ELA - Parts of Speech

ELA - Parts of Speech

By MRav Gray

THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.​

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What is a noun?

• the name of a person

• a place

• a thing

• an idea

More about Nouns​

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article (the, a, an), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by adding 's. Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.

Subject | Subject

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Here are some examples of nouns.​

​The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

Subject | Subject

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VERB

A verb expresses action or being.

• jump

• is

• write

• become

​What's the action with verbs?

The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. ("She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different forms to express tense.

Subject | Subject

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​Can you tell me about verbs?

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

Subject | Subject

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ADJECTIVE

An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

• pretty

• old

• blue

• smart

Let's look at the adjective!

An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.)​

Subject | Subject

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The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

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An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

• gently

• extremely

• carefully

• well

That's really cool about adverbs!

An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.

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The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!​

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What is an example of a pronoun?

• She

• We

• They

• It

​A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

​pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the pronoun she is the girl. Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.

Subject | Subject

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The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!​

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PREPOSITION

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.

• by the tree

• with our friends

• about the book

• until tomorrow

​Preposition

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The following list includes the most common prepositions:

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Subject | Subject

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The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

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CONJUNCTION

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.

• and

• but

• or

• while

• because

​Conjunction: What's your function

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well.

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The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!​

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INTERJECTION

An interjection is a word used to express emotion.

• Wow!

• Oh!

• Oops!

• blah blah blah

What's the excitement with interjections?​

An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point.​

​​The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

Subject | Subject

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