1. English 098: English Fundamentals

2.  Linguistics: the scientific study of language and its structure  Semantics: the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning  Epistemology: a theory of knowledge concerned with its nature and scope: How do we know what we know, and how can we be sure we know what we know?

3. A noun is the direct answer to the question “What/Who is it?” A noun is…  a thing that moves on its own or doesn’t  a thing that is animate  a thing that stays put until it is animated  the “thing-ness” of the action (e.g., “juggling” is something people can do.”  a thing we can or can’t count  a thing we measure in units of things  a thing we measure in masses or amounts  a thing that is or isn’t special  a thing that is common (such as, a toaster, nervousness, etc.)  a thing treated with respect (names, nicknames, titles)  a thing that represents another thing  the thing of a thing (an abstraction)  the idea of a thing (a concept; a definition)  the thing that means another thing (a title, a name, even a “word” is a thing representing a meaning or idea)

4. A pronoun is the indirect answer to the question, “What/Who is it?” A pronoun…  steps in for a thing in a personal way (personal pronouns and related forms: him, us, hers, themselves, etc.  a thing that is animate  a thing that stays put until it is animated  steps in for the subject of a question (interrogative pronouns: which, who/-se/-m, what, etc.)  stands in for a thing related to another thing (relative pronouns: which, that, who/who/-se/-m, etc.)  changes a vague descriptor of things into the thing, itself (indefinite pronouns: several, some, anybody, many, few, etc.)  substitutes for the subject of a demonstration (demonstrative pronouns: that, these, this, those)

5. An adjective helps to complete the picture; to answer the question, “What kind?” or “What’s it like?”  An adjective adds complex and/or specific sensory detail, mood, and classification to a thing.  An adjective can describe things in simple or general ways (determiners).  An adjective doesn’t have to be just one single word; it can be part of a phrase; it can be a phrase, itself; or it can be an entire clause.

6. Identify all the nouns/pronouns and adjectives suggested by this image. White is a color. A color is a thing. A thing is a noun. The color white is a noun. White describes a color of the background. The background is a thing. An adjective describes a thing. White is an adjective.

7. Not everything going on is an “active” sort of action (e.g., soundly sleeping: an action in which inactivity is “happening”).  occurring in the past, the now, or the future  affecting or happening to a thing (transitive)  going on just for itself (intransitive)  being, or being like something (linking)  causing another thing to occur(causative)  naming one thing another thing (factitive)  helping out another verb (auxiliary/modal)

8.  A word or a phrase that modifies (i.e., describes, or “changes” the way we “see”); to answer the question “How?” “When?” or “Why?”  modifies an action (verbs and verbals) (e.g., “-ly” words)  changes the degree of description (e.g., very bright; quite badly; super tedious)  create transitions between sentences (conjunctive adverbs)  A clause that modifies  …what’s going on in, or with, another clause  He loves spicy food, though it sometimes upsets his stomach.

9. Identify all the verbs and adverbs suggested by this image.

10. A verbal is NOT one of the 8 basic parts of speech.  when what’s going on is the subject, not the action; to answer the question “What activity or behavior?” gerunds (a “snapshot” of an action; action as a concrete thing”):  “Wrestling is a sport” infinitives (a behavior or a way of acting; action as an abstract thing):  “To be an oncology nurse takes a lot of courage.”  when what’s going on (or has gone on) is the descriptor, not the action; to answer the question, “What sort of action or behavior describes it?”: a regular adjective: angry (not adapted from a verb); the verbal alternative: angered (past-participle, taken from the verb “anger”) participles:  “boiled potatoes” (past participle);  “a caring heart” (present participle) infinitives; use the start with the word “to” to indicate a behavior”  She works hard to earn our praise  The right to bear arms is controversial in our society.

11. A word that joins; to answer the question, “What else?”  a word that connects two or more related things  rice and beans  a word that connects one goings-on with another  stay or go  a word that joins one modifier to another  stern yet fair  a word that relates two or more ideas by coordinating, subordinating, or correlating  The sport of archery is a fun, but it takes a long time to become good at it.

12. Identify the conjunctions and verbals suggested by this image.

13. A preposition uses a thing (a noun) to modify another thing; to specify “Which?” “What kind? “When?” “Where?” “Why” or “How?”  A preposition uses a thing to describe another thing; to answer the question “Which?” or “What kind?”  Which man? the man in the hat  What kind of mug? a mug with a broken handle  A preposition uses a thing to describe what’s going on; to answer the question “In what way?” “To where?” or “In what direction?”:  To where did they drive? to the store  In what direction did they walk? through the crowd  A preposition uses another thing to relate a thing’s coordinates (in space or time) to another thing; to answer the question “Where?” “When?”:  Where are the keys? in my coat pocket  Where’s the bleach? under the sink  When are we going dancing? after the movie  A preposition relates the methods by which something happens; to answer the question, “How?” or “In what manner?”:  How is he employed? as a chef  How does he make his living? by cooking food  How did he become successful? through hard work and determination  In what way did he take the bad news? in stride

14. Identify all the prepositions suggested by this image.

15.  Interjections aren’t necessary to a sentence; they just add a tone.  What the heck do you mean?  I freakin’ love this song.  If you’re searching for the best applicant, well, look no further.  Yikes! that movie was bad.  Interjections don’t have to be exclamations, and exclamations don’t have to include interjections.  Sure, we’d all like to be millionaires. (interjection, no exclamation)  Put down that doughnut! (exclamation, no interjection)

16. Identify all the interjections suggested by this image.

17.  Many of the eight basic parts of speech break into specific categories; e.g.,  transitive verbs; factitive verbs; modal auxiliary verbs; etc.  objective pronouns; reflexive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, etc.  The function of some parts of speech overlap; e.g.,  nouns and gerunds  prepositional phrases and adverbs  participial phrases and adjectives  subordinate clauses and adverbs  relative clauses and adjectives  Parts of speech build into systems of communication:  phrases  clauses  main/independent clauses  dependent clauses  subordinate (adverb) clauses  relative (adjective) clauses  noun clauses