The Parts Of Speech

The Parts of

Spe ech

Tra dit ional grammar clas

si fi es wor ds based on ei

ght parts o f sp eech : the ve rb ,

the noun , the pronoun , the adject ive , the adverb , the pre pos ition , the conj uncti on , and the inte rject ion .

Each pa rt of sp ee ch ex pla ins not what the wo rd is , but how th e wor d is use d . In fact, the

sam e wor d can be a noun in on e sentenc e and a ve rb or adject ive in

the next. The ne

xt fe w exampl es show how

fr om on e sent ence to the next, and

a wo rd' s pa rt of sp ee ch can change

fol low ing them is a se ri es of sect ions on th e

ind ividual pa rts of sp ee ch, fo ll owe d by an ex er ci se. Books are mad e of ink, pa pe r, and glue. In this s entenc e, "books" is a noun, the subject of the sent ence. Debo rah waits pat iently whil e Br idg et book s the t icket s. He re "book s" is a verb, and it s subje ct is "Bri dget." We walk down the st re et. In this s entenc e, "walk" i s a verb, and

its subject is the pr

onoun "we."

The mai l ca rr ie r stoo d on the walk . In this e xampl e, "walk" is a noun, whi ch is pa rt of a pre pos itional phras e des cr ibing wh er e th e mai l ca rr ie r stoo d. The town de ci de d to buil d a new jai l. He re "jai l" is a noun , which is the object of the inf init ive ph rase "to bui ld." The sh er if f tol d us that i f we di d not leave town imme woul d jai l us.

diat ely he

He re "jai l" is pa rt of the compound ve rb "would jai l. " They hear d high pitche d cri es in the mid dl e of the night. In this s entenc e, "cr ie s" is a noun acting as

th e dir ect obje ct of the verb

The baby cr ie s al l night long and al l day long. But he re "cr ie s" i s a verb that sent ence, the

baby.

de sc rib es the actions of

th e subje ct of the

"hea rd."

The ne xt fe w sect ions ex pla in ea ch of th e pa rts of s pe ech in detai l. When you ha ve fi nish ed, you might want

to test your

se lf by try ing the ex er ci se.

Ve rb The ve rb i s perhap s th e mo st im portant part of

the sent ence . A ver b

or compound ve rb asse rts som ething about th e subject of the s entenc e and ex pr ess act ions, ev ents, o r states of cr iti cal el ement of

being. Th e verb or comp ound ve rb is the

the pr ed icate of a sent ence.

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the ve rb or compound verb is Dracula bite s hi s vi ctims on

th e neck.

The ve rb "bite s" d es cr ibes the action Dracu In ea rly October, Gis

el le wi ll plant

He re th e compound verb "wil the futur e.

highl ighted :

la takes. twenty tu lip bulbs.

l plant" d es cr ibes an acti on that wil l tak e plac e in

My fi rs t teache r was Miss C rawfo rd, but I rem ember the ja Weather bee mo re vivid ly. In this s entenc e, the verb "was"

nit or Mr.

(the simpl e past tense of "i s" ) id enti fi es a

part icular p er son and the verb "rem

ember ed" de sc ribe s a mental action.

Karl Cre elman bicycl ed ar ound the wo rl d in 1899, but his d iar ie s and his bicyc le we re de st roye d. In this s entenc e, the comp ound ve rb "we re de st roye d" d es cr ibes an acti on which took pla

ce in the past.

What is a Noun? A noun is a wor d us ed to name

a pe rs on, animal, p lace, thing,

The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ll owing sentenc es ar e all nouns:

id ea. Nouns are usual

ly the fi rs t wor ds which

Late last yea r ou r ne ighbours Portia White

and abstract

sma ll chi ld ren le arn.

bought a goat .

was an ope ra s inge r.

The bus in spe ctor lo oke d at al l the pass enger s' pass es .

Accor ding to Plutarch , the lib rary at Al exand ria was de st roye d in 48 B.C. Phi los ophy is o f li ttl e comfo rt to the starving . A noun can function in a object , a subject comp

sentenc e as a subject , a di re ct object , an in di re ct

lement , an object comp lem ent , an app osit ive ,

an adject ive or an adverb . Noun Gen de r

Ma ny common nouns, l ik e "eng inee r" or "teache r, " can r ef er to men or Onc e, many E ngl ish nouns

wou ld change

wom en.

form d ep end ing on thei r gende r --

fo r examp le, a man was cal le d an " author" whil e a woman was cal le d an

"a uthor ess" - - but this use o f gende r-sp eci fi c nouns is very rar e today. Th ose that ar e sti ll use d occas ionally ten d to r ef er to occupational cat the fo ll owing sent ences.

egor ie s, as in

Da vi d Garr ick was a very pr ominent ei ghteenth-century actor. Sarah Sid dons was at The manager was

the he ight of her ca re er as an actr ess in the 17

80s.

trying to wr ite a want ad, but he cou ldn't de ci de

whethe r he was adve rtis ing for a "waite r" or a "waitr ess" Noun Plural s Most nouns

change thei r fo rm to in di cate number by ad ding " -s" or "- es", as

il lust rated in the fo

ll owing pai rs of sentenc es:

When Matthew was going to be punishe

smal l he rar ely tol d the truth if he thought he was d.

Ma ny peo pl e do not bel ieve that As they walk ed through

truths ar e se lf-evi dent.

th e sil ent hous e. they we re sta rtl ed by an

unexp ect ed echo . I l ik e to shout into the quar He tri ppe d over a

ry and l ist en to the echo es that re turne d.

bo x lef t ca re le ssly in the hallway.

Sinc e we ar e moving, we wil l nee d ma ny bo xes .

The re ar e othe r nouns which fo

rm the plu ral by changing the last le

tte r bef or e

add ing "s". Some wor ds en ding in "f" fo rm the plu ral by de le ting "f" and add ing "ves ," and wo rds en ding in "y " form the plu ral by d el et ing the "y " and add ing "ies ," as in the fo ll owing pai rs of sent ence s: The harbour at Marb le Mount ain has on e whar f. The re ar e seve ral wharves in Ha li fax Harbou r. Warsaw is the ir favourit e city be cause it re mind s them of th ei r court ship. The vacation my

grandpa rents won inc

lude s trip s to tw elve

Eur opean citi es . The ch il dr en c ir cl ed around the headmast

er and sh outed, " Ar e you

a mouse or a ma n?" The aud ienc e was shock ed when al l five men admitt

ed that they we re

afra id of mi ce . Ot he r nouns f orm the plu ral ir re gular ly . If E ngl ish is your fi rs t language, you pr oba bly know most

of thes e alr eady: when in doubt,

consult a go od di ct ionary.

