Parts of speech

Parts of Speech

nouns

• persons, places, things
• proper nouns
  • nouns as modifiers
    • ex. "dog food"
    • see Nouns as Modifiers (meg.com)

verbs

• express action/s
• verb phrases
• verb forms
  • infinitive
  • conjugations
  • participles
    • verb forms that act like an adjective
    • "past participle"
      • verbs in the past tense used as an adjective
      • where the simple past tense of a verb is used to show a condition of something
      • typically are -ed -en and -t forms
      • includes irregular verbs in the past tense, such as "to be" "to go" etc.

past participles as adjectives examples:

• • "Boiled water is sanitized" ("boiled" and "sanitized" describe the water)
  • "The glass was broken when I found it" ("was broken" describes the glass)
  • "The cut flowers are pretty" ("cut -

Click EXPAND to see examples of past participles

• • • "present participle"
      • uses the -ing form of a verb as an adjective

present participles as adjectives examples:

• • "The boiling water is hot" (describes the water)
  • "This trip is exciting" (modifies or describes the trip)
  • "The directions are confusing" (modifies the directions)

Click EXPAND to see examples of present particples

• • gerunds
    • verbs that act as nouns
    • use the -ing form of the verb

gerund (participles as nouns) examples:

• • "to swim" + -ing = "swimming" = a noun for the act of swimming
  • "Swimming is fun"
  • "Boiling water sanitizes it" ("boiling" is an act, therefore a noun, from the verb "to boil")

Click EXPAND to see examples of gerunds

• • • Note:
      • gerunds are often interchangeable with infinitives
        • "I hate doing math" versus "I hate to do math"
      • however, note that gerunds and infinitives may act differently in terms of the object of the sentence

how gerunds and infinitives change the meaning of a sentence:

"Burland advocated using soil extraction:"

• A) NO CHANGE
  • "Burland advocated using..." = he advocates for the use of soil extraction (he advocates the the object)
• B) advocated to use
  • "Burland advocated to use..." = he advocates "to use" (he advocates the action)
• A) NO CHANGE is correct because it is the object of the sentence, "soil extraction," that Burland advocates, not the action of its use (to use")

• Click EXPAND to see an example from College Board Practice Test 6, Writing Q21
• See
  • Grammar: Verb Forms: "-ing," Infinitives, and Past Participles (Walden Univ)
  • Common Verb Tenses in Academic Writing (Walden Univ)
  • The -ing forms (ef.edu Resources for Learning English
  • Grammar-Monster.com participles

conjugations

• see
  • Verb conjugations

adjectives

• modify nouns

articles

• definite
  • the
  • refers to a specific noun, usually already stated or defined
• indefinite
• a or an
  • refers to a general noun, usually not already stated or defined
  • indefinite articles are not used to refer to a general noun or one that cannot be counteed
    • ex. "water" cannot be counted, so "a water" is incorrect
      • "may I have a water" should be instead "may I have some water"
  • zero articles
    • when the noun represents a generic idea, the article can be omitted
    • ex.
      • "They went on vacation" as opposed to "they went on a vacation "
• see
  • [https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/using_articles.html Purdue OWN Using Articles}
  • What Are Articles?

pronouns

• "pro" = for; "noun"
• refer to a noun in oder to avoid repetition
• pronoun forms
  • subject
  • object
  • possessive
  • comparisons
  • see How to Pick Pronouns for Comparisons (Dummies)

prepositions

• express relationship in time, place, or sequence

interjections

• aside remarks or interruptions
• exclamation
  • expresses a spontaneous reaction or emotion
    • examples
      • "no!"
      • "okay"
      • "damn!"
      • "heh!"

Categories

• Grammar
• Word Parts of Speech & Grammar Rules