Download Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech
Noun: a word that represents person, place, or thing. Inside of a sentence, a noun can serve as a subject, an
object, or a part of a phrase. Some nouns are harder-to-define objects such as emotions, countries, and ideals
(justice, for instance). For instance, patriotism, or love of one’s country, is a noun. The –ism ending on
“patriotism” shows that the word is a noun.
Subjects in sentences can be difficult to locate under certain conditions. The following link may provide
some helpful tips to understand and locate the subject of a sentence:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/subjects.htm To open the link, hold down the CTRL key
and click on the link at the same time. If this method (CTRL + click) doesn’t work, copy and paste
the link directly into your internet search browser.
Pronoun: a “replacement” noun, a word that serves as an ambassador for a noun. There are many
different types of pronouns; the most common pronouns are “I”, “he”, or “she” (subject pronouns) and
“me”, “him”, or “her” (object pronouns).
Adjective: a word that modifies—describes or limits—a noun or pronoun (Example: “That was an
“excellent” paragraph.” The adjective “excellent” modifies the noun paragraph.)
Adverb: a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. (Example: “You have done “ well” on
the test.” The adverb “well” modifies the verb have done.)
Verb: a word that shows action or a state of being (forms of “to be” used as linking verbs). For example,
read the following sentence: “Jim and Brady practice football and watch games on the weekends.” Both
“practice” and “watch” are verbs. Another example of a verb is a linking verb. You can test whether a verb is a
linking verb by substituting the word for an = sign. Other verbs are helping verbs (or auxiliary verbs); helping verbs
occur in sentences with other verbs, combining to create verb tenses.
Linking verb example: “Jaleesa is adventurous.” Using the linking verb test, “Jaleesa = adventurous”, as
a formula, is logical. Therefore, the “is” in this sentence is a linking verb.
Helping verb example: “Jaleesa is practicing for her debate.” Here, the “is” does not function the same way.
Preposition: a word that states a relationship between one noun and another. In Real Writing, there is a good
definition of this term with examples in Chapter 21.
Article: a word that behaves like a descriptive word and helps define a noun. There are different types of
articles.
Interjection: this part of speech acts to express surprise or strong emotion. The following sentence
begins with an interjection: “Alas, the store is out of marzipan.” The interjection “alas” shows the
emotion of regret in a way that is mild. Regard the following sentences for a stronger emotional
interjection example: “The store is out of marzipan. Alas!” Notice that the interjection “alas” is set as a
complete thought.