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Parts of Speech
Eight Parts of Speech:
Nouns
Adverbs
Pronouns
Prepositions
Verbs
Conjunctions
Adjectives
Interjections
NOUNS
NOUNS NAME FOUR
CATEGORIES:
NOUNS CAN BE:
Person
Proper or Common
Place
Concrete or Abstract
Thing
Singular or Plural
Idea
Collective
Compound
Proper & Common Nouns
Proper nouns name
things that are:
SPECIFIC
Leonardo DiCaprio, The
White House, January,
etc.
Common nouns name
things that are:
GENERAL
actor, house, month, etc.
Concrete & Abstract Nouns
CONCRETE NOUNS
name objects that can be
seen, heard, smelled,
touched, or tasted.
ABSTRACT NOUNS
name ideas, qualities, or
states (of mind).
Examples: flower, rabbit,
bell, apple, pencil, etc.
Examples: independence,
pride, sadness, happiness,
love, etc.
Singular, Plural, Collective &
Compound Nouns
SINGULAR nouns name
only single items.
A COLLECTIVE noun
refers to a group of people
or things.
PLURAL nouns name
more than one of the
same item.
Examples: audience,
family, staff, team, crowd.
Examples: key or keys,
stage or stages, foot or
feet.
A COMPOUND noun is
made up of two or more
words, either combined or
separate:
Examples: airplane, sunlight,
keyboard, rain forest,
City Hall, runner-up,
mother-in-law
Test Yourself: NOUNS
Underline each noun in the sentences below.
1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland draws
visitors from all over the world.
2. This unusual museum honors musicians for their
creativity.
3. Fans can spend days satisfying their curiosity by
watching videos and listening to recordings.
Check Yourself: NOUNS
1. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland draws
visitors from all over the world.
2. This unusual museum honors musicians for their
creativity.
3. Fans can spend days satisfying their curiosity by watching
videos and listening to recordings.
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used
in place of a noun or
another pronoun.
Ray (antecedent) said he
(pronoun) wanted a new
pair of shoes.
The word that a pronoun
stands for is called its
antecedent (note the root
“ante” = to come before).
Sonia (antecedent)
delivered her (pronoun)
famous monologue.
Notice the difference
between the two
pronouns in the following
examples:
Pronouns are either personal or possessive.
Possessive pronouns show ownership or
relationship (they “possess” something).
Personal
Possessive
First person: I, me (plural
= we/us)
First person: my, mine
(pl.= our, ours)
Second person: you
(plural is the same)
Second person: your,
yours (plural is the same)
Third person: he, him,
she, her, it (pl. =
they/them)
Third person: his, her,
hers, its (pl. = their, theirs)
Let’s Practice:
Write “PR” for personal, “PO” for possessive.
1. At first, Laurents intended to follow Shakespeare’s plot
in Romeo and Juliet in every respect, but he later
changed his mind.
2. In Shakespeare’s play, the foes are two feuding families,
and in West Side Story they are two feuding street
gangs.
3. She remains loyal to him as the feud worsens.
4. Both versions of the tragic story remain popular in our
day.
Check Your Work:
Write “PR” for personal, “PO” for possessive.
1. At first, Laurents intended to follow Shakespeare’s plot
in Romeo and Juliet in every respect, but he (PR) later
changed his (PO) mind.
2. In Shakespeare’s play, the foes are two feuding families,
and in West Side Story they (PR) are two feuding street
gangs.
3. She (PR) remains loyal to him (PR) as the feud worsens.
4. Both versions of the tragic story remain popular in our
(PO) day.
Other Kinds of Pronouns
Reflexive
Indefinite
Intensive
Interrogative
Demonstrative
Relative
The “self”ish ones:
Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Reflexive:
Reflects action back upon the
subject and adds information
to the sentence
Donna prepared herself for a
long day.
I bought myself an iced
coffee.
Intensive:
Adds emphasis to a noun or
pronoun in the same sentence
The wait itself would take
hours.
Did the students themselves
choose the classes?
Watch out!
A common error is to use a
reflexive pronoun without an
antecedent in the sentence:
“The planning committee
appointed Ted and (me/myself).”
A reflexive pronoun must have an
antecedent.
The answer is “me.”
Demonstrative Pronouns
Point out specific persons,
places, things, or ideas.
They allow you to indicate
whether the things you
are pointing out are
relatively near in time or
space or farther away.
Demonstrative pronouns
are: this, these, that, and
those.
Remember:
Demonstrative pronouns
“demonstrate” things in
time or space.
This is my house.
The people at the front of
the line will get better
tickets than those at the
end.
