Parts of Speech

Noun
A person, place, thing, idea or animal:

dog, telephone, cup, student, sky, calendar, zebra, El Paso, Australia, paper, homework, love, respect, air, water, thought, prayer, existence, sports, news, camera, desk, post office, Switzerland, Conchos River, La Paz, ocean, mountain, school, lake, speech, art, music, ignorance, pride, evil, God, photograph, coffee, happiness, sadness, friendship, hardship, English, Spanish, Tagalog, etc.

Note:  All proper nouns start with capital letters in English:  Las Cruces, Jessica, Atlantic Ocean, Washington Elementary School, Thomason General Hospital.

Verb
Action or state of being:

go, eat, drink, study, ride, drive, communicate, consider, postulate, run, jump, think, talk, move, buy, return, turn, yield, crash, call, yell, whisper, type, believe, teach, learn, fluctuate, draw, sing, travel, pay, pay for, get up, wake up, go to bed, explain, ask, probe, doubt, play, work, dance, dancing, study, enjoy, hate, dislike, have, has, had, appear, seem, am, is, are, was, were, be.

Note:  All forms of ‘to be’ are considered verbs:  am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being.

I am strong.

He is late.

Adjective
Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns:

good, bad, large, small, new, old, steady, intermittent, permanent, temporary, deep, shallow, difficult, hard, easy, soft, pretty, beautiful, handsome, good-looking, nice, rude, yellow, red, black, white, pink, long, short, sick, evil, polite, ugly, microscopic, calm, agitated, drunk, silly, serious, efficient, lazy, effective, tentative, confident, loud, useless, careful, many, few, Italian, Vietnamese, etc..

Examples:
Jessica has a large red car.
Mr. Muniz is a very effective teacher.
Cassandra bought a beautiful new dress.
Miguel likes Chinese food.  (‘Chinese’ here is a proper adjective describing the noun ‘food’.  Proper adjectives in English begin with a capital letter.)
Many students use the computers in the computer lab.

Adverb
Adverbs describe or modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.  They usually tell:  ‘how’, ‘when’, or ‘to what extent’.  Most adverbs in English end in the suffix ‘-ly’:

slowly, quickly, carefully, well, very, terribly, mostly, overwhelmingly, generally, mainly, occasionally, temporarily, suddenly, rapidly, commonly, rarely, seldom, often, sometimes, never, quite, peacefully, violently, intelligently, swiftly, willfully, reluctantly.

The sun rises very slowly.
She doesn’t feel well.
He occasionally goes on vacation to New Orleans.
Mona drives quite fast.

Pronoun
A pronoun is a word which substitutes for a noun.  There are many kinds of pronouns, such as subject pronoun, object pronoun, and possessive pronoun:

I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, someone, somebody, no one, something, anyone, anything, everybody.

They came to school yesterday.
He told her not to tell anyone the secret.
That book is hers.
Somebody told her that it had closed down.

Preposition
A preposition is a word that is always followed by its own object.  If it doesn’t have an object after it, it is not a preposition.  Prepositions tell locations and relations:

by, in, on, at, beside, over, toward, inside, behind, following, after, before, to, into, above, below, near, close to, across, beyond, on top of, etc.

Jeffrey ran to the mall.
After school we ran home.
The Patricio family is in the grocery store.
Muhammad went to the bank.
The children are at school.
The novel is by Kurt Vonnegut.

Conjunction
A word that joins items, ideas or sentences:

and, or, but, for, nor, yet, so= FANBOYS (coordinating conjunctions)

if, as, although, though, before, after, even though (subordinating conjunctions)

Harry, Sue, and Linda got new jobs.
I want to go on vacation, but I don’t have enough money.
Carmen wants to buy a Ford or a Chevrolet car.
Howard exercises every day when he feels well.

Bob likes to eat after he takes his shower.

Interjection
A word that has no grammatical function other than to express surprise, pain, disappointment, amazement, or as a filler:

wow, ouch, um, oh, uh-huh, ooh, hurray, boo, aah:

Wow!  What a nice postcard you brought me!
Ouch!  You stepped on my toe.

Independent Clauses vs. Dependent Clauses

Independent Clause

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.

Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.

Dependent Clause

A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.

When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz . . . (What happened when he studied? The thought is incomplete.)

