Level II

Parts of Speech

Noun

A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing. Nouns, like house guests, come in different varieties. House guests include those you want, those you hate, and those you're stuck with regardless. Nouns come in these varieties: common nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns, and collective nouns.

1. Common nouns name any one of a class of person, place, or thing.

boy
city
food


2. Proper nouns name a specific person, place, or thing.

Bob
New York City
Rice-a-Roni


3. Compound nouns are two or more nouns that function as a single unit. A compound noun can be two individual words, words joined by a hyphen, or two words combined.

individual words: time capsule
hyphenated words: great-uncle
combined words: basketball


4. Collective nouns name groups of people or things.

audience
family
herd
crowd








Pronoun

Say you wrote this sentence:

Mr. Hufnagle gave Mr. Hufnagle's pen to Mr. Hufnagle's wife, Mrs. Hufnagle; Mrs. Hufnagle was grateful for the pen.


You would be reduced to this sorry state were it not for the delightful and ever useful little pronoun. Thanks to Mr. Pronoun, you can write this graceful sentence instead:


Mr. Hufnagle gave his pen to his wife, Mrs. Hufnagle; she was grateful for it.


Now, I know you have to agree that the pronoun is a thing of beauty indeed.

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or another pronoun. Pronouns help you avoid unnecessary repetition in your writing and speech.

A pronoun gets its meaning from the noun it stands for. The noun is called the antecedent. Here's an example:


Although Seattle is damp, it is my favorite city

Of course, there are different kinds of pronouns. Most of them have antecedents, but a few do not. Meet the pronoun family.



1. Personal pronouns refer to a specific person, place, object, or thing. Here are the major players:


__________________ Singular ______________ Plural

First person __________ I, me, mine, my ___________ we, us, our, ours
Second person _________you, your, yours __________ you, your, yours
Third person ____________her, hers, it he, _____________ theirs, its
________________________him, his, she, ______________they, them, their,



2. Possessive pronouns show ownership. The possessive pronouns are yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs, whose.

Is this nice dead cat yours?
Yes, it's ours.



3. Reflexive pronouns add information to a sentence by pointing back to a noun or pronoun near the beginning of the sentence. Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves.

Herman bought himself a life-size inflatable woman.
They all enjoyed themselves at Herman's expense.



4. Intensive pronouns also end in -self or -selves, but they just add emphasis to the noun or pronoun.

Herman himself blew up the doll.
Herman said that he would be able to deflate the doll himself.



5. Demonstrative pronouns direct attention to a specific person, place, or thing. Not to panic—there are only four demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, and those.

This is the invisible car that came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.
That was the slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman who bounced off the roof of my car.





6. Relative pronouns begin a subordinate clause. Only five, folks: that, which, who, whom, and those.

Mr. Peepers claimed that the other car collided with his without giving warning of its intention.
Louise was the driver who had to swerve a number of times before she hit the other car.




7. Interrogative pronouns ask a question. High fives: what, which, who, whom, and whose.

Who claimed he was coming home when he drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree he doesn't have?
Which insurance adjuster had these headaches?




8. Indefinite pronouns refer to people, places, objects, or things without pointing to a specific one.

Here are the most common indefinite pronouns:


Singular ___________ Plural ____________________Singular or Plural


another _________________ both ______________________ all
anyone __________________ few ______________________ any
each ___________________ many ______________________ more
everyone ________________ others ____________________ most
everybody _______________ several ____________________ none
everything __________________________________________ some
much
nobody
nothing
other
someone
anybody
anything
either
little
neither
no one
one
somebody
something











Verb

Verbs are words that name an action or describe a state of being. Verbs are seriously important, because there's no way to have a sentence without them.

While we're on the topic, every sentence must have two parts: a subject and a predicate.

• A subject tells who or what the sentence is about. The subject is a noun or a pronoun.

• A predicate tells what the subject is or does. The verb is found in the predicate.

There are four basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, verb phrases.



Action Verbs

Action verbs tell what the subject does. For example: jump, kiss, laugh.

The mobsters broke Irving's kneecaps.
Some people worry about the smallest things.


An action verb can be transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs need a direct object.

The boss dropped the ball.
The workers picked it up.


Intransitive verbs do not need a direct object.

Who called?
Icicles dripped from his voice.




