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Parts of speech: Noun

Definition: Noun is the name of person, thing, place or idea. Proper noun is the specific name: Carlos, Queen Marguerite, Bangladesh (always capitalized) Common noun is the general name: country, humans, people (noncapitalized) Compound noun is word combinations: daughter-in-law, half-moon, stick-inthe-mud (hyphenated words), time capsule (individual words), basketball (combined words) Abstract noun is the name of idea what you can only feel through your consciousness: peace, love, generosity, honesty, grief, justice, warmth. Concrete noun is the opposite of abstract noun Collective nouns name group of people or things: audience, crowd, family, herd, band, dozen, team, kind, class, heap, jury, public, committee, number, group, flock, swarm, staff etc. The tricks of collective nouns: Despite the danger to its new van, the SWAT team pursues the pizza-eating Godzilla through the streets of Miami. (The team working as a unit, so it takes the singular verb pursues) After getting their butts kicked by Godzilla, the team change into their street clothes and sob in their cars on the way home. (Here the team- members are acting individually, so it takes plural verb pursue and change)

Count nouns can be counted: four books, two continents Non counts or mass nouns cannot be counted: water, energy, air Sensitive issue: He got into trouble (non- count) He had many troubles (countable) Experience is the best teacher ( non-count) I have many exciting experiences (countable)

Possessive Nouns: In life, possession shows success; in grammar, possession shows ownership. Follow these rules to create possessive nouns. 1. With singular nouns, add an apostrophe and s. girl: girl's manuscript student: student's ideas
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2. With plural nouns ending in s, add an apostrophe after the s. girls: girls' manuscript. students: students' ideas 3. With plural nouns not ending in s, add an apostrophe and s. women: women's books mice: mice's tails How to plural the singular! Only the sensitive issues 1. Add s to most nouns ending in f. However, the/endings are so irregular as to be nearly random. If you have any doubts at all, consult a dictionary. Singular Plural brief briefs chief chiefs proof proofs Exceptions: In some cases, change the / t o fe or v and add es: self (singular), selves (plural) wolf (singular) wolves(plural) leaf (singular) leaves (plural) Exception: This rule doesn't hold for names. When you're dealing with names, just add s. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf becomes the Wolfs. 2. In compound words, make the main word plural. mother-in-law . mothers-in-law passerby passersby sister-in-law sisters-in-law There are two exceptions. Here's the first: If there is no noun in the compound word, add s to the end of the word, as in these examples: mix-upmix-ups takeoff... takeoffs Plural mix-ups takeoffs Here's the second: If the compound word ends in -ful, add s to the end of the word. cupful cupfuls 7. Some nouns change their spelling when they become plural. Singular Plural child children foot feet goose geese louse lice man men mouse mice ox oxen tooth teeth woman women
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8. Some nouns have the same form whether they are singular or plural. Singular and Plural both deer moose Portuguese series sheep species swine Like the word "Portuguese," the names of other nationalities ending in -ese have the same singular and plural form. 5. The only plurals formed with apostrophes are the plurals of numbers, letters, and words highlighted as words. Here are some examples: How many 3's make 9? Be sure to mind your p's and q's. 6. Some words from other languages form plurals in other ways, often determined by the laws of the language of their origin. Here are some examples: Singular analysis axis bacterium index parenthesis Plural analyses axes bacteria indices parentheses

Functions of Nouns in the sentences

Nouns can function as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, objects of prepositions, and subject complements. Check out these examples: Godzilla ordered a large pepperoni pizza and ate the pie in a single bite.(Godzilla = the subject for the verbs ordered and ate.) George offered Godzilla a ten-dollar loan to buy a second pizza.(Godzilla = the indirect object of offered; loan = the direct object of offered.) While eating a piece of pizza, George dripped tomato sauce onto his shirt.(Shirt = the object of the preposition onto.) In Godzilla's opinion, George is a slob.(Slob = subject complement of the linking verb is.)

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Parts of Speech: Pronouns Pronoun: a word that replaces a noun without specifying a name. He was tired. In this sentence, he is the pronoun, replacing the name of the person who was tired (Jack was tired) or some other identifier (The boy was tired). Antecedent: the word to which a pronoun refers. Because Jack left in a hurry, he forgot his lunch. In this sentence, Jack is the antecedent and he is the pronoun.

