https://class.coursera.org/basicwriting-001/wiki/view?page=Week2Reading
The Parts of Speech
In Unit 2 you will learn the eight main parts of speech and how they function
in English. Understanding the basic building blocks of an English sentence
will allow you not only to compose English sentences logically and correctly
but also to edit your writing confidently.
In this unit you will learn the eight basic parts of speech and how they
function in English. To become a better writer and editor of your writing,
you should know the fundamentals of English prose and how they work in
a sentence because once you understand the components of a sentence, you
can begin to examine your writing critically to identify problems and make
corrections rather than just guessing at why something is wrong.
Parts of Speech
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Subject
- Object
- Indefinite
- Relative
- Demonstrative
- Possessive
- Interrogative
- Reflexive
- Intensive
- Adjectives
- Articles
- Verbs
- Action
- Linking
- Helping
- Adverbs
- Conjunctions
- Prepositions
- Interjections
Learning the foundations of grammar is similar to building a house. One of the first activities you must perform in building a house is to lay the foundation and frame your house. The foundation and frame will support the rest of the house, the drywall, the flooring, the wiring, etc. A good frame will help ensure a solid, well-built home. The parts of speech are similar. Your writing is based on the categories of words that comprise the eight parts of speech. The better your understanding of the eight parts of speech the better foundation and frame you will have when you write and edit.
For this module, the eight parts of speech are broken into three sections: (1) Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives, (2) Verbs and Adverbs, and (3) Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections. After each section there will be an exercise that will allow you to practice what you have learned. After the exercises, you will have the opportunity to take a quiz to see how well you understand the different parts of speech.
- Nouns are a part of speech typically denoting a person, place, thing, animal or idea.
- Pronouns are words that stand in for or replace nouns.
- Adjectives are words you use to modify a noun or a pronoun.
- Verbs show what the subject of a sentence does.
- Adverbs modify and describe verbs, adjective, and other adverbs.
- Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns to other words and show the relationship between the words.
- Conjunctions are words that link other words in a sentence and indicate the relationship between those words.
- Interjections express surprise, emotion, or demand attention.
NOUNS
Nouns can be grouped into five categories: (1) persons, (2) places, (3) things, (4) living creatures, and (5) ideas/concepts. Below are some examples for each category.- Persons includes a sister, a grandmother, John, the teacher, fire fighter, Aunt May, a neighbor, the friend, Hoon, a boss, the colleague, a peer, the individual, and Nelson Mandela.
- Places can be a school, Texas, a home, a store, Japan, a room, a stadium, the desert, a cave, Australia, a state, Veracruz, and a drawer.
- Things can comprise the Statue of Liberty, a car, a computer, a cup, the Great Sphinx, a stapler, a pen or pencil, a fence, a cell phone, and the Oxford English Dictionary.
- Living creatures are a lion, a Bengal tiger, a dog, a pig, a Siamese cat, a horse, a dolphin, a caterpillar, a Monarch butterfly, a vole, an American Robin, and a yak.
- Ideas and concepts include Buddhism, love, freedom, money, time, the Declaration of Independence, marriage, religion, and Hinduism.
So while the nouns adult, country, pastry, dog, and disease are common nouns, the nouns Mother Teresa, Latvia, Buche de Noel, Basenji, and Ebola are all proper nouns.
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are words that stand in for or replace nouns. There are nine categories of pronouns:- Subject Pronouns
- Objective Pronouns
- Indefinite Pronouns
- Relative Pronouns
- Demonstrative Pronouns
- Possessive Pronouns
- Interrogative Pronouns
- Reflexive Pronouns
- Intensive Pronouns
Subject pronouns include I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. As their name implies, subject pronouns always function as subjects of a sentence.
| Number | Person | Case (subjective) |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st | I |
| 2nd | You | |
| 3rd | She
He It |
|
| Plural | 1st | We |
| 2nd | You | |
| 3rd | They |
This category of subject pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.
Below are sentences that use each of the subject pronouns as subjects.
Singular
- I ate the last piece of pizza.
- You are a very fast runner.
- She left a book in my car.
- He bought a hamburger.
