Parts of speech.

parts of speech

Definition of Parts of Speech.

In English, words can be classified into eight parts of speech based on the role they play in a sentence:

1.     Nouns: These are words that name a person, place, concept, or object.

2.     Pronouns: Pronouns are words you substitute for specific nouns when the reader or listener already knows which specific noun you are referring to.

OR 

stands in the place of nouns.

3.     Verbs: Verbs are words that describe specific actions, like running, winning, and being amazing.

OR

Verbs always express activity, whether mental activity or physical activity.

4.     Adjectives: Adjectives are the words that describe nouns.

5.     Adverbs: An adverb is a word that describes an adjective, a verb, or another adverb.

OR 

Tell more about the verb.

6.     Prepositions: These are words that show relationships between other words in a sentence.

7.     Conjunctions: Conjunctions are words that connect words, phrases, or clauses.

8.     Interjections: These are words or phrases that express strong emotion.

Each part of speech serves a particular function and can change the meaning of a sentence depending on its usage.

Explanation of Parts of speech.

1. Family of Noun.

The term “family” in the context of nouns refers to the different types or categories of nouns. Here are the main types of nouns.

1.     Proper Nouns:

These are the specific names of people, places, or things and are always capitalized.

2.     Common Nouns:

 These are the generic names for a person, place, or thing.

3.     Concrete Nouns:

These are nouns that the senses can perceive; something that is physical or real.

4.     Abstract Nouns:

 These are nouns that the senses cannot perceive.

5.     Collective Nouns:

 These are nouns that denote a group or collection of people or things.

In the context of the word “family” itself, it is a collective noun, a word used to describe a group of people. It refers to a group of people who are related to each other.

2. Pronoun:

A pronoun is a word that stands in for a noun, often to avoid the need to repeat the same noun over and over.

OR

A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or a noun phrase. Pronouns can be classified into different types based on their functions. Here are some of the common types of pronouns with examples:      

Types of pronouns:

1.  Personal pronouns are pronouns that refer to specific persons or things. For example, I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, and them are personal pronouns.

2. Possessive pronouns are pronouns that show ownership or belonging. For example, mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs are possessive pronouns.

3. Reflexive pronouns are pronouns that end with -self or -selves and refer back to the subject of the sentence. For example, myself, yourself, himself, herself, herself, herself, yourselves, and themselves are reflexive pronouns.

4. Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that point to specific objects or locations. For example, this, that, these, and those are demonstrative pronouns.

5. Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that are used to ask questions. For example, who, whom, whose, which, and what are interrogative pronouns.

6. Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to any specific person, place, or thing. For example, someone, anyone, everyone, no one, nobody, something, anything, everything, nothing, and many are indefinite pronouns.

7. Relative pronouns are pronouns that introduce a subordinate clause and relate it to another part of the sentence. For example, who, whom, whose, which, and that are relative pronouns.

3. VERB:

Verbs in English have five forms. These forms are constructed differently depending on whether the verb is regular or irregular.

 Here are the five forms of verbs:

1.     Base (Infinitive):

 This is the verb in its basic form, with no changes or conjugations. For example, “run”, “enjoy”, and "talk".

2.     Past Tense:

 This form indicates that an action occurred in the past. For regular verbs, it is formed by adding “-d” or “-ed” to the base form.

 For example, “jumped”, and “talked”. Irregular verbs do not follow this pattern. For example, “saw” (from “see”), and “gave” (from “give”).

3.     Past Participle:

 This form is used in perfect tenses and in passive constructions. For regular verbs, the past tense and past participle are identical.

 For example, “cleaned” (from “clean”). Irregular verbs do not follow this pattern. For example, “chosen” (from “choose”), and “fallen” (from “fall”).

4.     Present Participle:

 This form is used to indicate ongoing actions. It is formed by adding “-ing” to the base form.

For example, “running”, and "talking".

5.     Third-Person Singular:

 This form is used when the subject of the verb is a third-person singular noun or pronoun. It is usually formed by adding “-s” or “-es” to the base form.

