Exploring the Parts of Speech - New Learner

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Sidebar What’s “the” all about? Articles The word “the” is actually classified as an article. An article is a type of adjective that makes a noun either specific or indefinite. In English there are three articles: the definite article the, and the two indefinite articles a and an. Some grammarians describe articles as belonging to another group of words which are known as Determiners - they restrict or specify a noun in some way. A or An ? The indefinite article “a” is used before consonant sounds. whereas… The indefinite article “an” is used before vowel sounds. Zero Articles Some words, such as “society,” “justice,” etc. require no article at all. Sidebar What are participles and gerunds? A participle is an adjective formed from a verb. To make a present participle, you add "-ing" to the verb. For example: "think" becomes "thinking" "fall" becomes "falling" "run" becomes "running" The second type of participle, the past participle, is a little more complicated, since not all verbs form the past tense regularly. The following are all past participles: the sunken ship a ruined city a misspelled word A gerund is a noun formed from a verb. To make a gerund, you add "-ing" to the verb, just as with a present participle. The fundamental difference is that a gerund is a noun, while a participle is an adjective: gerund I enjoy running. ("Running" is a noun acting as the direct object of the verb "enjoy.") participle Stay away from running water. ("Running" is an adjective modifying the noun "water".) Adverbs 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". While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic "ly" suffix, most of them must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the sentence or clause as a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various places within the sentence. The boldly-spoken words would return to haunt the rebel. In this sentence the adverb "boldly" modifies the adjective "spoken.“ We urged him to dial the number more expeditiously. Here the adverb "more" modifies the adverb "expeditiously.“ Unfortunately, the bank closed at three today. In this example, the adverb "unfortunately" modifies the entire sentence. Fortunately, most adverbs are formed by adding “ly” to an adjective. This makes recognizing an adverb fairly easy. Sadly, there are a number of adverbs that do not end in “ly.” Below you will find a list of some of the most common non-ly adverbs: afterward already almost back even often Far quick fast rather hard slow here so how soon late still long then low today more tomorrow near too never when next where now yesterday Sidebar Conjunctive Adverbs (aka Transitional Expressions) Conjunctive adverbs are words or phrases that are used to introduce a new independent clause. As they are not conjunctions, they can never be used to join two independent clauses without the use of a semi-colon. To show time and sequence: meanwhile, eventually, soon, later, first, second, then, finally, also, too, besides, furthermore, moreover, in addition Pronouns A pronoun is used in place of a noun. We can use pronouns like "he," "which," "none," and "you" to make sentences less cumbersome. In English there are seven different kinds of pronouns, including personal, reflexive, intensive, demonstrative, relative, interrogative, and indefinite. However, we will focus on just two types: personal, and relative. To compare and contrast: likewise, similarly, in the same way, however, nevertheless, still, on the other hand, on the contrary, even so To show cause and effect: therefore, as a result, accordingly, consequently, thus, hence, otherwise To offer examples and conclusions: for instance, for example, after all, in fact, of course in conclusion, in other words, on the whole, in short 4
Personal Pronouns: The personal pronoun takes the place of a specific or named person or thing. Personal pronouns come in three different cases: subjective (aka nominative), objective, and possessive. Subjective / Nominative: A personal pronoun in the nominative case will refer to the subject of the sentence. Pronouns in the nominative case include I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. These are referred to as a “subject” pronouns. Example: He is a most capable student. Objective: A personal pronoun in the objective case will refer to the object of the sentence. Pronouns in the objective case include: me, you, him, her, it, us, and them. These are referred to as “object” pronouns. Example: He told them to get out of the store. Possessive: The possessive case of a noun or pronoun shows ownership or association. Some possessive pronouns like “my” and “your” modify nouns. Others, like “mine” and “yours” stand alone and do not act as modifiers. Example: I took my car to the car wash. Subjective Personal Pronouns: As indicated in the last slide, a subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are "I," "you," "she," "he," "it," "we," "you," "they." In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a subjective personal pronoun and acts as the subject of the sentence: • I was glad to find the bus pass in the bottom of the green knapsack. • You are surely the strangest child I have ever met. • He stole the selkie's skin and forced her to live with him. • When she was a young woman, she earned her living as a coal miner. • After many years, they returned to their homeland. • We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m. • It is on the counter. • Are you the delegates from Malagawatch? Note: The antecedent of a pronoun is the word for which the pronoun stands. Relative Pronouns: The relative pronoun begins a specific type of subordinate clause (called a relative clause) and relates the clause to a word in the main clause. A relative pronoun is only found in sentences with more than one clause. In modern English, there are five relative pronouns: that, which, who, whom, and whose. These pronouns may take the suffixes -ever and -soever. Examples (relative pronouns italicized): He who laughs last laughs loudest. (Adjective clause) I cannot believe that he did such a thing. (Noun clause) Note: Some authorities consider the second instance to be a conjunction. prepositional phrase Prepositions A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples: Examples: The book is on the table. She read the book during class. The book is required for the course. The book is next to the lamp. The book is from Spain. Prepositions can have a variety of meanings: •Direction- He's going TO the shops •Location- It's IN the box •Time- He left AFTER the lesson had finished •Possession- The Government OF Italy Rule: We should not generally end a sentence with a proposition. Conjunctions Conjunctions are used to link words, phrases, and clauses. Examples: I ate the pizza and the pasta. Call the movers when you are ready. There are three types of conjunctions: Co-ordinating Conjunctions ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet") are used to join individual words, phrases, and independent clauses. Note: These should not be used to begin a sentence. Subordinating Conjunctions introduce a dependent clause and indicates the nature of the relationship among the independent clause(s) and the dependent clause(s). The most common subordinating conjunctions are "after," "although," "as," "because," "before," "how," "if," "once," "since," "than," "that," "though," "till," "until," "when," "where," "whether," and "while.“ Note: These can be used to begin a sentence. Correlative conjunctions always appear in pairs – they are used to link equivalent sentence elements. The most common correlative conjunctions are "both...and," "either...or," "neither...nor,", "not only...but also," "so...as," and "whether...or.“ Note: These can be used to begin a sentence. Sidebar Beginning a Sentence with Because The notion that one should not begin a sentence with because retains a mysterious grip on people's sense of writing proprieties. This might come about because a sentence that begins with because could well end up a fragment if one is not careful to follow up the subordinate clause with an independent clause. Because is a subordinating conjunction - used to introduce a subordinating clause. A subordinating conjunction can begin a sentence by introducing a subordinate clause. As long as the thought is then completed by an independent clause, the sentence will be grammatically correct. Because the students studied grammar. Because the students studied grammar, their writing improved. Although it is true that beginning a sentence with because might produce a dependent clause fragment, similar taboos have never been associated with other subordinating conjunctions such as Although, If, When, While, and Since. It is unclear why the word because has been singled out for this dubious distinction. 5
Page 1 and 2: Exploring the Parts of Speech Art L
Page 3: Verb Phrases Comprised of the Same

Exploring the Parts of Speech - New Learner

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