Parts of Speech

1. Parts of Speech Adjectives , Adverbs, Prepositions & Interjections.

2. Adjectives • An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun by limiting its meaning. E.g. three dollars, any objections, babyducks, Chinese teacup, purple balloon, no parking.

3. Any adjective may describe a noun or pronoun by answering one of these questions:

4. Two verbs can also act as adjectives: the present participle, which ends in ‘-ing’, and the past participle, which ends in ‘-ed’ or is irregularly formed. • E.g. a dancing hen the crumpled paper a broken dish

5. Pronouns as Adjectives • Pronouns can also serve as adjectives. For example, possessive pronouns (my, our, your, his, her, its, and their) act as adjectives when they modify nouns. • Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, and those) can also be considered demonstrative adjectives when they modify nouns.

6. Pronouns as Adjectives (Cont.) • Nouns can also serve as adjectives. Possessive nouns, like possessive pronouns, can be used as adjectives. In fact, any noun that modifies another noun can be considered an adjective. • E.g. My kitten. (possessive adjective) • Those bicycles (demonstrative adj.) • Lucy’sreport (possessive noun acting as adj.) • Leather shoes (noun acting as adjective)

7. Write each adj. and the word it modifies. • The apple pie is delicious. • Several large trees fell in the storm. • Strong winds radiate from the eye of a hurricane. • His left arm is in a cast. • I seldom wear my dress shoes. • Quiet music is soothing to babies. • Fifty years is a short time in history.

8. Adjectives that Compare • Many adjectives have different forms to indicate their degree of comparison. The positive form indicates no comparison. The comparative form compares two nouns or pronouns. The superlative form compares more than two nouns or pronouns.

9. Adjectives that Compare

10. Write the correct comparative or superlative form of the adjective in parentheses. • This is the (good) choice of the two. • I am (tall) than my brother. • Of the three athletes, Hal is (good). • That is the (complicated) math problem I have ever tackled. • The seniors voted Manuel (likely) to succeed. • This work is (difficult) than I had originally thought it was.

11. Articles • The most frequently used adjectives are a, an and the. These words are usually called articles. • A and an are indefinite articles. They indicate that a noun refers to one of a general group. A is used before words beginning with a consonant sound; an is used before words beginning with a vowel sound. An is also used before words beginning with the consonant h when the h is not pronounced.

12. Examples • A ranger helped us. • They planted an acre of corn. • We kept watch for an hour.

13. Articles Cont. • The is the definite article. It indicates that a noun refers to someone or something in particular. • Examples • The ranger helped us. • The hour dragged by. • They planted the acre with corn.

14. Proper Adjectives • A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun and begins with a capital letter. • E.g. We attended the Shakespearean Drama Festival. • The Texan barbeque was a success. • The Victorian Era in England lasted from 1837 to 1901.

15. Suffixes and Adjectives • The following suffixes, along with others, are often used to form proper adjectives: -an, -ian, -n, -ese, and –ish. Sometimes there are other changes as well.

16. Adverbs • An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb by making its meaning more specific. _____________________________________

17. The following sentences will Illustrate the use of adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

18. Adverbs tell when, where, how and to what degree.

19. Position of Adverbs • An adverb that is modifying a verb can sometimes be placed in different positions in relation to the verb. • An adverb that modifies an adjective or another adverb, however, must immediately precede the word it modifies.

20. Position of Adverbs Cont.

21. Negative Words as Adjectives • The word not and the contraction n’t are adverbs. Certain adverbs of time, place and degree also have negative meanings. • The colour didn’t fade. • That dye hardly ever fades. • If correctly set, this dye never fades. • The tints can barely be distinguished. • There are no undyed patches. • We cannot complain about the colour.

