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.
1. NOUN
 A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
man... Butte College... house... happiness
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.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
Classifications of Nouns
Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are nouns that refer to specific entities. Writers of
English capitalize proper nouns like Nebraska, Steve, Harvard,
or White House to show their distinction from common nouns.
Common Nouns
Common nouns refer to general, unspecific categories of entities.
Whereas Nebraska is a proper noun because it signifies a specific
state, the word state itself is a common noun because it can refer to
any of the 50 states in the United States. Harvard refers to a
particular institution of higher learning, while the common
noun universitycan refer to any such institution.
Material Nouns
Material nouns refer to materials or substances from which things are
made. While cotton is an adjective when used in cotton dress, cotton is
a material noun when used to describe a crop being grown - The farm
grew cotton.
Compound Nouns
A compound noun contains two or more words which join together to
make a single noun. Compound nouns can be words written together
(closed form) such as softball and toothpaste, words that are
hyphenated (hyphenated form) such as six-pack and son-in-law, or
separate words (open form) such as post office and upper class that go
together by meaning.
Countable Nouns
To linguists, these count nouns can occur in both single and plural
forms, can be modified by numerals, and can co-occur with
quantificational determiners like many, most, more, several, etc.
For example, the noun bike is a countable noun. Consider the following
sentence:
There is a bike in that garage.
In this example, the word bike is singular as it refers to one bike that
is presently residing in a particular garage.
However, bike can also occur in the plural form.
There are six broken bikes in that garage.
In this example, the noun bikes refers to more than one bike as it is
being modified by the numeral six.
In addition, countable nouns can co-occur with quantificational
determiners.
In that garage, several bikes are broken.
This sentence is grammatical, as the noun bike can take the
modification of the quantificational determiner several.
Uncountable Nouns or Mass Nouns
Conversely, some nouns are not countable and are called uncountable
nouns or mass nouns. For example, the word clutter is a mass noun.
That garage is full of clutter.
This sentence makes grammatical sense. However, the following
example does not.
That garage is full of clutters.
Mass nouns can not take plural forms, and therefore a sentence
containing the word clutters is ungrammatical.
Substances, liquids, and powders are entities that are often signified
by mass nouns such as wood, sand, water, and flour. Other examples
would be milk, air, furniture, freedom, rice, and intelligence.
Collective Nouns
In general, collective nouns are nouns that refer to a group of
something in a specific manner. Often, collective nouns are used to
refer to groups of animals. Consider the following sentences.
Look at the gaggle of geese. There used to be herds of wild buffalo on
the prairie. A bevy of swans is swimming in the pond. A colony of ants
live in the anthill.
In the above examples, gaggle, herds, bevy, and colony are collective
nouns.
Concrete Nouns
Concrete nouns are nouns that can be touched, smelled, seen, felt, or
tasted. Steak, table, dog, Maria, salt, and wool are all examples of
concrete nouns.
Can I pet your dog? Please pass the salt. Your sweater is made of
fine wool.
Concrete nouns can be perceived by at least one of our senses.
Abstract Nouns
More ethereal, theoretical concepts use abstract nouns to refer to
them. Concepts like freedom, love, power, and redemption are all
examples of abstract nouns.
They hate us for our freedom. All you need is love. We must fight
the power.
In these sentences, the abstract nouns refer to concepts, ideas,
philosophies, and other entities that cannot be concretely perceived
.
2. PRONOUN
 A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.
She... we... they... it
A 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.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
Pronouns
Personal pronouns are types of nouns that take the place of nouns when
referring to people, places or things. The personal pronouns in English
are I, you, he, she, it, and they.
Amy works at a flower shop. She works at a flower shop.
The Greeks invented democracy. They invented democracy.
These pronouns take on other forms depending on what type of
function they are performing in a sentence. For example, when used to
signify possession of another noun, pronouns take on their possessive
form such as mine, ours, hers, and theirs.
That pizza belongs to Marley. That pizza is hers.
When used as the object of a preposition, pronouns take on their
objective case. Examples include him, her, me, us, and them.
Hand the money over to Jennifer. Hand the money over to her.
The police are on to John and Ray. The police are on to them.

What Is a Pronoun?

