The 8 Parts of English Speech

 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 alllllnd 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!!!

 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 also name a PLACE: ◦ EXAMPLES:  home  Washington  Lebanon  Mexico  school  gas station  Notice that specific places are capitalized.

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

 Collective nouns: Refers to a unit as a group. Examples would be:  --Class (The class was loud.)  --jury  --team  --committee  Abstract nouns: Can’t be observed by the senses: Love, bravery, loyalty.

 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

 Linking verbs: Most common is the verb “to be”; also seem, appear, and feel.  Mariam seems upset.  Action verbs: verbs that express action:  Mahdi threw his test in the trashcan.  Helping verbs: Assist other verbs to establish verb tense. Common helping verbs are have, to be (was, is, were), and will. The will allows be attached to another verb.  You have studied all weekend, I hope.

 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.

 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.)

 An ADVERB “adds to a verb” – that is, it modifies a verb by telling us: ◦ Where? “I left my book here.” ◦ 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!

 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 1 st /2 nd and 3 rd person pronouns: ◦ 1 st :I, me, my, mine, our, ours, us ◦ 2 nd -You, your, yours ◦ 3 rd -He, she, it, his, hers, theirs, them

 Personal pronouns: I, we, they  Reflexive pronouns: myself, itself  Possessive pronouns: Yours, ours, mine  Interrogative pronouns: Which? Who?  Demonstrative pronouns: That, Those  Indefinite: Someone, anybody

 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.

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

 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 or pronoun: “by the drinking fountain” “to the teacher”

 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.

 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 doctor’s 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)

 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!

 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.