- It had begun to rain.
- We always work together.
- You get bonuses every month.
- They joined the choir.
Objective pronouns include me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. Objective pronouns always function as objects in a sentence, for example, the direct object, the indirect object, or the object of a preposition.
| Number | Person | Case (subjective) |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st | Me |
| 2nd | You | |
| 3rd | Him
Her It |
|
| Plural | 1st | Us |
| 2nd | You | |
| 3rd | Them |
This category of object pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the pronouns listed are the complete set. No changes or additions occur.
Below are sentences that use each of the object pronouns as different types of objects.
Singular
- She gave the award to me. (indirect object)
- I baked that batch of cookie sitting near you. (object of the preposition near)
- Mr. Jones met him for lunch. (direct object)
- He picked out flowers especially for her. (indirect object)
- Open the door and walk through it. (object of the preposition)
- The usher led us to our seats (direct object)
- The company sent the merchandise directly to you (indirect object)
- The teacher gave them more time to finish the quiz (indirect object)
Indefinite pronouns can function as either subjects or objects. Also, they can be singular or plural or both (depending on the context in which they are used). The reason this is most important is because the number of the pronoun determines the number of the verb to be used, which you will study in the next unit. Singular indefinite pronouns use singular verbs. Plural indefinite pronouns use plural verbs.
- Indefinite pronouns that end in –one are always singular. These words include anyone, everyone, someone, and one.
- Indefinite pronouns that end in –body are always singular. These words include anybody, somebody, and nobody.
- Indefinite pronouns like both, many, others, and several are always plural.
- Indefinite pronouns like any, more, most, and some can be singular or plural, depending on how they are used.
| Singular
Indefinite |
Plural
Indefinite |
Singular or
Plural |
|---|---|---|
| another
anyone each everyone everybody everything much nobody nothing other someone anybody anything either little neither no one somebody something |
both
few many others several |
all
any more most none some |
Below are several examples of the indefinite pronouns as both subjects and objects.
- Everyone seems to have a social media account. (subject)
- Cheryl gave the tomato seed packages to everyone who attended. (object)
- Somebody needs to dust the furniture and mop the floor. (subject)
- We gave the boxes to somebody at the shop. (object)
- Most of the pie has been eaten. (Singular)
- Most of the pies have been eaten (Plural)
- None of the light enters the bedroom. (Singular)
- None of the lights seem to be working. (Plural)
- Both of the men run quickly out of the room. (Plural)
- Several of the children play hop-scotch during recess. (Plural)
Relative pronouns include, most commonly, that, which, who, whom, whoever, whomever, and where. Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which you will study in Week 4.
Demonstrative pronouns include This, That, These, and Those and can function as subjects, objects, and adjectives.
| Number | Near in Distance or Time | Far in Distance or Time |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | This | That |
| Plural | These | Those |
This category of demonstrative pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones listed are the complete set. No changes or additions occur.
Below are several examples of sentences using demonstrative pronouns as subjects.
- This is the best place to park.
- These are the strawberries that are on sale.
- That really got to me.
- Those fell off the truck.
- “Get as close as you can to that,” he stated, pointing to the loading dock.
- “I want a handful of these,” she laughed picking up the strawberries.
- I need a picture of those flowers.
- This phone is the one I truly want.
Possessive pronouns are pronouns used to refer to subjects in sentences that are specific person/people or thing/things belonging to a person/people [and sometimes to an animal(s) or thing(s)]. Possessive pronouns function as subjects, objects, and adjectives.
| Number | Person | Possessive
Pronoun |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st | My/Mine |
| 2nd | Your/Yours | |
| 3rd | His
Her/Hers Its |
|
| Plural | 1st | Our/Ours |
| 2nd | Your/Yours | |
| 3rd | Their/Theirs |
This category of possessive pronouns is a closed category. In other words, the ones listed are the complete set. No changes or additions exist.
Following are sentences that use possessive pronouns as subjects.
Singular
- Mine is the last cake on the table.
- Yours was left in the car.
- Hers came with the card attached.
- His was a mighty blow.
- Ours describe ways others might interpret art.
