parts of speech final

PARTS OF SPEECH

LESSON NO. 1

CONTENTS:

• What are parts of speech
• Importance of parts of speech
• Summary of the 8 parts of speech

 OBJECTIVES:

After this lesson you will have a general idea about all the parts of speech

 and will be able to recognize different  parts of speech in a sentence.

 

INTRODUCTION TO PARTS OF SPEECH

There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For example, some words express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join" one word to another word. These are the "building blocks" of the language. Think of them like the parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the foundations or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the windows, and door frames to make the doorways and we use cement to join them all together. Each part of the house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type of word has its own job.

We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called "parts of speech".

It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences.

An Overview of  Parts of Speech

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail in the next chapters

part of speech function or "job" example words example sentences

Noun

A noun is the name of a person ,place or thing

Example words:

Pen, Pakistan,Lahore.computer,book,teaher

Example sentences:

This is my pen.

I love Pakistan.

I am a teacher.

Pronoun

A pronoun replaces a noun.

Example words:

I, you, he, she.

Example sentences:

Sara is Pakistani. She is beautiful.

Ahmad is my friend.He is very good singer.

Adjective

An adjective describes a noun

 Example words:

 a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting 

Example sentences:

My dog is big. I like big dogs.

Verb

A verb expresses an action or state

Example words:

 (to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must

 Example sentences:

I like apples.

He wrote a novel. 

Adverb

An adverb describes a verb, adjective or adverb 

Example words:

quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really

Example sentences:

My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.

Preposition

a preposition links a noun to another word 

Example words:

to, at, after, on,

Example sentences:

We went to school on Monday.

 I saw him at the bus station.

 

Conjunction

A conjunction joins clauses or sentences or words.

Example words:

 And, but, when 

Example sentences:

I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats.

Interjection

An interjection is a short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence

Example words:

Oh!, ouch!, hi!, well Ouch!

Example sentences:

 That hurts!

 Hi!How are you?

  

important note

* Some grammar sources categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. , we use the traditional categorization of 8 parts of speech. Examples of other categorizations are:

• Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:

o Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)

o Auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)

• Determiners may be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under Adjectives

Exercise 

Q1: Name the part of speech to which each word in the following sentences belongs:

I bought a new car.

the new house is haunted.

I love my country very much.

She walks briskly.

I write beautifully.

Q2. Define the followings

parts of speech,noun, pronoun,adjective,verb,adverb,preposition,conjunction,interjection.

CONTENTS

What is a noun

Types of nouns

Possessive ‘s

Nouns as adjectives

A list of commonly used collective nouns

Quick refresher

OBJECTIVES:

After this lesson you will be able to identify different kinds of nouns  and there functions.

What is a noun?

Nouns are naming words. Everything we see or are able to talk about is represented by a word which names it - that word is called a 'noun'. There are names for people, animals, places, objects, substances, qualities, actions and measures.

Definition:

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas.

Examples:

Names of people:

Soldier ,Ali, cousin  

 Names for animals:

Rat ,zebra  lion.

 Names for places:

House - London - factory - shelter  

 Names for objects:

Table - frame - printer - chisel

 Names for substances:

Lead - nitrogen - water - ice

 Names for qualities:

Kindness - beauty - bravery - wealth - faith

 Names for actions:

Rowing - cooking - barking - reading - listening

 Names for measures:

Month - inch - day - pound - ounce

TYPES OF NOUNS

• Common nouns: Common nouns refer to general, unspecific categories of entities. These nouns name general, nonspecific people, places, things, or ideas. They start with a lowercase letter unless they begin a sentence.

Example:

Writer , city, park, religion

• Proper nouns: Proper nouns are nouns that refer to specific entities. These nouns   name specific people, places, things, or ideas. They always start with a capital letter.

Example:

Ahmad,Lahore, Paris, Disneyland, Christianity

• Abstract nouns: These are the opposite of concrete. They name something that you cannot perceive with your five senses - something that does not physically exist.

