Parts of Speech and the Parts of a Sentence

11th Grade English

NounsA. A person, place, or thing

B. The functions of a noun in a sentence1. Subject- noun or noun phrase that tells whom or what

the sentence addresses

2. Direct Object- follows an action verb and answers who or what

3. Indirect Object- precedes the direct object and tells who is receiving the direct object (ask to whom or for whom after the verb)

4. Object of a preposition- the noun or noun phrase that follows a preposition

5. Predicate nominative- follows a form of the verb “be” and renames the subject (subject compliment)

Examples1. Carpenters drive nails with air powered guns.

2. Blackhawk was a famous American Indian.

3. Mr. Liu washed the car.

4. The authorities commended Roberta.

5. I sent Stephanie the camera.

6. He pulled the little red wagon to the store.

7. Mr. Chiao is a violinist.

Types of Nouns1. Regular nouns- ball, house, book, cup, girl

2. Proper Nouns – Shane, James, America

3. Pronouns- A word used in place of another noun

a. Personal: I, You, He, She, It, They, We, Me, You, Him, Her, It, Us, Them

b. Relative- who/whom, whoever/whomever, that, which

c. Demonstrative- this, that, these, those

d. Indefinite- someone, anyone, neither, both, few, something, neither, somebody, each, most, some

Pronoun Antecedent AgreementAntecedent- the word, phrase, or clause the pronoun is referring to

Example: Lisa could not find her dog for three days. What is the antecedent?

A. Must agree in number, person, and gender

1. Agree in Number--If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, you have to use a singular pronoun.

Example: If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker.

Incorrect: If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker.

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

• Remember: the words everybody, anybody, anyone, each, neither, nobody, and someone are singular and take singular pronouns.

Example: Everybody ought to do his or her best. (NOT: their best)

Example: Neither of the girls brought her umbrella. (NOT: their umbrellas)

**Singular antecedents joined by or/nor are referred to by a singular pronoun

Example: John nor Dave could find his jacket.

Example: A dog or a cat could find its way home.

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

2. Agree in person- If you are writing in the "first person" (I), don't confuse your reader by switching to the "second person" (you) or "third person" (he, she, they, it, etc.).

Example: When a person comes to class, he or she should have his or her homework ready.

Incorrect: When a person comes to class, you should have your homework ready.

Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

3. Agree in Gender- The pronoun should be consistent with the gender of the antecedent

Example- Each of the boys has his own savings account.

That vs. Who and Which

1. Rule: Who refers to people, that and which refer to groups or things

Examples:

a. Anya is the one who rescued the bird.

b. Lokua is on the team that won first place.

c. She belongs to an organization that specializes in saving endangered species.

That vs. Who and Which

2. Rule: That introduces essential clauses while which introduces nonessential clauses

Examples:

a. I do not trust products that claim "all natural ingredients" because this phrase can mean almost anything.

b. The product claiming "all natural ingredients," which appeared in the Sunday newspaper, is on sale.

*Essential clauses do not have commas surrounding them while nonessential clauses are surrounded by commas.

Examples1. William Kellogg was the man that lived in the late

19th century and had some weird ideas about raising children.

2. William Kellogg was the man who lived in the late 19th century and had some weird ideas about raising children.

3. The café that sells the best coffee in town has recently been closed.

4. The café, which sells the best coffee in town, has recently been closed.

Verbs

A. Types of Verbs

1. Action- expresses mental or physical action

2. Linking Verbs- express a state of being

--Link the subject to additional information about the subject

Examples: is, am, are, was, were, been, smell, look, taste, remain, feel, appear, sound, seem, become, grow, stand, turn

Example Sentences

a. The monkey looked hungry.

b. The monkey looked for food.

c. The soup tasted good.

d. I tasted the soup.

e. My mom appeared happy at her party.

f. My mom appeared quietly in the room.

Adjectives

A. Describing words- modify nouns

B. Answer the Questions: 1. Which one?

2. What kind?

3. How many?Examples:

1. Did you lose your address book?

2. She was wearing a wool sweater.

3. Just give me five minutes.

Adverbs

A. Modifies a verb

B. Modifies an adjective

C. Modifies another adverb

D. Answers: how, where, when???

E. Most, but not all, are an adjective plus “ly”

Example: The sun is shining brightly.

Preposition

A. Comes before a noun or noun phrase and shows the location of that noun in relation to another word in the sentence

B. Locates something: spatially- under

temporally- after directionally-

through

Example- The cow was in the field. (spatial)

Example- We left during the meeting. (temporal)

20 of the Most Common Prepositions

• Of As Out To

• On Up In At

• About Down For By• With From After Under

• Before Through Into Between

Verbals

Definition- words that carry the idea of action or being, but do not function as a true verb (Gerunds, Participles, Infinitives)

A. Gerund- a verb that ends in ‘ing’ and functions as a noun

- Traveling might satisfy your desire for new

experiences.

- They do not appreciate my singing.

- My cat’s favorite activity is sleeping.

- The police arrested him for speeding.

Gerund Phrases and Function in a Sentence

1. Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we’re trying to do.

-Finding- Gerund

-a needle- direct object of action expressed in gerund

-in a haystack- prepositional phrase as adverb

-What’s the gerund phrase’s function in this sentence?

Examples:

1. I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity.

2. Tom's favorite tactic has been jabbering away to his constituents.

3. You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work.

4. Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy.

Verbals

B. Participles- a verb that ends in ‘ing’ or ‘ed’ and is used as an adjective

- Present Participles end in ‘ing’

- Past Participles end in ‘ed’ ‘d’ ‘t’ ‘en’ ‘n’ ‘ne’

Example: Removing his coat, Jack rushed to the river.

Example: Delores noticed her cousin walking along the shoreline.

VerbalsC. Infinitives- the word ‘to’ plus the base form a

verb and functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb

Function in a sentence: subject, direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb

Find the Function in the Sentence1. To wait seemed foolish when decisive action was required. (subject)

2. Everyone wanted to go. (direct object)

3. His ambition is to fly. (subject complement)

4. He lacked the strength to resist. (adjective)

5. To buy a basket of flowers, John had to spend his last dollar. (adverb)