Fun with Parts of Speech

1
Grammar Fun with Parts of Speech
By Dr. Nicholas Correa ELT Trainer, Ratnasagar
Publication
2
Parts of speech are the basic types of words that
are used in English. All the words in English
language must belong to one or the part of
speech. Just as there cannot be a number
without 0 to 9 and a melody without the notation
Do, re, mi pa so la ti so also there cannot be
any word in English language that doesnt come
under jurisdiction of parts of speech.
3
It is important to recognize and identify the
different types of words in English, so that one
can understand grammar and use the right word
form in the right place.
4
(No Transcript)
5
The word noun is derived from Latin word
 nomen which was the translation of
Greek onoma, which means name.  
6
A noun is a naming word. It names a person,
place, thing, idea, living creature, quality, or
action. Example

7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
Types of Nouns 1. Proper Nouns 2. Common Nouns
a. Concrete nouns i. Countable
nouns ii. Uncountable nouns
iii. Collective nouns b. Abstract nouns
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15

• A proper noun has two distinctive features
• It names a specific usually a one-of-a-kind
  item.
• 2) it begins with a capital letter no matter
  where it occurs in a sentence.

16
(No Transcript)
17
Common nouns are general names. They are used to
name general persons, animals, places, things or
ideas. They are not capitalized unless they
begin a sentence or are part of a title.
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Common Nouns can be further classified into
concrete and abstract nouns. Examples
22
One can experience concrete nouns with ones
five senses one can  see them, hear them, smell t
hem, taste them, and feel them. One cannot feel
abstract nouns through ones five senses.
23
What is a Concrete Noun? Objects and substances
that can be experienced through our senses are
referred to as concrete nouns.  That means we
can touch, feel, smell, taste or hear them.
24
Examples of Concrete Nouns The vast majority of
nouns are concrete nouns.   Take all animals
and people for example. You can touch, feel, see,
and hear them.  You can do the same for
objects. We take in with our eyes all the sights
of places we visit.
25
Examples calf, cow, oxen, cattle, sheep, lamb,
ram, goat, kid, castle, pyramid, jailhouse, cliff
dwellings, igloo, pagoda, abbey, cathedral,
chapel,  apron, tie, belt,  petal, sepal, stamen,
pine boughs, bud, branch, blossom, fruit,
26
Abstract Nouns
27
Abstract Nouns A noun that denotes an abstract
or intangible concept, such as envy or joy. An
abstract noun is a noun that you cannot sense, it
is the name we give to an emotion, ideal or idea.
They have no physical existence, one can't see,
hear, touch, smell or taste them. The opposite of
an abstract noun is a concrete noun. Example
28
(No Transcript)
29
Example Love, sadness, laughter, hunger,
pleasure, poverty, wisdom, intelligence,
30

• Concrete nouns are further classified into
• 1. Countable Nouns
• 2. Uncountable Nouns
• 3. Collective Nouns

31

• Countable Nouns
• Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are
  things that we can count.
• For example "pen". We can count pens. We can
  have one, two, three or more pens.
• Here are some more countable nouns
• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

32
Uncountable nouns Uncountable are substances,
concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate
elements. We cannot "count" them. For example,
we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of
milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count
"milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable
nouns Example rice, sugar, butter, water,
electricity, gas,
33
Collective Nouns A collective noun is a word for
a group of specific items, animals or people.
For example, a group of ships is called a fleet,
a group of cows is called a herd, a group of
lions is called a pride, a group of baseball
players is called a team, and a group of ants is
called a colony.
34
(No Transcript)
35
(No Transcript)
36
(No Transcript)
37
(No Transcript)
38
Pronouns Pronouns are words used instead of nouns
or the words that substitute nouns.
39
(No Transcript)
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by
describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An
adjective usually precedes the noun or the
pronoun which it modifies.
43
In the following examples, the highlighted words
are adjectives The truck-shaped balloon floated
over the treetops. Mrs. Morrison papered
her kitchen walls with hideous wall
paper. The small boat foundered on the wine
dark sea. The coal mines are dark and dank. Many s
tores have already begun to play irritating music.
A battered music box sat on the mahogany sideboar
d. The back room was filled with large, yellow rai
n boots.
44
(No Transcript)
45
1. Adjectives of Quality - These adjectives are
used to describe the nature of a noun. They give
an idea about the characteristics of the noun by
answering the question what kind.  Honest,
Kind, Large, Bulky, Beautiful, Ugly etc. New
Delhi is a large city with many historical
monuments.  Sheila is a beautiful woman.
46
2. Adjectives of Quantity - These adjectives help
to show the amount or the approximate amount of
the noun or pronoun. These adjectives do not
provide exact numbers rather they tell us the
amount of the noun in relative or whole
terms. o   All, Half, Many, Few, Little, No,
Enough, Great etc. They have finished most of
the rice. Many people came to visit the fair. 
47
3. Adjectives of Number - These adjectives are
used to show the number of nouns and their place
in an order.   There are three different
sections within adjectives of number  they are -
48
Definite Numeral Adjective - Those which clearly
denote an exact number of nouns or the order of
the noun. One, Two, Twenty, Thirty-Three etc.
also known as Cardinals. First, Second, Third,
Seventh etc. also known as Ordinals.
49
Indefinite Numeral Adjective - Those adjectives
that do not give an exact numerical amount but
just give a general idea of the amount. Some,
Many, Few, Any, Several, All etc. E.g. There
were many people present at the meeting. 
50
Distributive Numeral Adjective -Those adjectives
that are used to refer to individual nouns within
the whole amount.  Either, Neither, Each,
Another, Other etc. Taxes have to be paid
by every employed citizen. 
51
4. Demonstrative Adjectives - These adjectives
are used to point out or indicate a particular
noun or pronoun using the adjectives
-  This, That, These and Those.   o   That bag
belongs to Neil.  o   Try using this paintbrush
in art class. o   I really like those shoes. o   T
hese flowers are lovely. 
52
5. Interrogative Adjectives - These adjectives
are used to ask questions about nouns or in
relation to nouns, they are  Where, What, Which 
and Whose. o   Where did he say he was
going?  o   What assignment did I miss out
on? o   Which is your favourite
author? o   Whose pen is this? 
53
(No Transcript)
54
(No Transcript)
55

