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The Parts of Speech
Words of the English Language are traditionally classified into parts of speech based on meaning and
usage in a sentence. The parts of speech are defined on this page.
Nouns-They tell us things. They are the names of people, places, things, or ideas. They
are colored yellow just as a yellow school crossing sign tells drivers to be aware of
students that might be crossing the road.
Verbs – Show action or state of being. They tell you what is happening, so they are
colored orange just like a detour sign.
Noun Markers (articles)- These three little words (a, an, the) are used often in the
English language. Just as a red light warns of a railroad crossing, these words warn
THERE’S A NOUN COMING!!!! They are color coded red and a red arrow goes from the
noun marker to the noun it modifies (describes).
Adjectives (Ad-nouns)- Adjectives modify (describe) nouns. They answer the questions –
Which one? What kind? How many? How much? Whose? They are color coded blue and
have a blue arrow going from the adjective to the noun it is modifying.
Prepositions – The students met either Preppy the squirrel or Preppy the puppy. Preppy
the squirrel lives in a green tree. Preppy the puppy lives in a green house. Both are used
to show the relationship between to things. Preppy can be on the house, in the house, by
the house, past the house, near the house, etc. These are all prepositional phrases. A
prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with either a noun or pronoun.
The preposition is underlined in green and the entire prepositional phrase is circled in
green.
Pronouns – Pronouns are noun replacements. They take the place of a noun so they are
yellow just as nouns are yellow.
Adverbs – Take the word adverb apart and you will find what it modifies. It can modify
adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. For our study the adjectives will usually modify the
verb. Not and very are always adverbs. Many adverbs end in –ly. Adverbs answer the
questions – How? When? and Where? Adverbs are color coded purple and have a purple
arrow going from them to the word that they modify.
Conjunctions- Conjunctions join word, phrases, and clauses together. The most common
conjunctions are and, but, or. These are color coded brown just like a wooden peg that
holds things together.
Interjections – Interjections are words that show strong emotion. There is no relationship
between them and the sentence that comes before or after them. Since they do not have
an important function, they are not color coded.