1 Parts of Speech

Every sentence in English is made up of basic building blocks, the parts of speech. You should be familiar with
these: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, article, and interjection.
interjection

Aha!
Noun verb article adverb adjectives noun pronoun verb preposition

Miriam is a very nice young woman. She comes from

noun conjunction pronoun verb noun preposition pronoun noun

Venezuela, and she is studying at our school.

Noun A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing, idea, living creature,
quality, or action. Examples:
cowboy, theatre, box, thought, tree, kindness, arrival
Verb A verb is a word which describes an action (doing something) or a state (being
something). Examples:
walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want
Adjective An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It tells you something about the noun.
Examples:
big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick, important, friendly
Adverb An adverb is a word which usually describes a verb. It tells you how something is
done. It may also tell you when or where something happened. Examples:
slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow, here, everywhere
Pronoun A pronoun is used instead of a noun, to avoid repeating the noun. Examples:
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Conjunctio A conjunction joins two words, phrases or sentences together. Examples:
n for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (fanboys)
Preposition A preposition usually comes before a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. It joins the noun
to some other part of the sentence. Examples: on, in, by, with, under, though, at
Interjection An interjection is an unusual kind of word, because it often stands alone. Interjections
are words which express emotion or surprise, and they are usually followed by
exclamation marks. Examples:
Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha!
Article An article is used to introduce a noun. Examples:
the, a, an
Note: The system of classifying words based on their function is known as the parts of speech.
Practice.
Determine which part of speech is the underlined word:
1. I bought a beautiful dress at the mall.
2. What did she ask you to do?
3. I left my shoes under the kitchen table.
4. If we finish our work quickly we can go to the movies.
5. On Saturdays I work from nine to five.
6. I want to go to a university in the United States.
7. I'm sure I have met your girlfriend before.
8. Well, I don't think I will be here to answer the phone.
9. Andy knocked on the door but nobody answered.
10. After lunch let's go out for a coffee.
11. Melissa loves her dad and mum.
12. She has a fear of snakes.
13. My students have great imaginations.
14. I love eating at restaurants like Chilis and Fridays.
15. The class enjoyed watching the football team practice outside.
16. From the top of a small hill, we saw the Northumberland Strait.
17. The ocean was calm, and the clouds were beautiful.
18. Then, the little boats began to appear.
19. He speaks fast.
20. His car is a fast one.

2 Nouns
There are two main types of nouns: common nouns and proper nouns.
 Common Nouns
Words for people, places and things are called common nouns.
These common nouns are words for things.
ruler ferry bicycle telephone dictionary crayons
chair fridge truth spade carpet so
hammer book pen laziness lawn mower axe
loyalty lamp table laptop bus truck
drill ladder saw printer mobile television
computer train ship course book pencil
courage cooker calculator pencil case mop rubber

These common nouns are words for animals. Notice that special names for young animals are included.
Animal Its young Animal Its young
dog puppy fox cub
cat kitten elephant calf
cow calf kangaroo joey
horse foal bear cub
sheep lamb lion cub
goat kid tiger cub
frog tadpole whale calf

These common nouns are words for places.

airport post office school
bank library shop
church mall supermarket
factory mosque stadium
farm museum synagogue
gas station nursery temple
gym hospital office theater
hotel park university
police station restaurant zoo

These common nouns are words for people who do certain things.
Accountant dentist lawyer secretary
Actor doctor magician scientist
Actress driver manager singer
artist engineer nurse solider
athlete farmer officer teacher
astronaut fireman photographer technician
brother gardener pilot vet
cashier hostess police waiter
clerk judge plumber waitress
dancer sailor writer

Fruit Vegetable Transport Kitchen Instrument Sport Cloth

Tangerine Green- pepper Sail boat kettle Guitar Tennis Coat
fig Spinach Bus colander Bagpipe Football Dress
 Watermelon Onion Helicopter stove Clarinet Archery Belt
Plum Mushroom Ambulance plate Tambourine Ice hockey Boot
Peach Corn Ship fork Saxophone Baseball Hat
Strawberry Leek Police car pot Trumpet Handball Slipper
Pear Eggplant Airplane oven Drum kit Boxing Tie
pineapple Cabbage Train spoon Accordion Athletics Jacket
Kiwi Potato Taxi cup Cello Basketball Sweater
Melon Capsicum Truck knife Harp Golf Shoe
Cherry Cucumber Motorcycle ladle Violin Badminton Sock
Banana Tomato Car glass Piano Waterpolo Scarf
Lemon Pumpkin Fire truck fridge Flute Volleyball Skirt
Grapefruit Lettuce Bicycle bottle Harmonica Bowling Glove
Grapes carrot grater Oud billiard Trouser
pan

