, how, and to what extent. An –ly ending may signal an adverb.
In the following example, carelessly modifies how Miguel tripped:
Miguel carelessly tripped over the rock.
In this example, quickly modifies the verb grew, and too modifies the adverb quickly:
The children grew up too quickly.
Adverbs are a specialty item. They can modify themselves, as in:
The fun ended too quickly.
Both too and quickly are adverbs.
They can modify adjectives, as in:
I wish she were more generous with her time.
More is an adverb. Generous is an adjective.
They can modify verbs, as in:
The harsh comments nearly destroyed Peter's self-confidence.
Nearly is an adverb. Destroyed is a verb.
-------------------------------------------------
Adverbs express time, place, manner, or cause. They answer questions:
When: This afternoon, the forecast is for thunderstorms and tornadoes.
How: Let's get this done quickly.
How often: Adverbs frequently end in ly.
Where: Put the box down over there.
Prepositions are linking words that form nouns or pronouns into word groups called prepositional phrases [(In the garden, after the fact) a word that connects a thing in space or time]. In the following examples, the bold words are the prepositions and the italic words from the prepositional phrase:
Johnny ran up the hall.
The squirrel scampered along the top of the fence.
On our way to school, we walk past the garden gate.
Examples of Common Prepositions:
Time or space (position or direction) about, above, across, after, against, along, along with, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, for, from, in, inside, inside of, into, near, next to, off, on, onto, on top of, out, out of, outside, over, past, since, through, throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, up, upon, within
-------------------------------------------------
Other relationship (addition, comparison, etc.) according to, as, as for, aside from, because of, concerning, despite, except, except for, excepting, in addition to, in spite of, instead of, like, of, on account of, regarding, regardless of, unlike, with, without
Conjunctions join groups of words together for a particular purpose. Conjunctions fall into three categories:
Subordinating conjunctions [Joining words which connect unequal clauses, a main and a subordinate (since, because)] form sentences into subordinate clauses. They convey meaning without help from other function words.
Examples: when the class ended, as the sky darkened, once the music stopped.
Coordinating conjunctions [Joining words which connect clauses of equal value, two main clauses (and, but, or, nor, so, for)] connect words of the same kind, such as nouns or sentences.
Examples: I bought the chocolate cake, and we ate it together. The game was cancelled so we went to a movie instead.
Correlative conjunctions [Joining words that show reciprocal relationship (not only, but also)] are a combination of coordinating conjunctions and other words.
Examples: The team lost not only the game but also their hopes of winning the title. Casey wants either chocolate or strawberry ice cream.
Examples: Categories of Conjunctions:
Common subordinating conjunctions after, although, as, as is, as long as, as though, because, before, even if, if though, if, if only, in order that, now that, once, provided, rather than, since, so that, than, that, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, whether, while
Coordinating conjunctions and, but, nor, or, for, so yet
-------------------------------------------------
Common correlative conjunctions both and, not only but also, not but, either or, neither nor, whether or, as as
Interjections [Informal words that express feeling] are words that express feeling or command attention. Interjections are often set off with exclamation points, as in these examples: * Wow! That is a giant pumpkin. * Hurray! Our number was finally called. * Hey! I'm over here. * -------------------------------------------------
Ouch! You stepped on my foot.
Clauses [Group of words that contain both a subject and a verb] are any group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate. There are two kinds of clauses:
A main clause [A complete sentence] makes a complete statement and can stand alone.
Example: The stew thickened.
-------------------------------------------------
A subordinate clause [A group of words that contain both subject and verb, but do not form a complete sentence] is like a main clause but begins with a subordination word.
Example: When the stew thickened
Sentence Types
There are four basic sentence types. The difference is in the number of main and subordinate clauses.
A simple sentence [One single main clause] has a single main clause.
Recognizing simple sentences: A simple sentence consists of a single main clause and no subordinate clause.
-------------------------------------------------
Examples:
Last summer was unusually hot. (main clause)
The summer made many farmers leave the area for good or reduced them to bare existence. (main clause)
A compound sentence [Two or more main clauses] has two or more main clauses.
Recognizing compound sentences: A compound sentence consists of two or more main clauses and subordinate clause. The clauses may be joined by a coordinating conjunction and a comma, by a semicolon alone, or by a conjunctive adverb and a semicolon.
-------------------------------------------------
Examples:
Last July was hot, but August was even hotter.
(where main clause consists of “Last July was hot” and “August was even hotter.”
The hot sun scorched the earth; the lack of rain killed many crops.
(where main clause consists of, “The hot sun scorched the earth” and “The lack of rain killed many crops.”
A complex sentence [One main clause and one or more subordinate clauses] has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
Recognizing complex sentences: A complex sentence contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
Examples:
Rain finally came, although many had left the area by then.
(where main clause consists of “Rain finally came” and subordinate clause consists of “although many had left the area by then”)
Those who remained were able to start anew because the government came to their aid.
(where main clause consists of “Those who remained were able to start anew” and subordinate clause consists of “who remained” and “because the government came to their aid”)
-------------------------------------------------
Notice that the length does not determine whether a sentence is complex or simple; both kinds can be short or long.