Types of Pronouns Demonstrative pronouns: the words this, these, that, and those, which replace a noun. This is unacceptable. Indefinite pronoun: a pronoun that indicates unspecified quantities or degrees. Most were appalled by the prime ministers lies. Intensive pronoun: a pronoun that emphasizes the word to which it refers. The stars themselves use this skin cream. Interrogative pronoun: a pronoun that initiates a question. Who called this afternoon? Objective personal pronouns: the words me, you, her, him, it, us, and them, used to indicate that the pronoun is functioning as an object. She was glad that he gave her his trust. Personal pronoun: personal pronouns all fall into one of three persons, which indicate to whom the pronoun refers.

First person: expresses the identity of the speaker. I was driving my car.

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Second person: addresses the speakers listener. You were driving your car.

Third person: refers to someone who is neither the speaker nor the listener. They were riding in her car. Possessive personal pronoun: a pronoun that indicates possession or ownership. She was glad that he gave her its key. Reflexive pronoun: a pronoun that refers to the subject of the sentence. The cat keeps itself clean. Relative pronoun: a pronoun that links one phrase or clause to another. He would speak to whoever had answers. Subjective personal pronoun: a pronoun that acts as a subject rather than as an object. She was glad that he gave her its key. Parts of Speech: Verbs

Verb: a word that indicates action or a state of being. The predicates of sentences contain verbs. All verbs have five properties: person, number, mood, voice, and tense. 1. Types of verbs o Regular verb: a verb whose past tense form is made by the addition of d or ed. walk/walked, jump/jumped, try/tried
o

Irregular verb: a verb whose past tense form cannot be made with d or ed. cling/clung, bring/brought, choose/chose/chosen, speak/spoke/spoken

Transitive verb: a verb that requires an object to complete its meaning. The carpenter makes shelves. In this sentence, shelves is the object of the verb makes.

Intransitive verb: a verb that cannot take an object.

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She stayed at the bar long after closing time.

o

Linking verb: a verb that connects a subject to a predicate noun or adjective. The young man felt nervous about his credit card payments.

Auxiliary or helping verb: a word such as be, can, have, do, or will that combines with a verb to modify its meaning. Randall can run to the store. In this sentence, can is the auxiliary verb; run is the main verb. The two together are a compound verb.

Compound verb: the combination of an auxiliary verb and another verb. Compound verbs are used to create verb tenses that cannot be made from single verbs. I will come to the party if you are planning to invite me.

Modal auxiliary verb: an auxiliary verb that expresses necessity, obligation, potential, or possibility. She would go if she were given the chance.

Infinitive: a compound verb made with to and the basic form of the verb. Matt likes to spend a great deal of money.

2. Person: verbs must match the person of the subject. o First person: expresses identity of the writer/speaker. I am tired.
o

Second person: addresses reader/listener directly. You are tired.

Third person: refers to a subject that is neither the writer nor the reader. He is tired.

3. Number: the form of a verb always matches the number of the subject. Verbs may be singular, usually ending in -s or -es, or plural, without a modified ending. Verbs take a singular form when:
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A subject is singular. The cow jumps over the moon.

Two singular subjects are joined by or, either/or, or neither/nor. Either the cow or the rabbit jumps over the moon.

The verb is nearer the singular subject in a compound sentence that has both a singular and plural subject joined by or or nor. Either the rabbits or the cow is jumping next.

The subject is preceded by every or each. Every cow wishes it could jump over the moon.

Verbs take a plural form when:

o

A subject is plural. The wedding guests dance to the music.

Two singular subjects are joined by and. The photographer and the priest dance vigorously.

Two plural subjects are joined by or, either/or, or neither/nor. Either the brides cousins or the grooms friends are the best dancers.

The verb is nearer the plural subject in a compound subject that has both a singular and plural subject joined by or or nor. Either the brides sister or the grooms friends are buying the bride a houseboat.

