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Knox Community College (May Pen Campus)
Use of English I
Parts of Speech
Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections
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Nouns
A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing or an idea.
A concrete noun names an object that occupies space or can be recognized by any of the
senses. E.g., salt, whisper, thunder, sand, scent. An abstract noun names an idea, a
quality, or a characteristic. E.g. Confusion, grief, patience, clarity, friendship.
The possessive form of a noun can show possession, ownership, or the general
relationship between two nouns. To form the possessive of a singular noun, even one that
ends with s, add an apostrophe and an s.
Examples: Susie’s calculator.
Morris’s chair.
To form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s, add just an apostrophe.
Examples: The Wilsons’ newspaper.
The boys’ headaches.
To form the possessive of a plural noun that doesn’t end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.
Examples: The women’s meetings.
The sheep’s noses.
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more hyphenated words. Compound
nouns maybe open, hyphenated, or closed.
Examples: OPEN- music box, press secretary, public defender
Examples: HYPHENATED- great-grandfather, good-bye, sister-in-law
Examples: CLOSED- bedroom, headache, mailbox
Collective nouns are singular in form but name a group.
Examples: family, troop, class, jury, crew, flock, band, swarm, committee, audience.
A collective noun is sometimes considered singular and sometimes considered plural. If
you are talking about the group as a whole acting together, consider the collective noun
singular. If you are talking about the individual members of a group, consider the
collective noun plural.
Example: SINGULAR- The band travels in an old bus.
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Example: PLURAL- The band are going to assemble here at noon.
Let’s Practice!
Identify each collective noun. Label it S if it’s singular and P if it’s plural.
1. The committee is concluding its report.
2. The jury sit to the left of the judge.
3. During periods of heavy rain, the traffic police wear their rain gear.
4. The orchestra is opening the concert with an overture.
5. The herd grazes on government grassland.
6. The audience show their appreciation with applause.
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or
another pronoun. The group of words to which a pronoun refers is called its antecedent.
Example: When N. Scott Momaday wrote The Way to Rainy Mountain, he was retelling
Kiowa Legends. (The pronoun he takes the place of the noun N. Scott Momaday.)
Example: Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps were major figures of the Harlem
Renaissance. Both edited The Book of Negro Folklore. (The pronoun both takes the place
of the nouns Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps.)
There are about seventy-five pronouns in English. Each pronoun belongs in one or
more of these categories: personal and possessive pronouns, reflexive and intensive
pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, relative pronouns and
indefinite pronouns.
Personal and Possessive Pronouns
A personal pronoun refers to a specific person, place, thing or idea by indicating the
person speaking (the first person), the person or people being spoken to (the second
person), or any other person, place, thing, or idea being talked about (the third person).
Personal pronouns express number- that is, they are either singular or plural.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Singular
Plural
First Person
I, me
we, us
Second Person
you
you
Third Person
he, him, she, her, it
they, them
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Example: FIRST PERSON- We will keep the pup with us. (We and us refer to the people
speaking).
Example: SECOND PERSON- You may use the spell-checking program. (You refers to
the people or person being addressed.
Example: THIRD PERSON- They accomplished all the tasks assigned to them. (They and
them refer to persons being discussed.)
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Singular
Plural
First Person
my, mine
our, ours
Second Person
your, yours
your, yours
Third person
his, her, hers, its
their, theirs
Some of the pronouns in the chart above are paired. In the pairs, the first form can be used before
a noun. The second form in each pair can stand alone as a noun does. His and its can be used in
both ways.
Example: USED BEFORE A NOUN - Is that her journal?
Example: USED ALONE-
That journal is hers.
Notice that possessive pronouns do not contain apostrophes. Take particular note that the
possessive pronoun ‘its’ has no apostrophe. It is a common error to mistake its and the
contraction it’s.
Example: The cat was eating its food. (possessive pronoun)
Example: It’s my mother’s cat. (contraction for it is)
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Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
To form the reflexive and intensive pronouns, add- self or –selves to certain personal and
possessive pronouns.
REFLEXIVE AND INTENSIVE PRONOUNS
Singular
Plural
First Person
myself
ourselves
Second Person
yourself
yourselves
Third Person
himself, herself, itself
themselves
A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence or clause and indicates that the
same person or thing is involved. A reflexive pronoun adds information to a sentence.
Example: We considered ourselves lucky to have avoided the tornado.
Example: In stage makeup, I don’t even look like myself.
An intensive pronoun adds emphasis to another noun or pronoun. It does not add information to
a sentence. If the intensive pronoun is omitted, the meaning of the sentence will still be the same.
Example: You yourself decided not to rename the file.