Three Types of Dependent Clauses:

Noun, Adverb, and Adjective

Noun Clauses

A noun clause is an entire clause which takes the place of a noun in another clause or phrase. Like a noun, a noun clause acts as the subject or object of a verb or the object of a preposition, answering the questions “who(m)?” or “what?”.

Begin with words like WHO, THAT, , WHOM, WHOMEVER, WHAT, WHATEVER, WHERE, WHEREVER

Examples:

Where they are going is unknown.

Whoever broke the vase will have to pay for it.

I know that Latin is no longer spoken as a native language.

Adjective Clauses

An adjective clause is a dependent clause which takes the place of an adjective in another clause or phrase. Like an adjective, an adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun, answering questions like “which?” or “what kind of?”

Begin with words like WHO, WHOM, WHICH, THAT.

Examples:

The meat which they ate was tainted.

We taked about the girl that made him cry.

They are searching for the one who borrowed the book.

Did I tell you about the author whom I met?

Adverb Clauses

An adverb clause is a dependent clause which takes the place of an adverb in another clause or phrase. An adverb clause answers questions such as “when?”, “where?”, “why?”, “with what goal/result?”, and “under what conditions?”.

Begin with many of the SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS ON THIS LIST.

after

although

as

because

before

even if

even though

if

in order that

once

provided that

rather than

since

so that

than

that

though

unless          until

when

whenever

where

whereas

wherever

whether

while

why

Examples:

The premier gave a speech when he felt better.

They ate after they left the locker room.

If the British co-operate, the Europeans may achieve monetary union.

Because Hamlet’s uncle Claudius married Hamlet’s mother, Hamlet wanted to kill him.

Exercises: Label as NOUN, ADVERB, or ADEJECTIVE CLAUSE.

Some people buy expensive cars simply because they can.

Many people hope that Canada can resolve its economic problems.

The bankers need to know what they should do.

Which one is the person who stole your car?

Wherever there is a large American city, there will be poverty.

The books which the professor assigned were very expensive.

Canada might give up its marketing boards if the European Community gives up its grain subsidies.

That is the place where Wolfe’s and Montcalm’s armies fought.

Unless the crown can make a better case, the accused murderer will not be convicted.

Although Americans love to travel to foreign countries, they seldom learn to speak other languages.

My sister, who teaches Spanish and Italian in New York, says that she had more students twenty years ago.

She wrote a book about what she has learned over the years.

What she worries about is the general decline in American language-learning skills.

She believes that American families used to take more pride in learning second languages.

The internet, which has become such a global phenomenon, has contributed to the predominance of English.

My sister’s conviction is that American students could use the internet.

English is the dominant language on the internet because the American computer industry dominates the rest of the world.

When non-Americans get on the internet, they frequently are trying to improve their English.

What computers have meant to language learning has surprised just about everyone in the academic world.

Phrases- groups of words that function together

Gerund Phrases- Begin with an “ING” word and acts like a noun

Walking to the store is fun.  Gerund phrase is working like a subject.

I love eating with my toes. Gerund phrase is working like the direct object.

Participial Phrases-Begins with “ING” or “ED” and acts like an adjective.

The boy shouting in the street\ is a friend of mine.  The participial phrase is describing the boy.

The girl burned by the sun took a cold shower.  The participial phrase is describing the girl.

Infinitive Phrases-begin with “TO + verb” and a few other words (usually a prep. Phrase).  They can act like adjectives, adverbs, or nouns.

To run in the rain is cool.  The infinitive phrase is functioning like a noun.

The girl to watch in the race is Belinda.  The infinitive phrases is functioning like an adjective as it describes the girl.

I ran to catch the plane. The infinitive phrase is acting like an adverb as it answers why “I” ran.

Appositives- begin with the, an, a, or some possessive pronoun, like my, his or her, or their. Appositives rename a noun in the sentence.  They always function like nouns.

John, a great teacher, is my friend.                          The appositive renames John.

Savannah, my hometown, is a very hot place.  The appositive renames Savannah.

The dog was a Collie, a very loyal dog.            The appositive renames a Collie.

Prepositional Phrases- A preposition is a word that begins a prepositional phrase and shows the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence:  Prepositional Phrases begin with a preposition and end with an object (noun).

about, above, across, after, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, but (when it means except), by, concerning, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, out, outside, over, past, since, through, to, toward, under, until, up, upon, with, within, and without.

Common Sentence Errors

Sentence Fragment- a sentence that is, in some way, incomplete.

Before we were friends.

Walking to the store in the rain.

