Download Grammar Review parts of speech

Day One of the Grammar Review – The Essential Parts of Speech
There are eight parts of speech, but we are going to focus on four key ones today. If you can
understand the function of the noun, verb, adjective, and adverb, you will be more successful in
the world of grammar.
The Noun
You all know that the noun is a person, place or thing. However, there are a couple of other
aspects of the noun that we need to cover. First of all, besides the everyday common and proper
nouns (hamburger, air, Paris), there exist gerunds, infinitives, and noun clauses. It is important
to remember that there are all sorts of nouns. Second, you MUST understand how the noun can
function in a sentence. This is key. Nouns can serve as the subject, direct object, predicate
nominative, appositive, or object of the preposition. They can also be indirect objects, but we
won’t be focusing too much on that role.
Here is the same info in a different format:
Noun parts of the sentence:
Subject
Direct object
Predicate nominative
Appositive
Object of the preposition
I am going to assume that everyone can create and recognize a subject. Here is some more
information on the other parts of the sentence:
Direct object: MUST follow an action verb; receives the action; answers whom or what
Examples: I ate an ice cream cone.
The octopus likes the crab.
We studied calculus in college.
Predicate nominative: MUST follow a “be” verb; MUST rename the subject
Examples: I am a teacher.
The rose is her favorite flower.
The movie was an epic disaster.
Appositive: directly follows a noun and renames it
Examples: Harry Potter, a wizard, likes magic.
History, her favorite subject, is full of interesting stories.
We read the poem “Mending Wall” in class today.
Object of the Preposition: follows a preposition; a preposition is anything you can do to a cloud
(You can go in, out, over, above, to, from, aboard, into, etc.)
Examples: We are tired of studying.
Hilda is from Germany.
Let’s meet at the park.
Nouns can function in any of these roles as gerunds, infinitives, and clauses.
Examples: Here is a set-up for a direct object.
The monster fears failing. (gerund)
The monster wants to succeed. (infinitive) (answers the question what)
The monster fears whoever is hiding in the closet. (noun clause)
The monster wants a hug. (common noun)
If you understand the sentence pattern (subject plus action verb equals direct object), you should
be able to plug in any type of noun asked for.
The same applies to the other compliments.
The monster’s fear is failing. (gerund as predicate nominative)
The monster’s fear, failing, paralyzed him. (gerund as appostive)
The monster’s dream is to succeed. (infinitive as predicate nominative)
The monster was whoever he wanted to be in his dreams. (noun clause as predicate nominative)
The monster’s fear of failing was cured when a stray chicken befriended him. (gerund as op)
The Verb
I want you to be aware that there are two types of verbs: linking and action. It is impossible to
memorize all of the action verbs, so just learn the linking ones.
Linking verbs: the “be” verbs
The five senses (look, sound, smell, taste, feel)
Seem and appear
Linking verbs are used to set up predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives because they link
the subject and the compliment.
The rotten skunk smelled terrible. (describes subject)
Her ex-boyfriend is a skunk. (renames subject)
Action verbs are used to set up direct objects so that the noun can receive the action.
The Adjective
You know that an adjective describes a noun. You need to learn that adjectives can have many
functions: a prepositional phrase, a clause, a participle, an infinitive.
-An adjective prepositional phrase must follow a noun and describe it.
The cow in the barn longed for a fresh pasture of grass.
-An adjective clause also follows a noun and describes it. A clause will start with a conjunction
instead of a preposition, and it will contain a subject and verb.
The girl who likes to eat lizards is strange, and she lives in a house that is painted purple.
-A regular participle ends in –ing, -ed, or -en. It must describe a noun. You can also create
participial phrases, groups of words that begin with a participle and modify a noun.
The shards from the broken window hit my bruised finger and cut it open. Crying loudly, I ran
for help and found my brother reading in the kitchen. (The last two examples are phrases.)
-An infinitive used as an adjective would follow a noun and describe it.
The race to win is the one that qualifies us for the Olympics.
The little girl thinks of Green Eggs and Ham as a book to read daily. (infinitive phrase)
The Adverb
Adverbs can also function as clauses, infinitives, or prepositional phrases.
-Adverbs modify verb, adjectives, and other adverbs.
-They answer the following questions: when, where, why, how, to what extent, under what
condition.
-Adverbial prepositional phrase examples:
The space alien died from food poisoning after he ate at a local restaurant. (how he died, where
he ate)
We went to the movies at midnight, but there was no one at the theater. (when we went, where
we went)
-Adverbial infinitive examples
She played to win. (why she played)
He dieted to lose weight. (why he dieted, phrase)
Note that these are in the same sentence pattern as the direct object. The difference is in the
question being answered – what vs. why.
-Adverbial clause examples
Because the Arctic is cold, Peter penguin wears a sweater. (intro clause, requires comma) (why
he wears)
I often cry when I laugh. (no comma needed) (when I laugh)