 For example, “runs”, "enjoys"

4. ADVERB.

An adverb is a word that modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence. For example:

• She ran quickly. (adverb modifying a verb)

• He is very smart. (adverb modifying an adjective)

• She speaks quite softly. (adverb modifying another adverb)

• Fortunately, he survived the accident. (adverb modifying a sentence)

Adverbs can be used to show manner, degree, place, time, frequency, purpose, and more. Adverbs often end with -ly, but not always. For example, fast, well, and soon are also adverbs.

There are six main types of adverbs in English grammar. They are:

1. Adverbs of manner describe how something is done or happens. For example, slowly, carefully, beautifully, etc.

2. Adverbs of degree describe the intensity or level of something. For example, very, extremely, too, enough, etc.

3. Adverbs of place describe where something happens or is located. For example, here, there, everywhere, nowhere, etc.

4. Adverbs of time describe when something happens or for how long. For example, now, then, yesterday, tomorrow, etc.

5. Adverbs of frequency describe how often something happens or is done. For example, always, never, sometimes, often, etc.

6. Adverbs of purpose describe the reason or goal of an action. For example, why, because, so, too, etc.

5. ADJECTIVE.

The term “family” in the context of adjectives refers to the different types or categories of adjectives. Here are the main types of adjectives1:

1.     Descriptive Adjectives:

These are the most common types of adjectives and are used to describe a noun or pronoun.

2.     Quantitative Adjectives:

 These are used to describe the quantity of something.

3.     Demonstrative Adjectives:

 These are used to point out or show something.

4.     Possessive Adjectives:

 These are used to show possession or ownership.

5.     Interrogative Adjectives:

These are used to ask questions.

6.     Distributive Adjectives:

 These refer to all the members of a group separately, rather than collectively.

Degree of Adjective.

Adjectives have three degrees that compare one thing to another. These degrees express the intensity of the quality of a noun or pronoun. Here are the three degrees of adjectives:

1.     Positive Degree:

This is the base form of the adjective, denoting the mere existence of a quality.

For example, "Ali is a brave boy"1.

2.     Comparative Degree:

 This degree is used to compare two nouns or pronouns.

 For example, "She is braver than her friend"1.

3.     Superlative Degree:

 This degree is used to compare more than two nouns or pronouns, expressing the highest intensity of a quality.

 For example, "This is the most interesting book"1.

There are specific rules to form these degrees. For instance, most one-syllable adjectives form the comparative degree by adding “er” and the superlative degree by adding “est” to the positive degree1. If the positive form ends in a “y” followed by a consonant, the “y” is transformed to an “i” before “er” or “est” is added.

6. PREPOSITION:

A preposition is a word or group of words used with a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, location, or time, or to introduce an object. Prepositions indicate relationships between other words in a sentence. Here are some examples:

1.        Direction: “To” in “I sent a letter to you.”

2.     Location: “At” in “Someone is at the door.”

3.     Time: “By” in “We will arrive by noon.”

4.     Introducing an object: “Of” in           “She brought a basket of apples.”

Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. They often tell us where one noun is about another. But they can also indicate more abstract ideas, such as purpose or contrast.

 For example, “We went for a walk despite the rain.”

Examples of prepositions include words like ‘after’, ‘before’, ‘on’, ‘under’ ‘inside, and 'outside’

7. CONJUNCTION.

The definition of a conjunction is the joining together of elements and it is a word that connects sentences, phrases, or clauses.

example;

And, or, so, since, for, because, as, but, yet, still, while, as soon as, therefore, moreover, in case, though, although, even though

8. INTERJECTION:

Interjections are words or phrases that express strong emotion. An exclamation point often follows them.

examples of interjections:

1.     Wow! That’s an amazing performance.

2.     Oops! I dropped the glass.

3.     Ouch! That hurt.

4.     Hurray! We won the game.

5.     Oh no! I forgot my keys.

6.     Yikes! That was a close call.

7.     Phew! We just made it in time.

From the desk of

M.A f Saleem.