Englis

hI

Parts of Speech
NOUNS: What is a noun? A noun is a word that names a person, animal, place, thing, or idea. There are more nouns in the
English Language than any other kind of word.
Persons
teacher
student
girl
Tanya

Animals
shark
hamster
fish
aardvark

Places
school
gym
Lake Erie
Chicago

Things
pen
computer
mailbox
skateboard

Ideas
concentration
wisdom
kindness
freedom

A, an, and the are special words called articles. They are noun determiners, and they tip you off that theres a noun coming up
in the sentence.

Singular and Plural Nouns: Singular means one of something, and plural means more than one.
Five ways to make nouns plural:
1. You can make most nouns plural by adding an s. EX: one pencil two pencils
2. If the noun ends with s, ch, sh, x, or z, add es to make it plural. EX: one dress two dresses; one brush two
brushes
3. To make some nouns that end with f or fe plural, change the f to a v and add es. EX: knife knives; half halves
4. Add s if the letter in front of the y is a vowel, to make plural a noun that ends in y. EX: toy toys; key keys
5. Drop the y and add ies if the letter in front of the y is a consonant. EX: dictionary dictionaries; penny pennies
Some nouns have tricky plurals: EX: one man a group of men; one deer two deer; one child several children

Common and Proper Nouns:

A common noun names any regular, ordinary person, animal, place, thing, or idea. The first letter is not capitalized.

EX:

student; town; president; dog; policeman; butterfly; nephew; adore

A proper noun names a very specific, very particular person, animal, place, thing, or idea, and it always begins with a capital
letter. EX: John Barrett; Allen Eagles; Thomas Jefferson; Texas State Fair

Concrete and Abstract Nouns:

A concrete noun names an object that occupies space or can be recognized by any of the senses.
EX: sneeze; star; explosion; hedgehog; chimney; child; bicycle
An abstract noun names an idea, a quality, or a characteristic. EX: politeness; self-reliance; honesty; love; beauty; sincerity

Pronouns: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, a group or words acting as a noun, or another
pronoun.

EX: Bobby he, him; Sally she, her; The deer it; Mountains they, them

A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing that can be either singular or plural. The first person
indicates the person speaking, and the second person indicates the person being addressed. The third person
indicates the person or thing being discussed.
First Person
Second Person
Third Person

Singular
I, me
you
he, him, she, her it

Plural
we, us
you
them

EX: We are aware that you will be bringing them to the party.

A possessive pronoun indicates possession or ownership, and it takes the place of the possessive form of a noun.
First Person
Second Person
Third Person

Singular
my, mine
your, yours
his, her, hers, its

Plural
our, ours
your, yours
their, theirs

EX: My coat and your book bag are in her locker.

A reflexive pronoun refers to a noun or another pronoun and indicates that the same person or thing is involved.
EX: I bought myself a pair of jeans.

An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to a noun or another pronoun. EX: I, myself, bought a pair of jeans.
An interrogative pronoun is used to form a question. Who? Whom? Whose? What? Which?
EX: Which is the correct answer?

A relative pronoun is used to begin some subject verb word groups called subordinate clauses. (that; who; whom;
whose; whoever; whomever; whosoever; whatever; which; whichever; what)
EX: Maya is the student who wrote the article.

A demonstrative pronoun points out specific persons, places, things, or ideas. (this; these; that; those)
EX: This marker writes in a very bold fashion.

An indefinite pronoun refers to persons, places, things, or ideas in a more general way than a noun does. (all;
another; any; anybody; anyone; anything; both; each; either; everybody; everyone; everything; few; many; most;
neither; nobody; none; no one; nothing; one; other; others; several; some; somebody; someone; something)
EX: No one knew the time. Perhaps everybody will come to the game.

VERBS: What is a verb? A verb is a word that shows action or state of being. Whatever you do can be
expressed by a verb.
1. Main Verb: The main verb expresses the main action or state of being in the sentence.
EX: The principal called Julio into his office. Now Julio is nervous.