Over the weekend in my house.

Run-on Sentence- multiple sentences linked without punctuation

I went to the store and then I went to the mall I saw my friend there we talked for an hour.

Kwasny ran a mile with his dog he was tired.

Comma Splice- two sentences spliced together with comma

Darrell loves to ride his scooter, he also loves to ride his bike.

Congress is working on a new plan for health care, many people are hoping to receive more coverage.

More Common Errors

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Bob, after he runs a mile, love to eat Oreos and drink milk.

Issue:

High above the Hudson River rises many amazing skyscrapers

CONFUSION OF SIMPLE PAST AND PAST PARTICIPLE

Several passersby seen the robbers running from the scene.

Issue:

WRONG WORDS:

ACCEPT/EXCEPT

AFFECT/EFFECT

THERE/THEY’RE/THEIR

LAY/LIE

COMMA RULES

1. Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.

The student explained her question, yet the instructor still didn’t seem to understand.

Yesterday was her brother’s birthday, so she took him out to dinner.

2. Use commas after introductory dependent clauses or phrases.

While I was eating, the cat scratched at the door.

Because her alarm clock was broken, she was late for class.

If you are ill, you ought to see a doctor.

When the snow stops falling, we’ll shovel the driveway.

Walking to the store, Berry found a magic acorn.

After the storm in the sky, I saw a bird.  (after 2 or more prep. Phrases)

However, don’t put a comma after the main clause when a dependent (subordinate) clause follows it.

1. She was late for class, because her alarm clock was broken. (incorrect)

1. The cat scratched at the door, while I was eating. (incorrect)

3. Essential vs. Non-essential

Examples of other essential elements (no commas):

Students who cheat only harm themselves.

The baby wearing a yellow jumpsuit is my niece.

The candidate who had the least money lost the election.

Examples of nonessential elements (set off by commas):

Fred, who often cheats, is just harming himself.

My niece, wearing a yellow jumpsuit, is playing in the living room.

The Green party candidate, who had the least money, lost the election.

Apples, which are my favorite fruit, are the main ingredient in this recipe.

Professor Benson, grinning from ear to ear, announced that the exam would be tomorrow.

Examples of other essential elements (no commas):

Students who cheat only harm themselves.

The baby wearing a yellow jumpsuit is my niece.

The candidate who had the least money lost the election.

5. Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.

The Constitution establishes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

The candidate promised to lower taxes, protect the environment, reduce crime, and end unemployment.

The prosecutor argued that the defendant, who was at the scene of the crime, who had a strong revenge motive, and who had access to the murder weapon, was guilty of homicide.

(When you use just the month and the year, no comma is necessary after the month or year: “The average temperatures for July 1998 are the highest on record.

1. Direct Address

Tom, I love you.

Take out the trash, Sue.

Great Words to Use for Writing

ADJECTIVES

Appearance

adorable

adventurous

aggressive

alert

attractive

average

beautiful

blue-eyed

bloody

blushing

bright

clean

clear

cloudy

colorful

crowded

cute

dark

drab

distinct

dull

elegant

excited

fancy

filthy

Appearance

Contd.

glamorous

gleaming

gorgeous

graceful

grotesque

handsome

homely

light

long

magnificent

misty

motionless

muddy

old-fashioned

plain

poised

precious

quaint

shiny

smoggy

sparkling

spotless

stormy

strange

ugly

ugliest

unsightly

unusual

wide-eyed

Condition

alive

annoying

bad

better

beautiful

brainy

breakable

busy

careful

cautious

clever

clumsy

concerned

crazy

curious

dead

different

difficult

doubtful

easy

expensive

famous

fragile

frail

gifted

helpful

helpless

horrible

important

Condition

Contd.

impossible

inexpensive

innocent

inquisitive

modern

mushy

odd

open

outstanding

poor

powerful

prickly

puzzled

real

rich

shy

sleepy

stupid

super

talented

tame

tender

tough

uninterested

vast

wandering

wild

wrong

Feelings (Bad)

angry

annoyed

anxious

arrogant

ashamed

awful

bad

bewildered

black

blue

bored

clumsy

combative

condemned

confused

crazy, flipped-out

creepy

cruel

dangerous

defeated

defiant

depressed

disgusted

disturbed

dizzy

dull

embarrassed

envious

evil

fierce

foolish

frantic

frightened

grieving

Feelings (Bad)

Contd.