• Verbs are doing words. A verb can express a
  physical action, a mental action, or a state of
  being.
•  
• A physical action (e.g., to swim, to write, to
  climb).
• A mental action (e.g., to think, to guess, to
  consider).
• A state of being (e.g., to be, to exist, to
  appear).

56

• Lots of Verbs Express Physical Actions
• Here are some sentences with the verbs
  highlighted. (These verbs express physical
  actions.)
• She sells pegs and lucky heather.
• (In this example, the word sells is a verb. It
  expresses the physical activity to sell.)
• The doctor wrote the prescription.
• (In this example, the word wrote is a verb. It
  expresses the physical activity to write.)
• Alison bought a ticket.
• (The word bought is a verb. It expresses the
  physical activity to buy.)

57

• Verbs Express Mental Actions Too
• As we covered at the start, verbs do not
  necessarily express physical actions like the
  ones above. They can express mental actions
  tooExampleShe considers the job done.
• (The word considers is a verb. It expresses the
  mental activity to consider.)
• Peter guessed the right number.
• (The word guessed is a verb. It expresses the
  mental activity to guess.)
• I thought the same thing.
• (The word thought is a verb. It expresses the
  mental activity to think.)

58

• Verbs Express a State of Being
• A small, but extremely important group of verbs
  do not express any activity at all. The most
  important verb in this group arguably of all
  is the verb to be. As already mentioned, this is
  seen in forms like is, are, were, was, will be,
  etc. Some real examples
• Edwina is the largest elephant in this area.
• (The word is is a verb from the verb to be.)
• It was a joke.
• (The word was is a verb from the verb to be.)
• I am.
• (The word am is a verb from the verb to
  be.)(Point of interest I am is the shortest
  sentence in English.)

59
Types of verbs There are three types of verbs
action verbs, linking verbs, and helping
verbs.
60
ACTION VERBS Action verbs are words that express
action (ex give, eat, walk, etc.) or possession
(have, own, etc.). Action verbs can be either
transitive or intransitive
61
TRANSITIVE VERBS A transitive verb always has a
noun that receives the action of the verb. This
noun is called the direct object. EXAMPLE
Sheela raises her hand. (The verb is raises.
Her hand is an object receiving the verbs
action. Therefore, raises is a transitive verb.)

