Basic English Grammar: The Eight Parts of Speech
(duolingo english test)
Most of you must be frequently coming across the term ‘lexical resource’as part of your IELTS/PTE and Spoken English training at HURRAY. Lexical resource, simply put, is nothing but the vocabulary you build towards enhancing your speaking and writing skills.And when the talk is of vocabulary, it would be worthwhile to get down to revisiting a fundamental component in English grammar and vocabulary called Parts of Speech (abbreviated form: PoS or POS).
In this blog post, we will take you through this basic grammatical concept that you must have had often come across in your school-day grammar textbooks!
In conventional grammar, a part of speech (abbreviated form: PoS or POS) is a group of words (or, further generally, of lexical matter) that has similar grammatical properties.
English language, too, has words that can be thought of as the smallest fundamentals that have unique implications. Based on their use and functions, words are categorized into several types or parts of speech.This post will re-familiarize you with the definitions and examples of the 8 major parts of speech in English grammar:Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective, Conjunction, Preposition, and Interjection.
THE EIGHTPARTS OF SPEECH
Apart of speech indicates how a word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence.An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.
1. NOUN
Anoun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
Human… Bishop College… home… peace
Anoun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article (the, a, an), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by adding ‘s. Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object (ex: John threw the ball), indirect object (ex: Rahim gifted his father a
pen), subject complement (Shreya is a dancer), or object of a preposition.
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
2. PRONOUN
Apronoun is a word used in place of a noun. She… we… they… it
Apronoun is a word used in place of a noun.Apronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the pronoun she is the girl. Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
3. VERB
Averb expresses action or being. Laugh… was… read… turn
The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. (“She can sing.” Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.)A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different forms to express tense.
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
4 ADJECTIVE
An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
Beautiful… new… pink… clever
An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.)
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
5. ADVERB
An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Calmly… tremendously… cleverly… rigorous
An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
6 PREPOSITION
Apreposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
By… with…. about… until (By the shade, with our people, about the text, until next day)
Apreposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as
an adverb.The following list includes the most common prepositions:
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
7. CONJUNCTION
Aconjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses. and… but… or… while… because
Aconjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well.
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
8 INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word used to express emotion. Oh!… Wow!… Oops!
An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point.
The young student brought me a very long application from the principal, and then he suddenly disappeared. Oh no!
Examples: Eight Parts of Speech
1. Noun
This part of a speech refers to words that are used to name persons, things, animals, places, ideas, or events. Nouns are the simplest among the 8 parts of speech, which is why they are the first ones taught to students in primary school.
Examples:
● Richard Gereis very versatile
● The italicized noun refers to a name of a person
● Kittens can be extremely cute
In this example, the italicized word is considered a noun because it names an animal.
● Today is my birthday. The word “birthday” is a noun which refers to an event.
There are different types of Nouns:
● Proper– proper nouns always start with a capital letter and refers to specific names of persons, places, or things. Rudyard Kipling wrote many books. Mini is the cutest kitten ever. I’m craving Chocolates.
● Examples: Lamborghini, Dominoes’Pizza, Big Brother
● Common– common nouns are the opposite of proper nouns These are just generic names of persons, things, or places
I want to be a painter. I’d like to adopt a dog.
Would you like a chocolate?
● Examples: car, pizza parlour,TV series
● Concrete– this kind refers to nouns which you can perceive through your five senses.
● Common Concrete Nouns
○ dog, girl, cat, water, air, etc
● Countable Concrete Nouns
○ singular -chair, song, computer, window
○ plural – chairs, songs, computers, windows
● Uncountable Concrete Nouns
○ water, air, sugar, oil, rice, salt, cheese etc
● Proper Nouns
○ Tom Brown, Mr Mike Jones,Audrey Ryan
Examples:
● Go on, put your foot on the stairs and feel that raw power
● Our class graduates three years from now
● Suddenly, a large roaring black panther appeared from behind the bush
● Happiness is like a soft rabbit
● Mother’s kitchen always smells like cloves during the holidays.
● Watch out for that army of ants.
● Nita liked the stillness of the forest.
● The sunset unfurled ribbons of red, purple, and gold across the sky.
● Our team is enjoying an unbroken winning streak.
● Walking home I was caught by rain droplets that fell like bullets from the sky.