2. Helping Verb: Helping verbs help the main verb express tense. There are twenty-three of these verbs. (Some
teachers call these verbs AUXILIARY VERBS.) (am; is; are; was; were; be; being; been; do; does; did; have; has;
had; may; must; might; can; could; shall; should; will; would)
A main verb can have up to three helping verbs. EX: Rozzie was laughing so hard that she spilled her soda.
EX: Jose should have known the answer to the math question.
EX: Kim will have been waiting an hour by the time we get there.

3. Action Verb: An action verb tells what someone or something does. The action can be physical, mental, or
emotional.
EX: The students evacuated the building. EX: Kathleen decided to jump rope.
A transitive action verb is followed by a noun that answers what? or whom? This is known as the direct object
(DO). An intransitive action verb is NOT followed by a noun that answers what? or whom?
EX: Leslie threw the ball. (Ball tells what Leslie threw making this a transitive action verb.)
EX: The ball landed on the ground. (On the ground answers where?, not what?, or whom? making this an intransitive
action verb.

4. Linking Verb: A linking verb links the subject to the other words in the sentence. Linking verbs do NOT show
action; they show a condition of existence. They just say that someone or something is, was, or will be.
TO BE: The verb to be (sometimes called the verb of being) is the most common, most popular, most used verb in
the English Language.
You use this verb dozens of
Present Tense:
I am.
times every day without
realizing it. There are only
Past
Tense:
I
was.
eight BE verbs. (am;
is; are; was; were; be;
Future Tense:
I will be.
being; been)
There are six tenses of
be.

Present Perfect Tense:

Past Perfect Tense:
Future Perfect Tense:

I have been.
I had been.
I will have been.

the ever-popular verb to

More Linking Verbs: Here is another list of the most common linking verbs except for to be. (to seem; to appear;
to look; to sound; to feel; to taste; to grow; to remain; to smell; to become)
Linking verbs are NEVER followed by direct objects (DO), but instead are followed by nouns (called predicate
nominatives (PN) which rename the subject) or adjectives (called predicate adjectives (PA) which describe the
subject).
******Sometimes a verb can function as a linking verb in one sentence and an action verb in the next. When it is an
action verb, it will NOT be followed by a predicate nominative (PN) or a predicate adjective (PA).
EX: Linking Verb That does not sound right to me. Action Verb Sound the fire alarm!
EX: Linking Verb The stew smells delicious. Action Verb Can you smell the garlic in this stew?

EX: Linking Verb I think my soup tastes too salty. Action Verb May I taste some Bubble Delight yogurt?

ADJECTIVES: What is an adjective? An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun or a pronoun. An
adjective describes or modifies (limits the use of) a noun.
Adjectives usually answer three questions about the nouns they describe.
1. Which one? EX: Ill take that dress.
2. What kind of? EX: Roslyn spotted a huge monster in the cave.
3. How many? EX: Six ice cream cones, please.
There are three kinds of adjectives.
1. Demonstrative Adjectives: This, that, these, and those are called demonstrative adjectives. They
point out (demonstrate) nouns. They ALWAYS answer the question which one(s)?
2. Common Adjectives: A common adjective, like a common noun, is just a plain, ordinary, everyday
adjective. It describes a noun in a general way. It is not capitalized unless it is the first word in a sentence. (busy;
bitter; soft; colorful; warm; blue; sunny; juicy; grumpy; wet)
3. Proper Adjectives: A proper adjective is made from a proper noun. It is ALWAYS capitalized. Examples
Include:
Proper Noun China; Ireland; Mars; U.S. Constitution / Proper Adjectives Chinese;
Irish; Martian; Constitutional

Sometimes a proper noun does not change its form at all to become a proper adjective. Remember, a word is an
adjective when it describes a noun, and all proper nouns can be made into or used as proper adjectives.
EX: She is a Hollywood actress with a Texas accent who loves Idaho potatoes and New England clam chowder.