Example:

Happiness, freedom,  love ,hate, Islam ,Christianity

• Concrete nouns: These name something that you can perceive with your five senses - something that physically exists. These nouns that can be touched, smelled, seen, felt, or tasted.

Example :

 Steak, table, dog, cat, chocolate, Saima, Azhar,Maria, salt, and wool are all examples of concrete nouns.

• Countable nouns: These can be counted, and they use both the singular and the plural forms. Anything that you can make plural is a countable noun.

clock/clocks, poem/poems

• Uncountable nouns: These  cannot be counted. Since they cannot be counted, they only use the singular form.

milk, rice, water

• Compound nouns: Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. Some compound nouns are hyphenated. (This is covered in the lesson Hyphens in Compound Nouns.)

Mother-in-law

Board of members

Court-martial

Forget-me-not

Manservant

Paper-clip

• Collective Nouns:

 Collective nouns are the words used for a group of people or things.

Examples:

Choir,Team,Jury,Shoal,Cabinet

• Singular nouns : These refer to one person, place, thing, or idea.

box, face, road, ball

• Plural nouns: These refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. They generally end in with

an s.

Example:

Boxes, faces, roads, balls

•Verbal Nouns

Verbal nouns are formed from verbs. They are a type of common noun.

I love swimming.

("swimming" - the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb 'to swim'.)

Deep thinking is required to solve this problem.

("thinking" - the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb 'to think'.)

•Possessive 's

Adding 's or ' to show possession.

Ali's car, my parents' house

•Noun as Adjective

Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun is "acting as" an adjective.

love story, tooth-brush, bathroom

Quick Refresher:

Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas.

Before you look at the list of nouns, I'd like to point out that each noun fits into more than one of the categories below.

For example, the word train is a common, concrete, countable, singular noun. Got it? Good!

Noun Type	Examples
Common Nouns name people, places or things that are not specific.	man, mountain, state, ocean, country, building, cat, airline
Proper Nouns name specific people, places, or things.	Walt Disney, Mount Kilimanjaro, Minnesota, Atlantic Ocean, Australia, Empire State Building, Fluffy, Sun Country
Abstract Nouns name nouns that you can't perceive with your five sense.	love, wealth, happiness, pride, fear, religion, belief, history, communication
Concrete Nouns name nouns that you can perceive with your five senses.	house, ocean, Uncle Mike, bird, photograph, banana, eyes, light, sun, dog, suitcase, flowers
Countable Nouns name nouns that you can count.	bed, cat, movie, train, country, book, phone, match, speaker, clock, pen, David, violin
Uncountalbe Nouns name nouns that you can't count.	milk, rice, snow, rain, water, food, music
Compound Nouns are made up of two or more words.	tablecloth, eyeglasses, New York, photograph, daughter-in-law, pigtails, sunlight, snowflake
Collective Nouns refer to things or people as a unit.	bunch, audience, flock, team, group, family, band, village
Singular Nouns name one person, place, thing, or idea.	cat, sock, ship, hero, monkey, baby, match
Plural Nouns name more than one person, place, thing, or idea.	cats, socks, ships, heroes, monkeys, babies, matches

*************************************************************

APPENDEX

APPENDIX A: The Noun Jobs

Nouns can do lots of things in sentences. They are probably the most overworked of all eight of the parts of speech.

Nouns have the ability to perform different functions, or jobs, in sentences.

Let's look at some of the noun jobs.

1. Subjects are nouns that tell us whom or what a sentence is about.

Ali kicked the ball.

2. Direct objects are nouns that receive the action of certain kinds of verbs (transitive active verbs).

Ali kicked the ball.

3. Indirect objects are nouns that receive the direct object.

Ali kicked Jimmy the ball.

4. Objects of prepositions are nouns that come after prepositions in prepositional phrases.

Ali kicked the ball to Jimmy.

5. Predicate nouns ("predicate nominatives") are nouns that rename the subject. They come after linking verbs.

Ali is a soccer player.

6. Object complements are nouns that complete the direct object.

They named the babyAisha.