Pronouns make up a small subcategory of nouns. The distinguishing

characteristic of pronouns is that they can be substituted for other
nouns. For instance, if you’re telling a story about your sister Sarah,
the story will begin to sound repetitive if you keep repeating “Sarah”
over and over again.
Sarah has always loved fashion. Sarah announced that Sarah wants to
go to fashion school.

You could try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sarah as “my

sister,” but then it sounds like you’re referring to two different
people.

Sarah has always loved fashion. My sister announced that Sarah wants
to go to fashion school.

Instead, you can use the pronouns she and her to refer to Sarah.

Sarah has always loved fashion. She announced that she wants to go to
fashion school.

Personal Pronouns

There are a few different types of pronouns, and some pronouns

belong to more than one category. She and her are known as personal
pronouns. The other personal pronouns
are I and me, you, he and him, it, we and us, and they and them. If you
learned about pronouns in school, these are probably the words your
teacher focused on. We’ll get to the other types of pronouns in a
moment.

Antecedents

Pronouns are versatile. The pronoun it can refer to just about anything:
a bike, a tree, a movie, a feeling. That’s why you need an antecedent.
An antecedent is a noun or noun phrase that you mention at the
beginning of a sentence or story and later replace with a pronoun. In
the examples below, the antecedent is highlighted and the pronoun
that replaces it is bolded.

My family drives me nuts, but I love them. The sign was too far away
for Henry to read it.Sarah said she is almost finished with the
application.

In some cases, the antecedent doesn’t need to be mentioned explicitly,

as long as the context is totally clear. It’s usually clear who the
pronouns I, me, and you refer to based on who is speaking.

It’s also possible to use a pronoun before you mention the antecedent,
but try to avoid doing it in long or complex sentences because it can
make the sentence hard to follow.
I love them, but my family drives me nuts.

Relative Pronouns

Relative pronouns make up another class of pronouns. They are used to

connect relative clauses to independent clauses. Often, they introduce
additional information about something mentioned in the sentence.
Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, and whom.
Traditionally, who refers to people, and which and that refer to animals
or things.

The woman who called earlier didn’t leave a message. All

the dogs that got adopted today will be loved. My car , which is nearly
twenty years old, still runs well.

Whether you need commas with who, which, and that depends on
whether the clause is restrictive or nonrestrictive.

Who vs. Whom—Subject and Object Pronouns

Now that we’ve talked about relative pronouns, let’s tackle the one that
causes the most confusion: who vs. whom. Who is a subject pronoun,
like I, he, she, we, and they. Whom is an object pronoun, like me, him,
her, us and them. When the pronoun is the object of a verb or
preposition, the object form is the one you want. Most people don’t
have much trouble with the objective case of personal pronouns
because they usually come immediately after the verb or preposition
that modifies it.

Please mail it to I.

Please mail it to me.

Ms. Higgins caught they passing notes.
Ms. Higgins caught them passing notes.
Is this cake for we?
Is this cake for us?

Whom is trickier, though, because it usually comes before the verb or

preposition that modifies it.

Whom did you speak to earlier?

A man, whom I have never seen before, was asking about you.
Whom should I say is calling?
One way to test whether you need who or whom is to try substituting a
personal pronoun. Find the place where the personal pronoun would
normally go and see whether the subject or object form makes more
sense.

Who/whom did you speak to earlier? Did you speak to he/him earlier?

A man, whom I have never seen before, was asking about you. Have I
seen he/him before?

Whom should I say is calling? Should I say she/her is calling?

If the object pronoun (him or her) sounds right, use whom. If the
subject pronoun (he or she) sounds right, use who.

Before we move on, there’s one more case where the choice between
subject and object pronouns can be confusing. Can you spot the
problem in the sentences below?

Henry is meeting Sarah and I this afternoon. There are no secrets

between you and I. It doesn’t matter to him or I.

In each of the sentences above, the pronoun I should be me. If you

remove the other name or pronoun from the sentence, it becomes
obvious.

Henry is meeting I this afternoon. No one keeps secrets from I. It

doesn’t matter to I.

Demonstrative Pronouns

That, this, these and those are demonstrative pronouns. They take the
place of a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned.

This is used for singular items that are nearby. These is used for
multiple items that are nearby. The distance can be physical or
metaphorical.