grumpy

helpless

homeless

hungry

hurt

ill

itchy

jealous

jittery

lazy

lonely

mysterious

nasty

naughty

nervous

nutty

obnoxious

outrageous

panicky

repulsive

scary

selfish

sore

tense

terrible

testy

thoughtless

tired

troubled

upset

uptight

weary

wicked

worried

Feelings (Good)

agreeable

amused

brave

calm

charming

cheerful

comfortable

cooperative

courageous

delightful

determined

eager

elated

enchanting

encouraging

energetic

enthusiastic

excited

exuberant

fair

faithful

fantastic

fine

friendly

funny

gentle

glorious

good

Feelings (Good)

Contd.

happy

healthy

helpful

hilarious

jolly

joyous

kind

lively

lovely

lucky

nice

obedient

perfect

pleasant

proud

relieved

silly

smiling

splendid

successful

thankful

thoughtful

victorious

vivacious

witty

wonderful

zealous

zany

Shape

broad

chubby

crooked

curved

deep

flat

high

hollow

low

narrow

round

shallow

skinny

square

steep

straight

wide

Size

big

colossal

fat

gigantic

great

huge

immense

large

little

mammoth

massive

miniature

petite

puny

scrawny

short

small

tall

teeny

teeny-tiny

tiny

Sound

cooing

deafening

faint

harsh

high-pitched

hissing

hushed

husky

loud

melodic

moaning

mute

noisy

purring

quiet

raspy

resonant

screeching

shrill

silent

soft

squealing

thundering

voiceless

whispering

Time

ancient

brief

Early

fast

late

long

modern

old

old-fashioned

quick

rapid

short

slow

swift

young

Taste/Touch

bitter

delicious

fresh

juicy

ripe

rotten

salty

sour

spicy

stale

sticky

strong

sweet

tart

tasteless

tasty

thirsty

fluttering

fuzzy

greasy

grubby

hard

hot

icy

loose

Taste/Touch

Contd.

