Parts of Speech

Noun: a word that names something, such as person, place, thing, quality, or idea. Anoun is called a common noun and is not capitalized if it names just any member of agroup or class. Ex: man, city, school, relative. A noun is a proper noun and iscapitalized if it refers to a particular individual in a group or class. Ex: Albert Lowson,Los Angeles, Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, Aunt Sarah.

Pronoun: a word that substitutes for a noun. There are several kinds of pronouns.> Personal (substitute for definite persons or things): /, you, he, she, it, we, they> Demonstrative (substitute for things being pointed out): this, that, these, those> Indefinite (substitute for unknown/unspecified things): each, either, neither, one,

anyone, somebody, everything, all, few, many, etc.> Possessive (substitute for things possessed): mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs

Verb: a word that expresses action, existence, or occurrence by combining with a subjectto make a statement, ask a question, or to give a command. Ex: go, jump, dance, will be,sing, can do, have answered.

Adjective: a word that describes or limits - that is, gives qualities to - a noun.Adjectives are found in 3 different positions in a sentence:

> before a noun that is in any position within a sentence.The small child left. He is a small child. I saw the small child. I gave it to thesmall child.

> following a describing (linking) verb and modifying the subject.The child is small. Mary looked unhappy. We became upset.

> directly following the noun (less common)He provided the money necessary for the trip. The hostess, calm and serene,entered the hall.

Adverb: a word that modifies anything except a noun or pronoun. Most adverbs modifyverbs (He returned soon.) Other adverbs modify adjectives and other adverbs (The veryold man walked quite slowly.) Some adverbs modify whole sentences (Consequently, werefused the offer.) Adverbs tell certain things about the verb, the most common being:

> Manner: John performed well. We worked hard. The child laughed happily. Iwould gladly change places with you.

> Time: I must leave now. I'll see you later. Soon we shall meet again.> Frequency: We often go on picnics, sometimes at the lake, but usually in the park.> Place: There he sat, alone and silent. Somewhere we shall find peace and quiet.> Direction: The police officer turned away. I movedforward in the bus.> Degree: I could barely hear the speaker. I absolutely refuse to believe that story.

This gives you helpful clues for recognizing the most frequently used adverbs, whichanswer such questions as "How?" (manner or degree), "When?" (time or frequency), and"Where?" (place or direction).

Preposition: a word that introduces a phrase (a group of words) and shows therelationship between a noun or pronoun and another word. Notice that many prepositionsshow a relationship of time or space. Here are some common prepositions:

aboutaboveacrossafteragainstalongaroundatbeforebehindbelowbeneath

besidebesidesbetweenbeyondbydownduringexceptforfromin

insideintolikenearofoffonoutoutsideoversince

throughthroughouttilltotowardunderunfitupuponwithwithout

according tobecause ofby way ofin addition toin front ofin place ofin regard toin spite ofinstead ofon account ofout oftogether with

Remember that some words can be used as multiple parts .of speech. When trying toidentify which part of speech a word is, look carefully at how the word is being used inthe sentence.

Ex: The bus arrived early, (adverb)Ex: I took the early bus. (adjective)

Ex: I found the cat inside the closet, (preposition)Ex: They play inside on rainy days, (adverb)Ex: The inside of the house is painted white, (noun)Ex: I prefer the inside seat on the bus. (adjective)

Pronouns - Part I

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The noun for which apronoun stands and to which it refers is called its antecedent.

> A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number and gender.

Ex: Karen repaired her broken bicycle.the noun Karen is singular and feminine, so the correct pronoun is her

Ex: Mrs. Smith gave Billy his birthday present.the noun Billy is singular and masculine, so the correct pronoun is his

Ex: The plants have lost their leaves.the noun plants is plural, so the correct pronoun is their

Ex: The car lost its tire.the noun car is singular and neuter gender (because it's a thing), so the correctpronoun is its

Ex: Everyone took his or her coat.the noun everyone is singular and not gender specific, so the correct pronoun(s)is(are) either his, her, or his or her.

> When a pronoun is part of a compound subject (as in the first 2 examples below)or object (as in the third example), it's often difficult to decide on an appropriateform. To decide which form to use, try each part of the subject or objectseparately with the verb.