APPENDIX B.: Commonly used Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are those nouns that denote a group of people, animals, objects, concepts or ideas as a single entity.

These collective nouns are commonly used under the category of people.

    A class of students.

    An army of soldiers.

    A choir of singers.

    A crew of sailors.

    A band of musicians.

    A bunch of crooks.

    A crowd of people/spectators.

    A gang of thieves.

    A group of dancers.

    A team of players.

    A troupe of artists/dancers.

    A pack of thieves.

    A staff of employees.

    A regiment of soldiers.

    A tribe of natives.

    An audience of listeners.

    A panel of experts.

    A gang of labourers.

    A flock of tourists.

    A board of directors.

The following collective nouns are used for animals.

    A catch of fish.

    An army of ants.

    A flight of birds.

    A flock of birds.

    A haul of fish.

    A flock of sheep.

    A herd of deer/cattle/elephants/goats/buffaloes.

    A hive of bees.

    A litter of cubs.

    A host of sparrows.

    A team of horses.

    A troop of lions.

    A zoo of wild animals.

    A pack of wolves.

    A litter of puppies/kittens.

    A swarm of bees/ants/rats/flies.

    A team of horses/ducks/oxen.

    A murder of crows.

    A kennel of dogs.

    A pack of hounds.

The following collective nouns are used for things.

    A group of islands.

    A galaxy of stars.

    A wad of notes.

    A forest of trees.

    A stack of wood.

    A fleet of ships.

    A string of pearls.

    An album of stamps/autographs/photographs.

    A hedge of bushes.

    A library of books.

    A basket of fruit.

    A bowl of rice.

    A pack of cards.

    A pair of shoes.

    A bouquet of flowers.

    A bunch of keys.

    A chest of drawers.

    A pack of lies.

    A range of mountains.

    A cloud of dust.

Collective nouns are endless and these are just a list of those used more often.

PRONOUNS AND ITS KINDS

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.

Example

I , we ,he she ,it,one,who etc

There are different kinds of commonly used pronouns:

Personal Pronouns:

 Personal Pronouns are used are substitutes for proper or common nouns.

 Examples : I, he, she, mine, his, her, they, their

 Demonstrative Pronouns:

Demonstrative Pronouns are used to point out objects

Examples: this, that, these, those

 Indefinite Pronouns:

 Pronouns which refer to things in a general way and not to someone or something in particular.

 Examples: nobody, somebody, everybody, one (should not lie)

 Distributive Pronouns:

 Pronouns which refer to persons or things one at a time are called Distributive pronouns.

 Examples: each, either, neither

 Relative Pronouns:

 A pronoun that relates a subordinate clause to the rest of the sentence is called a relative pronoun.

 Examples: who -  (Ali is the boy) who (did the work)

  whose – (Ali is the boy) whose (books were lost)

   Interrogative Pronouns: Pronouns used for asking questions are called Interrogative Pronouns.

    Examples : what, which, who, whose, whom

  Possessive Pronouns:

Possessive pronouns are used to show possession. As they are used as adjectives, they are also known as possessive adjectives. My, your, his, her, its, our and their are all possessive pronouns.

Example:

Have you seen her book?

(In this example, the pronoun "her" replaces a word like "Sarah's".)

Absolute Possessive Pronouns

These pronouns also show possession. Unlike possessive pronouns (see above), which are adjectives to nouns, these pronouns sit by themselves. Mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are all absolute possessive pronouns.

Examples:

The tickets are as good as ours.

Shall we take yours or theirs?

Reciprocal Pronouns

Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. The two most common reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another.

Examples:

They like one another.

They talk to each other like they're babies.

Reflexive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun ends ...self or ...selves and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence. The reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.

Example:

John bakes all the bread himself.

(In this example, the reflexive pronoun "himself" refers back to the noun "John".)

Intensive pronoun:

An intensive pronoun ends …..self or selves and used to intensify the subject of the sentence

Example:

He himself invited me to the party.