Indefinite Pronouns
Do not refer to a specific person,
place, or thing. They usually do
not have antecedents:
“Many of the fans had arrived at
6 a.m.”
Some pronouns can also function
as adjectives:
“Several people had to wait in the
rain.” (adjective)
“Several of the fans waited
anxiously in line.” (pronoun)
Indefinite Pronoun list:
Singular: another,
anybody, anything, each,
either, everybody,
everyone, everything,
much, neither, nobody,
no one, nothing, one
somebody, someone,
something
Plural: both, few, many,
several
Singular or Plural: all, any,
more, most, none, some
Interrogative and Relative
Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun
asks a question or
“interrogates.”
A relative pronoun is used
to introduce subordinate
clauses.
What is your favorite song?
The seats that the
students asked for were
unavailable. (“seats” is
the antecedent)
Interrogative pronouns:
who, whom, whose, which,
what.
Relative Pronouns: who,
whom, whose, which,
that.
Compare:
DRAFT:
The girl waited for
someone to ask her to
dance. She decided to ask
a boy if he would like to
dance with her.
REVISION:
The girl, who had been
waiting for someone to
ask her to dance, asked a
boy if he would like to
dance with her.
** Relative pronouns can
be used to combine
sentences.
Let’s Practice:
Underline and name each pronoun, double
underline its antecedent (if it has one).
1. What is the best way to get good seats for a concert?
2. Someone gets up before dawn in order to be first in line.
3. The seats that go with the tickets may not be very good.
4. A frustrated fan might ask himself or herself why this happens.
5. All agree that the best way to find out is to ask the ticket sellers
themselves.
6. People at the end of the line might get better seats than those at
the front.
Check Your Work:
Underline and name each pronoun, double
underline its antecedent (if it has one).
1. What (Inter.) is the best way to get good seats for a concert?
2. Someone (Indef.) gets up before dawn in order to be first in line.
3. The seats that (Rel.) go with the tickets may not be very good.
4. A frustrated fan might ask himself or herself (Ref.) why this (Dem.)
happens.
5. All (Ind.) agree that the best way to find out is to ask the ticket sellers
themselves. (Inten.)
6. People at the end of the line might get better seats than those (Dem.)
at the front.
Verbs
A verb expresses:
an action
a condition
a state of being
Action Verbs:
Action Verbs express
physical or mental action:
The band marches onto
the field. (physical)
The audience expects a
great performance.
(mental)
Transitive verbs are action
verbs that require a direct
object (the thing that
receives the action).
Danny plays (A.V.) the
trumpet (D.O.) well.
Intransitive verbs are still
action verbs, but they do not
require a direct object.
He travels around the
country with the other
musicians. (no object)
Linking Verbs:
Link the subject to the
predicate by using “to be”
forms of verbs or verbs
that express condition
The instruments are safe
in the bus.
The students seemed bored
during the long trip.
“To be” forms: is, am, are, was,
were, been, being
Verbs that express condition:
look, smell, feel, sound, taste,
grow, appear, become, seem,
remain
Hint:
Some verbs can be either
action or linking verbs:
Action: We felt the
cushions.
Linking: They felt dry.
Action: We tasted the
popcorn.
Linking: It tasted salty.
Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs:
Common Auxiliary Verbs:
Combine with verbs to
form verb phrases. They
may be used to express a
particular tense of a verb
or to indicate that an
action is directed at the
subject.
The stadium is filled to
capacity.
We should save a seat for
Jeff.
Is, am, are, was were, can,
have, may, might, must,
shall, should, will, would.
Some of these auxiliary
verbs can also be used as
main verbs. Compare:
Kelly has a pair of Conga
drums at home. (main)
She has practiced her
drumming all summer.
(auxiliary)
Let’s Practice:
Circle action verbs, box linking verbs, and underline helping verbs
in the following paragraph.
Every fall, people from across the country visit New
York City for the big Thanksgiving Day parade. Even
on cold days when strong winds or light rain might
scare away spectators, the parade is on schedule. The
crowd lines the parade route and will stay until the last
float has driven out of sight. As bands strut down
Broadway, drum majors pound their drums. Giant
balloons of familiar characters are overhead. For
young children, the parade remains an eventful
experience and becomes a fond memory in their lives.
Check Your Work:
Every fall, people from across the country visit New
York City for the big Thanksgiving Day parade. Even
on cold days when strong winds or light rain might
scare away spectators, the parade is on schedule. The
crowd lines the parade route and will stay until the last
float has driven out of sight. As bands strut down
Broadway, drum majors pound their drums. Giant
balloons of familiar characters are overhead. For
young children, the parade remains an eventful
experience and becomes a fond memory in their lives.
