The 8 Parts of English Speech PARTS OF SPEECH The 8 Parts of English Speech

Sentence Structure Just like the human body is composed of 206 bones and each one is named and can be identified, a sentence is composed of 8 different parts of speech. You will learn these 8 parts of speech and eventually be able to label every word in a sentence by what part of speech it is. It’s a lot easier than learning all 206 bones!!!

I. NOUNS A NOUN is a “naming word” It names a PERSON Example: Mr. Wesserling president Imam teacher Barack Obama Nouns that always begin with a capital letter are called “Proper Nouns”. They identify specific people. All other nouns are “common nouns.”

NOUNS, Continued Nouns also name a PLACE: EXAMPLES: home Washington Lebanon Mexico school gas station Notice that specific places are capitalized.

NOUNS, Continued Finally, nouns name a THING or IDEA Examples: box table love tree honesty Statue of Liberty

II. VERBS VERBS are words that describe an action or a state of being. Examples: To run To walk To think To believe To be (was, were, are, is) To Have

Sentences In order to have a complete sentence in English, you must have a subject and a verb. “The dog barked.” “Barked loudly.”= not a sentence because there is no subject. Who/what barked? Sometimes the subject is implied. It is not there, but you know what is missing: “Close the door!” The verb is “close” – the subject is (you). Although missing, we know who is meant.

III. Adjectives An adjective describes a noun. It tells us: Which one? (The last room. The tall man.) How many? (The entire class. The three wise men.) What kind? (The empty bottle. The red car.) How much? (I have no money. I have a lot of work.)

IV. ADVERBS An ADVERB “adds to a verb” – that is, it modifies a verb by telling us: Where? “I left my watch at home.” When? “She said she would call me tomorrow.” How? “He quickly answered the question.” How often? “I see him here frequently.” To What extent? “I’m completely broke!” CLUE: When you see the ending –ly, it is usually an adverb!

V. PRONOUNS A pronoun is a word that is used to take the place of a noun. “PRO” – means ‘for’ – so pronoun = “for a noun” There are 1st /2nd and 3rd person pronouns: 1st: I, me, my, mine, our, ours, us 2nd- You, your, yours 3rd- He, she, it, his, hers, theirs, them

We use PRONOUNS all the time. Look how boring it would be if we didn’t: “Ali Bazzi opened the door to the classroom, and Ali Bazzi walked into the classroom and sat in Ali Bazzi’s seat. Ali Bazzi didn’t have any paper, so Ali Bazzi asked Alberto Diaz if Alberto Diaz could give Ali Bazzi a sheet to use. Instead we say: “Ali Bazzi opened the door to the classroom and he walked in and sat in his seat. He didn’t have any paper, so he asked Alberto if he could give him a sheet to use.

VI. CONJUNCTIONS From the two words: “Con” = with “Junction” = to join A conjunction joins or connects thoughts and ideas and things: Common conjunctions: (FANBOYS) =For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So I like apples and bananas, but I hate mangoes.

VI. PREPOSITIONS Prepositions joins a noun to another part of a sentence and frequently refers to a location (a “position”) Common prepositions: in, on, of, by, with, under, at, from. A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE starts with a preposition and ends with a noun: “by the drinking fountain” “to the teacher”

HINT TO FINDING PREPOSITIONS Picture a desk and think of all the words that can be used to describe locations around the desk. Under the desk, beside the desk, in the desk, over the desk, etc. inside, outside, near, away from, next to, from, by, against, etc.

Importance of prepositions Throughout this semester, you will always be asked to identify the subject and verb of a sentence. Sometimes it is easier to get rid of what you don’t need in order to do this. If you can identify prepositions, you can get rid of the preposition and prepositional phrases. “While looking at the sign, she, with great anxiety, entered into the doctors office.”

“While looking at the sign, she, with great anxiety, entered into the doctors office. Find the prepositions: At, with, into The prepositional phrase starts with the preposition and ends with a noun. Cross them off: At the sign With great anxiety Into the doctor’s office Now you have: while looking she entered. Who? (She) Did what? (entered)

VIII. INTERJECTIONS An interjection is a word that usually stands ALONE and is used to express an emotion and is usually followed by an ! (exclamation point). Think “injection” – when you get an injection (a shot) you yell “ouch!” OUCH!

Other Interjections:

That’s all there is! See how easy! We will work on the skills you need to easily identify these 8 parts of speech. If you have trouble understanding any of them, let me know. I can point you to internet sites and provide you with additional exercises.