Linking Verbs


Linking verbs join the subject and the predicate. Linking verbs do not show action. Instead, they help the words at the end of the sentence name and describe the subject. Here are the most common linking verbs: be, feel, grow, seem, smell, remain, appear, sound, stay, look, taste, turn, become.

Although small in size as well as number, linking verbs are used a great deal. Here are two typical examples:


The manager was happy about the job change.
He is a fool.


Many linking verbs can also be used as action verbs. For example:


Linking: The kids looked sad.
Action: I looked for the dog in the pouring rain.



Helping Verbs

Helping verbs are added to another verb to make the meaning clearer. Helping verbs include any form of to be. Here are some examples: do, does, did, have, has, had, shall, should, will, would, can, could, may, might, must.

Verb phrases are made of one main verb and one or more helping verbs.

They will run before dawn.
They do have a serious problem.






Adverb

Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs answer the questions “When?” “Where?” “How?” or “To what extent?” For example:

When? left yesterday, begin now
Where? fell below, move up
How? happily sang, danced badly
To what extent? partly finished, eat completely

Fortunately for us, most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. This makes recognizing an adverb fairly easy. Of course, we don't want things to be too easy, so there are a bunch of adverbs that don't end in -ly. Here are some of the most common non-ly adverbs:





Now, what can you do with an adverb? Try this: Use an adverb to describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

1. Use an adverb to describe a verb.
Experiments using dynamite must be done carefully.

2. Use an adverb to describe an adjective.
Charles had an unbelievably huge appetite for chips.

3. Use an adverb to describe another adverb.
They sang so clearly.



Conjunctive Adverbs


Conjunctive adverbs are used to connect other words. Therefore, conjunctive adverbs act like conjunctions, these wily devils—even though they are not technically considered to be conjunctions. Despite their tendency to be mislabeled, conjunctive adverbs are very useful when you want to link ideas and paragraphs. Here are the fan favorites:









Adjective

Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. They're the color commentators of language, the words that give your writing and speech flavor. Adjectives answer the questions “What kind?” “How much?” “Which one?” and “How many?” For example:

What kind? red nose, gold ring
How much? more sugar, little effort
Which one? second wife, those nuts
How many? several wives, six husbands



Spice Up Your Sentences with Adjectives

There are five kinds of adjectives: common adjectives, proper adjectives, compound adjectives, articles, and indefinite adjectives.


1. Common adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.

strong man
green plant
pretty child


2. Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns.

California vegetables
Mexican food


3. Compound adjectives are made up of more than one word, like these two examples:

far-off country
teenage person


4. Articles are a special type of adjective. There are three articles: a, an, and the.

The is called a “definite article” because it refers to a specific thing.

A and an are called “indefinite articles” because they refer to general things. Use a when the word that follows begins with a consonant sound; use an before words that begin with vowel sounds.


5. Indefinite adjectives don't specify the amount of something. Instead, they describe general quantities. Most of the indefinite adjectives were pronouns in their first lives. For example:




Adjectives for Non-Native Speakers

The indefinite articles a and an are grammatically the same. They both mean “one of many.” They are used only with singular nouns. As you learned earlier, use a when the word that follows begins with a consonant sound; use an before words that begin with vowel sounds. Here are some additional guidelines:



1. A is sometimes used with the words “little” and “few.” The meaning is slightly different, depending on whether you use the article a before the words “little” and “few.” Study these examples:

a little, a few = a small amount of something
little, few = less than expected
a few carrots, few carrots
a little sugar, little sugar


2. A and an are rarely used with proper nouns.



Now that you know what adjectives are, it's time to learn how to use them. Follow these easy-as-pie guidelines:

1. Use an adjective to describe a noun or a pronoun

2. Use vivid adjectives to make your writing more specific and descriptive.

3. Use an adjective after a linking verb. A linking verb connects a subject with a descriptive word. Here are the most common linking verbs: be (is, am, are, was, were, and so on), seem, appear, look, feel, smell, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, stay, and turn.

Chicken made this way tastes more delicious (not deliciously).








Conjunction

Conjunctions connect words or groups of words and show how they are related. There are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions, and subordinating conjunctions. Let's look at each one.


1. Coordinating conjunctions link words or word groups. Here are the seven coordinating conjunctions:

for
and
but
or
yet
so
nor

And now for some examples:

Eat one live toad the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup.



2. 2. Correlative conjunctions also link similar words or word groups, but they are always used in pairs. Here are the correlative conjunctions:

both … and
either … or
neither … nor
not only … but also
whether … or

Some examples:

He lost both his shirt and his pants.
Either you come with us now, or you will miss the boat.






