Parts of Speech/

Word Classes (1)

MPU3022 English Language Proficiency
Nouns
What Are Nouns?
● A noun is a word that represents
a person, place, or thing
Easy Examples of Nouns:
● Person: soldier, Alan, cousin,
lawyer
● Place: house, London,
factory, shelter
● Thing. This includes:
○ Objects: table,
London Bridge, chisel,
nitrogen, month, inch,
cooking
○ Animals: aardvark,
rat, shark, Mickey
○ Ideas: confusion,
kindness, faith, Theory
of Relativity, joy
Types of Nouns
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
● A common noun is the word for ● A proper noun is the given name
a person, place, or thing. of a person, place, or thing.
● It's the word that appears in the ● It's likely to be a personal name
dictionary. or a title.
● For example: ● For example:
○ person ○ Michael
○ city ○ New York
○ dog ○ Rover
● (Note: A proper noun always
starts with a capital letter.)
Types of Common Nouns
1. Abstract Noun (cannot be seen
or touched)
2. Concrete Noun (can be seen or
touched)
3. Collective Noun (represents a
group)
4. Compound Noun (consists of
two or more words)
5. Gender-specific Noun (is
masculine or feminine)
6. Gerund (formed from a verb and
ends "-ing")
7. Non-countable Noun (cannot be
pluralized)
8. Countable Noun (can be
pluralized)
9. Verbal Noun (formed from a
verb but has no verb-like traits)
Pronouns
What Are Pronouns?
● A pronoun is a word that Why Do We Need Pronouns?
replaces a noun.

Easy Examples of Pronouns:

● Jack met Jill in Boston. He first

saw her in a Chinese restaurant.

(In this example, the pronoun

"he" replaces the noun "Jack,"
and the pronoun "her" replaces
the noun "Jill.")
Types of Pronouns
1 Personal pronouns I, you, he, she, it, we, they

2 Possessive pronouns mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs

3 Relative pronouns which, who, that

4 Demonstrative pronouns this, that, these, those

5 Emphatic pronouns myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves

6 Reflexive pronouns myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves

7 Indefinite pronouns none, several, many, some, any, somebody, nobody

8 Interrogative pronouns which, who, what

9 Reciprocal pronouns each other, one another

Examples of Pronouns
● A personal pronoun takes the place of ● An emphatic pronoun is paired with another
people or things. noun or pronoun to emphasize it.
○ I bought some books, but they
○ The Queen herself attended the party.
weren't included.
● A reflexive pronoun is paired with another noun
● A possessive pronoun shows possession.
or pronoun to show it is acting on itself.
○ I always check if the art across the
○ Alison does not trust herself.
street is better than mine.
● An indefinite pronoun refers to a person or a
● A relative pronoun introduces a clause that
thing without being specific.
describes a noun.
○ I don't know anything about music.
○ Education is the most powerful
● An interrogative pronoun is used to ask a
weapon which you can use to change
question.
the world.
○ Which is worse, failing or never trying?
● A demonstrative pronoun can refer to
● A reciprocal pronoun is used to express a mutual
something previously mentioned or to
action or relationship.
something being pointed at by the speaker.
○ Friends are kind to one another's dreams.
○ Those are my principles.
○ Friends are kind to each other's dreams.
Adjectives
What Are Adjectives?
● Adjectives are words that ● Types of adjectives:
describe nouns (or pronouns). ○ Attributive adjectives
"Old," "green," and "cheerful" ○ Predicative adjectives
are examples of adjectives. (It ○ Postpositive adjectives
might be useful to think as
adjectives as "describing
words.")
Conjuctions
What Are Conjunctions?
● Conjunctions are words used to
connect words, phrases, or
clauses.
● There are three types of
conjunctions:
○ Coordinating
Conjunctions
Join a noun with another
noun or an adjective with
another adjective.
("for," "and," "nor," "but,"
"or," "yet," and "so.")
○ Subordinating
Conjunctions.
Join subordinate clauses to
main clauses.
("although," "because," "if,"
"since," "unless," "until," and
"while.")
○ Correlative Conjunctions
Used in pairs to join
alternatives or equal
elements.
("either/or," "neither/nor,"
and "not only/but also.")
Conjunctions