Parts of speech

Imagine playing your favorite game. Do you know all the rules? Do you follow them carefully? Can you play without the proper equipment? It is important to know the rules. It is important to use the right equipment. This is true for your favorite game. Its also true when you write! The right equipment in writing includes the differentparts of speech. You know many of them already. Today, youll learn about three more parts of speech.

Knowing the Rules

The equipment needed for writing is words. Words are divided into eight categories. These categories are called parts of speech. Some common parts of speech are nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Nouns name a person, a place, or a thing. Verbs express an action or a state of being. Pronouns take the place of nouns. Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. Adverbs describe verbs. There are three other parts of speech: interjections, conjunctions, and prepositions. They are just as important. They bring all the other parts of speech together to form good sentences. Youll need to know how to use all the equipment if you want to write winning sentences.

An interjection is a word or a group of words that express a strong feeling. Interjections usually appear at the beginning of sentences. Interjections are followed by a comma ( , ) or an exclamation mark ( ! ). It depends on the amount of feeling expressed. The following words are common interjections: Ah Aha Well Oops Alas Hey Whew Wow Hooray Darn Ouch Ugh

You Try!
Fill in the blanks with the best interjection from the drop-down list. 1. ___ ! That ball almost went out of bounds. 2. ___! Your team won the game! 3. ___! That really hurts.

What kind of feeling do you think each of these words expresses?

The Equipment: Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word that joins together two words or two groups of words. The most common conjunctions are: and, but, for, or, nor, yet. Look at these examples: When playing soccer, it is important to be able to run fastand to move the ball well with your feet. The goalie guards the goal, but all the other players help her, too. Soccer has been popular in different parts of the world for a long time, yet it has been popular in the United States for only a short time. You may enjoy soccer, or you may prefer volleyball. Some kids enjoy neither soccer nor volleyball. All kids should participate in some physical activity, for a strong body supports a strong mind.

More Equipment: Prepositions Make All the Difference

There are many prepositions. You probably use several of them whenever you speak or write. Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence. Aprepositional phrase is a preposition followed by a noun or a pronoun. Look at these examples:

 Flo kicked the ball over the fence. Flo kicked the ball through the fence. Flo kicked the ball by the fence. Flo kicked the ball near the fence. Flo kicked the ball around the fence.

Look at All Those Prepositions!

Do most of the prepositions in the list below look familiar? Use prepositions from the list to complete the following phrases. Write your answers into your notebook. 1. 2. 3. 4. ___ ___ ___ ___ the the the the lake door box show 5. 6. 7. 8. ___ ___ ___ ___ the the our the boat rules house book 9. 10. 11. 12. ___ ___ ___ ___ the plants his car her bike your room

aboard against before between except in front of near onto since until

about along behind beyond except for inside next to out through up

above among below by for in spite of of out of to upon

according to around beneath despite from instead of off outside toward with

across at beside down in into on over under within

after because of besides during in back of like on account of past underneath without

All Those Little Words

Can you find the preposition in each sentence? Type the prepositions in the spaces provided. 1. The store is just around the corner. 2. Her cabin sits by the lake. 3. The dog sleeps under the table. 4. She drove with the team. 5. He couldnt decide at the time. 6. He looks different from the back. 7. The baby slept through the night.

8. My mom put my lunch in the bag. 9. The wreath is hung on the door. 10. They ran over the hill.

Bringing It All Together

Have you ever made cookies? How about a sandwich? The ingredients you need to make your favorite cookies, or sandwich, are very important. If you leave out an ingredient, things wont taste right. You have to know all the ingredients. You have to put them together correctly. If not, the recipe just doesnt work. Good writing is the same way!

Parts of Speech
There are many ingredients for good writing. The most basic ones are words. All words are grouped into eight parts of speech. The most common parts of speech are nouns andverbs. Nouns name a person, place, or thing. Verbs express action or state of being. Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. Adverbs describe verbs. Pronouns take the place of nouns. There are three other parts of speech. They are interjections,conjunctions, and prepositions. They bring all the other parts of speech together. They complete the recipe for making sentences. Good writing depends on knowing the right ingredients. It also depends on using the right combinations.