 

 Adjectives

An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.
example:
small ,big,few,many,ten

Types of Adjectives

Following are the kinds of adjectives which are commonly used:

1. Adjectives of Quality:
   
   • Adjectives of Quality answer the question ‘Of what kind’
     
   • Examples : Large, Small, Intelligent, Beautiful
     
     
2. Adjectives of Quantity:
   
   • Adjectives of Quantity answer the question ‘How much’
     
   • Examples : Some, Little, Any, Enough 
     
     
3. Adjectives of Number:
   
   • Adjectives of Number answer the question ‘How many’
     
   • Examples : Two, Seven, Second, Third 
     
     
4. Demonstrative Adjectives:
   
   • Demonstrative Adjectives answer the question ‘Which’
     
   • Examples : This, That, These, Those 
     
     
5. Interrogative Adjectives:
   
   • Interrogative Adjectives are used to ask questions about a noun.
     
   • Examples : What, Which, Whose
     

Comparison of Adjectives

Ahmad is tall.
Ahmad is taller thanALI.
Mohan is the tallest of the three.

In the second sentence, the word ‘taller’ is the comparative form of the adjective. The comparative form of the adjective denotes a higher degree of the adjective ‘tall’ when two people or things are compared.

In the third sentence, the word ‘tallest’ is the superlative form of the adjective. The superlative form of the adjective denotes the highest degree of the adjective ‘tall’ when more than two people or things are compared.

Here are some simple rules to keep in mind when forming comparatives and superlatives.

RULE 1

For most adjectives, ‘er’ is added for the comparative form and ‘est’ for the superlative form.

Tall – Taller – Tallest
Strong – Stronger – Strongest
Short – Shorter – Shorter
Kind – Kinder - Kindest

RULE 2

For adjectives ending with ‘e’, ‘r’ is added for the comparative form and ‘st’ for the superlative form.

Wise – Wiser – Wisest
Large – Larger – Largest
Nice – Nicer – Nicest
Fine – Finer - Finest

RULE 3

For adjectives ending with ‘y’, ‘y’ is removed and ‘ier’ is added for comparative form and ‘iest’ for the superlative form.

Lazy – Lazier – Laziest
Crazy – Crazier – Craziest
Wealthy – Wealthier – Wealthiest
Heavy – Heavier - Heaviest

RULE 4

Usually for longer adjectives, ‘more’ + adjective is used for comparative form and ‘most’ + adjective is used for superlative form.

Handsome – More Handsome – Most Handsome
Beautiful – More Beautiful – Most Beautiful
Intelligent – More Intelligent – Most Intelligent
Difficult – More Difficult – Most Difficult

RULE 5 

Irregular Adjectives: There are some irregular adjectives for which the comparative and superlative form follow no particular rule.

Good – Better – Best
Bad – Worse – Worst
Many – More – Most
Little – Less - Least

 

 Verbs

A verb is a word that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.

Types of Verbs

We can divide verbs into transitive and intransitive verbs.
Transitive Verbs: These verbs involve a direct object.
Example 1: The boy throws the ball.
Here ‘throws’ is the verb and ‘ball’ is the direct object.
Example 2: The man reads the book.
Here ‘reads’ is the verb and ‘book’ is the direct object 

Intransitive Verbs: These verbs do not involve a direct object.
Example 1: The boy throws.
Here the verb ‘throws’ is used intransitively.
Example 2: The man reads quickly. 
Here the verb ‘reads’ is used intransitively.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

The distinction between regular verbs and irregular verbs is a very simple one:
Regular Verbs
Those verbs that form their past participle with ‘d’ or ‘ed’ are regular verbs. These verbs do not undergo substantial changes while changing forms between tenses.

