Download (1) The Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech
Here’s a good order for remembering the parts of speech:
Nouns
Pronouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Nouns and pronouns are “naming” words. They are words that stand
for “somethings” and “somebodies.” A noun is a word that names a person,
place, thing, or idea and always creates a kind of “picture” in the mind. If a
person says the word “table,” the picture that I’m talking about isn’t of a
round or a square table but of a flat surface supported, usually, on legs. One
can pull a chair or chairs up to it and eat from it or place one’s books on it.
A pronoun, on the other hand, doesn’t create a picture in the mind.
Words such as “it,” “he,” “that,” “someone” and so forth indicate a person or
thing, but they don’t create a “picture” in the mind.
Verbs express action or state of being. “Raul kicks the ball.” “Raul is
a man.” Both of these are independent clauses as well as complete
sentences. The verbs (which are also called predicates when they are the
action or state of being that the subject does or is) are indicated in blue.
Verbs are not hard to identify in a clause, especially the action-verbs.
Noun/Pronoun and Verb can create a
Clause,
and a clause can be a sentence.
Adjectives=these are words and groups of words that make nouns
clearer: good girl; man on the roof; beautiful flower; a man who loves
baloney.
They answer the general question, “What Kind Of?”
Adverbs=these are words and groups of words that make verbs or other
adverbs or adjectives clearer: spoke loudly; listens with interest; hit the ball
hard; went to the store whenever he could; walked extremely slowly.
They answer the questions, “How?” “When?” “Where?” “Why?” “To
What Degree?” “Under What Conditions?”
Adjectives and Adverbs “fill in” the
meaning that the subject and the
predicate express. They make clearer
exactly what kind of “who” or “what”
did it and how, when, where, or why he,
she, it, or they did it.
Prepositions
Prepositions are “pointer words” that join nouns or pronouns to the
rest of the clause as adjectives or adverbs. They indicate direction, usually,
such as the prepositions in, into, through, over, down, beyond, above, and
so forth. They also “point” a few other things, less easy to pin down, such as
during, for, except, and so forth. But this one fact is for sure: they are
followed by a noun or pronoun that they link to the rest of the clause as
either an adjective or an adverb. All prepositional phrases work as either
adjectives or adverbs. And by that I mean that the whole phrase, such as “in
that room,” is either an adjective or adverb depending on how it is used in
the clause. It is an adjective in the sentence, “The man in that room is
talking.” But it is an adverb in the sentence, “The man is talking in that
room.” In the first case “in that room” is describing the man, his position in
space, but in the second case, “in that room” is modifying the verb “is
talking,” telling where he is talking.
Here’s a list of prepositions copied from The Bedford Handbook:
about
above
across
after
against
along
among
around
as
at
before
behind
below
beside
besides in
between
beyond into
but
by
concerning
considering
despite
down
during
except
for
from
over
inside
plus
like
near
next
of
off
on
onto
opposite
out
outside
past
regarding
respecting
round
since
than
through
throughout
till
to
toward
under
underneath
unlike
until
unto
up
upon
with
within
without
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are actual “joining” words because they truly “join”
either individual words, phrases, or clauses. When they join exactly equal
things, like a teeter-totter, they are either coordinating conjunctions or
correlative conjunctions. When they join unequal units, they are called
subordinating conjunctions.
As I keep telling you, there are only seven coordinating conjunctions:
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so. They join either two words, two phrases, or
two clauses. Those words, phrases, and clauses have to be of the same kind:
“John and Mary”; “to sing and to dance”; “He likes to dance, and she likes
to sing.”
The correlative conjunctions are “either . . . or”; “neither . . . nor”;
“both . . . and”; “whether . . . or”; “not only . . . but also”—and they work
just like coordinating conjunctions: “Either Mary or Paul will go”; Either to
sing well or to dance well is required”; “Either Mary will bake the cake, or
John will bake the cake.”
The subordinating conjunctions introduce adverb clauses. You know
the most common one which I am always bringing up in class: because.
Here’s a list of them from The Bedford Handbook:
after
although
as
as if
because
before
even though
how
if
in order that
rather than
since
so that
than
that
though
unless
until
when
where
whether
while
why
Here are a few sentences to show them in action:
(1) After he had bought the baloney, he was satisfied.
(2) Although he had bought the baloney, he still wasn’t satisfied.
(3) As he was buying the baloney, his satisfaction increased.
(4) As if buying baloney was all-important, he went to the store.
(5) Because he buys baloney, he doesn’t have money for ham.
Now each of these sentences can be re-cast to put the adverb clause last:
(1b) He was satisfied after he had bought the baloney.
(2b) He still wasn’t satisfied although he had bought the baloney.
(3b) His satisfaction increased as he was buying the baloney.
(4b) He went to the store as if buying baloney was all-important.
(5b) He doesn’t have money for ham because he buys baloney.
Please notice that when the adverb clause introduces the sentence, it is
followed by a comma. But when it concludes the sentence, it is not
separated from the independent clause by a comma.