- Yours were the last to arrive.
- Theirs won first place.
- That backpack looks like mine.
- The restaurant’s bouillabaisse tastes similar to ours.
- That is my seat in which you are sitting.
- Your seat is at the end of the row.
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. These pronouns represent the thing that isn’t known (what the question is asking about). Interrogative pronouns can stand in for subjects.
| If the Subject is a ... | Use this pronoun... |
|---|---|
| Person | Who |
| Thing | What |
| Person/thing | Which |
| Person | Whose |
The sentences below use interrogative pronouns as subjects.
- Who borrowed my pencil?
- What is the name of the café’?
- Which should I use?
- Whose is the red blanket?
Reflexive and Intensive pronouns each use the same forms.
| Number | Person | Reflexive
Pronoun |
Intensive
Pronoun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | 1st | Myself | Myself |
| 2nd | Yourself | Yourself | |
| 3rd | Himself
Herself Itself |
Himself
Herself Itself |
|
| Plural | 1st | Ourselves | Ourselves |
| 2nd | Yourselves | Yourselves | |
| 3rd | Themselves | Themselves |
Reflexive pronouns function as objects in a sentence; they refer back to a noun or pronoun.
Below are two sentences using reflexive pronouns as objects.
- He enjoyed painting the shed himself.
- Chandra and Wallace wanted to prepare the meal themselves.
- You yourself will be responsible for the delivery.
- Raul and I ourselves seem to be the only people who want to hike the gorge.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words you use to modify a noun or a pronoun. In this section you will learn about three categories of adjectives: (1) descriptive adjectives, (2) proper adjectives, and (3) predicate adjectives.A descriptive adjective describes a quality of the noun the adjective modifies.
- large house
- frigid night
- wide gorge
- purple plum
- green truck
- blissful sleep
A proper adjective is formed by using a proper noun.
- French pastry
- Shakespearian play
- Jeffersonian democracy
- African dance
Predicate adjectives follow the noun and are connected to the noun by a linking verb, which you will learn about in the next module. In the following examples, the predicate adjective follows the highlighted linking verb (linking verbs are discussed in the next segment):
- She seems brave.
- The bread is stale.
- He looks bored.
- The trash smells unpleasant.
VERBS
A verb shows what the subject of a sentence does. You can group verbs into three general categories:Action verbs, which make up the majority of verbs, show/demonstrate an action.
- The phone rang loudly.
- They dance well together.
- The little girl laughed joyfully.
- The team plays aggressively.
Linking or state of being verbs do not show an action. These verbs explain the condition someone or something is in.
- The teacher is ill.
- I am tall and beautiful.
- The sister became class president.
- The cat seems agitated by the attention.
Helping or auxiliary verbs help describe the main verb. There are nine helping verbs that are always helping verbs; they are never the main verb. These helping verbs are:
- May
- Might
- Must
- Could
- Would
- Should
- Can
- Will
- Shall
- The bowl should hold all the ingredients.
- The bowl might hold all the ingredients.
- The bowl must hold all the ingredients.
- The bowl will hold all the ingredients.
- The bowl can hold all the ingredients.
There are three verbs, be, do, and have, that can be either main verbs or helping verbs depending upon their usage. The forms of these three verbs that can be either main or helping verbs are:
| Be | Do | Have |
|---|---|---|
| Is
Are Was Were Being Been |
Does
Did |
Has
Had |
Again, study the sentences below. In the first three, a form of be, do, and have is used as a main verb. In the second three sentences, the same form of be, do, and have is used as a helping verb.
Main verb
- She was a fearsome giant.
- He does the dishes immediately after dinner.
- They have a llama for a pet.
- The child was fed by his sister.
- She does call whenever necessary.
- They have danced for fourteen hours straight.
ADVERBS
Adverbs modify and describe verbs, adjective, and other adverbs.- They walked quickly to the store.
(quickly modifies the verb walked) - The child played happily at the beach.
(happily modifies the verb played) - The child sat nervously outside the principal’s office.
(nervously modifies the verb sat) - A largely green parrot flew up into the tree.
