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PARTS OF SPEECH
When we describe language, we talk about different classes of words. We categorize these
words according to the jobs they perform. These jobs include naming, describing, connecting,
and showing action. In English there are eight classes of words, which are the basic building
blocks of the English language. We call them the eight parts of speech. Listed below is a brief
description of each of these parts of speech.
NOUN--A word that names a person, place, thing, quality, or idea. A noun may be used as the
following parts of speech: subject, direct object, indirect object, predicate
nominative, object of the preposition, and apposition. A gerund is a noun.
COMMON NOUN--the name of any object--wall, car, road. PROPER NOUN-the name of a specific noun--IBM, Rick, Rexburg, and Tom.
DIRECT OBJECT--A word that answers "what" to the verb but does not rename
the subject. The direct object receives the action of the verb. John hit the ball.
Mary drove the car. I ate the whole pie.
INDIRECT OBJECT--A word that answers "to whom" or "to what" of the verb.
An indirect object is a word that indirectly receives the action of the verb. Dad
gave me a quarter. She told Mother the story.
PREDICATE NOMINATIVE--A word that answers "what" to the verb, renames
the subject, and follows the verb (or is found in the predicate). Tom is a good
student. My dad is a farmer. She is a fox.
OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION--The first noun following the preposition.
around the corner; under the bed; down the long, dark road; to the store.
APPOSITIVE--A word that renames and directly follows a noun. I like my dog,
Spot. My dad, a veterinarian, loves cats.
GERUND--A verb with an added "ing" that is now a
noun. Dancing is fun. I love horsebackriding
PRONOUN--A word that takes the place of a noun or Proper noun. Instead of saying, "Jon's dog
likes Jon" we say, "Jon's dog likes him."
NOMINATIVE or subject pronouns include I, he, she, they, it, we, you, and who.
OBJECTIVE or object pronouns include me, him, her, them, us, whom, you, and
it. These are direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions.
POSSESSIVE pronouns tell whose; thus, they are always adjectives. Possessive
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pronouns include my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, their, and theirs.
VERB--a word that expresses action or state of being.
Use active voice to show that the subject performs the action in the sentence. John
drove the truck.
Use passive voice to show that the subject receives the action of the verb. The
truck was driven by John.
Linking verbs have predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives.
A transitive verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning.
The boy hit the ball.
I lay the book on the desk.
Marion drives his car twice a week.
An intransitive verb is a verb that does not have an object to complete its
meaning.
I lie on the couch.
The boys normally sit on the south end.
Marion drives on the left side of the road.
A linking verb is a verb that links its subject to the subject complement in the
form of a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective. Common linking verbs
are become, seem, appear, feel, look, taste, smell, sound, and forms of the verb be
(is, am, are, was, were, be, been, and being).
Mary is my friend. (Friend is a predicate nominative--answers "what" to verb
and renames subject.)
Mary looks pretty. (Pretty is a predicate adjective--describes subject but
follows verb.
The person responsible is she. (She is a predicate nominative.)
The tenses of the verbs range as follows:
present tense--I ride my bike.
past tense--I rode my bike.
future tense--I will ride my bike.
present perfect tense--I have ridden my bike.
past perfect tense--I had ridden my bike.
future perfect tense--I will have ridden my bike.
present progressive tense--I am riding my bike.
past emphatic tense--I did ride my bike.
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Regular Verb--call
Tense
Present
Past
Future
Regular
I call.
I called.
I will call.
Perfect
I have called.
I had called.
I will have called.
Emphatic
I do call.
I did call.
Participle (ing)
I am calling.
I was calling.
I will be calling.
Irregular Verb--swim
Tense
Present
Past
Future
Regular
I swim.
I swam.
I will swim.
Perfect
I have swum.
I had swum.
I will have swum.
Emphatic
I do swim.
I did swim.
Participle (ing)
I am swimming.
I was swimming.
