Parts of Speech OverviewNouns Show A noun is a word that denotes a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, nouns answer the questions who and what. Example: The dog ran after the ball. In the sentence above, there are two nouns, dog and ball. A noun may be concrete (something you can touch, see, etc.), like the nouns in the example above, or a noun may be abstract, as in the sentences below. Example 1: She possesses integrity. Example 2: He was searching for love. The abstract concepts of integrity and love in the sentences above are both nouns. Nouns may also be proper. Example 1: She visited Chicago every year. Example 2: Thanksgiving is in November. Chicago, Thanksgiving, and November are all proper nouns, and they should be capitalized. Pronouns A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence. Example: She decided to go to a movie. In the sentence above, she is the pronoun. Like nouns, pronouns may be used either as subjects or as objects in a sentence. Example: She planned to ask him for an interview. In the example above, both she and him are pronouns; she is the subject of the sentence while him is the object. Every subject pronoun has a corresponding object form, as shown in the table below.
Articles Articles include a, an, and the. They precede a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence. Example 1: They wanted a house with a big porch. Example 2: He bought the blue sweater on sale. In example 1, the article a precedes the noun house, and a also precedes the noun phrase big porch, which consists of an adjective (big) and the noun it describes (porch). In example 2, the article the precedes the noun phrase blue sweater, in which sweater is the noun and blue, the adjective. Adjectives An adjective is a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may precede nouns, or they may appear after a form of the reflexive verb to be (am, are, is, was, etc.). Example 1: We live in the red brick house. Example 2: She is tall for her age. In example 1, two consecutive adjectives, red and brick, both describe the noun house. In example 2, the adjective tall appears after the reflexive verb is and describes the subject, she. Verbs A verb is a word that denotes action, or a state of being, in a sentence. Example 1: Beth rides the bus every day. Example 2: Paul was an avid reader. In example 1, rides is the verb; it describes what the subject, Beth, does. In example 2, was describes Paul’s state of being and is therefore the verb. There may be multiple verbs in a sentence, or there may be a verb phrase consisting of a verb plus a helping verb. Example 1: She turned the key and opened the door. Example 2: Jackson was studying when I saw him last. In example 1, the subject she performs two actions in the sentence, turned and opened. In example 2, the verb phrase is was studying. Some words in a sentence may look like verbs but act as something else, like a noun; these are called verbals. Verbals can be Gerunds, Participles, and Infinitives. Adverbs Just as adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify, or further describe, verbs. Adverbs may also modify adjectives. (Many, though not all, adverbs end in -ly.) Example 1: He waved wildly to get her attention. Example 2: The shirt he wore to the party was extremely bright. In the first example, the adverb wildly modifies the verb waved. In the second example, the adverb extremely modifies the adjective bright, which describes the noun shirt. While nouns answer the questions who and what, adverbs answer the questions how, when, why, and where. Conjunctions A conjunction is a word that joins two independent clauses, or sentences, together. Example 1: Ellen wanted to take a drive into the city, but the cost of gasoline was too high. Example 2: Richard planned to study abroad in Japan, so he decided to learn the language. In the examples above, both but and so are conjunctions. They join two complete sentences with the help of a comma. And, but, for, or, nor, so, and yet can all act as conjunctions. These are also called coordinating conjunctions. Prepositions Prepositions work in combination with a noun or pronoun to create phrases that modify verbs, nouns/pronouns, or adjectives. Prepositional phrases convey a spatial, temporal, or directional meaning. Example 1: Ivy climbed up the brick wall of the house. There are two prepositional phrases in the example above: up the brick wall and of the house. The first prepositional phrase is an adverbial phrase, since it modifies the verb by describing where the ivy climbed. The second phrase further modifies the noun wall (the object of the first prepositional phrase) and describes which wall the ivy climbs. Here is a list of prepositions: Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, into, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, over, past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon, with, within, without. GerundsA gerund is a verbal that ends in -ing and functions as a noun. The term verbal indicates that a gerund, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since a gerund functions as a noun, it occupies some positions in a sentence that a noun ordinarily would, for example: subject, direct object, subject complement, and object of preposition. Gerund as subject:
Gerund as direct object:
Gerund as subject complement:
Gerund as object of preposition:
A gerund phrase is a group of words consisting of a gerund and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the gerund, such as: The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence. Finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than what we're trying to do. Finding (gerund)
The gerund phrase functions as the direct object of the verb appreciate. I hope that you appreciate my offering you this opportunity. my (possessive pronoun adjective form, modifying the gerund)
The gerund phrase functions as the subject complement. Tom's favorite tactic has been jabbering away to his constituents. jabbering away to (gerund)
The gerund phrase functions as the object of the preposition for. You might get in trouble for faking an illness to avoid work. faking (gerund)
The gerund phrase functions as the subject of the sentence. Being the boss made Jeff feel uneasy. Being (gerund)
PUNCTUATION A gerund virtually never requires any punctuation with it. POINTS TO REMEMBER:
ParticiplesA participle is a verbal that is used as an adjective and most often ends in -ing or -ed. The term verbal indicates that a participle, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, since they function as adjectives, participles modify nouns or pronouns. There are two types of participles: present participles and past participles. Present participles end in -ing. Past participles end in -ed, -en, -d, -t, -n, or -ne as in the words asked, eaten, saved, dealt, seen, and gone.
