2. Learning the 8 Parts of Speech helps you to develop
the working vocabulary necessary to discuss and study
a language.
You especially need to recognize the parts of speech in
the context of sentences.
That is because many words function in more than one
role.
Only by analyzing the sentence at hand can you see
how a given word functions.
It may be unlikely that your boss will ever ask you to
identify the parts of speech in a document.
3. But being able to do so will help you to punctuate
correctly and choose precise words for clear, powerful
writing and speech.
In addition, understanding the roles different parts of
speech play in written and oral communication will be
helpful when you learn another language.
4. In elementary school, you probably learned that a noun is
a person, place or thing.
In addition, nouns also name qualities, feelings, concepts,
activities and measures.
5. Nouns are important words in our lanuage.
Sentences revolve around nouns because these words
function both as subjects and as objects of verbs.
To determine whether a word is really a noun, try using it
with the word is or are.
Notice that all the nouns listed here would make sense if
used in this way.
6. Pronouns are words used in place of nouns.
As noun substitutes, pronouns provide variety and
efficiency.
Compare these two versions of the same sentence:
Without pronouns:
Scott gave the book to Kelly so that Kelly could use
the book to study.
With pronouns:
Scott gave the book to Kelly so that she could us it
to study.
7. In sentences, Pronouns may function as subjects of
verbs (ex. I, we, they, he, she, it) or as objects of the
verbs (ex. me, us, them).
They may act as connectors (ex. that, which, who) or
and they may show possession (ex. mine, ours, hers,
theirs).
Please note that words such as his, my, hers, its are
classified as adjectives when they describe nouns (ex.
his car, my desk, its engine).
8. Verbs express an action, an occurrence or a state of
being.
Jason built an excellentweb site. (action)
Actions verbs show the action of a sentence.
It has many links. (occurrence)
He is very proud of it. (state of being)
Verbs that express a state of being generally link
to the subjectwords that describe or rename it.
The linking verbs that express the senses:
feels, appears, tastes, sounds, seems, looks.
9. At this point, it is important that you be able recognize
verbs so that you can determine whether sentences are
complete.
All sentences must, must, must have at least one
verb…sometimes there is more than one verb and
sometimes they appear singly or in phrases.
10. Words that descrive nouns or pronouns are called
adjectives.
They often answer the questions: What kind? How
many? and Which one?
Small, independent businesses are becoming
numerous.
What kinds of businesses?
We have six franchises in four states.
How many franchises? How many states?
That chain of clubs started as a small operation.
Which chain? What kind of operation?
11. He is energetic and forceful while she is personable
and deliberate.
What pronouns do these adjectives describe?
Adjectives usually precede nouns.
Threewords (a, an, and the) form a special group
of adjectives called articles.
12. Words that modify (describe or limit) verbs, adjectives
or other adverbs are called adverbs.
Adverbs usually answer the questions When? How?
Where and To what extent?
Today we must complete the project.
Must complete the project when?
Mitch approached the intersection cautiously.
Approached how?
He seems especially competent.
How competent?
13. Did you see the television there?
Where?
The prosecutor did not question him further.
Questioned him to what extent?
Many, but not all, words ending in ly are adverbs.
14. Prepositions join nouns and pronouns to other words
in a sentence.
As the word suggests (pre- meaning before), a
preposition is a word in a position before its object (a
noun or pronoun).
Prepositions are used in phrases to show a relationship
between the object of the preposition and another
word in the sentence.
15. In the following sentence, notice how the preposition
changes the relation of the object to the verb:
Brian often talked with Paul.
Brian often talked about Paul.
Brian often talked to Paul.
Learn to recognize objects of prepositions so that you
don’t confuse them with sentence subjects.
16. Words that connect other words or groups of words are
conjunctions.
The most common are and, but, or and nor…they are
called coordinating conjunctions because they join
equal (or coordinate) parts of sentences.
Yuki, Dan and Kristi are all looking for jobs.
Joins equal words.
You may be interviewed by a human resources officer or
by a supervising manager.
Joins equal groups of words.
17. Words expressing strong feelings are interjections.
Standing alone, they are followed by exclamation
points.
When woven into a sentence, they are usually followed
by commas.
Wow! Did you see what she wrote in her email message?
Oops! I forgot to send the attachment.
18. You need to know the functions of these 8 parts of
speech in order to understand and profit from your
study of this language.
At this stage, you should not be able to identify the
functions of all words in all sentences.
Whatever stage you find yourself at this
moment…please be patient with your progress! Don’t
give up!
19. Review…What are the 8 Parts of
Speech?
Go over last night’s homework…was
everyone able to use all 8 parts of
speech in a sentence?
Complete another worksheet in which
we need to be able to identify the
different parts of speech.