I will be swimming.
VERBAL--A word that was once a verb and is now used in a different way. The three verbals
are: gerunds, participles, and infinitives. Verbals cannot be verbs. Gerunds and
infinitives are nouns or begin noun phrases, and participles are always adjectives.
GERUND--A verb with an added "ing" that is now a
noun. Dancing is fun. I love swimming.
PARTICIPLE--A verb plus "ing," "ed," or "d" that is
now an adjective. Dressed in white, the bride said her vows. The man standing in
the corner is my dad.
INFINITIVE--The word "to" plus an active verb that is now any part of speech
EXCEPT a verb OR a prepositional phrase.
To ski is my only desire today (the subject). I want to eat Thanksgiving
dinner with you (direct object).
Mood--the property of the verb through which we show the manner of the action.
Through the indicative mood, we state a fact or ask a question. (The time has
come for you to leave the room.) Through the imperative mood, we express a
command or make a request. (Get out of the room now.) Through the
subjunctive mood, we express a wish, a statement of doubt, or an impossible fact.
(I wish I were going to the reception. If I were you, I would take the job.)
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ADJECTIVE--A word that describes only a noun. An adjective tells which, what kind, how
many, and whose.
The articles or determiners a, an, and the are always adjectives.
The little brown dog barked loudly. I ate your three hamburgers. The girl in
red is my sister. (In red is a prepositional phrase telling which sister and is
thus an adjective.)
PREDICATE ADJECTIVE--A word that describes the subject but follows the
verb. Verbs of the senses (feel, look, sound, taste, smell) and linking verbs (the
various forms of be, seem, appear, become) are followed in most cases by
adjectives.
Her dress is pretty. She is so wise. We are late. You are very funny. I feel bad.
PARTICIPLE--see above in VERBALS
POSSESSIVE PRONOUN--always tells whose; thus, a possessive pronoun is
always an adjective. (See page 6.)
ADVERB--A word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An
adverb tells when, where,
how, and how much. Adverbs often end in ly.
The horse raced hurriedly to the finish line. ("To the finish line" is a prepositional
phrase telling where--thus the entire phrase acts as an adverb.) Yesterday we
drove carefully [to Salt Lake] and were very tired.
PREPOSITION--A word that begins a prepositional phrase.
Anything a
squirrel can do to two or more trees: in, on, around, over, through, under,
beneath, to, at, with, for, from, near, during, above, across, into, upon, up, down,
etc.
The squirrel runs through the trees (beneath the trees, near the trees, down the
tree, under the tree, beneath the tree, etc.)
The prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with the first noun
following the preposition--Known as the OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION. We
went to the store.
She parked around the corner. The pen fell from the table. (not off of--cannot use
two prepositions together unless they become one--as: We went into the office.)
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Listed below are some common prepositions
about
above
across
after
against
along
alongside
among
around
around
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
beyond
by
despite
down
except
for
from
in
inside
into
like
near
of
off
onto
out
outside
over
through
throughout
to
toward
under
underneath
up
upon
with
within
without
at
during
on
until
CONJUNCTION--A word that connects other words, phrases, or clauses. We went to bed and
dreamed of Christmas. We saw you when you hollered.
FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) are coordinating conjunctions. I
ate it, but I didn't like it. I was the most qualified applicant, so I was offered
the job.
After, since, although, as, because, if, unless are some of the common
subordinating conjunctions. Because I was the most qualified applicant, I
was offered the job.
INTERJECTION--A word used to make an exclamation. They usually do not contribute to the
meaning of the sentence and are seldom used in business writing. (Sometimes they are used in
advertising.) Oh! Wow!
Wow! Look at that billboard.
adj
adj
noun
prep adj
noun
verb adj
The newest member of our faculty does his job very effectively.
noun adv
adv
adj
conj
adj
noun
verb adj noun prep adj
Intelligent and enthusiastic employees are an asset to any organization.
noun