1. Basic Parts of Speech An Overview

2. Basic Parts of Speech  Noun  Pronoun  Verb  Adverb  Adjective  Preposition  Conjunction  Interjection

3. Noun  Definition:  a person, place, or thing  Often used with an article (a, the, an)  Proper nouns are always capitalized  Can be singular or plural

4. Noun Examples  Catherine went to the store.  Catherine=person=noun  Store=place=noun  The boy set the book on the table.  Boy=person=noun  Book=thing=noun  Table=thing=noun  Proper nouns:  California  The White House  Michael

5. Pronoun  Definition:  Used in place of a noun  Refers to a specific noun, called an antecedent  Includes words like he, she, they, it, me, myself, we, our

6. Pronoun Examples  She went to the store.  She=pronoun  On Saturday they will go to the mall.  They=pronoun  Jacob came over yesterday. He left his book on the table.  Jacob=noun  He=pronoun  His=pronoun

7. Verb  Definition:  Describes an action  Can have different tenses  Can include helping verbs and main verb  Must agree with the subject  Subject and verb must both be singular or both be plural

8. Verb Examples  Next month I will travel to Canada.  will=helping verb  Travel=main verb  Today she ate dinner at six o’ clock.  Ate=verb  Can you help him clean the dishes?  Help=verb  Clean=verb  We will watch television while we do homework.  Watch=verb  Do=verb

9. Adverb  Definition:  changes or describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb  Answers when, where, how, why, or what  Often end in –ly  Never describes a noun or pronoun

10. Adverb Examples  Sam walked quickly around the block.  Walked=verb  Quickly=adverb  Her paper was well written.  well=adverb  First they drove to the mall, and then they stopped at the gas station.  Then=adverb

11. Adjective  Definition:  Describes a noun or pronoun  Includes articles, i.e. a, an, the  Answers which one, what kind, or how many

12. Adjective Examples  The yellow basket is full of flowers.  Yellow=adjective  She sent me a short letter.  Short=adjective  The truck is old and rusty.  Old=adjective  rusty=adjective  Rachel has beautiful handwriting.  Beautiful=adjective

13. Preposition  Definition:  Modifies a word in the sentence  Placed before a noun or pronoun  Part of a prepositional phrase  Prepositional phrases usually tell where, when, or show relationship  Example: at the mall  At=preposition  Prepositional phrases often function as adjectives or adverbs

14. Preposition Examples  For some common prepositions see the following website: list of prepositions.list of prepositions.  The rabbit jumped into the hole.  into=preposition  John walked home with Mary.  With=preposition  The conference will be held in October.  in=preposition  Sam checked his phone for messages throughout the day.  Throughout=preposition

15. Conjunction  Definition:  Joins words, clauses, and phrases together  Shows the relationship between the joined words, phrases, or clauses  There are different types of conjunctions  Coordinating—connects equal words, phrases, or clauses  Subordinating—connects unequal words, phrases, or clauses

16. Conjunction Examples  The most common conjunctions can be remembered by the acronym FANBOYS:  For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so  Other conjunctions can be found here.here.  Catherine and John went to the store.  And=conjunction  Before you go out, you must finish your homework.  Before=conjunction  She raised her hand because she had a question.  Because=conjunction

17. Interjection  Definition:  A word or phrase that expresses emotion  Often followed by an exclamation point

18. Interjection Examples  Oops! I forgot to take out the trash!  Oops=interjection  Oh my gosh, it’s snowing outside.  Oh my gosh=interjection  When Matt got injured he said, “Ow!”  Ow=interjection  Well, I guess he can come if he wants.  Well=interjection

19. Further help…  For further information on the basic parts of speech, see the following:  Butte College’s The Eight Parts of Speech Butte College’s The Eight Parts of Speech  Purdue Owl Purdue Owl  About.com About.com