20. Quick review…who
can tell me what a
Noun is? A
Pronoun? Who
has a good sentence
from last night’s
homework using an
Adjective or an
Adverb? What
about your
sentences using
Conjunctions,
Prepositions or
Interjections?
21. A noun is a person, place, thing or idea.
All nouns are either common or proper.
A common noun names any person, place or thing.
Ex. basketball, pencil, desk, classroom
A proper noun names a specific person, place or thing
and begins with a capital letter.
Ex. New York City, Mother Theresa, Babe Ruth.
There are other specific types of nouns:
A collective noun is a group of people or things.
Ex. flock, team, class, group.
22. A compound noun is a noun consisting of more than a
single word.
It can be two separate words that mean something different
when put together…ex. physical education or social studies.
It could be two words joined by a hyphen…ex. make-up or merry-go-
round.
Or it could be a combined word…ex. schoolteacher, bookkeeper,
or landlord.
23. Who would like to
be my secretary
here?
If we do this right,
the 1st initials of
each noun should
spell out a
quotation and its
speaker!
24. A pronoun is a word used in place of one or more nouns.
We use pronouns to:
1. Refer to a noun (called its antecedent) that usually comes
before the pronoun.
2. Make our writing clearer, smoother and less awkward.
Roberto feels he can win the race.
He is the pronoun and Roberto is the antecedent.
Terry and Jim know that they are best friends.
What is the pronoun here?
The antecedent?
25. Personal Pronouns refer to people and things.
They are divided into three categories.
1. First person…referring to the person who is speaking.
1. (I went to the mall.)
2. Second person…referring to the person spoken to.
1. (Joey, can you see the bus?
3. Third person…referring to anyone or anything else.
1. (Bob saw us do this assignment.)
26. Reflexive Pronouns are formed by adding self or
selves to certain personal pronouns.
myself, youself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves
Interrogative Pronouns are used to ask a question.
Which, who, whom, whose
Demonstrative Pronoun is used to point out a
specific person or thing.
this, that, these, those
“Is this yours?”
Uses both this (demonstrative pronoun) and yours (personal
pronoun).
27. Indefinite Pronoun often does not refer to a specific person
or thing and it usually does not have a definite or specific
antecedent.
28.
29.
30. An adjective modifies (qualifies or limits the meaning
of) a noun or a pronoun.
Answers the questions What kind? Which one(s)?
How many? How much?
The words a, an and the are the most frequently used
adjectives…though sometimes referred to as articles or
noun markers, they are adjectives!!
Remember, use a before nouns starting with a
consonant & an before nouns starting with a vowel!!!
An adjective can come before or after the noun or
pronoun it describes.
31. A Proper Adjective is formed by a Proper Noun.
Italian bread, Midas touch. Italian & Midas are proper
nouns.
A Compound Adjective is a word composed of 2 or
more words…sometimes these words are hyphenated.
landmark decision, black-and-blue mark
Do not use a hyphen (-) after an adverb ending in –ly.
newly painted mural, recently purchased
32. People sometimes confuse adjectives with nouns or
pronouns.
Points to remember:
1. When is a word a noun? When is a word an adjective?
33. 2. When is a word a pronoun? When is a word an
adjective?
34.
35. Define Subject-Verb Agreement
Review the Rules that help to define
what that means in spoken English.
Understand why this will assist us in
communicating better our feelings as
well as the actions around us.
36. Basic Principle: The subject and the verb must agree in
number: both must be singular or both must be plural.
Rule 1. Collective nouns are usually singular when
regarded as a unit.
Ex: Our team has won every game this year.
Ex: My family lives in Puebla.
Rule 2. With the number of _______, use a singular verb.
Ex: The number of people we need to hire is 13.
However
With a number of _______ , use a plural verb.
Ex: A number of people have written about this subject.
37. Rule 3. When words like the following are used as
subjects, they take singular verb.
Ex: Everybody knows the answer.
Ex: Nobody speaks German here.
Ex: Somebody was in the room.
Ex: Every one of the cakes is gone.
Ex: Each of the students is responsible for his homework.
38. Rule 4. The pronouns neither and either are singular
when used as subjects and require singular verbs even
though they seem to be referring to two things.
Ex. Neither of the Christmas trees is as pretty as it was last
year.
In this example, it is the word “neither” that is the subject
of the sentence, not the plural word, “Christmas trees” so it
requires a singular noun.
Rule 5. Subjects joined by “and” take a plural verb.
Ex. Joan and Julia are workaholics.
Ex. The lion and the tiger were thought to be the main
attraction at the zoo.
39. Can anyone rememer what is an antecedent when
discussing a pronoun?
Remember that a pronoun agrees with its antecedent in
number and gender.
If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, then you
have to use a singular pronoun.