A compound-complex sentence [Two or more main clauses and at least one subordinate clause] has two or more main clauses and at least one subordinate clause.
Recognizing complex-compound sentences: A compound-complex sentence has characteristics of both the compound sentence (two or more main clauses) and the complex sentence (at least one subordinate clause).
-------------------------------------------------
Examples:
Even though government aid finally came, many people had already been reduced to poverty, and others had been forced to move.
(where subordinate clause consists of “Even though government aid finally came” and main clause consists of “many people had already been reduced to poverty” and “others had been forced to move”)
Recognizing Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers
A modifier [An adjective, adverb, or words that act like them, that adjust meaning or specify another word] describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept. A modifier is misplaced when it falls in the wrong place in the sentence. In the first sentence, it is unclear what the adverb only is modifying—the verb give or the kinds of organizations to which Suzie gives money:
Confusing: Suzie only gives money to licensed charities.
Clear: Suzie gives money only to licensed charities.
A dangling modifier [Does not sensibly modify anything in the sentence] is a word or phrase that does not clearly modify anything in the sentence; it appears to modify something outside of the sentence. In this example, readers assume that the modifier running wild will modify the subject parks; when that is not the case, the modifier is said to dangle.
-------------------------------------------------
Dangling: Running wild, parks gives dogs a place to romp.
Recognizing Sentence Fragments
A word group punctuated as a sentence may irritate readers if the word group lacks needed parts, has too many parts, or has parts that don't fit together.
A sentence fragment [A clause or phrase that does not independently form a sentence] is part of a sentence that appears to be a whole sentence because a word has been capitalized or ending punctuation exists. Consider the examples shown on the next slide.
Complete sentence versus sentence fragment:
A complete sentence or main clause * contains a subject and a verb (The wind blows) * and is not a subordinate clause (beginning with a word such as because or who).
A sentence fragment * lacks a verb (The wind blowing) * or lacks a subject (And blows) * ------------------------------------------------- or is a subordinate clause not attached to a complete sentence (Because the wind blows). 1. ------------------------------------------------- Sentence Fragment: Look for the sentence that has a period dividing each. Then look at the sentences second part and see if you move it to the front to see if it sounds right. 2. -------------------------------------------------
Parallelism: in sentences can be found by looking at the smallest sentence and see if it compacts the subjects in the sentence to where the sentence can be read clearly. 3. -------------------------------------------------
Inferences: refers to the steps we take in our minds from the PREMISE(S) to conclusion in the text written by the author we read. To infer something means to, “read between the lines.” EXAMPLE: “The weather forecast calls for rain. You should take a umbrella today.” The author is inferring that there is a good chance of you getting wet. 4. -------------------------------------------------
Essay Organization: In writing a essay you want to organize it in this structure. Topic sentence, detail, more specific detail, even more specific detail. “General to specific” 5. -------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------

Recognizing Comma Splices and Fused Sentences
Two common problems that occur when punctuating main clauses are the comma splice and the fused sentence.
A comma splice [Two main clauses that are joined incorrectly by a comma, omitting the coordinating conjunction] occurs when clauses are joined with only a comma.
Elizabeth enjoys walking through the country, she often goes backpacking on her vacations.
Fused sentence [Two main clauses that are joined incorrectly by omitting proper punctuation and conjunctions] (also known as a run-on sentence), is one in which no punctuation exists between clauses. EXAMPLE: Samuel didn't know which job to take he was too confused to decide.
Situations that may produce comma splices and fused sentences:
The first clause is negative; the second, positive:
Splice: Petric is not a nurse, she is a doctor.
Revised: Petric is not a nurse; she is a doctor.
The second clause amplifies or illustrates the first:
Fused: She did well in college her average was 3.9.
Revised: She did well in college: her average was 3.9.
The second clause contains a conjunctive adverb or other transitional expression, such as however or for example:
Splice: She had intended to become a biologist, however, medicine seemed more exciting.
Revised: She had intended to become a biologist; however, medicine seemed more exciting.
The subject of the second clause repeats or refers to the subject of the first clause:
Fused: Petric is an internist she practices in Topeka.
Revised: Petric is an internist. She practices in Topeka.
-------------------------------------------------

Recognizing Mixed Sentences
A mixed sentence [A sentence whose grammar or meaning does not function together properly] contains parts that do not fit together. This mismatch may be in grammar or in meaning.
A sentence that uses mixed grammar typically starts with one grammatical plan and ends with another plan.
For mixed sentences:
Mixed: A compromise between the city and the country would be the ideal place to live.
Revised: A community that offered the best qualities of both city and country would be the ideal place to live.
For mixed grammar:
Mixed: By paying more attention to impressions than facts leads us to misjudge others, where “By paying more attention to impressions than facts” is the modifier (prepositional phrase) and “leads” is the “verb”.
Revised: By paying more attention to impressions than facts, we misjudge others, where “By paying more attention to impressions than facts” is the modifier (prepositional phrase), “we” is the “subject”, “misjudge” is the “verb”.