Posse ssive Nouns In the pos ses sive cas e, a noun or pr onoun changes its f or i s cl ose ly relat ed to s omething

els e. Usually,

orm to show that

it owns

nouns becom e poss ess ive by

add ing a combinati on of an apo stro phe and the le tte r "s." You can fo rm th e poss ess ive case of add ing an apost rophe and "s,

a singula r noun that do es not end in "s"

" as in the f ol low ing sent ence s:

The r ed su itcas e is Cas sandra's . The on ly luggag e that was l ost was th e prim e minist er' s. The e xhauste d rec ruit s wer e woken bef or e dawn by the dr il l se rgeant's

sc reams.

The mine r's fac e was c over ed in coal du

st.

by

You can fo rm th e poss ess ive case of an apost roph e alone or by examp le s:

a singu lar noun that en ds in "s" by ad ding

add ing an apo stro phe and "s," as in the fo

ll owing

The bus's seats are ve ry uncomfo rtable. The bus' seats are ve ry uncomfo rtable. The f ilm c rew acc id entally crush

ed the platypus' s eggs.

The f ilm c rew acc id entally crush

ed the platypus'

Fel ic ia H emans's po etry was

eggs.

on ce mor e popula r than Lo rd Byron' s.

Fel ic ia H emans' poet ry was onc e mo re po pular than You can fo rm th e poss ess ive case of add ing an apost rophe and

Lor d By ron's.

a plu ral noun that d oe s not en d in "s" by

a "s," as in th e fol low ing exampl es:

The chi ld ren's mittens w er e scatte re d on the fl oo r of the po rch. The she ep's pen was mucked out eve

ry day.

Sinc e we ha ve a compl ex app eal pr oce ss, a jury's ve rd ict is not always fina l. The men's hockey team wi

ll be playing as

soon as the wom en's team is

fin ishe d. The hunter f

ol low ed the moo se' s trail al l morning but

lo st it in the

afte rnoon. You can fo rm th e poss ess ive case of add ing an apost rophe:

a plu ral noun that do es end in "s"

The c once rt was int er rupte d by the dogs' barking,

th e du cks' quack ing ,

and th e babie s' squall ing. The ja nit ors ' room is d ownstai rs and to the le My uncl e spent ma ny hou rs trying to lo

ft.

cate the

The ar chivist qu ickly fin ishe d re pai ring the

by

squi rr els ' ne st.

diar ie s' bin dings.

Re lig ion is usually the subject of the

ro omm ate s' many lat e night de bates.

Using Posse ssive Nouns When you rea d th e fol low ing sentenc es, you wi ll noti ce that a noun in the pos ses sive cas e fre qu ently funct ions as an

adject ive mod ifying another noun:

The mine r's fac e was c over ed in coal du

st.

He re th e poss ess ive noun "miner 's" i s use d to mo di fy the noun "fac e" and togeth er with the

sent ence' s subje ct.

arti cl e "the," they make

up the noun phras e that is th e

The c once rt was int er rupte d by the dogs' barking,

th e du cks' quack ing ,

and th e babie s' squall ing. In this s entenc e, each po sse ssive noun

mo di fi es a ge rund . Th e poss ess ive noun

"dogs"' mod if ie s "bark ing ," "duck s"' mo di fi es "quacking,"

and " babie s"' mo di fi es

"squal ling." The f ilm c rew acc id entally crush

ed the platypus' s eggs.

In this e xampl e th e poss ess ive noun "platypus's" mod the noun phras e "the p latypus's eggs" is

"egg s" and

the d ir ect obje ct of the ve rb "crushe d."

My uncl e spent ma ny hou rs trying to lo

cate the

In this s entenc e the p oss ess ive noun "s qui rr els"' is "nest" and the noun

if ies the noun

squi rr els ' ne st.

us ed to mod ify the noun

phras e "the squi rr els ' nest" is the object of the inf init ive

phras e "to lo cate." Typ es Of Nouns The re ar e ma ny dif fe rent typ es of nouns. nouns, such as "Canada"

As you know,

or "Louis e," and do not

"b adg er" or "tr ee" (u nl ess they appea

you capita lis e some

capita lis e other s, such as

r at the beginning of

grammarians ha

ve dev el ope d a whol e se ri es of noun

countable noun

(als o ca ll ed the count

a sent ence). In fact,

typ es, inclu ding the

pr ope r noun , th e common noun, the conc ret e noun, th e abstract noun,

noun), the non- counta bl e noun (also

cal le d th e mass noun) , and the c ol lect ive noun . You shou ld note that wi ll be long to mo re than one type: it wi

the

a noun

ll be p rop er or common, abstract or

conc ret e, and count abl e or non- count abl e or co ll ective.

If you ar e inte rest ed in the de

tai ls of the se di ff er ent types, you

can rea d about

them in th e fol low ing s ect ions. Prop er Nouns You always w rit e a prop er noun with a capita l lett er, sinc e th e noun re pr es ents the na me o f a sp ec if ic pe rson, plac e, or th ing. The names of

days o f the week,

months, hist or ical do cuments, in stituti ons, organi sations , re li gions, thei r holy te xts and th ei r adh er ents are pr op er nouns. common noun

A pr op er noun i s th e oppo sit e of a

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the p rop er nouns

are highl ighted :

The Marro ons wer e transpo rte d from Jam ai ca and for ce d to bui ld the fo rti fi cations in

Hal ifa x.

Ma ny peo pl e dre ad Monday mornings. Be ltane is ce leb rated on the fi Abraham appea rs in the

rst o f May .

Ta lmud and in the

Koran .

Last yea r, I had a Bapt ist , a Bud dhist , and a Gar dne rian Witch as ro omm ate s. Common Nouns A common noun is a noun ref er ring to a

per son, plac e, or th ing in a gene ral

sens e - - usual ly, you sh ould w rit e it with a cap ital lett er on ly when it beg ins a sent ence. A common noun is the op

pos ite of a pr ope r noun .