62
Transitive verbs sometimes have indirect objects,
which name the object to whom or for whom the
action was done. EXAMPLE Jantzen gave Becky
the pencil. (The verb is gave. The direct
object is the pencil. What did he give? the
pencil. The indirect object is Becky. To whom
did he give it? to Becky.)
63
INTRANSITIVE VERBS An intransitive verb never has
a direct or indirect object. Although an
intransitive verb may be followed by an adverb
or adverbial phrase, there is no object to
receive its action. EXAMPLE Sheela rises
slowly from her seat. (The verb is the word,
rises. The words, slowly from her seat, modify
the verb. But there is no object that receives
the action.)
64
LINKING VERBS A linking verb connects the subject
of a sentence to a noun or adjective that renames
or describes it. This noun or adjective is
called the subject complement. EXAMPLES Jason
became a business major. (The verb, became,
links the subject, Jason, to its complement, a
business major.) Lisa is in love with Jason.
(The verb, is, links the subject, Lisa, to the
subject complement, in love with Jason, which
describes Lisa.)
65
The most common linking verb is the verb to be in
all of its forms (am, are, is, was, were, etc.).
This verb may also be used as a helping verb
(see next section). Two other common linking
verbs, to become and to seem, are always used as
linking verbs. Other verbs may be linking verbs
in some cases and action verbs in others to
appear, to feel, to look, to remain, to stay, to
taste, to continue, to grow, to prove, to sound,
to smell, to turn, LINKING Libby appeared
happy. (Appeared links Libby to the subject
complement, happy.) ACTION Deon suddenly
appeared. (Here, appeared is an intransitive
action verb.)
66
HELPING VERBS Helping verbs are used before
action or linking verbs to convey additional
information regarding aspects of possibility
(can, could, etc.) or time (was, did, has, etc.).
They are also called auxiliary verbs. The main
verb with its accompanying helping verb is
called a verb phrase. EXAMPLES Teju is
(helping verb) going (main verb) to Florida.
The trip might (helping verb) be (main verb)
dangerous.
67
The following words, called modals, always
function as helping verbs can may must shall
will could might ought to should would
EXAMPLES Tanya could learn to fly helicopters.
(Could helps the main verb, learn.) Janine will
drive to Idaho tomorrow. (Will helps the main
verb, drive.) In addition, the following forms
of the verbs to be, to do, and to have sometimes
serve as helping verbs.
68
Note In other cases, they may serve as action
or linking verbs.) am be being do had have was
are been did does has is were HELPING Jana is
moving to a new house. LINKING Jana is ready to
go. HELPING Dustin did eat his vegetables!
ACTION Dustin did his homework last night.
(transitive verb) HELPING Erin has jumped off
the cliff. ACTION Erin has a good attitude.
(transitive verb)
69
(No Transcript)
70
(No Transcript)
71
(No Transcript)
72
An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective,
another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb
indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree
and answers questions such as "how," "when,"
"where," "how much".
73
(No Transcript)
74
Types of adverbs Adverbs of Manner Adverbs of
Manner tell us the manner or way in which
something happens. They answer the question
"how?". Adverbs of Manner mainly
modify verbs. He speaks slowly. (How does he
speak?) They helped us cheerfully. (How did they
help us?) James Bond drives his cars fast. (How
does James Bond drive his cars?)
75
We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic
(action) verbs, not with stative or state
verbs. He ran fast. She came quickly. They
worked happily.
76
Adverbs of Place Adverbs of Place tell us the
place where something happens. They answer the
question "where?". Adverbs of Place mainly
modify verbs. Please sit here. (Where should I
sit?) They looked everywhere. (Where did they
look?) Two cars were parked outside. (Where were
two cars parked?)
77
Adverbs of Time Adverbs of Time tell us something
about the time that something happens. Adverbs of
Time mainly modify verbs. They can answer the
question "when?" He came yesterday. (When did he
come?) I want it now. (When do I want it?) Or
they can answer the question "how
often?" They deliver the newspaper daily. (How
often do they deliver the newspaper?) We sometimes
 watch a movie. (How often do we watch a movie?)
78
Adverbs of Degree Adverbs of Degree tell us the
degree or extent to which something happens. They
answer the question "how much?" or "to what
degree?". Adverbs of Degree can
modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. She en
tirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree
with him?) Mary is very beautiful. (To what
degree is Mary beautiful? How beautiful is
Mary?) He drove quite dangerously. (To what
degree did he drive dangerously? How dangerously
did he drive?)
79
(No Transcript)
80
(No Transcript)
81
Conjunctions A conjunction is a word that
"joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a
sentence. Here are some example conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless
82
(No Transcript)
83
(No Transcript)
84
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to
other words in asentence. The word or phrase
that the preposition introduces is called
the object of the preposition. Prepositions are
short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in
front of nouns (sometimes also in front of gerund
verbs). A preposition usually comes before a
noun, pronoun or noun phrase. It joins the noun
to some other part of the sentence. Examples on,
in, by, with, under, through, at
85
(No Transcript)
86
(No Transcript)
87
(No Transcript)
88
(No Transcript)
89

• Interjections are words or phrases used to
  exclaim or protest or command.
• An interjection is a word added to a sentence to
  convey an emotion or a sentiment such as
  surprise, disgust, joy, excitement, or
  enthusiasm. It is not grammatically related to
  any other part of the sentence.
• They sometimes stand by themselves, but they are
  often contained within larger structures.
• Wow! I won the lottery!
• Oh, I don't know about that.
• I don't know what the heck you're talking about.
• No, you shouldn't have done that.

90
(No Transcript)