1. If the verb ends with a vowel, only ‘d’ is added. For example:

PRESENT TENSE                             PAST TENSE

Share                                                   Shared

Scare                                                   Scared

Dare                                                     Dared

2. If the verb ends with a consonant, ‘ed’ is added. For example:

PRESENT TENSE                             PAST TENSE

Want                                                   Wanted

Shout                                                  Shouted

Kill                                                       Killed

Irregular Verbs
Those verbs that undergo substantial changes when changing forms between tenses are irregular verbs. The changed forms of these verbs are often unrecognisably different from the originals. For example:
                        PRESENT TENSE                             PAST TENSE
                        Go                                                       Went
                        Run                                                     Ran
                        Think                                                   Thought

There is no way to tell what form an irregular verb is going to take in a changed tense; the only option for an English speaker is to commit the changes to memory. With practice, it will become a matter of habit.

Participles, Gerunds & Infinitives

Participles, gerunds and Infinitives are called verbals. Verbals are words which are formed from a verb but which function as a different part of speech.

PARTICIPLE
A participle is usually formed by adding –ing or –ed to a verb. It functions as an adjective.

Examples: The singing bird was the main attraction at the event.
                The injured man was waiting for the doctor.

GERUND
A gerund is formed by adding –ing to a verb. It functions as a noun.

Examples: Sameer likes reading books.
               Smoking is prohibited in the hospital.

INFINITIVE
An infinitive is formed by using the word ‘to’ plus the verb in its stem word. It functions as a noun, adjective or adverb.

Examples: He was made to clean his room.
                Shalini loves to talk.

Auxiliary Verbs

There are 4 auxiliary verbs in the English language:
Be
Have
Will
Do

Each of these is followed by another verb, known as the full verb, in order to form

• Questions
• Negative statements
• Compound tense
• Passive voice

Auxiliary Verb Exercise
Be
‘Be’ can be used both as an auxiliary and as a full verb. It must first be noted that ‘be’ is an irregular verb:
            Simple present: I am, he/she/it is, we/they are
            Simple past: I/he/she/it was, we/they were
            Past participle: been
For compound tense (present/past continuous), use the ‘-ing’ form of the full verb with  the appropriate form of ‘be’.
            Present continuous: He is playing outside.
            Past continuous: He was playing outside.
            Present perfect continuous: He has been playing outside.
            Past perfect continuous: He had been playing outside.
For passive voice, use the past participle of the full verb with the appropriate form of ‘be’.
            Simple past/present: The damage is/was done.
            Present/past perfect: The damage has been/had been done.
            Future: The damage will be done.  
Have
‘Have’ is also both an auxiliary and a full verb, and is irregular as well.
            Simple present: I/you/we/they have, he/she/it has
            Simple past: had
            Past participle: had
It is used to form compound tenses in active and passive voice.
Compound Tenses - Active Voice:
Present Perfect Simple: He has played outside.
Past Perfect Simple: He had played outside.
Present Perfect Continuous: He has been playing outside.
Past Perfect Continuous: He had been playing outside
Compound Tenses - Passive Voice:
Present/Past Continuous: The house has/had been built.

Will

‘Will’ functions only as an auxiliary verb, and is used to form the future tenses. It remains the same for all forms.

            Simple future: He will play outside.
            Future perfect: He will have played outside.

Do

‘Do’ can be used as both an auxiliary and a full verb, and is irregular.

            Simple present: I/we/you/they do, he/she/it/ does
            Simple past: did
            Past participle: did

As an auxiliary, ‘do’ is used in negative sentences and questions with most verbs (use the infinitive of the full verb) in simple past and simple present forms.

‘Do’ in Negative Sentences:
           
            Simple present: He does not play outside.
            Simple past: He did not play outside.

‘Do’ in Questions:
           
            Simple present: Does he play outside?
            Simple past: Did he play outside?

In the following four cases, ‘do’ is not used in negative sentences or questions:
           

1. When the full verb is ‘be’:

Are you alright?

2. The sentence already has an auxiliary verb:

He is not playing outside.

3. The sentence contains a modal verb (can, may, must, need, ought to, shall, should):

We must not be caught.

4. The question asks for the subject:

Who wrote that book?

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state rather than an action. When describing states, they never the continuous (‘-ing’) form. Here are some examples of stative verbs and instances of their correct and incorrect usage.