(largely modifies the adjective green) - The snow fell very heavily.
(very modifies the adverb heavily)
| While most all adverbs end with the suffix –ly, some adverbs do not. Below are some common adverbs that do not end in –ly. | And some adjectives end in –ly. Here are some common –ly ending adjectives. |
|---|---|
| Quite
So Not Never Often Well Soon Always Less Very Often Also |
Lovely
Lonely Friendly Ugly Womanly Manly Deadly Neighborly |
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are words that connect nouns and pronouns to other words and show the relationship between the words. While there are hundreds of prepositions, some of the more common prepositions are:| about
along behind beyond during inside off over to up |
above
among below but except into on since toward upon |
across
around beneath by for like onto through under with |
after
at beside despite from near out throughout underneath within |
against
before between down in of outside till until without |
Even though knowing individual prepositions is important, you will use prepositional phrases far more frequently. A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun and includes any words that come in between the two. Study the examples below.
- in the village
- despite the extensive remodeling project
- underneath the grey blanket
- near him
- between you and me
- with her
CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are words that link other words in a sentence and indicate the relationship between those words. There are four types of conjunctions:- coordinating conjunctions
- correlative conjunctions
- adverbial conjunctions
- subordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions join words or word groups of equal importance.
There are only seven coordinating conjunctions:
*Use the memory word FANBOYS to help you remember all seven coordinating conjunctions.
- For
- And
- Nor
- But
- Or
- Yet
- So
- The child was crying, for he had fallen and scraped both knees.
- The man and the woman walked hand and hand down the street.
- The Tan’s did not wish to visit Alaska, nor did they wish to visit Tierra del Fuego.
- She likes tea but not coffee.
- The student could play or study, but not both.
- The young man ate breakfast, yet he was still hungry.
- The game ended, so the team left the field.
Correlative conjunctions are word pairs that join words or words groups of equal importance.
Common correlative conjunctions include:
- not only . . . but also
- whether . . . or
- both . . . and
- not . . . but
- either . . . or
- as . . . as
- neither . . . nor
- They want to travel not only to Europe but also to Asia.
- I want either the red dress or the black shoes.
- I want both the red dress and the black shoes.
- Whether you clean your room or vacuum the house is up to you.
Unlike coordinating conjunctions and correlative conjunctions that link words and word groups, adverbial conjunctions join independent clauses, which you will study in Week 4.
Adverbial conjunctions tell the reader the relationship between the two main clauses. Below are common adverbial conjunctions organized by the relationship they specify.
| Addition | Emphasis | Comparison
or Contrast |
Cause or
Effect |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in addition
furthermore moreover further |
in fact
indeed |
however
nevertheless nonetheless otherwise in contrast in comparison |
as a result
consequently hence therefore thus |
finally
meanwhile next |
Subordinating conjunctions are a word or group of words that introduces a subordinate clause, which you will study in Week 4.
Below are common subordinating conjunctions organized by the relationship they specify.
| Cause or
Effect |
Concession | Condition | Comparison
or Contrast |
Purpose | Space or Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| as
because since |
though
although even though even if |
if
since unless when whenever |
while
as rather than |
in order that
so that |
before
since once after while when until |
Study these charts, for you will be referring to them throughout the course. You should become familiar with these words and the corresponding organizational relationship. They will help you to improve your thought and sentences as you write.
INTERJECTIONS
Interjections, the last part of speech, express surprise, emotion, or demand attention.- Amen!
- Wow!
- Hey!
- Absolutely!
- Bless you!
- Ouch!
- Damn!