Comparison of Adjectives: Positive, Comparative, and Superlative

Sometimes one person or thing is taller or bigger or faster than someone or something else. Sometimes one person or thing is
the tallest or biggest or fastest of all. To show the comparisons, and adjective can be expressed three ways (called degrees).
Positive Degrees (describing one)
great
disgusting

Comparative Degrees (comparing two)

greater
more disgusting

Superlative Degree (comparing more than two)

greatest
most disgusting

Where an adjective goes in a sentence:

Usually an adjective comes in front of the noun it is describing.
EX: The gigantic creature was hiding in the scary cave on a clear day.

But an adjective can also come after a linking verb, such as to be, and describe the subject of the sentence. Then it
is called a predicate adjective (PA).
EX: The creature was gigantic.
EX: The cave was scary.
EX: The day was clear.

(Gigantic describes the creature.)

(Scary describes the cave.)

(Clear describes the day.)

ADVERBS: What is an adverb? An adverb is a word that tells us more about 1) a verb, 2) an adjective, 3)
another adverb. We sometimes say that an adverb describes or modifies (limits the meaning of) these words.
When Adverbs Describe Verbs:
Adverbs answer four questions about the verbs they describe: 1. When? 2. Where? 3. How? 4. To What Degree?
1. When? EX: The pig danced yesterday.
Before
Periodically
Never

Some words that tell when:

Immediately
Lately
Then

Sometimes
Suddenly
Finally

Daily
Eventually
Now

2. Where? EX: The pig danced here. Some words that tell where:
Above
Down
Inside
Everywhere
Here
There
Outside
Away
Near
******Some of these adverbs can also be used as prepositions!
EX: near the boat
EX: up the stairs

3. How? EX: The pig danced terribly.

Anywhere
Backward
Up

Some words that tell how:

Badly
Fast
Stupidly
Loudly
Gracefully
Cleverly
Vigorously
Eagerly
Skillfully
Easily
Slowly
Wildly
******Adverbs which answer the question how? usually modify verbs!

4. To What Degree? EX: The pig danced extremely badly.

Brilliantly
Quietly
Well
Too

Some words that tell to what degree:

Extremely
Decidedly
Remarkably
Largely
Very
Too
Fully
Somewhat
Annoyingly
Not
Rather
Quite
******Adverbs which answer the question to what degree? usually modify adjectives and other adverbs!
The three most common adverbs used in English are not, very, and too.

How to change an adjective into an adverb: Many (but not all) adverbs end with the
letters ly. You can often change an adjective into an adverb by adding ly. EX: soft + ly = softly
awful + ly = awfully
Remember: The acronym AVA (Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs) lists the types of words adverbs modify!

EX:

PREPOSITIONS
Four things prepositions tell:
1. Location: Amandas guinea pig is outside her cage.
2. Direction: Amandas guinea pig ran to her cage.
3. Time: Ill wait until noon, and then Im leaving.

During the carnival, Simon lost his shoe.

4. Relationship: Sasha went to the Halloween party with Shana. This exciting book was written by Mark Twain.

Comprehensive List of Prepositions:

Aboard
About
Above
Across
After
Against
Along
Alongside
Among
Around
As
At
Before
Behind

Below
Beneath
Beside
Besides
Between
Beyod
But
By
Despite
Down
During
Except
For
From

In
Inside
Into
Like
Near
Of
Off
On
Onto
Out
Outside
Over
Past
Round

Since
Through
Throughout
Till
To
Toward
Under
Underneath
Until
Up
Upon
With
Within
Without

******Some of the words on this list are not always prepositions. For example, about, since, and until can also be
conjunctions. It depends on how the word is used in a particular sentence.

COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS: Compound prepositions are two or more words working together like a oneword preposition. Here are some examples:

According to
Along with
Away from
By way of
Except for

In back of
In front of
In spite of
Out of
Up to

Ahead of
As for
Because of
Due to
In addition to

In case of
In regard to
Instead of
With exception of