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the c ommon nouns ar ehighl ighted : Accor ding to the

sign , the neare st town is 60 mi le s away.

All the gard ens in the neighbourho od we re invade d by beet le sthis summer . I d on't unde rstand why some pe opl e in sist on ha ving si x di ff er ent kinds of mustard in thei r cupboa rds .

The r oad cr ew was start le d by the sight of thre e larg e moo se cros sing the road . Ma ny ch il d- ca re work er s ar e unde rpai d. Somet imes you wi ll make pro pe r nouns out

of common

nouns, as

in the

fo ll owing examp le s: The t ena nts in the

Garn et Apartments

are app eal ing the la rge and sud den

inc reas e in th ei r rent. The mea ls in th e Bouncing Bean Restaurant

ar e le ss ex pen sive tha n meals

in or dinary re staurants. Ma ny witche s ref er to th e Renaissanc e as the Burning The Diary of

Tim es .

Anne Frank is o ften a ch il d's fi rs t intro ducti on to the

histo ry of the Ho locaust . Conc ret e Nouns A conc ret e noun is a noun whi ch names anyt hing (or anyone) pe rc eive through your conc ret e noun is the op

that you can

phys ical s ense s: touch, sight, tast e, hear ing, o r sm el l. A pos ite of a abst ract noun.

The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ll owing sent ences ar e all conc ret e nouns :

The judge ha nd ed the fi le s to the cl erk . Whenever they take the

dog to the beach , i t spend s hou rs chasing

waves .

The r eal e state agent urg ed the coup le to bu y the secon dhouse because i t had new sh ingle s. As the car dr ove past the

pa rk , the thu mp of a di sco tune overwh elme d

the str ing qua rtet' s rend iti on of a minuet . The book bind er re plac ed the f lim sy pap er cove r with a stur dy , cl oth cove re d boar d.

Abst ract Nouns An abstract noun

is a noun whi ch names anyt hing which you

can not per ce ive

through you r five physi cal sens es, and i s the oppo sit e of a concr ete noun. The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ll owing sent ences ar e all abstract nouns:

Buying the f ir e ex tinguish er was an Ti ll ie is amused by

afte rthought .

p eop le who are nosta

Justic e often se ems to sl ip out of our g

lgic about

ch il dhood .

rasp.

Some s ci entists be li eve that schizo phren ia is t ransmitte d genet ical ly . Countable Nouns A countable noun

(or count noun ) i s a noun w ith both a singu lar and a plu ral

fo rm, and it names an countable noun

ything (o r an yone) that

p lural and attach

it to a

you can count . You can make a

plura l ve rb in a sentenc e. Counta bl e

nouns ar e the oppo sit e of non- count abl e nouns and

col le ctive nouns.

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the highl ighted wor ds ar e counta bl e nouns: We painte d the tabl e red and the chair s blu e. Sinc e he inhe rit ed his au nt's lib rary , J erom e spend s eve ry week end in de xing his

books .

Mir iam f ound si x silv er do lla rs in the toe of a sock . The oak tr ee lo st th re e branche s in the hurr icane . Ove r th e cours e of twenty- seven yea rs , Martha Bal lad de liv er ed just ov er ei ght hundr ed ba bi es . Non- Count abl e Nouns A non- count abl e noun (o r mass noun ) is a noun which do fo rm, and which re

fe rs to som ething that you cou ld (or wou ld) not usual ly

count. A non-countable noun countable nouns

countable nouns.

es not have a plu ral

always takes a

s ingular verb in a

are sim ilar to c ol lect ive nouns, and

The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

s entenc e. Non-

ar e the opp osit e of

ll owing sent ences ar e non-countable nouns:

Jos eph Pr ie stly di scove re d oxygen . The wo rd "oxyg en" cannot no rmally be made plu

ral.

Oxygen is es sentia l to huma n li fe. Sinc e "oxygen"

is a non-countable noun

, it takes the singu

tha n the plu ral ve rb "ar e."

lar ve rb "is" rath er

We de ci de d to sel l the furn iture rathe r than tak e it with us e wh en w e moved. You cannot make

th e noun "furnitur

e" plura l.

The furn iture is heap ed in the mi

dd le of the r oom.

Sinc e "furnitu re" is a non-countable noun

, it takes a

singular verb, "is heape

d."

The c rew s pr ead th e gra ve l ove r the roa dbed. You cannot make

th e non-countable noun

"gravel" plu

ral.

Gravel is mo re ex pen sive tha n I thought. Sinc e "gravel"

is a non-countable noun

, it takes the singu

lar ve rb form "is."

Co ll ective Nouns A co ll ective noun

is a noun naming a gr oup of things,

coul d count th e in divi dual member s of the group, but group as a

who le is gene rally as

co ll ective nouns in

animals, or

per sons. You

you usual ly think of th e

on e unit. You nee d to be abl e to rec ognis e

ord er to maintain subject-verb

ag re ement. A col lect ive

noun is simi lar to a non- counta bl e noun , and i s roughly the opp countable noun.

osit e of a

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the highl ighted wor d is a col le ctive noun: The fl ock of g ees e sp ends most of i

ts time in the pastur

The c ol lect ive noun "fl ock" take s th e singular verb "sp The jury is d ining on

e.

ends."

tak e- out chi cken tonight.

In this e xampl e th e col le ctive noun

singula rcompound verb "is din ing ."

"jury" is the subject of

th e

The st ee ring committ ee meet s ev ery We dnes day afte rnoon. He re th e col le ctive noun

"committ ee" tak es a singu lar verb,

The clas s was start le d by the bursting li

"me ets."

ght bulb.

In this s entenc e the wo rd "clas s" i s a co ll ect ive noun and take s th e singular compound ve rb "was startl ed."

What is a Pronoun? A pr onoun can r ep lace a noun or another pr "which, " "none, " and "you" to make your re pet itive.