A participial phrase is a group of words consisting of a participle and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the direct object(s), indirect object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the participle, such as: Removing his coat, Jack rushed to the river. The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying Jack.
Delores noticed her cousin walking along the shoreline. The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying cousin.
Children interested in music early develop strong intellectual skills. The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying children.
Having been a gymnast, Lynn knew the importance of exercise. The participial phrase functions as an adjective modifying Lynn.
Placement: In order to prevent confusion, a participial phrase must be placed as close to the noun it modifies as possible, and the noun must be clearly stated.
In the first sentence, there is no clear indication of who or what is performing the action expressed in the participle carrying. Certainly, foot can't be logically understood to function in this way. This situation is an example of a dangling modifier error, since the modifier (the participial phrase) is not modifying any specific noun in the sentence and is thus left "dangling." Since a person must be doing the carrying for the sentence to make sense, a noun or pronoun that refers to a person must be in the place immediately after the participial phrase, as in the second sentence. Punctuation: When a participial phrase begins a sentence, a comma should be placed after the phrase.
If the participle or participial phrase comes in the middle of a sentence, it should be set off with commas only if the information is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.
Note that if the participial phrase is essential to the meaning of the sentence, no commas should be used:
If a participial phrase comes at the end of a sentence, a comma usually precedes the phrase if it modifies an earlier word in the sentence but not if the phrase directly follows the word it modifies.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
InfinitivesAn infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word to plus a verb (in its simplest "stem" form) and functioning as a noun, adjective, or adverb. The term verbal indicates that an infinitive, like the other two kinds of verbals, is based on a verb and therefore expresses action or a state of being. However, the infinitive may function as a subject, direct object, subject complement, adjective, or adverb in a sentence. Although an infinitive is easy to locate because of the to + verb form, deciding what function it has in a sentence can sometimes be confusing.
Be sure not to confuse an infinitive—a verbal consisting of to plus a verb—with a prepositional phrase beginning with to, which consists of to plus a noun or pronoun and any modifiers.
An Infinitive Phrase is a group of words consisting of an infinitive and the modifier(s) and/or (pro)noun(s) or noun phrase(s) that function as the actor(s), direct object(s), or complement(s) of the action or state expressed in the infinitive, such as: We intended to leave early. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb intended.
I have a paper to write before class. The infinitive phrase functions as an adjective modifying paper.
Phil agreed to give me a ride. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb agreed.
They asked me to bring some food. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb asked.
Everyone wanted Carol to be the captain of the team. The infinitive phrase functions as the direct object of the verb wanted.
Actors: In these last two examples the actor of the infinitive phrase could be roughly characterized as the "subject" of the action or state expressed in the infinitive. It is somewhat misleading to use the word subject, however, since an infinitive phrase is not a full clause with a subject and a finite verb. Also notice that when it is a pronoun, the actor appears in the objective case (me, not I, in the fourth example). Certain verbs, when they take an infinitive direct object, require an actor for the infinitive phrase; others can't have an actor. Still other verbs can go either way, as the charts below illustrate. VERBS THAT TAKE INFINITIVE OBJECTS WITHOUT ACTORS:
Examples:
In all of these examples no actor can come between the italicized main (finite) verb and the infinitive direct-object phrase. VERBS THAT TAKE INFINITIVE OBJECTS WITH ACTORS:
Examples:
In all of these examples an actor is required after the italicized main (finite) verb and before the infinitive direct-object phrase. VERBS THAT USE EITHER PATTERN:
Examples:
In all of these examples the italicized main verb can take an infinitive object with or without an actor. Punctuation: If the infinitive is used as an adverb and is the beginning phrase in a sentence, it should be set off with a comma; otherwise, no punctuation is needed for an infinitive phrase.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
SPLIT INFINITIVES Split infinitives occur when additional words are included between to and the verb in an infinitive. Many readers find a single adverb splitting the infinitive to be acceptable, but this practice should be avoided in formal writing. Examples:
What is a word used to modify a noun or pronoun?An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun to make the sentence clearer and more specific. Adjectives answer the following questions: What kind? How many?
What is a noun modifying a noun?noun modifier (plural noun modifiers) (grammar) a noun which is used attributively to modify or qualify another noun, in a different way to an adjective. For example, in railway station, railway is used as a modifier to describe what kind of station it is.
What is an example of using a noun to modify a noun?Rule 1: We can use two nouns together to show that one thing is a part of something else, whereas the first noun is called a noun modifier. She found the keys in her coat pocket. Coat pocket are two nouns together, where coat is a noun modifier used to show that a pocket is a part of a coat.
What are the words that describe the nouns and pronouns called?An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
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.)
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