Parts

of
Speech
Term 3
Verbs
The most important Part of Speech.
A word used to describe an action, state or occurrence.
(dance, talk, eat).
Verbs determine the tense of the sentence.
Past Verb + ed I danced in the evening.
Present Verb I dance in the evening.
Future shall/will + Verb I shall dance in the evening.
Finite verbs Verbs
A Finite verb is a verb that has a subject, number (singular or plural) and
a matching tense. It is the main verb in the sentence.
Example:
David (one) plays (present) the piano.
They (many) played (past) the piano.
My sister (one) spoke (past) French on holiday.
My sisters (many) will speak (future) French on holiday.
A verb without these is called a Non-finite verb e.g. It is dangerous to
drive on this road.
Infinitive verbs Verbs
o An infinitive verb is a verb that is preceded by “to”.
To discuss To dance To study
o An infinitive verb cannot stand alone, it must be preceded by a finite verb.
To dream She starts to dream
To study They tried to study
o Do not split the infinitive.
I want to definitely dance in the moonlight. X
I definitely want to dance in the moonlight. √
 Verbs
Auxiliary verbs - helping verbs
o Always precedes a verb.
They have been studying all night.

o Common auxiliary verbs:

be, can, am, would, will, were, are, could, has, had, may, shall, must,
might, was, have, is, should.
Adverbs
o An adverb tells us more about verbs, adjectives or another adverb.
o Most adverbs end in –ly.
o Types of adverbs:
How? - adverb of Manner.
Where? - adverb of Place.
When? - adverb of Time.
Why? - adverb of Reason.
How much/ How often? - adverb of Degree.
Adjectives
o Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They add colour to
sentences by describing or giving more information.

o Types of adjectives:
Proper adjective – Proper nouns being used as adjectives.
Canada – Proper noun Canadian – Proper adjective
Descriptive adjective – Describes qualities of a noun or pronoun, such as
taste, touch, smell, texture, appearance and shape.
beautiful silky delicious saddened
Adjectives
o Most adjectives end with the following suffixes:
ful – beautiful less – pointless ous – adventurous
ary – contemporary ent – absorbent en – wooden
ant – brilliant able – advisable ible – incredible
ive – positive ory- compulsory ish – feverish
Nouns
o The part of speech that names a person, place, thing or idea.

o Without nouns, we would not be able to communicate or understand

one another.

o The Four types of nouns are:

Common noun Proper noun Abstract noun Collective noun

Remember:
Pronouns ARE NOT nouns
 Nouns
Common noun
o The part of speech that names ordinary objects.
o The common noun usually have: the, an, or a preceding them.
The table a ruler an apple
o Two common nouns together, are known as compound nouns.
Tooth + paste = toothpaste News + Paper = newspaper
Example:
o chair lamp teacher horse
o grapes house bag shelf
 Nouns
Proper noun
o Proper nouns are titles of places, names of persons, days and months.
Titles of books, songs, films, plays and educational subjects.

All Proper nouns must be spelt with a capital letter

Example:
o John Doe March Easter
o Boksburg Mathematics Batman
o Smith Street Othello University of South Africa
 Nouns
Abstract noun
o Abstract nouns are feelings, emotions or things we cannot measure.
Refers to something that we cannot see or touch.

It is an Abstract noun when you can give ‘it’ to

someone, but NOT in a box
Example:
o Courage Imagination Kindness Friendship
o Concentration Ambition Respect Enthusiasm
 Nouns
Collective
Abstract noun
noun
Nouns
o Is the name of a group or collection of objects, people or creatures.

Example:
o an aviary of birds a gathering of friends a clowder of cats

o Collective noun is the correct (descriptive) way of saying ‘lots of’.

o Lots of teachers X
o A staff of teachers √
 Conjunctions
o A conjunction is a joining word, it is used to join two or more clauses
into a single sentence.

o They also join words and phrases.

o The types of conjunctions:

Co-ordinating conjunction and Subordinating conjunction
Co-ordinating conjunction Conjunction
o Joins two words or ideas of equal weight.

And But Or So Yet

Example:
Tried and tested.

o If the co-ordinating conjunction is being used to join two

independent clauses, it needs to have a comma.
Example:
I go to the park every Monday, and I watch the ducks on the lake.
 Conjunction
Subordinating conjunction
o Joins a main clause to a subordinate clause/ phrase.
After Although As soon as Because Before
By the time Even if Even though Every time If
In case Now that Once Since So that
Than Unless Until When Whenever
Example:
Until spring arrives, we have to be prepared for more snow.
I paid Larry, because he did a top-notch job designing my garden.
Pronoun
o Pronouns take the place of the noun.
o Pronouns are used to avoid repetition.
o Types of pronouns:
Personal pronoun Possessive pronoun Relative pronoun
You he she hers mine ours who, whom, whose
(referring to people)

which, that, what

(referring to animals
or inanimate objects)
Prepositions
o Prepositions are words that introduce information to the reader. This
information can include where something takes place, when or why
something takes place, or general descriptive information.
o Prepositions usually precede pronouns, articles or nouns.
Example:
I went with Peter/ him/ the boy.
about above across after against onto
along behind below beneath beside opposite
besides between down during except out
for from in off on outside
Abstract noun
Nouns

Time to practise your

Parts of speech
Directions: Underline the proper nouns and circle the common Nouns
nouns in the following sentences.
1) The house is in Africa.
2) The Ford truck is missing one door.
3) I am from Belize.
4) Jaime lives at 108 Spring St.
5) Monaco is an expensive city.
6) The Bulls won the game last night.
7) Basketball is so fun.
8) “Mrs. Peach needed to know my phone number,” said Juan.
9) Alamance Community College is a nice school.
10) Birds are my favourite animals.
 Adjectives and Adverbs
1. Complete each sentence using a word from the list. Sometimes you need
the adjective (careful etc.) and sometimes the adverb (carefully etc.).
careful complete continuous financial fluent
happy nervous perfect quick special

1. Our holiday was too short. The time passed very ----.
2. Tom doesn't take risks when he's driving. He's always ----.
3. Sally works ----. She never seems to stop.
4. Alice and Stan are very ---- married.
5. Monica's English is ---- although she still makes mistakes.
1. I like chicken ____ not fish.
Conjunctions
A. And B. Since C. But D. For E. Or
2. ____ it rains on Sunday, I will not be able to drive.
A. And B. Where C. Either D. If E. How
3. The items are on sale in the local store _____ not online.
A. But B. And C. Though D. Or E. Nor
4. Carrie didn’t know whether her bike would be fixed _____ if she would
have to walk.
A. But B. And C. Nor D. Or E. Either
5. Luke was late to the party ______ his car broke down on the highway.
A. If B. Because C. While D. Although E. Where
Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions. Prepositions
1. We regret that we cannot comply ………. your request.
a) With b) At c) To
2. The best candidate should be appointed …………………………… the post.
a) To b) At c) With
3. He is addicted ………………………….. gambling.
a) On b) At c) To
4. I was amazed ………………………….. her stupendous ignorance.
a) With b) On c) At
5. We must be grateful for the blessings that have been bestowed ………….. us.
a) Upon b) With c) For
 Pronouns
Directions: Circle the pronoun that best completes each sentence.
Example - (We/Us) are going the supermarket this weekend.
Answer - We

1. (I / Us) think that you are one of the brightest students in the class.
2. (We / Us) are going to the football game this weekend.
3. I can tell that (him / you) really enjoyed the movie.
4. (That / It) is one of the best movies I have seen all year.
5. (He / They) is a very bright young man.