An Overview

Determining parts of speech is nothing more than determining the function/job a particular word has in a sentence. They all play a role in the sentence, and one word might be a noun one time and a verb the next.

Let’s take the word run for example. Let’s go on a RUN after school. (NOUN) I will RUN to the cafeteria to be first in line

(VERB)

Common: chair, pencil, schoolProper: Woodward AcademyConcrete: desk, Aunt LuluAbstract: freedom, loveCompound: firefighterCollective: class, herd

Pronouns, for the most part, take the place of nouns.

There are actually several different kinds of pronouns, and they are used much more than most people realize.

FIRST PERSON: I, me, my, mine, we, our, ours, us

SECOND PERSON: you, your, yoursTHIRD PERSON: he, she, it, its, his,

him, her, hers, they, their, theirs, them

THIS, THAT, THESE, and THOSEONLY used in place of nouns

(be aware of Demonstrative Adjectives). THIS is my book. THAT is yours. THESE are my pickles. THOSE are his shoes.

WHAT, WHICH, WHO, WHOM, AND WHOSE

And like all interrogatives, they start questions: WHAT are you doing? WHO do you think you are?

WHO, WHOM, WHOSE, WHICH, THAT These look like interrogative pronouns,

but they do NOT ask questions. They begin clauses that add more info to

a sentence: My students, WHO are the best and brightest,

love relative pronouns. The vegetables THAT are the healthiest are the

green ones.

An indefinite pronoun refers to something that is not definite or specific or exact.

The indefinite pronouns include but are not limited to the following: all, another, any, each, everybody,

everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody, either, neither

Adjectives modify nouns & pronouns

They tell WHICH ONE, WHAT KIND, and HOW MANY WHICH ONE: this book or that one WHAT KIND: the red ball, the tall kid HOW MANY: two kids, several

moments

They can also be pronouns - so be careful how you use them.

To use them as an adjective, place them directly before a noun: THIS book is so good. THOSE pencils should be put away.

Express ACTION or a STATE OF BEING (linking).

ACTION: cry, leap, laugh, run STATE OF BEING: is, seems, looks,

appears

Many people are confused about the difference between LINKING and HELPING verbs - and for good reason: many of the words are the same (is, are, can, could…).

HELPING verbs help both ACTION & LINKING verbs, while LINKING stand alone. HELPING: I WILL walk to my class. LINKING: I AM a teacher.

Adverbs modify verbs, adverbs, and adjectives.

They answer the questions how, why, when, where, to what extent, and under what condition.

They often end in -LY (badly, gracefully), but they do not have to.

Words like soon, there, & very are common adverbs that do not end in -ly.

Prepositions express relationships between other words.

They are ALWAYS in a phrase (hint: if you see one alone, it’s an adverb).

In the pool, near the school, over the roof, around the fence

COMPOUND PREPS include because of, in addition to, instead of

Conjunction, junction, what’s your function?

TO CONNECT words, phrases, & clauses

There are two main kinds: coordinating & correlative

COORDINATING are the FANBOYS:

or, and, nor, but, or yet, so CORRELATIVE work with a

partnereither… or neither… nornot only… but also

Words used to add feeling or emphasis to (usually) the beginning of a sentence. They can be followed by a comma or a conjunction. Wow! Hey! Awww,