STATIVE VERB	CORRECT USAGE	INCORRECT USAGE
Like	I like you.	I am liking you.
Love	I love you.	I am loving you.
Hate	I hate you.	I am hating you
Appear	It appears to be cloudy.	It is appearing to be cloudy.
Believe	I believe in God.	I am  believing in God.
Fit	This shoe fits me.	This shoe is fitting me.
Sound	This song sounds good.	This song is sounding good.
Remember	I remember everything.	I am remembering everything.

Modal Verbs

There are 10 modal verbs in the English language:

• Can
• Could
• May
• Might
• Will
• Would
• Must
• Shall
• Should
• Ought to

Uses:

1. To indicate that something is probable or possible, or not so. For example:

• It is sunny today; it must be warm outside. = It is sunny today; it is probably warm outside.
• His mobile is not reachable; he may/might/could be travelling by metro. = His mobile is not reachable; it is possible that he is travelling by metro.
• This can’t be our bill. = It is not possible that this is our bill.

2. ‘Can’ and ‘could’ are used to refer to skills and abilities. For example:

• He can cover a hundred metres in under ten seconds.
• My father could see perfectly before the age of fifty.
• I can’t ride a horse.

3. ‘Must’ is used to indicate that something is necessary or of extreme importance, and ‘should’ is used to suggest that something is advisable. For example:

• You must do your homework.
• You mustn’t skip school.
• You should say sorry.
• You shouldn’t smoke.

4. ‘Can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to ask for, give and withhold permission. For example:

• Can I try my hand at it?
• Could we disperse early today?
• You may not enter the premises.

5. ‘Will’ and ‘would’ are used to refer to habits and inclinations.

• When I was a child, I would often climb trees.
• I will never refuse you anything.
• He would never do such a thing.

These verbs differ from ordinary verbs in 3 respects. These differences can be observed in the examples given above:

1. When used with the third person singular (he, she), they don’t require the addition of an ‘s’.
2. They can be used to form questions by inverting the structure of the sentence.
3. They can be followed directly by the verb, without the use of ‘to’.

		IRREGULAR VERBS: OVERVIEW AND LIST In English, regular verbs consist of three main parts: the root form (present), the (simple) past, and the past participle. Regular verbs have an -ed ending added to the root verb for both the simple past and past participle. Irregular verbs do not follow this pattern, and instead take on an alternative pattern. List of Irregular Verbs in English The following is a partial list of irregular verbs found in English. Each listing consists of the present/root form of the verb, the (simple) past form of the verb, and the past participle form of the verb. Present Past Past Participle be was, were been become became become begin began begun blow blew blown break broke broken bring brought brought build built built burst burst burst buy bought bought burst burst burst catch caught caught choose chose chosen come came come cut cut cut deal dealt dealt do did done drink drank drunk drive drove driven eat ate eaten fall fell fallen feed fed fed feel felt felt fight fought fought find found found fly flew flown forbid forbade forbidden forget forgot forgotten forgive forgave forgiven freeze froze frozen get got gotten give gave given go went gone grow grew grown have had had hear heard heard hide hid hidden hold held held hurt hurt hurt keep kept kept know knew known lay laid laid lead led led leave left left let let let lie lay lain lose lost lost make made made meet met met pay paid paid quit quit quit read read read ride rode ridden run ran run say said said see saw seen seek sought sought sell sold sold send sent sent shake shook shaken shine shone shone sing sang sung sit sat sat sleep slept slept speak spoke spoken spend spent spent spring sprang sprung stand stood stood steal stole stolen swim swam swum swing swung swung take took taken teach taught taught tear tore torn tell told told think thought thought throw threw thrown understand understood understood wake woke (waked) woken (waked) wear wore worn win won won write wrote written

What is an adverb?

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Adverbs are describing words. Let's look at some examples of them describing verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.

We will eat there.

There is an adverb describing the verb will eat.

Your face is extremely red.

Extremely is an adverb describing the adjective red.

The baby crawled very slowly.

Very is an adverb describing the adverb slowly.

Here is a sentence diagram and a tiny monkey.