Grammarians clas

onoun . You us e pronouns li ke "he,"

sentenc es les s cumbe rsom e and le ss

si fy p ronouns into seve ral type s, inc lud ing the pe rs onal

pr onoun , the demonst rative pr onoun, the inte rr ogative pr onoun , th e ind ef inite pr onoun , the rel ative pr onoun, the re fl ex ive pr onoun , and th e int ensive pr onoun . Pers onal Pr onouns A pe rsonal p ronoun ref er s to a sp ec if ic pe rson or thing and changes ind icate pe rson , number , gende r, and case . Subjective Pe A subjective p

its fo rm to

rsonal Pronouns er sonal pr onoun ind icate s that the pronoun is act

ing as

the subject of the s entenc e. Th e subje ctive pe rsonal p ronouns are "I, "she," "he," "it," "we," "you, " "t hey." In the fo ll owing sent ences, each of the pe rsonal p ronoun and acts as the I was glad to fin d the bus

" "you,"

highl ighted wor ds is a subjective

subje ct of the sent ence:

pass in the bottom of the gr

een knapsack.

You ar e sur ely the strangest ch il d I have ev er met. He st ol e th e selk ie 's skin and for ce d her to liv e with him . When she was a young woman, she earn ed he r living as

a coa l min er.

Afte r many yea rs, they return ed to the ir homeland. We wil l meet at the l ibra ry at 3:30 p.m. It is on the counte

r.

Are you the de le gates fr om Malagawatch ? Object ive Pers onal Pr onouns An obje ctive pe rs onal pronoun in di cates that an object of a ve rb , compound verb

the pr onoun i s acting

as

, pr epo sit ion , o r in fin itive phras e. Th e

object ive per sonal pr onouns ar e: "me," "you, " "her," "him," "it," "us, " " you," and "them. " In the fo ll owing sent ences, each of the pe rsonal p ronoun:

highl ighted wor ds is an obj ective

Seamus sto le the se lki e's sk in and fo rc ed her to liv e with him . The obje ctive pe rs onal pronoun "he r" i s the dir ect obje ct of the verb and th e obj ective pe rs onal pronoun " him" is the object o "with. "

Afte r rea ding the

pamph let, Judy

f th e pre pos iti on

thr ew it int o th e ga rbage can.

The p ronoun "it" is the d ir ect obje ct of the verb The agitat ed ass istant sto od up and

"for ce d"

"thr ew."

fa ce d th e angry de le gates and sai

d,

"Our le ad er wi ll ad dr ess you in fiv e minutes." In this s entenc e, the pr onoun "you" is the d ir ect object o

f the ve rb "ad dr ess."

Debo rah and Robe rta wi ll me et us at the new est caf é in th e mark et. He re th e obj ective pe rs onal pronoun " us" is the di verb "wil l meet."

Give the li st to me .

re ct object of

th e compound

He re th e obj ective pe rs onal pronoun " me" is the obje ct of the pr epo sit ion "to." I'm not sur e that my contact wi ll talk to

you .

Sim ilar ly in th is examp le, the obj ective p er sonal pr onoun "you " is the object of the pr epo sit ion "to." Chr istoph er was surp ri se d to s ee her at the d rag race s. He re th e obj ective pe rs onal pronoun " he r" is the object of

the in fin itive phras e

"to see." Posse ssive Pe rsonal Pronouns A pos ses sive pr onoun ind icate s that the pronoun is act

ing as a mark er of

pos ses sion and de fin es who owns a part icular obje ct or pe rson. The pe rsonal p ronouns ar e "mine," Note that

"yours,"

pos ses sive

"her s, " "his," "its," "our s, " and "the irs."

p oss ess ive per sonal pr onouns ar e ve ry simi lar to pos ses sive

adject ives li ke "my ," "her," and " thei r."

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the highl ighted wor d is a poss ess ive pe rsonal p ronoun: The smal le st gift is min e. He re th e poss ess ive pronoun "mine"

funct ions as a subject comp

lement .

Thi s is yours. He re too the poss ess ive pr onoun "yours" Hi s is on the kitch

functions as a

subject comp

lem ent.

en c ounter.

In this e xampl e, the p oss ess ive pronoun "hi s" acts as sent ence.

th e subje ct of the

The ir s wil l be del ive re d tomor row. In this s entenc e, the po sse ssive pr onoun "the irs" is the subject of Our s is the gr een one on

th e sentenc e.

th e corn er.

He re too the poss ess ive pr onoun "ours" functi

on as the subject

of the sent ence.

Demonst rative Pronouns A dem onstrative p

ronoun points to and

ide nti fi es a noun or a p ronoun. "Thi s"

and "the se" ref er to th ings that are nearby ei "th at" and "those" re

fe r to things that

ther in spac

e or in tim e, whi le

ar e fa rthe r away in space or time.

The d emonst rative pr onouns ar e "thi s, " "t hat," "these,"

and "those."

"This" and

"th at" ar e use d to ref er to singular nouns o r noun ph rases and "thes e" and "those" are use d to ref er to plural nouns and noun phras es. Note that dem onstrative p obviously, you

ronouns are id

use them di

ent ical to dem onstrative

the

adje ctives , though ,

ff er ent ly . It i s also imp ortant to not e that "t hat" can

also be us ed as a re lat ive pronoun.

In the fo ll owing sent ences, each of the pr onoun :

highl ighted wor ds is a dem onstrative

Thi s must not continue. He re "thi s" is us ed as the subject

of the comp ound ve rb "must not cont inue. "

Thi s is puny; that is the t re e I want . In this e xampl e "thi s" is us ed as subject and

ref er s to someth ing c los e to th e

sp eaker. The d emonst rative pr onoun "th at" is also a someth ing fa rthe r away from the sp eake r.

subje ct but re fe rs to

Thr ee cust omer s wante d the se . He re "the se" is the di re ct object of

the ve rb "wanted."

Inter rogative Pronouns An int er rogative p ronoun is use d to ask qu esti ons. Th e inte rrogat ive pronouns are "who,"

"whom ," "which," "what " and th e compounds fo rme d with

the su ff ix "ever" ("w ho ever," "whomeve r, " "w hi chever," that ei the r "which" or "what

" can als o be us ed as an

and "whatever").

inte rr ogative adject

that "who, " "w hom," or "whi ch " can al so be us ed as a r elat ive pr onoun . You wil l fin d "who," "whom, " and occasi onally "which"

Not e

ive , and

use d to ref er to pe opl e,

and "whi ch " and "what" use d to ref er to th ings and to animals. "W ho" act s as the subject of pr epo sit ion, o r a verbal .

a verb, wh il e "whom" acts as the

obj ect of a

ve rb,

The highl ighted wor d in each

of the fo ll owing sent ences i s an inte rr ogative

pr onoun : Which wants to se e th e dent ist fi rst ? "Which" is the subject of

the s entenc e.