PARTS OF SPEECH AT WORK
Before you begin reading this section, take a few moments to copy down or print this list of symbols that will be used to identify parts of speech in sentences we will be working with throughout this unit.| Part of Speech/Sentence | Symbol |
|---|---|
| Subject | S |
| Verb | V |
| Noun | N |
| Pronoun | P |
| Adjective/determiner | ADJ |
| Adverb | ADV |
| Prepositional Phrase | Prep P |
| Conjunction | C |
| Interjection | INT |
The sentences that you will learn to write in this course will contain many words from the eight parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives/determiners, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections). What is even more important is that the words categorized as the eight parts of speech can do many different “jobs” in the sentences you create. The box below illustrates some of the work these elements can do for you.
| Parts of Speech | Jobs They Perform in Sentences |
|---|---|
| Nouns, pronouns | Subjects (the actor/who/what) and Objects (receive the action of the actor) |
| Verbs | Verbs (describe the action of the actor) |
| Adjectives, adverbs, prepositions | Modifiers (add details and description) |
| Conjunctions | Conjunctions (link sentences, words) |
| Interjections | Interjections (exclamations) |
There is one more significant thing to know about the relationship between the eight parts of speech and sentences. Just as the parts of speech can do various jobs in sentences, words that make up the eight parts of speech can also multitask. In fact, many of the words in the English language can be more than one part of speech, as you already know, and can do a variety of jobs in sentences. Look at the following examples.
| Word | Part of Speech | Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| bubbles | Noun | The bubbles floated up and away. |
| verb | Water bubbles when it begins to boil. | |
| up(s) | adverb | He climbed up to the top of the ladder. |
| preposition | They went up the stairs. | |
| adjective | The up elevator is on the left. | |
| noun | She has had more ups than downs lately. | |
| well | interjection | Well! I don’t believe it! |
| adverb | The teacher spoke well of the student. | |
| adjective | My friend is well. | |
| daily | noun | The daily arrives at 3:00 pm. |
| adjective | Daily attendance is a requirement. | |
| adverb | He called her cell phone daily. |
And these examples are just four of tens of thousands of words that multitask in this way. Learning the parts of speech and how they function will help you be a better writer and editor.
But, rest assured, once you have a firm grasp of English based on the descriptions of it you find here, you will better understand that this ability words have to do so many things helps to make the English language very rich and very flexible and very descriptive.
Now that you can see all of the roles English words can play in sentence structures, creating sentences for writing will become much easier for you.
For example, the noun and verb Seals performed create a complete sentence.
Now add the adjective the:
| The | seals | performed. |
| ADJ | N | V |
|---|
Add another adjective that describes the color of the seals:
| The | black | seals | performed. |
| ADJ | ADJ | N | V |
|---|
The verb, performed, doesn’t really describe the actions of the seals. Try a verb that better describes the seals’ actions:
| The | black | seals | leaped |
| ADJ | ADJ | N | V |
|---|
Leaped better describes the seals' action. Writing and reading would be rather dull if there weren’t verbs that described action. In fact, sentences sometimes contain multiple descriptive verbs. Look at the following sentence.
| The | black | seals | leaped, | slid, | and | barked |
| ADJ | ADJ | N | V | V | C | V |
|---|
Look at how this sentence gains energy and vitality when action verbs are added. (Do note that adding additional verbs also means adding commas and the conjunction and.)
There is one more thing you can do to make this sentence even more dynamic. Add adverbs and prepositional phrases to give additional details about the verbs.
| The | black | seals | leaped | eagerly | out | of the water, | slid | quickly | upon the deck, | and | barked | noisily | at the spectators. |
| ADJ | ADJ | N | V | ADV | ADV | Prep P | V | ADV | Prep P | C | V | ADV | Prep P |
|---|
By adding adverbs (words and phrases that modify verbs) to the sentence, you create a sentence that is even more specific and visual.
Now, add several adjectives. Remember adjectives are words used to add descriptive details to nouns and can be inserted in prepositional phrases.
| The | sleek | black | seals | in the pool | leaped | eagerly | out | of the shimmering water, | slid | quickly | upon the wooden deck around the pool, | and | barked | noisily | at the stunned spectators | in the half-empty bleachers. |
| ADJ | ADJ | ADJ | N | Prep P | V | ADV | ADV | Prep P | V | ADV | Prep P | C | V | ADV | Prep P | Prep P |
|---|
Remember, this sentence began as Seals performed.
A sprinkling of action verbs and their attending adverbs, as well as a few adjectives and prepositional phrases turned this sentence into an event. As you begin to experiment with expanding sentences in this way, your writing will become word pictures that readers will be able to visualize.
