What part of speech is the word “chain”? The chain is rusty. We had to chain the dogs. NOUN VERB You can’t simply look at a word in isolation and tell what part of speech it is; you have to look and see how it is functioning in a particular sentence.

Open Classes: Noun Adjective Verb Adverb Open Classes - New words are being added as language evolves Closed Classes – Made up of finite sets of words which are rarely (if ever) expanded Closed Classes: Pronouns Prepositions Conjunctions Open Classes: Noun Adjective Verb Adverb

Noun: a word used to name a person, place, thing, or idea

Persons: student, woman, ballet dancer, father Places: city, attic, picnic ground, sidewalk, country, planet Things: book, computer, cloud, anteater, dragon, moisture Ideas: patriotism, justice, confusion, friendship, love

Tests to Check for Nouns: If ANY of these are true, the word is a NOUN Tests to Check for Nouns: If ANY of these are true, the word is a NOUN. BUT not ALL have to be true.

“The” Test: Insert the word “the” directly in front of the word (with no other words after it). If that makes sense, it is a noun. caveman the caveman program the program truth the truth ridiculous the ridiculous

Plural Test: Try to make the word a plural Plural Test: Try to make the word a plural. If that is possible, it’s a noun. cat cats hero heroes spy spies goose geese insult insults

Pronoun Test: Try to substitute a pronoun for the word Pronoun Test: Try to substitute a pronoun for the word. If this is possible, it’s a noun. grandma she policeman he President her hatred it children they