● You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a herd of wild horses, running
● Cookies baking in the oven meansAunt has come to visit
● Nina nestled the black kitten in her arms
● There’s a pack of wolves outside
● Mia and Jane ordered a large pizza for lunch
● You can have a boiled egg with your breakfast
● My car is making a weird noise
● The highway was blocked by a traffic
● I always put carrots in any salad
● The soldier arrived home to the cheers of his family
● Instead of a cherry, she put a strawberry on the top of my ice-cream.
● Let’s serve drinks before dinner.
Examples: folder, sand, board
● Abstract-unlike concrete nouns, abstract nouns are those which you can’t perceive through your five senses.
● The education of children should be our main concern.
● He was willing to sacrifice his job in order to move to Canada.
● Childhood memories are sources of great happiness.
● Music can change a mood or be a creative outlet
● Restoration of electric service is important after a natural calamity
● Examples: happiness, grudge, bravery
● Count– it refers to anything that is countable, and has a singular and plural form
● There are at least ten Chinese restaurants in china town
● Mira took a lot of photographs when she went to the Goa
● Your book is on the kitchen table
● How many candles are on that birthday cake?
● You have several paintings to study in art appreciation class
● There’s a big black dog running around the neighborhood.
● Examples: kitten, video, ball
● Mass– this is the opposite of count nouns. Mass nouns are also called non-countable nouns, and they need to have “counters” to quantify them.
● There is no more water in the lake.
● Please help yourself to some cheese
● I need to find information about Bookers Prize winners
● You seem to have a high level of intelligence
● Please take good care of your health
● Let’s get rid of the junk
Examples
of Counters: kilo, cup, meter
Examples of Mass Nouns: rice,
flour, garter
● Collective– refers to a group of persons, animals, or things
● Our class took a field trip to the science museum
● The herd of goats ran across the prairie, leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake
● We waited anxiously for the jury to come to a decision
● This year’s basketball team includes five players who are over six feet tall
● Napoleon’s army was finally conquered at Waterloo
● The town congress has approved plans to create a new park
● He comes from a big family: he’s the oldest of ten kids.
● The rock group has been on tour for weeks
● Everyone in the audience commended loudly when Elvis appeared on stage
Example: faculty (group of teachers), class (group of students), pride (group of lions)
2. Pronoun
Apronoun is a part of a speech which functions as a replacement for a noun. Some examples of pronouns are: I, it, he, she, mine, his, hers, we, they, theirs, and ours.
Demonstrative Pronouns
These pronouns are used to demonstrate (or indicate). This, that, these and those are all demonstrative pronouns.
Examples:
● Thisis the one I left in the taxi (In this example, the speaker could be indicating to a mobile phone, in which case, the pronoun this replaces the words mobile phone.)
● Shall I take those?
Indefinite Pronouns
Unlike demonstrative pronouns, which point out specific items, indefinite pronouns are used for non-specific things. This is the largest group of pronouns.All, some, any, several, anyone, nobody, each, both, few, either, none, one and no one are the most common.
Example:
● Somebodymust have seen the driver leave.
(Somebody – not a specific person)
● We are allin the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. (Oscar Wilde)
● I have nothingto declare except my genius. (Oscar Wilde)
Interrogative Pronouns
These pronouns are used in questions.Although they are classified as pronouns, it is not easy to see how they replace nouns. Who, which, what, where and how are all interrogative pronouns.
Example:
● Whotold you to go there?
● Whichhorse won the race?
Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, and who. More often than not (but not exclusively), they replace nouns representing people. When most people think of pronouns, it is the personal pronouns that usually spring to mind.
Example:
● Wecan’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
● Ibought some batteries, but they weren’t included.
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are used to show possession.As they are used as adjectives, they are also known as possessive adjectives.
My, your, his, her, its, our and their are all possessive pronouns.
● Have you seen herbook?
(In this example, the pronoun her replaces a word like Sarah’s.)
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are used to add more information to a sentence. Which, that, who (including whom and whose) and where are all relative pronouns.
Examples:
● Dr Sigmund Freud, wholectured at Cambridge for more than 12 years, should have known the difference
(In this example, the relative pronoun who introduces the clause who studied at Cambridge for 12 years and refers back to Dr Sigmund Freud.)
● The man whofirst saw the rocket reported it as a UFO
(In this example, the relative pronoun who introduces the clause who first saw the comet and refers back to the man.)
Absolute Possessive Pronouns
These pronouns also show possession. Unlike possessive pronouns (see above), which are adjectives to nouns, these pronouns sit by themselves.
Mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are all absolute possessive pronouns.
Examples:
● The cars are as good as ours.
● Shall we take yoursor theirs?