Download The Parts of Speech

The Parts of Speech
. Part of speech is the role a word can play in a sentence. That’s why a word can be more
than one part of speech – it can change roles depending on the situation and on how you use it. For
example, if you play golf, you might use a 9 iron. Iron is a noun here; it is part of the name of an
object. If you say the club is made of iron, it is still a noun. But if you say that you plan to iron your
good suit jacket before a meeting, iron is an action – a verb. When the clothes have been pressed,
you can say the ironed clothes are ready, and now it is an adjective. Don’t panic! The trick is to
understand the different roles words play in any sentence. Think of the Parts of Speech as the cast
and crew of a Hollywood movie production.
Term
Noun
Pronoun
Adjective
Definition
Person, place, thing, or idea
Includes several types,
including common and
proper
Movie role
Noun thinks it’s the star of the
show because it is the
“subject” and refuses to make
too many appearances; even
minor nouns insist on this.
Some nouns feel so important,
they insist on capital letters.
Note that there are many
nouns and each thinks it is
very important even though
only one is the subject of each
sentence (usually). Nouns are
chosen by the casting director
and props department;
choosing the right noun is
crucial!
Stands in for a noun
Pronoun is the stunt double
Includes several types,
who covers dangerous or
including nominative and
boring shots. As an insult to
objective
the stuck-up nouns, each
pronoun refers to his own
“star” as “Auntie;” the
pronoun pretends to say it
with respect, but really, the
“Auntie” term is a total insult.
The truth is, a pronoun must
never lose sight of her. If the
stunt double gets separated
from his “star,” he’s fired!
Describes (modifies) a noun Adjective is the costuming
or pronoun
department, telling us what
Answers: How much or
the noun and its pronouns
how many? What do I
look like. Adjectives may
look/sound/smell/taste/feel include the voice and
like?
movement coach department.
In a live performance,
adjective can also cover smell,
taste, and touch. Note that the
adjective department can only
Examples
Bob, New York,
cookie, love
Nominative: I, you,
he, she, it, we, you,
they, who
Objective: me, you,
him, her, it, us, you,
them, whom
Other: this, anyone,
both, which
short, thin, brunette,
loud in a brown
jacket
soft-spoken, shy,
muscular
quick, agile,
balanced
Term
Verb
Definition
Verb is a word that
shoooows action, or
a state of being
Includes several
types, including
action, linking and
helping
do so much; the right nouns
have to be cast in the roles!
Movie role
Examples
Verb is the star, since every shot
will focus on the action.
(1) The main verb, the action, is
what we see in the movie; an
action verb might be an action
done to an object. (More on
objects later.)
(2) Linking verbs connect nouns
with adjectives.
(3) Helping verbs are invisible
on the movie screen, but they
help us understand the timing
and certainty of an action.
Adverb
Describes
Adverb is the director, telling
(modifies) a verb,
everyone exactly how to do their
adjective, or
jobs.
another adverb
Note: NOT is an adverb, even
Answers: How is
when it’s part of a contraction.
the action done?
“But I didn’t kill my mother—it
How strong is the
was an accident!” – Gomez
adjective or adverb? Addams, The Addams Family
Preposition Used with a noun
Preposition is the assistant
(or its pronoun) to
director, responsible for getting
show how it is
all the cast members into the
related to another
right place at the right time for
word, often by
each shot.
location in space or
time.
“the cat and the
box”
Conjunction Connects words or
Conjunction is the producer,
groups of words
assembling the right members of
each team and setting up their
relationships.
Interjection Word or group of
Interjection is the soundtrack of
words that shows
the movie
emotion
Punctuation Coded symbols for Not a part of speech – but VERY
where to pause and important to the movie.
stop
Punctuation is also a director,
who decides when each scene
will start and stop as filming
happens, and then directs the
editing process, choosing each
shot, how long we will look at it
and in what order.
1) ran, jumped, fought,
ate pizza, sang songs,
petted a dog
2) seemed angry,
looked sad, was lonely
3) could, will, might,
had
carefully balanced vs.
easily balanced; sang
songs poorly vs. sang
songs excellently; sang
songs very poorly vs.
slightly poorly
About, above, across,
against, behind, below,
beside, between, during,
except, in, near, on,
over, than, through, to,
under, with
FANBOYS
AAAWWUBBIS
Wow! Darn! Holy cow!
Oh … my … gosh!
,;:“”’()–.!?