Adjectives
Modify or limit the meaning of a
noun or pronoun. Adjectives tell:
what kind: famous song, squeaky
noise, green light
INDEFINITE & DEFINITE
ARTICLES:
The most common adjectives
are the articles a, an (indef.),
and the (def.)
how many: one dollar, three tenors,
several years
PROPER ADJECTIVES are
formed from proper nouns.
They are capitalized and often
end in –n, -an, -ian, -ese, and
-ish.
how much: some music, more
room, less energy
American artists perform
in international countries.
which one: this star, that way, these
words
Japanese crowds fill
Yokohama Station.
Don’t overdo it!
Fresh, original adjectives sharpen your writing, but
be careful not to clutter your writing with
unnecessary descriptions.
Explain why the adjectives below can be omitted:
gentle breeze
tall skyscraper
happy smile
Let’s Practice: Underline each adjective (do not
include articles) and circle the word it modifies.
1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan.
2. The machine is a Japanese invention.
3. Years ago, American television featured shows
in which people sang along with a chorus.
4. Powerful speakers play background music.
5. The real purpose is to have fun rather than to
give a fabulous performance.
Check Your Work:
1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan.
2. The machine is a Japanese invention.
3. Years ago, American television featured shows in
which people sang along with a chorus.
4. Powerful speakers play background music.
5. The real purpose is to have fun rather than to give
a fabulous performance.
Adverbs
Adverbs modify:
Verbs, adjectives, or
other adverbs
We instantly recognized (verb)
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.
The famous notes rang out
quite clearly. (adverb)
The orchestra waited until the
auditorium grew completely
quiet. (adjective)
Adverbs answer:
Where: The orchestra stopped
here during a national tour.
When: Will they be returning
soon?
How: Everyone played
magnificently.
To what extent: The auditorium
was completely full.
Commonly Used Adverbs
Many adverbs are formed
by adding –ly to
adjectives:
frequent = frequently,
true = truly,
extreme = extremely,
possible = possibly.
Be careful to note the
spelling changes.
Not all words ending in
–ly are adverbs; for
example, “friendly” and
“costly” are adjectives.
Other commonly used adverbs:
afterward, already, also, back, even,
far, fast, forth, hard, instead, late,
long, low, more, near, next, not,
now, often, slow, sometimes, still,
straight, then, today, tomorrow,
too, yet.
Intensifiers
An intensifier is an
adverb that defines the
degree of an adjective or
another adverb.
Intensifiers always precede
the adjectives or adverbs
they are modifying:
We were rather surprised
that classical music is very
popular.
Common Intensifiers:
extremely, just, more, most,
nearly, only, quite, rather,
really, so, somewhat, too, truly,
very.
Watch Out!
Intensifiers such as very, rather,
and really are overused in casual
conversation. In formal writing,
they can weaken sentences.
Most of the time, it is better
to leave them out.
Let’s Practice: Underline each adverb.
1. Beethoven tirelessly devoted himself to his music.
2. He often worked late.
3. The composer was terribly shocked to realize that he was
losing his hearing when he was in his late twenties.
4. It finally became so severe that Beethoven could not
hear his own music.
Check Your Work:
1. Beethoven tirelessly devoted himself to his music.
2. He often worked late.
3. The composer was terribly shocked to realize that he was
losing his hearing when he was in his late twenties.
4. It finally became so severe that Beethoven could not
hear his own music.
Prepositions
A preposition shows the
relationship between a
noun or pronoun and
another word in a
sentence.
The sounds of a jazz band
filled the kitchen.
The music was coming
from a radio.
Commonly Used Prepositions:
About, above, across, after, against,
along, among, around, as, at,
before, behind, below, beneath,
beside, between, beyond, by,
despite, down, during, except, for,
from, in, inside, into, like, near, of,
off, on, onto, out, outside, over,
since, through, throughout, to,
toward, under, underneath, until,
up, upon, with, within, without.
Compound Prepositions . . .
Are prepositions that consist of
more than one word:
Commonly Used
Compound Prepositions:
Jazz legend Louis Armstrong
sang in addition to playing the
trumpet.
According to, aside from,
because of, by means of, in
addition to, in front of, in place
of, in spite of, instead of, on
account of, out of, prior to.
Some singers use only their
voice instead of instruments to
create music.
Prepositional Phrases . . .
o
consist of a preposition and its
object, and any modifiers of the
object. The object of a
preposition is the noun or
pronoun that follows a
preposition.
Prepositional phrases often
express relationships of location
(by, near), direction (to, down), or
time (before, during).