 Proper Nouns
The names of particular people, places and things are proper nouns. They always begin with a capital letter.
These people’s names are proper nouns.
* Robin Hood * Florence Nightingale * Miss Park * Aladdin * Muhammad *Ali
*Dad *Mom *Mrs. Taylor * Frankenstein *George Washington *Granny
*Mr. Young *Harry Potter *David Beckham * Grandad *Dr. Lee *Santa Claus
*Julia Roberts *Uncle David *Professor Raj *Mahatma Gandhi *Nelson
Mandela *Aunt Diana *Jose Confucius *Alex Rodriguez *Ms. Hall *Yang Ming

The names of the days of the week and the months, special days and celebrations are proper nouns.
Saturday May New Year’s Day Mother’s Day Independence Day

The names of famous places, buildings and monuments are proper nouns.
the Sphinx Big Ben the Taj Mahal the Eiffel Tower
The names of people who live in a particular country are also proper nouns.
Afghanistan Afghans Australia Australians Britain theBritish

 Collective Nouns
Words for groups of people, animals or things are called collective nouns.
Here are some collective nouns for groups of people.
a family a community a band an audience
a crew a committee a gang the army
a team a choir an orchestra a flock
a club a company the government a unit
the people the police
Collective nouns may be used with a singular verb or with a plural verb. If the group is acting as a single unit,
use a singular verb. If group members are acting as individuals, use a plural verb. For example:
The crowd was orderly.
or
The crowd were clapping, yelling and cheering.
Note: Always use a plural verb with the collective nouns, people and the police. For example:
- Those people live (not lives) in Asia.
- The police have caught (not has caught) the thief.

Here are more collective nouns you can use for groups of people.
a class of students a company of actors a platoon of
a crowd of shoppers a panel of judges soldiers
a gang of thieves a class of schoolchildren an army of soldiers.
a choir of singers.

Many groups of animals have their own special collective nouns.

a herd of cattle a flock of birds a drove of sheep
a pack of wolves a pride of lions a pod of dolphins
a litter of puppies a troop of monkeys a brood of chickens
a gaggle of geese a swarm of bees an army of ants.
a school of fish a catch of fish. a flight of birds.

Some groups of things also have their own special collective nouns.
a bunch of banana a flight of steps a bouquet of flowers
a deck of cards a bunch of flowers a suite of furniture
a cluster of grapes a suite of rooms a range of mountains
a set of tools a fleet of vehicles a wad of notes.
a fleet of ships a grove of trees a galaxy of stars.
a string of beads a group of islands.

Some nouns name the amount or form of something.

a loaf of bread a bar of chocolate
a bar of soap a ball of string
The words a piece of mean a single serving or part of something.
a slice/piece of bread a slice/piece of cake
a slice/piece of cheese a sheet/piece of paper
a piece/square of chocolate a piece of chalk
a piece of information a piece of advice
 Masculine and Feminine Nouns
Masculine nouns are words for men, boys and male animals. Feminine nouns are words for women, girls and
female animals.
masculine feminine Masculine feminine
boy girl nephew niece
man woman king queen
father mother prince princess
son daughter emperor empress
brother sister wizard witch
husband wife actor actress
grandfather grandmother policeman policewoman
uncle aunt waiter waitress
hero heroine

Many nouns are used for both males and females. They are called common gender nouns.
teacher baby doctor scientist pupil parent astronaut
president child cousin dancer manager
Animal masculine feminine Animal masculine feminine
rabbit buck doe duck drake duck
horse stallion mare cattle bull cow
sheep ram ewe goose gander goose
pig boar sow fox fox vixen
chicken rooster hen tiger tiger tigress
lion lion lioness
Note: With animals, there is one general word for the animal and special words for the male and the female. Sometimes
the word for the male animal is the same as the general word. Sometimes the word for the female animal is the same as
the general word.