4. Mood: verbs may be used in one of three moods, which indicate the attitude of the speaker toward the action of the verb. o Indicative mood: used in declarative sentences to express facts, ideas, opinions, and questions directly. For an insurance executive, Wallace writes beautifully.
o

Imperative mood: used in imperative sentences to issue commands. Bring me my violin.

Subjunctive mood: used in dependent clauses to indicate unreal or counterfactual conditions. The subjunctive is typically formed by using the past tense plural form of the verb, even if the subject is singular.

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If I were with you, I would be happy. The subjunctive mood also follows verbs of wishing or requesting: I wish that I were with you. and follows independent clauses that use adjectives indicating urgency: It seemed crucial that he go to the meeting on time. 5. Voice: indicates the relationship between the subject and the action of a verb. Verbs may be in one of two voices, active or passive. o Active voice: the subject performs the action. Gretchen sweeps the floor.
o

Passive voice: the subject receives the action. The floor was swept by Gretchen.

6. Verb tenses: indicate the time in which the action is performed. English has three tenses: past, present, and future. Each tense has four forms: simple, perfect, progressive, and perfect progressive. o Simple tenses: indicate past, present, or future action. o Perfect tenses: indicate a completed action at some point in time. o Progressive tenses: indicate action that continues for a period of time.

Simple

Perfect

Progressive

Perfect Progressive

Past

played

had played

were playing

had been playing

Present play

have played

are playing

have been playing

Future will play will have played will be playing will have been playing

Parts of Speech: Adjectives Adjective: a word that describes or modifies nouns and pronouns.
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1. Types of adjectives o Demonstrative adjectives: the words this, that, these, and those, which specify nouns. Demonstrative adjectives are similar to demonstrative pronouns, but indicate particular nouns rather than replace them. This chair is more comfortable than that chair.
o

Indefinite adjectives: adjectives that refer to unspecified quantities. Similar to indefinite pronouns, but used in relation to particular nouns. Most people would rather have a few close friends than many shallow acquaintances.

Interrogative adjectives: adjectives that initiate questions by requesting specification. Which car do you want to take? What movie did you see?

Possessive adjectives: adjectives that indicate ownership or possession. His t-shirt was stained with blood. Julianne was frustrated; no one was sympathetic to her idea.

2. Degrees of adjectives: in comparing nouns, adjectives change by degree depending on the number of objects being compared. o Positive degree: an adjective modifying a single object. happy
o

Comparative degree: an adjective implying a comparison between two objects. happier

Superlative degree: an adjective implying a comparison among three or more objects. happiest

3. Participle: an adjective formed from a verb. o Present participle: describes action in the present; made by adding ing to a verb and using it as an adjective. The running man was slower than the galloping horse.
o

Past participle: describes action in the past; takes an irregular form.

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Grown men should know better than to throw temper tantrums. Parts of speech: conjunction Conjunction: a word that links other words, phrases, or clauses together. Common conjunctions include and, if, or, and but.
o

Coordinating conjunction: a conjunction that joins words, phrases, or independent clauses without indicating relationship. F A N B O Y S

for and nor but or yet so

CONJUNCTION WHAT IS LINKED SAMPLE SENTENCES

and but or so For

noun phrase+noun We have tickets for the symphony and the phrase opera. sentence+sentence verb+verb sentence+sentence The orchestra rehearses on Tuesday, but the chorus rehearses on Wednesday. Have you seen or heard the opera by Scott Joplin? I wanted to sit in the front of the balcony, so I ordered my tickets early.

Sentence +sentence John thought he had a good chance to get the job, for his father was on the company's board of trustees. Most of the visitors were happy just sitting around in the shade, for it had been a long, dusty journey on the train.

Yet

Sentence +sentence John plays basketball well, yet his favorite sport is badminton. The visitors complained loudly about the heat, yet they continued to play golf every day Sentence+sentence That is neither what I said nor what I meant. That is not what I meant to say, nor should you interpret my statement as an admission of guilt.