22. Write each adverb and what it modifies. Then tell whether what is a modified is a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. 1. Sorayaoften shops at outlet stores. 2. I am thoroughly disgusted. 3. Seldom can I select a good watermelon. 4. Please set the table properly. 5. A rather brisk wind is blowing. 6. The air conditioner is barely working. 7. In the spring, the grass grows too fast. 8. Dan is an unusually good driver.

23. Adverbs that Compare • Some adverbs, like adjectives, have different forms to indicate the degree of comparison.

24. Write the comparative and superlative forms of each adverb. • Fast recently • Carelessly delicately • Early poorly • Frequently low • High • Deeply • high

25. Prepositions • A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or a pronoun to another word in a sentence. • E.g. The mother of the kittens lives here. (Of shows the relationship of the mother to the kittens.) • I will see you after lunch. (After expresses the time relationship between lunch and when I will see you.)

26. Commonly Used Prepositions

27. Compound Preposition • A compound preposition is a preposition that is made up of more than one word.

28. Prepositional Phrase • A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or a pronoun called the object of the preposition. • Jorge and Mei Ling went to the fair. • Cesar rode along with them. • Cesar satisfied his sweet tooth with saltwater taffy.

29. Some words may be used as either prepositions or adverbs. A word is used as a preposition if it has a noun or a pronoun as its object. A word is used as an adverb if it does not have an object.

30. Write each prepositional phrase. Underline the preposition and draw a circle around the object of the preposition. • The diameter of a circle extends from one side to the other. • During my study period, I consulted the adviser about my schedule. • On the outskirts of town are several parks. • In spite of the heat, band practice continued through the afternoon and into the evening.

31. Conjunctions • A conjunction is a word that joins single words or groups of words. • A coordinating conjunction joins words or groups of words that have equal grammatical weight in a sentence.

32. EXAMPLES • Their skirt includes a rabbit and a bird. • Ms. Fernandez dresses fashionably but tastefully. • Winter days are short, so houseplants may need extra light. • We didn’t stop to ask directions, nor did we even consult a map.

33. Correlative Conjunctions • Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words and groups of words of equal grammatical weight in a sentence.

34. Correlative Conjunctions Cont. • Correlative conjunctions make the relationship between words or groups of words a little clearer than do coordinating conjunctions.

35. Write all conjunctions. Then identify them as either coordinating or correlative. • Do you want the apple or the pear? • Neither the attorney nor the client wanted to appeal the case. • I’ll serve your eggs either scrambled or poached? • The bride’s family hired a caterer to prepare the food and serve it.

36. Subordinating Conjunction • A subordinating conjunction joins two clauses, or thoughts, in a such a way as to make one grammatically dependent on the other. • The though or clause that a subordinating conjunctionm introduces is said to be subordinate, or dependent, because it cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence.

37. Examples of Subordinating Conjunctions • Since you learned to dance, you have become more graceful. • Whenever I skate, I wear elbow and knee pads. • The children may come along provided that they stay with us. • We sat by the lake while the sun set.

38. Conjunctive Adverbs • A conjunctive adverb is used to clarify the relationship between clauses of equal grammatical weight in a sentence. • Conjunctive adverbs are usually stronger, more precise, and more formal than coordinating conjunctions.

39. Coordinating Adverbs Cont. • Notice that when a coordinating conjunction is used between clauses, a comma preceded the coordinating conjunction. • When a conjunctive adverb is used between clauses, a semicolon preceded the conjunctive adverb, and comma follows it.

40. Examples

41. Rewrite each sentence, changing coordinating conjunctions to conjunctive adverbs. • My older sister lives in Germany, but she visits us every spring. • Hillary is a sports enthusiast, so she often attends football games. • Joseph is a talented musician: He plays the piano, and he composes music for school plays. • Our French teacher is strict, but he is always fair.

42. Interjections • An interjection is a word or a phrase that expresses emotion or exclamation. An interjection has no grammatical connection to other words in the sentence and is set off from the other words by an exclamation or a comma.

43. Examples of interjections • Different emotions are expressed by different interjections.