 Count nouns and noncount nouns

Count nouns: Count nouns, as their name implies, are nouns that can be counted or divided into distinct and
separate units: tree, house, boy, girl, country, city, idea, etc.
These words become plural to express a quantity greater than one.
one tree → two tree one girl → two girls
one boy → two boys one country → two countries
We can have three trees, four boys, or many ideas.
It is possible to use the articles a and an with count nouns, when there is only one of them. For
example, "I made a new friend today," or "That's an interesting idea.
Noncount nouns: Noncount nouns, however, do not have singular and plural forms; they either exist only in the
singular form or require units of measurement to express quantity. Therefore they are nouns that can’t be
counted or broken into parts. These nouns cannot be pluralized, They have no plural form.
This table lists the most common categories of noncount nouns:
 Groups of Similar Items mail – food- clothing - Jewelry - furniture – money – baggage – fruit
garbage – hardware – junk – luggage – machinery – mail – makeup –
money/cash/change, postage – traffic – scenery, etc.
Fluids / liquids Coffee - milk - oil - Soup - tea - water , etc.

Solids & Semi Solids Bread - meat - glass - soap - gold - wood- ice butter-cheese-gold-
iron- silver-paper-cotton-wool, etc.
Gases Air- pollution - smog - smoke - oxygen - vapor-steam –nitrogen,
etc.

Particles Salt , rice, sugar, flour , hair ,sand, chalk, corn, dirt, dust, grass, pepper,
wheat, etc.
Abstractions beauty, fun, time, luck, health, happiness, confidence, courage,
education, enjoyment, help, honesty, hospitality, importance,
intelligence, justice, knowledge, laughter, luck, music, patience, peace,
pride, progress, recreation, significance, sleep, truth, violence, wealth,
etc.
Languages English, French, Spanish ,Arabic, Chinese ,Turkish
Academic & Professional Fields history, music, poetry, literature, geology, physics, chemistry,
engineering, mathematics, psychology, etc.
(Fields of study)
Recreation tennis, soccer, chess, poker, bridge, baseball
Activities studying, reading, writing, driving, swimming, travelling, (and other
gerunds).
Natural phenomena rain –fog – gravity – fire – weather – heat – dew – hail, humidity,
lightning, sleet, snow, thunder, wind, darkness, light, sunshine,
electricity, ,etc.
Medical Conditions & Treatments amnesia, AIDS, typhoid, polio, measles, arthritis, etc.
Note : Noncount nouns cannot be used with the articles a or an.

3 Measure words
To talk about quantities with non-count nouns, use a/an/the/ number + measure word + of + non-count noun.
Examples:
a glass of milk an ounce of gold a bag of flour
a pound of coffee four gallons of water two pounds of sugar
a cup of coffee a piece of cheese a head of lettuce
2 bowls of soup 3 jar of jam 4 bottles of olive oil
5 drops of oil a carton of milk a kilo of rice
2 bars of chocolate 6 glasses of water a bag of flour
Measure words include: bottle, bowl, box, bunch, can, container, loaf, slice, tube, teaspoon, can scoop, sheet.
To show the quantity of a noncount noun, we also use expressions like: some, much, less, a lot of, a little of, a
few, both, several, one of, a couple of, any, a little bit of, enough, plenty of, no, etc.
For example, "I have a lot of furniture in my house," or, "This guidebook doesn't include much information
about French culture.
Expressions of quantity
Some/Any: Some and any countable and uncountable nouns.
 "There is some water on the floor."
 "There are some students here."
 "Do you have any food?"
 "Do you have any apples?"
Much/Many: Much modifies only uncountable nouns. Many modifies only countable nouns.
 "We don't have much time to get this done."
 "Many Americans travel to Europe."
Little/Few: Little modifies only uncountable nouns.
 "He had little food in the house."
 "The doctor had little time to think in the emergency room."
Few modifies only countable nouns.
 "There are few doctors in town."
 "Few students like exams."
A lot of / lots of: A lot of/lots of are informal substitutes for much and many. They are used with uncountable
nouns when they mean much and with countable nouns when they mean many.
 "They have lots of (much) money in the bank."
 "A lot of (many) Americans travel to Europe."
  "We got lots of (many) mosquitoes last summer."
 "We got lots of (much) rain last summer."