Who wrot e the novel Rockbound? Sim ilar ly "who" is the subject of the Whom do you think

sent ence.

we sh ould invit e?

In this s entenc e, " whom " is the object o To whom do you wish to sp

f th e ve rb "invit e."

eak?

He re th e inte rrogat ive pronoun "whom " is th e obje ct of the pr epo sit ion "to." Who wi ll me et th e del egate s at the train stati

on?

In this s entenc e, the int er rogative pr onoun "who" is th e subject o f the compound ve rb "wi ll me et. "

To whom di d you give th e pa pe r? In this e xampl e th e inte rrogat ive pronoun "whom" is the object of the pr epo sit ion "to." Wh at did sh e say? He re th e inte rrogat ive pronoun "what" is th e dir ect obje ct of the verb "sa

y."

Re lative Pronouns You can use a

relat ive pr onoun is us ed to link on

e ph rase or claus eto anothe r

phras e or claus e. Th e re lative pr onouns are "who, " "whom," "that ," and "which. The c ompounds "whoever," pr onouns.

You can use the re

"whomeve r," and "w hi chever" ar e al so re lative

lat ive pronouns "who"

of a claus e or sent ence, and "whom" verb, a verbal or

a pr epo sit ion.

and "who ever" to ref er to th e subje ct

and "w homeve r" to ref er to th e obje cts of a

In each of the f ol low ing s entenc es, the highl ighted wor d is a rel ative pr onoun.

"

You may invite whomever

you l ik e to the pa rty.

The r elat ive pr onoun " whomeve r" i s th e dir ec t obj ect of the comp ound ve rb "m ay invite."

The cand idat e who wins the gr eatest po pular vote is

not always el

In this s entenc e, the re lat ive pronoun is the subject of the verb "wins"

ect ed. and

intr oduc es the subo rd inate clause "who w ins the g reate st popula r vote." This subor dinate claus

e acts as an adj ective mod ifying "candi

date."

In a time of c ri sis, the ma nage r ask s the wo rke rs whom she be li eves to be the most ef fi ci ent to ar rive an hour ea rl ie r tha n usual. In this s entenc e "whom" is th e dir ec t obje ct of the verb "bel intr oduc es the subor

dinate claus

ieves" and

e "whom sh e bel ieve s to be the most ef

Thi s subo rd inate claus e mo di fi es the noun

"work ers."

fi ci ent".

Whoever brok e th e window wi ll have to rep lace i t. He re "who ever" functions as the subject of the verb "broke." The c rate which was le ft in the co

rr id or has now be en move d int o th e

sto rage cl oset. In this e xampl e "whi ch" acts as intr oduc es the subor subor dinate claus

dinate claus

th e subject o f the compound verb "was e "whi ch was le ft in the co

rr ido r." Th e

l ef t" and

e acts as an adject ive mo di fying th e noun "c rate."

I w il l rea d whi chever ma nusc ript ar rive s fir st. He re "whi chever" mod if ies the noun subor dinate claus

"man usc ri pt" and intr oduc es th e

e "w hi chever manuscr

claus e functions as the di

ipt arr ives fi rst." The subor dinate

re ct object of the c

ompound ve rb "w il l read."

Inde finit e Pronouns An in de fin ite pr onoun is a pr onoun re fe rr ing to an

id enti fiabl e but not

sp eci fi ed p er son or thing. An in de finit e pr onoun conveys the id none, or some.

ea of al l, any ,

The most c ommon ind ef init e pronouns ar e "al l, " "a nothe r," "a ny," "a nybody," "a nyone," "anyt hing," "each," "eve rybody, " "everyon e, " "everything,"

"f ew, "

"m any, " "nobo dy ," "none," "one," "s evera l, " "some," "somebo dy, " and "som eone." Note that

s ome ind ef inite p ronouns can

The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

als o be us ed as in de fin ite adje ctives .

ll owing sent ences ar e ind ef inite p ronouns:

Ma ny wer e invite d to the lunch but He re "many " act s as the subject of

only twe lve showe d up.

the c ompound verb

The o ff ic e had be en s earch ed and ev erything In this e xampl e, "eve rything" acts as thrown."

We donate d ev erything

a subject of

"w er e invite d. " was thrown onto the fl

the c ompound verb

we found in the attic to the woman's

oo r.

"was sh elt er

garage sal e. In this s entenc e, "eve rything " is the di re ct object o f theve rb "donated." Although they lo oke d ev erywhe re fo r ex tra cop ie s of the mag az ine, th ey found none . He re too the ind ef inite p ronoun functions as a object of

"f ound."

d ir ect object: "none"

Make su re you give ev eryone a c opy of the amende In this e xampl e, "eve ryone" is the ind ir ect object object is

th e noun ph rase "a c opy of the amende

Give a reg ist ration pa ckage to He re "each " is the object o

i s th e dir ec t

d bylaws.

of the ve rb "give" -- th e dir ect d bylaws. "

ea ch .

f the pre pos iti on "to."

Re fl ex ive Pr onouns You can use a sent ence.

ref le xiv e pronoun to r ef er back to the subject

The r ef le xiv e pronouns are "

mysel f," "yourse lf," "he rs el f, " " hims el f," "its el f,"

"ours elves," "your se lves," and "thems elve s. " Note each of the intens ive pr onoun . Each of the pr onoun :

of the claus e or

highl ighted wor ds in the fo

se can al so act as an

ll owing sent ences i s a re fl ex ive

Diabet ics give

themse lves insul in sh ots seve ral time s a day.

The D ean of ten doe s the photoc

opying he rs el f so that the sec reta ri es can

do mo re imp ortant wo rk. Afte r th e pa rty, I ask ed mysel f why I had fax ed invitati ons to ev eryone in my of fi ce bui ld ing . Richar d usually rem

ember ed to sen d a co py o f his e-mail

Although the land lo rd pr omis ed to paint the apartment,

to himse lf . we end ed up

do ing it ou rse lves . Intensive Pronouns An int ensive p ronoun is a p ronoun us ed to emphasi se it s antec ed ent . Intens ive pr onouns ar e id enti cal in form to re fl ex ive p ronouns. The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ll owing sent ences ar e intens ive pronouns:

I mysel f be li eve that al iens shoul d abduct my

sist er.