Showing Feeling: Interjections

An interjection expresses strong feeling. An interjection can be a word or a group of words. It usually appears at the beginning of a sentence. It is usually followed by a comma (,). It can be followed by an exclamation mark (!), if the feeling is stronger. Look at these examples: Ah, what a beautiful sunset. Wow! Thats a big mess. Oh, Im sorry I forgot your birthday. Here are some other common interjections: aha hey well hooray oops whew ouch ugh wow

Make a Choice
Choose one of the interjections from the dropdown list to begin each sentence. 1. ___ I banged my elbow on the edge of the desk. 2. ___ I forgot to give you the phone messages. 3. ___ Im happy thats over. 4. ___ We won the championship! 5. ___ that is the tallest building I have ever seen.

Joining Words: Conjunctions

A conjunction joins together two words or groups of words. The most common conjunctions are: and, but, for, or, nor, yet. Look at these examples: Snow and rain are common in winter. Warm, dry weather occurs in summer, but not everywhere. Which do you prefer, summer or winter?

Scavenger Hunt: Find the Interjections and Conjunctions

Can you find the interjection or conjunction in these sentences. They are from Alices Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. You might find more than one in each sentence. Find the word in each sentence and label each as interjection or conjunction. (Hint: There are 12 in all.) Record your answers in the notebook. Check your answers with your guide.

1. Well! thought Alice to herself, after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling downstairs! 2. Please, Maam, is this New Zealand or Australia? 3. Oh, my ears and whiskers, how late its getting! 4. Alice opened the door and found that it led into a small passage, not much larger than a rat-hole. 5. Who in the world am I? Ah, thats the great puzzle! 6. As she said this she looked down at her hands, and was surprised to see that she had put on one of the Rabbits little white kid gloves while she was talking. 7. She ran with all speed back to the little door; but alas! The little door was shut again, and the little golden key was lying on the glass table as before. 8. At first she thought it must be a walrus or hippopotamus, but then she remembered how small she was now.

Heres a Preposition for You

Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in a sentence. It is very important to use the correct preposition. The preposition can change the whole meaning of the sentence. Look at these examples: Place the book on the table. Place the book under the table. Place the book near the table. Place the book behind the table.

You use prepositions all the time. Some prepositions are made up of more than one word. Here is a long list of prepositions: aboard against before between except in front of near onto since until about along behind beyond except for inside next to out through up above among below by for in spite of of out of to upon according to around beneath despite from instead of off outside toward with across at beside down in into on over under within after because of besides during in back of like on account of past underneath without

Find the Prepositions!

Find the following prepositions in this puzzle: above, along, behind, beneath, except, into, like, outside, upon, without.When you find one of them, click on the first letter. While holding down the mouse button, drag the cursor to the last letter of the word and release the button.

A Search for Prepositions

Find the prepositions in each sentence or part of a sentence taken from Alices Adventures in Wonderland. Write these prepositions in your notebook. Each sentence has one preposition. Be sure to review your answers with your guide.

1. This speech caused a remarkable sensation among the party. 2. Some of the birds hurried off 3. at once. 4. By this time she had found her way 5. into a tidy little room 6. with a table 7. in the window. 8. As soon as she was small enough to get through the door, 9. she ran out of the house. 10. An enormous puppy was looking down at her. 11. There was a large mushroom growing near her, 12. about the same height as herself.

Flying High with Parts of Speech

Flo needs your help to fly some of her kites. Print the kites for conjunctions,interjections, and prepositions, and their bows (page 1, page 2). Color your kites and bows, then cut them out. Read the words on each bow. Decide if each word is a conjunction, interjection, orpreposition. Then place each bow under the correct kite. Glue your bows on pieces of yarn, and attach them to your kites.

Find Interjections, Conjunctions, and Prepositions

In each of the sentences below, choose from the drop-down list whether thehighlighted word is an interjection, conjunction, or preposition.

1. The cat was sleeping under the table. 2. Wow! Did you see that meteor shower? 3. Oops, I didnt know you were sleeping. 4. It was not warm, nor was it very cold. 5. They had to go into the woods to find the wolf. 6. He knew of the danger, yet he went ahead.