A little bit of: A little bit of is informal and always precedes an uncountable noun.
 "There is a little bit of pepper in the soup."
 "There is a little bit of snow on the ground."
Enough: Enough modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.
 "There is enough money to buy a car."
 "I have enough books to read."
Plenty of: Plenty of modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.
 "They have plenty of money in the bank."
 "There are plenty of millionaires in Switzerland."
No: No modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.
 "There is no time to finish now."
 "There are no squirrels in the park."
Practice
Expression of Used with count nouns Used with noncount nouns
Quantity
One
Each
every
Two
Both
A couple of a few
Several
Many
A number of
A little
Much
A great deal of
No
Some/ any
A lot/ lots of
Plenty
Most
all
Note: Some nouns can be used as both count and noncount in different contexts.
 1- Write C (correct) or I (incorrect) for each sentence.
o How much monies do you have in the bank?
o Mia had some interesting experiences on her trip to Tokyo.
o I need some advices.
o You’re making a progress on your paper.
o He used my credit card without my permission.
o There are some money on the desk for you.
o Satsuki has two bank accounts.

2- Circle the correct word.

 It is important to protect your personal information / informations.
 Did you pick up your luggage / luggages at the airport?
 Th ere was / were a lot of traffic on the freeway this morning.
 I need this / these software for my new computer.
 Th e police had an / some evidence about the theft.
 Get permission / permissions from the teacher before you leave class.
 I’ll have two large coffee / coffees, please.
 Experience is / are important for this job.
 We need paper / papers for the printer.
 The thief stole all my photography equipment / equipments.
3- Fill in the blank with the correct letter.
 1. a pound of …... a. juice
 2. a gallon of …... b. butter
 3. a scoop of …... c. milk
 4. a can of …... d. toothpaste
 5. a glass of …... e. chocolate
 6. a tube of …... f. paper
 7. a bar of …... g. soup
 8. a sheet of …... h. ice cream
4- Circle the correct answer.
1. Joaquin bought two of flour.
a. glasses b. pieces c. pounds
2. We have eggs in the refrigerator. We’ll eat …………… of them.
a. too much b. enough c. too many
3. The police don’t have ………….. information to find the thief.
a. an b. enough c. some
4. Would you like …………. cream in your coffee?
a. a little b. a few c. little
5. There’s not ………… coffee left. We need to buy some at the grocery store.
 a. much b. many c. some
5- Circle the correct word or phrase.
People are worried that there is too much / too many identity thefts today. They think that much / many crimes
take place on the Internet. Also, the police don’t have enough / some evidence to solve these crimes. So here is
some advice to avoid identity theft.
• Don’t open some / any unsolicited e-mails.
• Don’t use your credit cards on unsecure website / websites.
• Don’t keep your passwords in your wallet.
6- Complete the conversation with the correct word or phrase from the box. There is one extra word.
a lot of a pound of are many some any is much
Example: We don’t have a lot of information about the robbery.
A: I’m going to the grocery store. What do we need?
B: Let’s see. We don’t have ……………….(1) eggs. There are only a few left. We need (2)……………. milk,
too. There isn’t………………….. (3) left, just a cup or so.
A:……………………..(4) there enough flour? I’m going to bake a cake.
B: We have almost (5)…………………… flour.
A: OK. Do we have (6) ……………………… chocolate?
B: No, we don’t . . .
7- Error Correction. Rewrite the correct sentence below.
1. The news on Channel 46 are always bad.
____________________________________________________________________
2. Rosa’s hairs are long and blonds and her clothes is very stylish.
____________________________________________________________________
3. The advisor gave me the wrong informations. Her advises were incorrect.
____________________________________________________________________
4. I bought two cheeses and 3 milks.
____________________________________________________________________
5. Henry drank two coffees.
____________________________________________________________________
6. Statistics are a difficult class.
____________________________________________________________________
7. Hye Lim has a strong faith.
____________________________________________________________________
8. The sands on Waikiki Beach are golden.
____________________________________________________________________
9. Jim gave his girlfriend two golds for her birthday.
____________________________________________________________________
10. The clothing in the new store at the mall are very expensive.
____________________________________________________________________
8- Place is or are after the following nouns.
1. Faith __________ 2. Five emails ____________
3. Physics __________ 4. Three bowls_______________
5. Sugar ______________ 6. The army ___________
7. Survivor _____________ 8. Patience __________________
9. The grammar ___________ 10. The grammar books ____________