The Pr ime Minist er himse lf sai d that he would l owe r taxe s. They themse lves pr omis ed to com e to the pa rty even though fina l exam at the same tim

they had

e.

What Is An Adjective? An adj ective mod if ies a noun or a pr onoun by de sc rib ing, id enti fying, or quantify ing wo rd s. An adje ctive usually pr which it mod

if ie s.

ec ed es the noun

or the p ronoun

In the fo ll owing examp le s, the highl ighted wor ds ar e adject ives: The truck-shape d bal loon fl oate d ov er the tr eeto ps. Mrs. Mor ris on pap er ed he r kitchen wal ls with hid eous wall pap er. The small boat f ounde re d on the wine da rk sea. The coal mines ar e da rk and dank .

a

Ma ny st or es ha ve al ready begun A batter ed music box sat on

to p lay ir ri tating Ch ristmas musi c.

the ma hogany si deboa rd.

The back ro om was fi ll ed with la rge , ye ll ow ra in bo ots. An adject ive can be mod if ie d by an adverb , or by a ph rase or claus efuncti oning as an adverb.

In the sentenc e

My husba nd knit s int ri cately patte rned mittens. fo r examp le, th e adverb "intri Some nouns,

cately" mod if ies the adje

ctive "pattern

ed."

many pr onouns, and ma ny pa rtic ip le phras es can al so act as

adject ives. In the sent ence Eleanor l ist ene d to the muff le d sounds of the ra

dio hid den und er he r

pi ll ow. fo r examp le, both highl ighted adject ives ar e past pa rtic ip les . Grammarians also c

onsi de r art ic les ("t he," "a," "a n") to be adje ctives.

Posse ssive Adje ctives A pos ses sive adje ctive (" my, " "your, " " hi s," "her," "it s, " "our," "thei r") is s imi lar or id enti cal to a

pos ses sive pr onoun ; how ever, it is us ed as an adject ive and

mod if ies a noun

or a noun ph rase , as in the f ol low ing sent ence s:

I can't comp let e my ass ignment because I

don't ha ve the te xtbook.

In this s entenc e, the po sse ssive adje ctive "my " mo di fi es "assignment" noun phras e " my as signment"

and the

funct ions as an obje ct . Not e that th e poss ess ive

pr onoun fo rm " min e" i s not us ed to mod ify a noun or noun phras e. Wh at is your phon e number.

He re th e poss ess ive adject ive "your" is us ed to mod ify the noun phras e "phone nu mbe r"; th e ent ir e noun phras e "your phon e number" is a Note that

the po sse ssive p ronoun form "yours"

noun phras e.

subject c ompl ement .

is not use d to mo di fy a noun or a

The bake ry s ol d hi s favour ite type o f bread.

In this e xampl e, the p oss ess ive adj ective "his" mod "favour ite type o f bread" and

if ies the noun

ph rase

th e enti re noun phras e "his favour ite type o f

brea d" i s th e dir ect obje ct of the ve rb "sol d."

Afte r many yea rs, sh e retu rned to her homeland. He re th e poss ess ive adject ive "he r" mo di fi es the noun "homeland" phras e "he r hom eland" is the object o

and the noun

f th e pre pos ition "to ." Not e also that the

fo rm "he rs" is not us ed to mo di fy nouns or noun phras es. We ha ve lo st ou r way in th is wood. In this s entenc e, the po sse ssive adje ctive "our"

mo di fi es "wa y" and the noun

phras e "ou r way" i s th e dir ec t obj ect of the compound the pos ses sive pr onoun fo rm "ours" phras es.

ve rb "ha ve lo st". Note that

is not us ed to mo di fy nouns or noun

In man y fai ry tal es, chi ld ren are neg lect ed by the ir par ents. He re th e poss ess ive adject ive "the ir" mod if ies "par ents" and the noun "thei r pa rents" is the object o

f the pre pos iti on "by ." Not e that the pos ses sive

pr onoun fo rm "t he ir s" i s not us ed to mod ify nouns The cat chase

o r noun phras es.

d its bal l down the stair s and int o the backyard.

In this s entenc e, the po sse ssive adje ctive "its" mod phras e "its bal l" is the object of the ve pos ses sive adje ctive and Demonst rative Adject The dem onstrative adj id enti cal to the

phras e

if ies "ball" and

rb "chase d. " Note that

"it's" is a contracti on fo r "it is."

the noun

"its" is the

ives ective s "this," "the se," "that ," "thos e, " and "what" ar e

demonst rative pr onouns , but are us ed as adject ives to mod ify

nouns o r noun phras es, as in the fo ll owing sent ences: When the l ibra rian trip pe d ov er that co rd, she dr opp ed a pi le of bo oks. In this s entenc e, the de monstrat ive adj ective "that and th e noun ph rase "that

" mod if ies the noun

co rd" is the obje ct of the pr epo sit ion "ove r."

Thi s apartm ent ne ed s to be fum igated.

"co rd"

He re "thi s" mod if ie s "apartment" and

the noun ph rase "this apartment"

is

the subject of the s entenc e. Even though

my fr ie nd pr ef er re d those plat es, I bought thes e.

In the subor dinate claus plat es" is the object of

the di re ct object of the ve Note that

e, "those" mod if ie s "p lates" and the noun

the ve rb "pr ef er re d." In the in de pend ent clause , "t he se" is rb "bought ."

the re lat ionship betw

dem onstrative p

ph rase "those

een a demonst rative adject

ronoun is sim ilar to the re

ive and a

lat ionship betw

adject ive and a pos ses sive pr onoun, or to that and an int er rogative p ronoun .

een a poss ess ive

betw een a int er rogative adje

ctive

Inter rogative Adject

ives

An int er rogative adj

ective ("w hi ch" or "what ") is li ke an int er rogative p ronoun,

ex ce pt that it mod if ies a noun

or noun ph rase rathe r tha n standing on

(se e also de monstrat ive adj ective s and p oss ess ive adj ective s): Which plants sh ould be wate

its own

re d tw ic e a we ek?