An intensive pronoun is often placed directly after its antecedent. However, a reflexive pronoun
may appear anywhere in a sentence.
Example: I myself balanced the chequebook. (Intensive)
Example: I balanced the chequebook myself. (Reflexive)
Demonstrative Pronouns point out specific persons, places, things or ideas. For example this,
that, these, those.
Example: This is your new toothbrush.
Example: Let me do that for you.
Example: Are these the cookies you liked so well?
Example: I think I’ll take those.
Interrogative and Relative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun is used to form questions. For example who, whom, whose, whoever,
whomever, whatever, which, whichever, what.
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A relative pronoun is used to begin a special subject verb word group called a subordinate
clause. For example who, whoever, which, that, whom, whomever, whose, what, whichever,
whatever.
Example: Rhonda held out paper cups of water to the marathon runners, who grabbed them
eagerly. (The relative pronoun who begins the subordinate clause who grabbed them
eagerly.)
Example: The novel that she wrote is on the best- seller list. (The relative pronoun that begins
the subordinate clause that she wrote.)
An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, a place, a thing, or an idea in a more general way than
a noun does.
Example: Do you know anyone in your class? (The indefinite pronoun anyone does not refer
to a specific person.)
Example: Several have submitted applications for college. (The indefinite pronoun several
does not refer to a specific group of people.)
Example: The group responsible for posters reported that none were ready. (The indefinite
pronoun none has the specific antecedent posters.)
(Examples of indefinite pronouns: all, another any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each,
either, enough, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, most, much, neither, nobody, none,
no one, nothing, one, other, others, several, some, somebody, someone, something. )
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Verbs
A verb is a word that expresses an action or a state of being and is necessary to make a
statement.
Examples: The author summarized his story.
The artist cleaned her brushes.
The actor winked at the audience.
The banner appears dusty.
Verbs express time- present, past, and future- by means of various tense forms.
Example: PRESENT TENSE- I smell the roses.
PAST TENSE- I smelled the roses.
FUTURE TENSE- I will smell the roses.
Action Verbs
An action verb tells what someone or something does. Action verbs can express action that is
either physical or mental.
Example: PHYSICAL ACTION- The choir sang the new song.
MENTAL ACTION- The choir liked the new song.
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A transitive verb is followed by a word or words that answer the question what or
whom. The word or words that answer the question what or whom after a transitive verb
are called the direct object.
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Transitive verbs require a direct object to complete their meaning.
Example: She spoke the words of the challenge. [The verb spoke is followed by the noun words,
which answers the question spoke what?]
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An intransitive verb is not followed by a word that answers the question what or whom.
Example: She spoke clearly. [The verb is followed by a word that tells how.]
LET’S PRACTICE! i
Identify each verb by underlining it, then write T for transitive and I for intransitive.
Example: Luis takes criticism very well. (T)
1. Butterflies and hummingbirds prefer certain plants.
2. Sam worked diligently on his term paper.
3. A person gains respect more by actions than by words.
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4. Everyone doubts him or herself from time to time.
5. The sun sets early in the winter.
6. The water table rises after a drenching rain.
7. We finally settled on a price for the computer.
8. Sherry speaks four languages fluently.
Linking Verbs link or join the subject of a sentence (often a noun or a pronoun) with a noun, a
pronoun or an adjective that identifies or describes the subject. A linking verb does not show
action.
Be in all its forms is the most commonly used linking verb. Forms of be include am, is, are, was,
were, will be, has been, and was being.
Examples: That tailor is an expert.
This spring has been rainy.
These rosebushes are rare.
Tomorrow will be a sunny day.
Other Verbs That Can Be Linking Verbs
Look
Remain
Seem
Become
Stay
Grow
Appear
Sound
Taste
Smell
Feel
turn
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Verb Phrases
The verb in a sentence may consist of more than one word. The words that accompany the main
verb are called auxiliary or helping verbs. A verb phrase consists of a main verb and all its
auxiliary or helping verbs.
FORMS OF
AUXILIARY VERBS
Be
Am, is, are, was, were, being, been
Have
Has, have, had, having
Other Auxiliaries
Can,could
may, might
must
Do, does, did
shall, should
will, would
The most common auxiliary verbs are forms of be and have. They help the main verb express
time by forming the various tenses.
Example: We had expected the letter for days.
The other auxiliary verbs are not used primarily to express time. They are often used to
emphasize meaning.
Example: You should exercise daily.
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Transitive and Intransitive –Answers 1. Prefer: transitive, plants
2. Worked: IT
3. Gains: T, respect
4. doubts: T, himself, herself
5. sets: IT
6. rises: IT
7. settled: IT
8. speaks: T, languages
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