Grammar
Parts of Speech
The Noun
A noun is a word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea.
v A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing and is capitalized: Molly, Mount Kisco, Fox Lane.
v A common noun is not naming a particular person, place, or thing. They’re not capitalized: woman, town, school.
v An abstract noun names a quality, a characteristic, or an idea: peace, civilization, honor, justice.
v A concrete noun names an object that can be perceived by the senses: star, whisper, gravel, cinnamon.
v A collective noun names a group: jury, band, family, team.
The Pronoun
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or more than one noun.
Example: The students complained to Mr. Matts about the grading policy.
They said that he had not warned them it would be so strict.
The bold words are pronoun taking the place of the nouns above them.
The Adjective
An adjective is a word used to modify a noun or a pronoun.
To modify means to limit, or to make the meaning of a word more definite. Adjectives may modify nouns or pronouns in three different ways.
v By telling WHAT KIND: brown vest, big lips, boring teacher
v By pointing out WHICH ONE: this woman, that movie
v By telling HOW MANY: some birds, two dogs
Mr. Matts wore a pink tie with a blue shirt, which looked nice. Unfortunately, he was wearing them with orange pants, which made him look like a deranged clown.
Harry is fidgety. Jackie’s brownies were delicious.
Mr. Matts, tired and flabby, stumbled up the stairs.
*Notice that the adjective can come before or after the word it modifies depending on the preference of the writer.
The most frequently used adjectives are a, an, and the. These words are usually called articles.
A and an are indefinite articles; they refer to one of a general group.
A student threw his novel at Mr. Matts.
A sophomore told Mr. Matts it took her an hour to do her reading.
The is the definite article. It indicates that a noun refers to someone or something in particular.
The book fell off the shelf.
Leslie ate the cupcake.
The Verb
A verb is a word that expresses action or otherwise helps to make a statement.
All verbs help to make a statement. Some verbs help make a statement by EXPRESSING ACTION. The action expressed may be physical: hit, play, run. The action expressed can also be mental: think, imagine, believe.
Linking Verbs
Some verbs express a state or condition. These verbs link a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective to the subject that describes or identifies it.
The most common linking verb is be, which has many forms
Forms of Be
Am Is Are Was Were Be Being Been
Other Common Linking Verbs
Appear Grow Seem Stay
Become Look Smell Taste
Feel Remain Sound
Many of these words can also be used as ACTION VERBS.
LINKING VERB: The singer appeared nervous.
ACTION VERB: The singer appeared on television.
In general, a word is usually a LINKING VERB if you can substitute some form of the verb seem for it.
Example: The audience looked (seemed) sympathetic.
The singer gradually grew (seemed) more relaxed.
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Helping verbs help the main verb to express an action or make a statement. The helping verbs are in bold print.
has played will be coming should have paid
must have been injured may have left
The Adverb
An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
The adverb is used most commonly as the modifier of a verb. It may tell how, when, where, or to what extent (how often or how much) the action of the verb is done.
Karina reads quickly. (Quickly tells us how she reads.)
Zoe reads early and late. (Early and late tell when she reads.)
Andrew reads everywhere (Everywhere tells us where he reads.)
John reads thoroughly. (Thoroughly tells us to what extent he reads.)
Jess reads frequently. (Frequently tells us how often she reads.)
Some adverbs, such as really, actually, truly, and indeed are used chiefly for emphasis. Classify these adverbs as adverbs of extent.
Will can really play football (really emphasizes the fine quality of Will’s football skills).
Sabrina is truly a good artist (truly emphasizes the fact that she is a good artist).
Marc can actually play several instruments (actually emphasizes the fact that he can play more than one instrument).
An adverb can modify an adjective.
Stephen is a really intense competitor. (Really modifies the adjective intense, telling to what extent he is competitive.)
An adverb can modify another adverb.
Haley plays basketball very well (the adverb very modifies the adverb well, telling how well she played basketball).
The Preposition
A preposition is a word used to show the relation of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.
The first speaker on the program is my mother.
Her cousin will teach in San Diego next year.
The two of us edited the article for the magazine.
Commonly Used Prepositions
*Remember that these words may be used as other parts of speech. They are only prepositions if they are showing the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence.
The preposition and the noun or pronoun that follows combine to form a prepositional phrase. (we will discuss this further later on)
The Conjunction
A conjunction is a word that joins words or groups of words.
The conjunctions below are printed in bold; the words or groups of words that the conjunctions join are italicized.
The bear turned and lumbered off into the woods.
We can use a pickup truck or a jeep.
She helped both Julie and Harry with our applications.
The doctor will call back after he has studied the X-rays.
There are three types of conjunctions: coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions.
Coordinating Conjunctions
.and but or nor for so yet
Correlative Conjunctions
either………or neither……nor
not only……but also whether…..or
both…….…and
Correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs.
John’s homework was not only complete but also flawless.
The school lunch is neither appetizing nor affordable.
Commonly Used Subordinating Conjunctions
The iphone is even better than we had anticipated.
The sun had already set when we reached the Grand Canyon.
If the price is right, I will change your grade.
The Interjection
An interjection is an exclamatory word that expresses emotion. It has no grammatical relation to the rest of the sentence.
Interjections do not modify words; they do not connect words or sentences. Since they are not related to the other words in the sentence, they are set off from the rest of the sentence. They can be followed by an exclamation point when the emotion being expressed is strong. If the exclamation is a weak one, the interjection should be followed by a comma.
In the following examples, the interjections are in bold print.
Ugh! The milk tastes sour.
Yeah! We won!
Wow! I can’t believe that worked.
Well, forget it then.
Oh, all right.
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