Like oth er adje ctives, " whi ch" can be us ed to mod ify a noun or a noun ph rase. In this e xampl e, " which" mo di fi es "plants" is the subject of

and the noun

th e compound verb "should be wate

phras e "which

re d" :

plants"

Wh at book ar e you re ad ing? In this s entenc e, "what " mo di fi es "book" di re ct object of

the c ompound verb

and the noun

"ar e rea ding."

phras e "what bo ok" is th e

Inde finit e Adject ives An in de fin ite adje ctive is s imi lar to an in de fin ite pr onoun , ex ce pt that it mod if ies a noun , pronoun, or noun phras e, as in the fo Ma ny peo pl e bel ieve that

co rpo rations ar e und er-tax ed.

The in de fin ite adje ctive "m any" mod if ies the noun "m any p eop le" is the subject of

ll owing sent ences:

th e sentenc e.

"p eop le" and the noun

ph rase

I w il l send you any mai l that arr ives aft er you have move d to Su dbury.

The in de fin ite adje ctive "a ny" mod if ie s th e noun "mai l" and the noun "a ny mai l" i s the dir ec t obj ect of the comp

phras e

ound ve rb "wi ll s end."

They foun d a fe w gol df ish float ing be lly up in

th e swan pound.

In this e xampl e th e ind ef inite adj ective mod if ie s th e noun "go ld fi sh" and th e noun phras e is the di re ct object of

th e ve rb "f ound" :

The t itl e of Ke lly's favour ite game is "All do

gs go to hea ven."

He re th e ind ef inite pr onoun "al l" mod if ie s "d ogs" and the fu ll tit le is a subject comp lement.

What is an Adverb? An adve rb can mod ify a verb , an adj ective , another adverb, a a claus e. An adve rb in di cates man ne r, t ime, place, cause, or d answer s quest ions such

phras e, o r eg re e and

as "how," "when, " "whe re," "how much ".

Whil e some adve rbs can be id enti fi ed by the ir charact er ist ic "ly " su ff ix , most of them must be id enti fi ed by untangling the grammatical re

lat ionship s within

the sentenc e or claus e as a who le. Unlik e an adject ive, an adverb can be foun d in v ar ious pla ces with in the s entenc e. In the fo ll owing examp le s, ea ch of th e high lighte d wo rd s is an adve rb: The s eamstr ess qui ckly mad e th e mou rning clothe s. In this s entenc e, the adve rb "qui ckly" mo di fi es the verb what man ne r (or how

fast) th e clothing was const

"mad e" and ind icate s in

ructe d.

The mi dwive s wa ite d pat iently through a long labour . Sim ilar ly in th is sentenc e, th e adve rb "pat iently" mo di fi es the verb "waite de sc ribe s th e manner in which the midw

ives wait ed.

The bol dly spoken wo rds wou ld re turn to haunt the re be l. In this s entenc e the adve rb "bol dly" mod if ies the adje

ctive "spok en. "

We urge d him to d ial the num be r mor e exp ed iti ously .

d" and

He re th e adverb "mo re" mo di fi es the adve rb "e xpe dit ious ly. " Unfortunate ly , the bank clo se d at thre e to day . In this e xampl e, the adve rb "unfo rtun ate ly" mod if ie s th e enti re sent ence. Conjunctive Adverbs You can use a most common

conj unctive adve rb to jo in two claus es tog ether. Some o

conju nct ive adve rbs are "also,"

"furthe rmor e," "hence,"

"c onse quently,"

"howeve r," "inc id entally,"

"f inally,"

f the

"ind ee d," "instea d," "lik ewi se,"

"meanw hi le," "neve rthe les s, " " ne xt," "nonethe les s, " "otherw is e, " "stil l," "then, "

not st rong enough two in de pend ent clause s without the ai d of a semic olon . "ther efo re," and "thus. " A conjunctive adverb is The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

to jo in

ll owing sent ences ar e conju nct ive adverbs:

The gove rnment has cut unive rs ity budg ets; cons equent ly , clas s siz es ha ve be en in cr ease d. He did not have all the ingr ed ients the r ec ip e ca ll ed fo r;ther ef or e, he de ci de d to make

something el se.

The r ep ort re commen de d severa l change s to the ways the

cor porat ion

accounte d for donations ; fu rthe rmor e, i t sugg este d that a new aud itor be appo inted imm ed iately. The c row d wa ite d pat iently fo r thr ee hours;

fina lly , the do or s to th e

stad ium we re o pene d. Batm an and Rob in fr uit les sly sea rche d th e bui ld ing; in de ed , the Joke r had escap ed thr ough a s ec ret do or in the basement.

What is a Preposition? A pr epo sit ion links nouns , pronouns and phras es to oth er wo rds in asentenc e. The wo rd o r ph rase that pr epo sit ion.

th e pre pos ition int roduc es is ca ll ed the object of the

A pr ep osit ion usually

ind icates the t

empora l, spat ial or lo gica l rel ationsh ip of

its obje ct to the r est o f th e sentenc e as in the f ol low ing ex ampl es: The book i s on the table. The book i s ben eath the table.

The book i s leaning against the tabl e. The book i s be si de the table. She he ld the book

She re ad the book

ove r the tabl e. du ring clas s.

In each of the p re ce ding sent ences, a p re pos ition lo cates the noun spac e or in time.

A pr epo sit ional phras e is made up

of the pr ep osit ion, i ts object and

assoc iate d adj ective s or adve rbs . A pre pos itional ph rase can

"book" in any

funct ion as a

noun , an adject ive, or an adve rb. The most c ommon pr epo sit ions are "about "a bove," "acr oss," "afte r," "against, " "along, " " among," "around," "behind,"

"be low," "beneath, " "be si de," "betw een," "beyond,"

"at ," "be for e,"

,"

"but ," "by ," "d esp ite,"

"down," "dur ing, " "exc ept," "f or," "f rom," "in," "insi de," "into, " "lik e," "near," "of," "of f, " "on ," "onto," "out," "outsi de," "ove r," "past, " "sinc e, " "t hr ough ," "throughout," "til l," "to," "toward," and "w ithout ." Each of the

"und er," "unde rneath, " " unti l," "up, " "upon," "with," "within,"

highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ll owing sent ences i s a pr ep osit ion:

The ch il dr en c limbe d th e mountain without fea r. In this s entenc e, the pr ep osit ion "w ithout" intr oduc es the noun pr epo sit ional phras e "without fe ar" functions as an chi ld ren cl imbed. The re was re joi cing thr oughout the land when de feat ed.