Ex: Hal and (I/me) kayaked down the river.Hal kayaked; / kayaked, not me kayake

Ex: The principal wanted to see George and (I/jme).see George; see me, not see /

Ex: Jenny invited both (they/them) and (we/us) to the party,invited them, not invited they.invited us, not invited we

Pronouns - Part II

V Beware of pronoun shift! Do not use the pronoun "you" to replace an antecedentin the third person. Do not begin a sentence using one pronoun and then switch toanother.

Faulty: In a large university, a freshman can feel lost if you have grown up in asmall town.

Improved: In a large university, a freshman can feel lost if he or she has grown up in asmall town.

Faulty: If -a person really wants to become an expert golfer, yoi4 must practiceeveryday.

Improved: If a person really wants to become an expert golfer, he or she must practiceeveryday.

Faulty: If one stands atop of the Empire State Building, they will beoverwhelmed by the view.

Improved: If one stands atop of the Empire State Building, he or she w i l l beoverwhelmed by the view.

>•* Beware of ambiguous pronoun reference! In all sentences, the antecedent towhich the pronoun refers must be crystal clear.

Faulty: Take the books off the shelves and dust them? (dust the books or theshelves?)

Improved: Dust the books after you take them off the shelves.

Faulty: Julie told Kate that her sculpture won an award, (was it Julie's orKate's sculpture that won the award?)

Improved: After winning an award for her sculpture, Kate called to tell Julie.

Faulty: At concerts, they sit too loud to the speakers, (who is "they"?)Improved: At concerts, teenagers sit too close to the speakers.

Faulty: Read what they say about cell phones, (who is "they"?)Improved: Read what the article sa\ about cell phones.

Subjects and Verbs

A sentence is made up of two basic parts: the subject and the verb. The subject is thenoun or pronoun that performs the verb. The verb is the action or state of being word.

> In English, the basic sentence structure is subject + verb + rest of the sentence.

Ex: Mary plays the piano. => Mary + plays + the piano.Ex: You are my best friend. => You + are + my best friend.

> If a verb follows "to" is called an infinitive and is not the main verb. You will findthe main verb either before or after the infinitive phrase.

Ex: I like to walk, (like is the main verb)Ex: He wants to call her on the phone, (wants is the main verb)

> To find the subject and verb, always find the verb first. Then ask who or whatperformed the verb.

Ex: The jet engine passed inspection.The verb is passed. Who or what passed? The engine, so the engine is the subject.Jet is an adjective modifying the noun engine.

Ex: From the ceiling hung the chandelier.The verb is hung. Who or what hung? The chandelier [not ceiling, though it, too,is a noun] So, chandelier is the subject.

> Some sentences do not report an action. Instead, the sentence says somethingabout the condition of the subject. In this kind of sentence, you must look forverbs such as is, are, were, seem, and become.

Ex: Alex seems sad.Ex: The weather seems fine for swimming.Ex: They are not happy.

> Very often, the subject is separated from the verb. For an easier time identifyingthe subject and the verb, ignore any prepositional phrases - a group of words thatbegins with a preposition and ends with a noun.

Ex: The price of potatoes is high, ["of potatoes" is a prepositional phrase, thesubject is price]

Ex: Each of my sisters is red-haired, ["of my sisters" is a prepositional phrase,the subject is each]Ex: Only one of these watches works, ["of these watches" is a prepositionalphrase, the subject is one]

> In delayed subject sentences, the verb comes before the subject. Often, thesesentences begin with a prepositional phrase or a word like "here" or "there."

Ex: There are five cats in the yard, [cats is the subject; are is the verb]Ex: Behind the house stood an old mill, [mill is the subject; stood is the verb]Ex: Under the table hid my little brother Billy. [Billy is the subject; hid is the verb]

> Casual, informal language often combines short verbs and subjects withapostrophes representing the omitted letters.

Ex: I'm [I am]Ex: It's [It is]Ex: You've [You have]Ex: They're [They are]

> In a request or a command, the subject is understood though it isn't written.

Ex: Stop! [the subject "you" is implied; stop is a verb]Ex: Bring me my coat! [the subject "you" is implied; bring is a verb]