1. Parts of Speech
“Every word in the English language can be classified as at least one of the eight parts of speech.”

2. Nouns
A noun identifies a person, place, thing, idea, quality, or action.
Because of his enthusiasm, Lester has generated support for our station.
enthusiasm: a quality
Lester: a person
support: a thing
station: a place

3. Common and Proper
Common nouns refer to any one of a group or a class. They are not capitalized.
child, lake, car, democracy, happiness
Proper nouns refer to specific persons, places, or things. They are capitalized.
Susan, Lake Michigan, Chevy Impala

4. house, chair, city, ground
Concrete and Abstract
Concrete nouns refer to things that can be seen, touched, tasted, heard, or smelled.
house, chair, city, ground
Abstract nouns refer to things that can not be perceived with the five senses.
love, religion, misery

5. Collective and Compound
A collective noun is a word that refers to a collection or group of persons or things.
team, jury, neighbourhood, family
A compound noun is a word made by combining two or more words.
checklist, show-off, eye shadow, brand name

6. Pronouns
A pronoun takes the place of one or more nouns or a group of words in a sentence.
As with nouns, they can refer to a person, place, thing, idea, quality, or action.
Personal pronouns refer to people:
I, me, she, he, us, them, they

7. Pronoun Antecedents An antecedent is the noun the pronoun refers to.
The conductor described the songs the
choir would play. She wanted us to
memorize them.
She –
– conductor
– choir
Us –
Them –
– songs

8. Verbs
Words or groups of words that express an action or a state of being (existing).
The police broke the door. (action)
Jeremy is sending a letter. (action)
The professor is. (state of being)

9. The Verb “to be” Usually used with other verbs:
am, are, is – I am running.
was, were – You were walking home.
has, have, had – I have been upset.
will – I will be going to the store.

10. I resided in Calgary six months ago.
Verb Tenses
The present tense of a verb tells what is happening now.
I reside in Calgary.
The past tense tells about something that has happened in the past.
I resided in Calgary six months ago.

11. Verb Tenses (continued)
The present participle of a verb makes the action current.
I am residing in Calgary right now.
The past participle of a verb indicates past information about a current action.
I have resided in Calgary for six months.

12. She likes oatmeal cookies.
Adjectives
A word that modifies a noun or pronoun.
She likes oatmeal cookies.
A descriptive adjective adds details and answers the question What is it like?
jade peony, white cat.

13. Adjectives (continued)
A limiting adjective makes the noun or pronoun it modifies more specific.
one pineapple, each apple, both parents
A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun and is always capitalized.
Chinese newspaper, English language

14. Adverbs An adverb is a word that modifies a(n):
Verb: Hecuba said stubbornly.
Adjective: He saw a dark brown car.
Adverb: She protested very loudly.
Adverbs tell how, when, where, how often, to what extent.

15. Conjunctions
A conjunction links words, phrases, and parts of sentences together.
The more common conjunctions include:
and, but, or, because, therefore,
however, while, unless, so, thus
Words or phrases connected by a conjunction have a relationship.

16. Conjunctions (continued)
John and Hanna are high school seniors.
This class is very boring, but our next class should be more interesting.
However, I am afraid of the dark.
Kelly likes me because I am so tall.
Your detention will not end unless you apologize.

17. Prepositions
A preposition is a word that gives information on location or direction of movement.
I walked into the store and looked over
the counter at the salesperson. She
nodded at me and pointed to the
dressing room door.

18. Prepositions (continued)
above
across
after
against
along
among
around at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
beyond by
during
except
for
from in
inside
into of on
onto
outside
over
through to
toward
under
underneath
upon
with
within

19. Prepositional Phrases
All prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and end with a noun.
The room down the hall is mine.
(describes where the room is)
The band marched in tight formation.
(describes how they marched)
The phrase itself refers to another word in the sentence.

20. Say, I saw you at the theatre last night.
Interjections
An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses an emotion or commands attention.
Can stand alone or be part of a sentence.
Help! He’s drowning!
Say, I saw you at the theatre last night.