You'll learn more about sentence diagrams in a little bit!

This monkey is very tiny.

The Adverb Questions

Now that you know the answer to the question, What is an adverb?, there are a few questions that you should memorize.

Knowing these questions will help you know for certain whether any word is acting as an adverb.

Adverbs answer one of these adverb questions.

1. How? (happily, really, quite, peacefully)

2. When? (tomorrow, now, yesterday, never)

3. Where? (here, there, everywhere)

4. Why? (because he wanted soup) Adverbs that answer this question are typically adverbs that are made up of more than one word, such as an adverb clause.

The Adverb Questions At Work

What is an adverb? Do you know the answer now?

Remember that adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Let's look at some examples of how the adverb questions work.

Look at this lovely little bird here.
First, let's look at some examples of adverbs modifying the verb flew.

1. The bird flew crazily. (How?)

2. Yesterday, the bird flew. (When?)

3. The bird flew here. (Where?)

4. The bird flew because it needed food. (Why?)


Here is an adverb modifying the adjective green.

1. The bird is dark green. (How green?)

Here is an adverb modifying the adverb quietly.

1. The bird flew very quietly. (How quietly?)

Comparatives & Superlatives

Many adverbs can have different degrees.

You may find that your dog can run quickly, your cat can run more quickly, and the mouse that they are chasing can run most quickly.Positive Comparative Superlative
quickly more quickly most quickly


You've just used the comparative and superlative forms of adverbs to show different degrees.

Use the comparative form when you are comparing two actions or qualities.

Most comparative adverbs end in -er or begin with more (harder, more easily...). But, there are irregular comparatives which do not end in -er (better, worse...).

Use the superlative form when you are comparing three or more things.

Most superlative adverbs end in -est or begin with most. (hardest, most easily...). But, just like comparative adverbs, there are some irregularities (best, worst...).
Regular Comparatives & SuperlativesPositive Comparative Superlative
hard harder hardest
brightly more brightly most brightly
quietly more quietly most quietly

Irregular Comparatives & SuperlativesPositive Comparative Superlative
well better best
much more most
badly worse worst

What is a Preposition?

A preposition is a word that explains the time, space or logical relationship between the other parts of the sentence. In other words, it links all the other words together, so the reader can understand how the pieces of the sentence fit.
There are hundreds of prepositions in the English language. One easy way to remember prepositions is that they are words that tell you everywhere a bunny can run; for example, a bunny can run

• up
• down
• near
• far
• by
• at
• around
• close
• always

All of these words, and many more, are prepositions.

Uses of Prepositions

Prepositions define direction, time, location, and spatial relationships.
Direction: At the end of the hall, turn to the left.
Time: We’ve been working since early this morning.
Location: We saw a movie at the theater.
Space: The dog under the table.

 Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times. The train is due at 12:15 p.m.

We use on to designate days and dates.
My brother is coming on Monday.
We're having a party on the Fourth of July.

We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
She likes to jog in the morning.
It's too cold in winter to run outside.
He started the job in 1971.
He's going to quit in August.

Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses.
Ahmad lives at 55 A,Model Town,Lahore.

We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, e.tc.
|His house is on Peeco Road.

And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
She lives in Lahore.

Prepositions of Location: in, at, and on and No Preposition
IN (the) bed* the bedroom the car (the) class* the library* school*	AT class* home the library* the office school* work	ON the bed* the ceiling the floor the horse the plane the train	NO PREPOSITION downstairs downtown inside outside upstairs uptown
* You may sometimes use different prepositions for these locations.

Prepositions of Movement: to
and No Preposition

We use to in order to express movement toward a place.
They were driving to work together.
She's going to the dentist's office this morning.

Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you.
We're moving toward the light.
This is a big step towards the project's completion.

With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
Grandma went upstairs
Grandpa went home.
They both went outside.

Prepositions of Time: for and since

We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).
He held his breath for seven minutes.
She's lived there for seven years.
The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries.

We use since with a specific date or time.
He's worked here since 1970.
She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.

Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.

Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word. (In fact, in other languages, such as German, they would have become one word.) This occurs in three categories: nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS
approval of awareness of belief in concern for confusion about desire for	fondness for grasp of hatred of hope for interest in love of	need for participation in reason for respect for success in understanding of

ADJECTIVES and PREPOSITIONS
afraid of angry at aware of capable of careless about familiar with	fond of happy about interested in jealous of made of married to	proud of similar to sorry for sure of tired of worried about

VERBS and PREPOSITIONS
apologize for ask about ask for belong to bring up care for find out	give up grow up look for look forward to look up make up pay for	prepare for study for talk about think about trust in work for worry about

A combination of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is joined to the verb is then called a particle. Please refer to the brief section we have prepared on phrasal verbs for an explanation.

Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions

• agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle
• argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition
• compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (sometimes similarities)
• correspond to a thing, with a person
• differ from an unlike thing, with a person
• live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people

Unnecessary Prepositions

In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, using prepositions where they are not necessary. It would be a good idea to eliminate these words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use them in formal, academic prose.

• She met up with the new coach in the hallway.
• The book fell off of the desk.
• He threw the book out of the window.
• She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house. [or use "in"]
• Where did they go to?
• Put the lamp in back of the couch. [use "behind" instead]
• Where is your college at?

CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is a word which joins two sentences to complete their meaning.

Kinds of Conjunctions

There are three main kinds of conjunctions:
Coordinating conjunctions
 
Subordinating conjunctions


A subordinating conjunction joins a principal or main clause and a subordinate clause. Note that a subordinate clause cannot stand on its own and doesn’t make complete sense.

Correlative Conjunctions also connect sentence elements of the same kind, however, unlike coordinating conjunctions, correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs.

Examples:
both - and
not only - but also
not - but
either - or
neither - nor
whether - or
as - as

Coordinating conjunctions join two clauses or sentences of equal rank. Here both clauses are capable of being principal clauses if they appear as such in separate sentences.

The most common coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, or, nor, either…or, neither…nor, yet, not only… but also…, both…and.
Coordinating conjunctions are of four kinds:

Additive (cumulative or copulative) conjunctions
An additive conjunction merely adds one statement to another. It doesn’t express ideas such as contrast, choice or inference. Examples are: and, also, too, as well as, both…and, not only…but also…
He walked into the room and sat on the sofa. (Here the additive conjunction and merely adds the clauses ‘he walked into the room’ and ‘he sat on the sofa’.)
He was not only abused but also beaten. (Here the additive conjunction not only…but also… joins the two clauses ‘he was abused’ and ‘he was beaten’.)
These lessons are both free and useful.

Adversative coordinating conjunctions
They express a contrast between two statements in a sentence. Examples are: but, nevertheless, however, whereas, only, still etc.
He is poor but he is honest.
Wise men love truth, whereas fools shun it.
The captain was annoyed, still he kept quiet.
She was late, still she was not punished.

Alternative conjunctions
Alternative conjunctions express a choice between two alternatives. Examples are: or, nor, either…or, neither…nor, otherwise, else etc.
He is either a fool or a rogue.
You must leave this place at once or you will have to face the consequences.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.
He knows nothing about this work, neither does he try to learn anything about it.

Inferential or illative conjunctions
These conjunctions introduce some inference. Examples are: therefore, for, so etc.
Work hard, for nobody can succeed without hard work.
He was lazy, therefore, he failed.

What Is An Interjection?

What is an interjection?

An interjection is a word that shows emotion.
It is not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence.

Interjections are usually one to two words that come at the beginning of a sentence.

They can show happiness (harrah), sadness (aww), anger (grr), surprise (wow), or any other emotion.

Interjections are not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence.

What does that mean, anyway? Well, it means that unlike all of the other parts of speech, the interjection does not interact with any other words in the sentence.

It does not modify anything, and it does not get modified by anything. It does not play the role of subject or verb.

Examples:

Harrah! I have won the first prize.

Alas! I have lost my book.

What a nice place!