Many early jazz bands played in
New Orleans. (Location)
Musicians traveled to other
large cities. (Direction)
During the 1920s, jazz swept
the country. (Time)
** A sentence may contain
more than one prepositional
phrase. Each preposition has
its own object.
Let’s Practice: Underline the prepositional
phrase and circle the object of the preposition.
1. Jazz is a modern form of music.
2. Among these influences are gospel and
the blues.
3. Rhythms from West Africa are also part
of jazz’s heritage.
4. In an improvisation, a musician plays
notes of his or her own invention.
Check Your Work:
1. Jazz is a modern form of music.
2. Among these influences are gospel and the
blues.
3. Rhythms from West Africa are also part of
jazz’s heritage.
4. In an improvisation, a musician plays
notes of his or her own invention.
A Few Things to Note …
It is not considered proper to end
a sentence with a preposition.
Wrong:
•
•
•
Alaska is a hard state to live
in.
He finally discovered the great
inner strength he was blessed
with.
She is the girl I got the gift
from.
Don’t confuse a
prepositional phrase with
an infinitive phrase:
“to other cities” vs.
“to hear the concert”
Which is it???
She is going to the
concert to hear her
favorite band perform.
Conjunctions
Coordinating
Correlative
Subordinating
Conjunctive Adverbs
A conjunction connects words or groups of words.
Coordinating
Connect words or groups of
words of equal importance in a
sentence:
Correlative
Word pairs that serve to join
words or groups of words.
Sonia and her friends watched
the video.
You will not only hear your
favorite song but also see the
performer.
The action began on a beach,
but the scene changed quickly.
Either the music or the visual
images will grab your attention.
Remember FANBOYS:
for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
both . . . and
either. . . or
neither . . . nor whether . . . or
not only . . . but also
More Conjunctions
Subordinating
Introduce subordinate clauses and
join them to independent clauses
The band waited while the
director checked the lighting.
Conjunctive Adverbs
Really an adverb, but functions like
a conjunction in that it is used to
express relationships between
independent clauses:
Although music videos are short,
they are expensive to produce.
The transistor radio contributed to
the rise of rock and roll; similarly,
the introduction of cable television
helped launch music videos.
After, although, as, as if, as
though, because, before, even
though, if, in order that, provided,
since, so that, than, unless, until,
when, where, whereas, while
Accordingly, also, besides,
consequently, finally, furthermore,
hence, however, instead, nevertheless,
otherwise, similarly, still, therefore,
thus
Let’s Practice: Underline the
conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs
1. The face of the music industry changed when cable television
came along and began running music videos constantly.
2. Singers and bands began to make more and more videos;
consequently, viewers turned in to watch.
3. According to critics, performers were creating works that were
not only visually but also musically insubstantial.
4. It’s been roughly twenty years since videos first appeared.
Check Your Work:
1. The face of the music industry changed when cable
television came along and began running music videos
constantly.
2. Singers and bands began to make more and more videos;
consequently, viewers tuned in to watch.
3. According to critics, performers were creating works that
were not only visually but also musically insubstantial.
4. It’s been roughly twenty years since videos first appeared.
INTERJECTIONS
An interjection is a word or a phrase used to
express emotion.
Interjections
A strong interjection is
followed by an
exclamation point:
Yikes! Our project is due
tomorrow.
A mild interjection is set
off by commas:
Well, where should we
start?
Examples: wow, gee, hey,
ouch, aha, boy, hooray,
aw, eek, unbelieveable
Interjections add realism to your
writing, particularly in dialogue
in short stories or essays. Notice
the sense of guilt conveyed below
by the interjection:
“If Jim doesn’t kill me,” she
said to herself, “before he takes
a second look at me, he’ll say I
look like a Coney Island chorus
girl. But what could I do – oh,
what could I do with a dollar
and eighty-seven cents!”
-- O. Henry “The Gift of the Magi”
Choose the better interjection:
1. (Great!/ Oh, no!) We’re almost finished with our
multimedia presentation.
2. (Wow,/Well,) we still have to choose the background
music for the introduction.
3. (Hey!/All right,) I forgot about that!
4. (Here,/Ouch,) listen to this.
5. (Alas!/Wow!) I think that’s perfect.
Check Your Work:
1. (Great!/ Oh, no!) We’re almost finished with our
multimedia presentation.
2. (Wow,/Well,) we still have to choose the background
music for the introduction.
3. (Hey!/All right,) I forgot about that!
4. (Here,/Ouch,) listen to this.
5. (Alas!/Wow!) I think that’s perfect.