Parts of speech

Parts of speech

Parts of speech

  • A noun names a person, place, thing, or concept. It can also be used as an adjective modifying another noun.
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  • A pronoun substitutes for a noun. It can also be used as an adjective modifying a noun.
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    Personal pronouns: I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them

    Possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, her, hers, his, its, our, ours, their, theirs

    Intensive and reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

    Relative pronouns: that, which, who, whom, whose

    Interrogative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, what

    Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those

    indefinite pronouns

    all each many one
    another either neither several
    any everybody nobody some
    anybody everyone none somebody
    anyone everything no one someone
    anything few nothing something
    both

    Reciprocal pronouns: each other, one another

  • A helping verb comes before a main verb.

    Modals: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would (also ought to)

    Forms of be: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been

    Forms of have: have, has, had

    Forms of do: do, does, did

    (The forms of be, have, and do may also function as main verbs.)

  • A main verb shows action or a state of being.
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    A main verb will always change form when put into these positions in sentences:

    Usually I ___. (walk, ride)
    Yesterday I ___. (walked, rode)
    I have many ___ times before. (walked, ridden)
    I am ___ right now. (walking, riding)
    Usually he ___. (walks, rides)

    The highly irregular verb be has eight forms: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been.

  • An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun, usually answering one of these questions: Which one? What kind of? How many? The articles a, an, and the are also adjectives.
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  • An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb, usually answering one of these questions: When? Where? Why? How? Under what conditions? To what degree?
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  • A preposition indicates the relationship between the noun or pronoun that follows it and another word in the sentence.
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    common prepositions

    about besides like since
    above between near than
    across beyond next through
    after but next to throughout
    against by of till
    along concerning off to
    along with considering on toward
    among despite onto under
    around down opposite underneath
    as during out unlike
    as well as except outside until
    at for over unto
    because of from past up
    before in plus upon
    behind in addition to rather than with
    below inside regarding within
    beside into respecting without
  • A conjunction connects words or word groups.

    Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet

    Subordinating conjunctions: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even though, if, in order that, once, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whether, while

    Correlative conjunctions: either . . . or; neither . . . nor; not only . . . but also; both . . . and; whether . . . or

    Conjunctive adverbs: accordingly, also, anyway, besides, certainly, consequently, conversely, finally, furthermore, hence, however, incidentally, indeed, instead, likewise, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, next, nonetheless, now, otherwise, similarly, specifically, still, subsequently, then, therefore, thus

  • An interjection expresses surprise or emotion (Oh! Wow! ).