3. Subordinate conjunctions link an independent clause (a complete sentence) to a dependent clause (a fragment). There are only seven coordinating conjunctions and five correlative conjunctions, but you have more subordinating conjunctions than Custer had Native Americans. Here are the most often used subordinating conjunctions:



after
as long as

although
as soon as

as
as though

as if
because

before
till

even though
unless

if
until

in order that
when

since
whenever

so, so that
where

though
wherever





And a few examples culled from actual insurance forms:

The guy was all over the road so I had to swerve a couple of times before I finally hit him.

I had been driving for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.











Interjection


Zap! Pow! Wow!


Unlike movie stars Steven Seagal and Morris the Cat (okay, so he's dead), interjections show strong emotion. Because interjections are not linked grammatically to other words in the sentence, they are set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma or an exclamation mark.



Oh! What a shock you gave me with that gorilla suit.
Wow! That's not a gorilla suit?


With interjections, a little goes a long way. Use these marks of punctuation as you would hot pepper or hysterics, because they are strong and edgy.








Preposition

Prepositions are the mighty mites of grammar and writing, small but powerful little puppies. Prepositions are words that link a noun or a pronoun to another word in the sentence.

Use this list to help you recognize some of the most common prepositions:



A noun always follows a preposition. A prepositional phrase is a preposition and its object. A prepositional phrase can be two or three words long, as these examples show:

on the wing
in the door


However, prepositional phrases can be much longer, depending on the length of the preposition and number of words that describe the object of the preposition. Here are two super-size prepositional phrases:

near the violently swaying oak trees
on account of his nearly depleted bank account




Prepositions for Non-Native Speakers

Using prepositions correctly presents special problems for people whose first language is not English. That's because so many prepositional phrases are idiomatic: They have evolved through use and do not necessarily make logical sense. Here are some guidelines:

1. Use in before seasons of the year. Also use in with months and years not followed by specific dates.

in the summer
in January
in 2003


2. Use on before days of the week, holidays, and months, if the date follows.
on Wednesday
on Thanksgiving
on July 20


3. Like is a preposition that means “similar to.” Therefore, it is followed by an object (usually a noun or pronoun).

like T'Aysha
like you


4. Use the preposition of to show possession.

The preposition of is often used to show possession instead of the possessive form of a pronoun.

I hear a puppy's bark.


Or:


I hear the bark of a puppy.

Never use the preposition of with proper nouns.


Incorrect: I wore the dress of Nina.
Correct: I wore Nina's dress.


Following is a list of idiomatic prepositional phrases and examples. Always use these prepositional phrases as units; don't substitute other prepositions.



Prepositional Phrases ______________ Examples

acquainted with ______________ Nico is acquainted with my cousin Raul.
addicted to ______________ I am addicted to coffee.
agree on (a plan) ______________ They finally agreed on a plan.
agree to (someone else's proposal) ______________ Did Betty agree to their demands?
angry at or about (a thing) ______________ The commuters are angry about the fare hike.
angry with (a person) ______________ They are angry with the mayor.
apply for (a job) ______________ Apply for a job.
approve of ______________ Did she approve of the vacation plan?
consist of ______________ The casserole consists of squirrel and noodles.
contrast with ______________ The red shirt contrasts with the pink pants.
convenient for ______________ Is Monday convenient for you?
deal with ______________ How do you deal with that awful child?
depend on ______________ Everything depends on the bus schedule.
differ from (something) ______________ The airplane differs from the train.
differ with (a person) ______________ I differ with your argument.
displeased with ______________ Nina is displeased with the plan.
fond of ______________ We are all fond of Mrs. Marco.
grateful for (something) ______________ The child was grateful for a snow day.
grateful to (someone) ______________ We are grateful to the doctor.
identical with ______________ This cake is identical with hers.
interested in ______________ Chris is interested in martial arts.
interfere with ______________ Homework can interfere with your social life.
object to ______________ We object to the income tax hike.
protect against ______________ An umbrella protects against rain.
reason with ______________ You can't reason with a two-year-old.
responsible for ______________ I am responsible for bringing the salad.
shocked at ______________ We are shocked at your hair color!
similar to ______________ It is similar to a rainbow.
specialize in ______________ The hairdresser must specialize in humor.
take advantage of ______________ They surely take advantage of kids!
worry about ______________ I worry about you.

















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