Nor

Correlative conjunction: a conjunction that links, equates, or opposes ideas. Correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs.

both...and not only...but also either...or neither...nor whether...or WHAT CONJUNCTIONS LINKED
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IS SAMPLE SENTENCE

both...and either...or neither...nor

subject+subject noun+noun subject+subject

Both my sister and my brother play the piano. Tonight's program is either Mozart or Beethoven. Neither the orchestra nor the chorus was able to overcome the terrible acoustics in the church

not only...but also sentence+sentence Not only does Sue raise money for the symphony, but she also ushers at all of their concerts.

Subordinating Conjunctions A Subordinating Conjunction (sometimes called a dependent word or subordinator) comes at the beginning of a Subordinate (or Dependent) Clause and establishes the relationship between the dependent clause and the rest of the sentence. It also turns the clause into something that depends on the rest of the sentence for its meaning.

He took to the stage as though he had been preparing for this moment all his life. Because he loved acting, he refused to give up his dream of being in the movies. Unless we act now, all is lost.

Notice that some of the subordinating conjunctions in the table below after, before, since are also prepositions, but as subordinators they are being used to introduce a clause and to subordinate the following clause to the independent element in the sentence.

Common Subordinating Conjunctions after although as as if as long as as though because before even if even though if if in order now once rather since so than that though till unless until when whenever where whereas wherever while

only that that than that

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CONJUNCTION SAMPLE SENTENCE after since while although even if because We are going out to eat after we finish taking the test. Since we have lived in Atlanta, we have gone to every exhibit at the High Musuem. While I was waiting in line for the Matisse Exhibit, I ate my lunch. Although the line was long and the wait over two hours, the exhibit was well worth it Even if you have already bought your ticket, you will still need to wait in line. I love Matisse's works because he uses color so brilliantly.

Other parts of speech

Interjections are words or phrases used to exclaim or protest or command. They sometimes stand by themselves, but they are often contained within larger structures.

Wow! I won the lottery! Oh, I don't know about that. I don't know what the heck you're talking about. No, you shouldn't have done that.

Most mild interjections are treated as parenthetical elements and set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or set of commas. If the interjection is more forceful, however, it is followed with an exclamation mark. Interjections are rarely used in formal or academic writing.

Preposition: a word used to indicate physical or conceptual relationships between

other words. The squirrel sat under the tree.
o

Prepositional phrase: the combination of a preposition, its object, and the words between them. The squirrel sat under the tree.

Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times. The train is due at 12:15 p.m.

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We use on to designate days and dates. My brother is coming on Monday. We're having a party on the Fourth of July. We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year. She likes to jog in the morning. It's too cold in winter to run outside. He started the job in 1971. He's going to quit in August.
Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses. Grammar English lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham. We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc. Her house is on Boretz Road. And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents). She lives in Durham. Durham is in Windham County. Windham County is in Connecticut.
Prepositions of Location: in, at, and on and No Preposition IN (the) bed* the bedroom the car (the) class* the library* school* AT class* home the library* the office school* work ON the bed* the ceiling the floor the horse the plane the train NO PREPOSITION downstairs downtown inside outside upstairs uptown

* You may sometimes use different prepositions for these locations.

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Prepositions of Movement: to and No Preposition

We use to in order to express movement toward a place. They were driving to work together. She's going to the dentist's office this morning. Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you. We're moving toward the light. This is a big step towards the project's completion. With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition. Grandma went upstairs Grandpa went home. They both went outside.
Prepositions of Time: for and since

We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years). He held his breath for seven minutes. She's lived there for seven years. The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries. We use since with a specific date or time. He's worked here since 1970. She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.
Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.

Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word.

NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS

approval of awareness of belief in

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fondness for need for grasp of participation in hatred of reason for

concern for hope for confusion about interest in desire for love of

respect for success in understanding of

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS

afraid of angry at aware of capable of careless about familiar with

fond of happy about interested in jealous of made of married to

proud of similar to sorry for sure of tired of worried about

VERBS and PREPOSITIONS

apologize for ask about ask for belong to bring up care for find out

give up grow up look for look forward to look up make up pay for

prepare for study for talk about think about trust in work for worry about

A combination of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is joined to the verb is then called a particle.
Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions

agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (sometimes similarities) correspond to a thing, with a person differ from an unlike thing, with a person live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people

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