melted

nutritious

plastic

prickly

rainy

rough

scattered

shaggy

shaky

sharp

shivering

silky

slimy

slippery

smooth

soft

solid

steady

sticky

tender

tight

uneven

weak

wet

wooden

yummy

Touch

boiling

breezy

broken

bumpy

chilly

cold

cool

creepy

crooked

cuddly

curly

damaged

damp

dirty

dry

dusty

filthy

flaky

fluffy

freezing

hot

warm

wet

Quantity

abundant

empty

few

heavy

light

many

numerous

substantial

VERBS

abandon

abduct

abolish

abscond

abuse

accelerate

accuse

achieve

acquire

act

adapt

add

address

adjust

administer

advance

advise

aim

allocate

analyze

answer

anticipate

apprehend

approach

appropriate

arbitrate

arrange

arrest

ascertain

assault

assemble

assess

attack

attain

audit

avert

bang

bar

beat

berate

bite

blast

block

blow

brighten

broke

buck

budget

built

bump

bury

bushwhack

calculate

catch

charge

chart

chase

check

choke

clap

clash

classify

climb

clip

clutch

coach

collapse

collar

collect

collide

command

commandeer

communicate

compile

complete

compose

compute

conduct

conserve

consolidate

construct

consult

control

coordinate

counsel

count

cram

crash

crawl

create

creep

cripple

crouch

cut

dance

dart

dash

deal

decide

deck

deduct

define

delegate

delineate

deliver

descend

describe

design

detect

determine

develop

devise

diagnose

dictate

dig

direct

discard

discover

display

dissect

distribute

ditch

dive

divert

do

dodge

dominate

dope

douse

draft

drag

drain

dramatize

drape

draw

dress

drill

drink

drip

drop

drown

drug

dry

duel

dunk

ease

edge

edit

eject

elevate

elope

elude

emerge

endure

engage

enjoin

ensnare

enter

equip

erupt

escape

establish

estimate

evacuate

evade

evaluate

evict

examine

exert

exhale

exit

expand

expedite

expel
explode

experiment

explain

expose

extend

extirpate

extract

extricate

fade

fake

fall

falter

fan

fast

fear

feed

feel

fend

fight

file

fill

finance

find

finger

fix

flag

flap

flash

flatten

flaunt

flay

flee

flick

flinch

fling

flip

flit

float

flog

flounder

flout

flush

fly

fondle

force

formulate

fornicate

found

fumble

furnish

gain

gallop

gather

generate

gesture

get

give

gnaw

gossip

gouge

grab

grapple

grasp

greet

grind

grip

gripe

grope

grow

growl

grunt

guide

gyrate

hack

hail

hammer

handle

hang

harass

haul

head

help

hesitate

hide

hijack

hit

hitch

hobble

hoist

hold

hover

hug

hurl

hurtle

hypothesize

identify

ignore

illustrate

imitate

implement

improve

improvise

inch

increase

indict

induce

inflict

influence

inform

inject

injure

insert

inspect

inspire

install

instigate

institute

interchange

interpret

interview

invade

invent

inventory

investigate

isolate

jab

jam

jar

jeer

jerk

jimmy

jingle

jolt

judge

jump

keel

kibitz

kick

kidnap

kill

kneel

knife

lash

launch

lead

lean

leap

learn

lecture

left

level

lick

limp

listen

log

lunge

lurch

maim

maintain

make

manage

mangle

manipulate

march

mark

massage

maul

measure

meddle

mediate

meet

mentor

mimic

mingle

mobilize

mock

model

molest

monitor

motivate

mourn

move

mumble

murder

muster

mutilate

nab

nag

nail

needle

negotiate

nick

nip

observe

obtain

occupy

offer

officiate

operate

order

organize

oversee

pack

paddle

page

pander

panic

parachute

parade

paralyze

park

parry

party

pass

pat

patrol

pause

paw

peel

peep

penetrate

perceive

perform

persuade

photograph

pick

picket

pile

pilot

pin

pinch

pirate

pitch

placate

plan

play

plod

plow

plunge

pocket

poke

polish

pore

pose

pounce

pout

pray

predict

preen

prepare

prescribe

present

presented

preside

primp

print

process

prod

produce

program

project

promote

prompt

proofread

propel

protect

provide

provoke

pry

publicize

pull

pummel

pump

punch

purchase

pursue

push

question

quit

race

raid

raise

rally

ram

ransack

rape

rattle

ravage

rave

read

realize

receive

recline

recommend

reconcile

reconnoiter

record

recoup

recruit

redeem

reduce

reel

refer

regain

rejoin

relate

relax

relent

render

repair

repel

report

represent

repulse

research

resign

resist

resolve

respond

restore

retaliate

retreat

retrieve

reveal

review

ride

rip

rise

risk

rob

rock

roll

rub

run

rush

sail

salute

sap

save

saw

scale

scamper

scan

scare

scatter

scavenge

schedule

scold

scoop

scoot

score

scour

scout

scrape

scrawl

scream

screw

scrub

scruff

scuffle

sculpt

scuttle

seal

search

seduce

seize

select

sell

sense

serve

set

sever

sew

shake

shanghai

shape

sharpen

shave

shear

shell

shield

shift

shiver

shock

shoot

shorten

shout

shove

shovel

show

shun

shut

sidestep

sigh

signal

sip

sit

size

skid

skim

skip

skirt

slacken

slam

slap

slash

slay

slide

slug

smack

smear

smell

smuggle

snap

snare

snarl

snatch

snicker

sniff

snitch

snoop

snub

snuff

snuggle

soak

sock

soil

solve

spear

spell

spike

spin

splatter
splice

split

spot

spray

spread

spring

sprint

spurn

spy

squeak

stack

stagger

stamp

stand

start

startle

steal

steer

step

stick

stiffen

stifle

stomp

stop

strangle

strap

strike

strip

stroke

struck

stub

study

stuff

stumble

stun

subdue

submerge

submit

suck

summarize

summon

supervise

supply

support

surrender

survey

suspend

swagger

swallow

swap

sway

swear

swerve

swim

swing

swipe

switch

synthesize

systematize

tackle

take

tap

target

taste

taunt

teach

tear

tease

telephone

terrorize

test

thrash

thread

threaten

throw

tickle

tie

tilt

tip

toss

touch

tout

track

train

transcribe

transfer

translate

trap

tread

treat

trip

trot

trounce

try

tuck

tug

tumble

turn

tutor

twist

type

understand

undertake

undo

undress

unfold

unify

unite

untangle

unwind

update

usher

utilize

vacate

vanish

vanquish

vault

vent

violate

wade

walk

wander

ward

watch

wave

wedge

weed

weigh

whack

whip

whirl

whistle

wield

wiggle

withdraw

work

wreck

wrench

wrestle

write

yank

yell

yelp

yield

zap

zip