Download Using Sentence Structure and Part of Speech

Using Sentence Structure
and Part of Speech
to Determine Word Meaning
Created by Kathryn Reilly
Using Sentence Structure
• Sometimes authors will use a sentence’s
structure to define a word.
• Hints may be enclosed in parentheses or
commas.
Using Sentence Structure
• Parentheses may reveal a word’s meaning:
– Joe had always wanted to be an ornithologist (birds
had fascinated him since the age of three).
– An ornithologist studies birds.
• Words within commas may reveal a word’s meaning.
– Algophobia, the fear of pain, is common in many
people.
Identifying Parts of Speech
Identifying Verbs
• Verbs, which show action, may
end several ways:
– -ed
– -s
– -ing
• Several words may precede a
verb:
–
–
–
–
will
have
am
did
Identifying Nouns
•
Nouns are people, places or things.
– doctor, park, coffee
•
Plural nouns may end with
-s.
– books, lessons, concerts
•
Proper nouns are capitalized.
– Macy’s
– Isiah
•
Several words may precede a noun:
–
–
–
–
a
an
the
those
Identifying Parts of Speech
Identifying Adjectives
• Adjectives describe nouns.
Identifying Adverbs
• Adverbs describe verbs.
• In English, adjectives always
precede nouns.
• Adverbs may come before
or after verbs.
– The beautiful woman…
– The angry customer…
• Many, but not all, adverbs
end in –ly.
– She screamed loudly…
– Jaime arrived yesterday…
Literary Example
This excerpt is from the Sherlock Holmes
mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles:
The baronet has been in
communication with the
architect who prepared the
plans for Sir Charles, and with a
contractor from London, so that
we may expect great changes to
begin here soon.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the
Baskervilles. Project Gutenberg. Web. 15
March 2012.
• Vocab word: baronet
– The word the suggests
baronet is a noun.
– Since the baronet has
communicated with an
architect, this suggests
baronet is a person.
– A baronet is a minor
member of royalty.
Literary Example
This excerpt was taken from the Sherlock Holmes
mystery The Hound of the Baskervilles:
I looked round, with a chill of
fear in my heart, at the huge
swelling plain, mottled with the
green patches of rushes.
Nothing stirred over the vast
expanse save a pair of ravens,
which croaked loudly from a tor
behind us.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the
Baskervilles. Project Gutenberg. Web. 15
March 2012.
• Vocab word: mottled
– -ed ending suggests it is a
verb
– This verb describes the
landscape “swelling plain”
and the plants on it “green
patches of rushes”
– This verb has a negative
connotation “chill of fear”.
– Mottled means dotted or
spotted.
Review
• A sentence’s structure may help determine an
unknown word’s meaning.
– Look for hints within parentheses.
– Look for hints within commas.
• Use the part of speech to help determine an
unknown word’s meaning.