He re, the pr ep osit ion "throughout

"fea r. " The

adve rb d es cr ibing how the th e government was

" intr oduc es the noun ph rase "the land." Th e

pr epo sit ional phras e act s as an adve rb des cr ibing th e locat ion of the rej oic ing. The s pi de r crawl ed sl owly along the banist er. The p re pos ition "along"

int ro duces the noun

pr epo sit ional phras e "along the baniste the sp id er craw le d.

ph rase "the

r" acts as an

banist er" and th e

adve rb, de sc ribing whe re

The d og is hi ding und er the po rch because it knows it wi

ll be

punishe d for chew ing up a new pa ir of shoe s. He re th e pre pos iti on "unde r" int roduc es the pr ep osit ional phras e "und er the po rch," which acts as

an adverb mod ifying the

compound verb

"i s hid ing ."

The s cr eenwr ite r sea rche d for the ma nusc ript he was ce

rtain was

somewh er e in his of fi ce.

Sim ilar ly in th is sentenc e, th e pre pos ition "in" phras e "in his o ff ic e, " which acts as

int ro duces a pre pos iti onal

an adverb de sc ribing the lo

cation of the

miss ing pa pe rs.

What is a Conjunction? You can use a

conj uncti on to link wo rd s, phras es , and claus es , as in the

fo ll owing examp le: I ate the pi zza and the pasta. Cal l th e move rs when you are r eady. Co- or dinating Conjunctions You us e a co- or dinating conjunction

(" and," "but ," "o r," "nor," "fo r," "so," or

"yet") to join ind ividual wo rds, phras es, and ind ep endent claus can al so use the conjunctions "b

ut" and "fo r" as pr epo sit ions .

es . Note that

you

In the fo ll owing sent ences , each of the highl ighted wor ds is a co- or dinating conjunction: Lilac s and viol ets ar e usual ly pu rpl e. In this e xampl e, the c o- ord inating conju nct ion "and" links two nouns . Thi s movi e is part icula rly inte re sting to

fem inist fi lm theo rist s,for the

sc re enplay was w ritt en by Mae West. In this e xampl e, the c o- ord inating conju nct ion "f or" is use d to link two ind ep endent claus

es.

Danie l's uncl e claim ed that he sp ent most o f his youth ro ofto ps and swal lowing go ld fish.

danc ing on

He re th e co- ord inating conju nct ion "and" links two part ici pl e ph rase s("dancing on roo ftop s" and "swall owing gol df ish") which act

as adverbs des cr ibing

the ve rb "spen ds."

Subor dinating Conjunctions A subor dinating conjunction

int ro duces a dep end ent c lause and ind icates the

nat ur e of the re lat ionship among

th e in de pend ent clause(s) and

th e dep end ent

claus e(s). The most c ommon subor dinating conjunctions ar "because,"

"be for e," "how, " "if," "onc e, " "since,"

e "aft er," "although, " " as," "than, " "that, " "t hough," "til l,"

"u nti l," "when, " "w he re," "wheth er," and "whil e." Each of the conjunction:

highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ll owing sent ences i s a subor dinating

Afte r sh e had l earn ed to dr ive, Al ic e fel t mor e in de pend ent. The subo rd inating c onj uncti on "afte r" int ro duces the d ep end ent claus e " Aft er she had lea rne d to d riv e. " If the pap erw ork ar rives on time, your Sim ilar ly, the subor dinating conjunction "if" int "If th e pap erw ork ar rives on time." Ge rald had to begin his the

che que wil l be mai le d on Tues day . roduc es the de pen dent claus e

sis ove r again when hi s compute r crashe d.

The subo rd inating c onj uncti on "when" int roduc es the de pen dent claus e "when his comput er cra shed."

Midw if ery advocate

s argue that home births ar

e sa fe r be cause the moth er

and baby ar e exp os ed to fe we r peo pl e and f ew er ge rms. In this s entenc e, the de pen dent claus e "be cause th e moth er and baby ar e ex pos ed to f ew er pe opl e and few er ge rms" is intr oduc ed by the subor dinating conjunction "because."

Co rr elative C onj uncti ons Co rr elative c onj uncti ons always app ear in pa ir s -- you use them equ ivalent sent

to link

ence el em ents. Th e mo st common co rr elat ive conju nct ions are

"both ... and," "e ithe r. ..or," "ne ither...nor,"

, "not only... but also," "so... as," and

"whether ...or." (T echnical ly cor re lative conjunctions cons or dinating conjunction li

nke d to an adject ive or adverb.)

The highl ighted wor ds in the fo

ist sim ply of a

co-

ll owing sent ences ar e cor re lative conjunctions:

Both my grandfathe r and my fathe r work ed in the st

ee l plant.

In this s entenc e, the co rr elat ive conj uncti on "both. ..and" is us ed to li nk th e two noun ph rase s that act as the grand father" and

"my fath er".

compound subject

of the sent ence: "my

Br ing ei ther a Jel lo sa lad or a p otato scal lop. He re th e cor re lative conjunction "eith salad" and

"a potato scal

Co rinne is

lop."

er...or" l inks two noun

phras es: "a Je llo

trying to dec id e whethe r to go to me dica l schoo l orto go to

law schoo l. Sim ilar ly, the co rr elat ive conju nct ion "whethe r . .. or" links the two inf init ive phras es "to go to med

ical s chool" and

"to go to law schoo

l."

The e xp los ion de str oyed not on ly the s chool but als o the ne ighbouring pub. In this e xampl e th e cor re lative conjunction "not noun phras es ("t he s chool" and Note: some wo

"ne ighbouring

on ly .. . but als o" li nks the tw o pub") which act

as di re ct objects .

rds whi ch app ear as conju nct ions can als o ap pear as

pr epo sit ions or as adverbs.

What is an Interjection? An int erj ecti on is a wor d add ed to a sentenc e to c on vey emot ion. It is not grammatical ly r elat ed to any

othe r part of the s

entenc e.

You usual ly fol low an int erj ecti on w ith an ex clamation mark

. Inte rject ions are

uncommon in fo rmal academ ic pr ose, ex ce pt in dir ec t qu otations. The highl ighted wor ds in the fo Ouch , that hurt!

ll owing sent ences ar e inte rject ions:

Oh no , I for got that the exam was today. Hey ! Put that do wn! I hea rd one guy I d on't know

say to anothe r guy , "He has a new car,

eh ?"

about you but , go od lo rd , I th ink tax es ar e to o high!