Here is a letter with no return address. Who could have sent this?
What a fantastic idea! This is the best thing I’ve heard all day. If you
think gardenias smell nice, try smelling these.

That is used for singular items that are far away. Those is used for
multiple items that are far away. Again, the distance can be physical or
metaphorical.
A house like that would be a nice place to live. Some new flavors of
soda came in last week. Why don’t you try some of those? Those aren’t
swans, they’re geese.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are used when you need to refer to a person or

thing that doesn’t need to be specifically identified. Some common
indefinite pronouns are one, other, none, some, anybody,
everybody, and no one.

Everybody was late to work because of the traffic jam. It matters

more to some than others. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

When indefinite pronouns function as subjects of a sentence or clause,

they usually take singular verbs.

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves: myself, yourself, himself,

herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

Use a reflexive pronoun when both the subject and object of a verb
refer to the same person or thing.

Henry cursed himself for his poor eyesight. They booked themselves a
room at the resort. I told myself it was nothing.

Intensive pronouns look the same as reflexive pronouns, but their

purpose is different. Intensive pronouns add emphasis.

I built this house myself. Did you yourself see Loretta spill the coffee?

“I built this house” and “I built this house myself” mean almost the
same thing. But “myself” emphasizes that I personally built the house—
I didn’t hire someone else to do it for me. Likewise, “Did you see
Loretta spill the coffee?” and “Did you yourself see Loretta spill the
coffee?” have similar meanings. But “yourself” makes it clear that the
person asking wants to know whether you actually witnessed the
incident or whether you only heard it described by someone else.

Occasionally, people are tempted to use myself where they should

use me because it sounds a little fancier. Don’t fall into that trap! If
you use a -self form of a pronoun, make sure it matches one of the uses
above.
Please call Sarah or myself if you are going to be late. Loretta, Henry,
and myself are pleased to welcome you to the neighborhood.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns come in two flavors: limiting and absolute. My,

your, its, his, her, our, their and whose are used to show that
something belongs to an antecedent.

Sarah is working on her application. Just put me back on my bike.

The students practiced their presentation after school.

The absolute possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers,

ours, and theirs. The absolute forms can be substituted for the thing
that belongs to the antecedent.

Are you finished with your application? Sarah already finished hers.
The blue bike is mine. I practiced my speech and the students
practiced theirs.

Some possessive pronouns are easy to mix up with similar-looking

contractions. Remember, possessive personal pronouns don’t include
apostrophes.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used in questions. The interrogative

pronouns are who, what, which, and whose.

Who wants a bag of jelly beans? What is your name? Which movie do
you want to watch? Whose jacket is this?
 3. VERB
 A verb expresses action or being.
jump... is... write... become
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.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

What is a verb?
A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English.
In fact, you can’t have a sentence or a question without a verb! That’s
how important these “action” parts of speech are.

The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Whether

mental, physical, or mechanical, verbs always express activity.

Physical Verbs – Definition and Examples

Physical verbs are action verbs. They describe specific physical
actions. If you can create a motion with your body or use a tool to
complete an action, the word you use to describe it is most likely a
physical verb.

Physical Verb Examples

The physical verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification.

 Let’s run to the corner and back.

 I hear the train coming.
 Call me when you’re finished with class.

Mental Verbs – Definition and Examples

Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as
discovering, understanding, thinking, or planning. In general, a mental
verb refers to a cognitive state.
 Mental Verb Examples

The mental verb examples in the following sentences are in bold for
easy identification

 I know the answer.

 She recognized me from across the room.
 Do you believe everything people tell you?

States of Being Verbs – Definition and Examples

Also known as linking verbs, state of being verbs describe conditions or
situations that exist. State of being verbs are inactive since no action
is being performed. These verbs are usually complemented by
adjectives.

States of Being Verb Examples

The state of being verbs in the following sentences are in bold for easy
identification.

 I am a student.
 We are circus performers.
 Please is quiet.

Types of Verbs
How many types of verbs are there? In addition to the main categories
of physical verbs, mental verbs, and state of being verbs, there are
several other types of verbs. In fact, there are more than ten
different types of verbs that are grouped by function.

List of all Verb Types

Action Verbs
Action verbs express specific actions, and are used any time you want
to show action or discuss someone doing something.

Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities.
These verbs always have direct objects, meaning someone or something
receives the action of the verb.

Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable
activities. No direct object follows an intransitive verb.
Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are also known as helping verbs, and are used together
with a main verb to show the verb’s tense or to form a question or
negative.

Stative Verbs
Stative verbs can be recognized because they express a state rather
than an action. They typically relate to thoughts, emotions,
relationships, senses, states of being, and measurements.

Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are used to express abilities,
possibilities, permissions, and obligations.

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs aren’t single words; instead, they are combinations of
words that are used together to take on a different meaning to that of
the original verb.

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are those that don’t take on the regular spelling
patterns of past simple and past participle verbs.
4. ADJECTIVE
 An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
pretty... old... blue... smart
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.)
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

The simplest definition of an adjective is that it is a word that

describes or clarifies a noun. Adjectives describe nouns by giving some
information about an object’s size, shape, age, color, origin or material.
 It’s a big table. (size)
 It’s a round table. (shape)
 It’s an old table. (age)
 It’s a brown table. (color)
 It’s an English table. (origin)
 It’s a wooden table. (material)
 It’s a lovely table. (opinion)
 It’s a broken table. (observation)
 It’s a coffee table. (purpose)
When an item is defined by its purpose, that word is usually not an
adjective, but it acts as one in that situation.
 coffee table
 pool hall
 hunting cabin
 baseball player
What Do Adjectives Look Like?
English grammar can be tricky, there are often exceptions to the rules,
so you need to be careful. You'll find that English adjectives often end
with these suffixes:
 -able/-ible – adorable, invisible, responsible, uncomfortable
 -al – educational, gradual, illegal, nocturnal, viral
 -an – American, Mexican, urban
 -ar – cellular, popular, spectacular, vulgar
 -ent – intelligent, potent, silent, violent
 -ful – harmful, powerful, tasteful, thoughtful
 -ic/-ical – athletic, energetic, magical, scientific
 -ine – bovine, canine, equine, feminine, masculine
 -ile – agile, docile, fertile, virile
 -ive – informative, native, talkative
 -less – careless, endless, homeless, timeless
 -ous – cautious, dangerous, enormous, malodorous
 -some – awesome, handsome, lonesome, wholesome

Many adjectives also end with -y, -ary, -ate, -ed, and -ing. However,
nouns and adverbs can end with -y, lots of nouns end with -ary, nouns
and verbs also end with -ate, and verbs also end in -ed and -ing.
Remember we said you need to be careful! To work out if a word is an
adjective or not, look at it's location in the sentence.
Where Do Adjectives Go in a Sentence?
If you come across a word that ends in -y, -ary or -ate (or any other
suffix for that matter), and you want to know if it’s an adjective, just
look at where it is and what it’s doing in the sentence. If it comes
immediately before a noun, and especially if it comes between an
article (a, an, the), a possessive adjective (my, his, her, its, your, our,
their), a demonstrative (this, that, these, those) or an amount (some,
most, all, a few) and a noun, then it’s an adjective.
 The grassy field was wet with dew. – “Grassy” comes between an
article (the) and a noun (field), so you know it’s an adjective.
 These are my old trophies. – “Old” comes between a possessive
adjective (my) and a noun (trophies), making it an adjective.
 We had a few ordinary days. – “Ordinary” comes between an amount
(a few) and a noun (days), so it’s definitely an adjective.
 Did you see that immaculate kitchen? – “Immaculate” comes
between a demonstrative (that) and a noun (kitchen), so it must be
an adjective.
Adjectives also act as complements. Complements are words that
complete the predicate of a sentence when the verb is “be.”
 He is tall.
 We’ve been teachers for five years.
 You were my best friend.
 He was smart, handsome and rich.
As you can see, not all complements are adjectives. In these examples,
“tall” and “smart, handsome and rich” are adjectives, but “teachers for
five years” and “my best friend” are both noun phrases. If the
complement is only one word, there’s a good chance it’s an adjective.
Also if the complement is a list of words, those are probably also
adjectives. If an article (a, an, the) or a possessive (my, his, her, its,
your, our, their, mine, his, hers, its, yours, ours, theirs) is involved, it’s
a noun phrase.
What’s the Correct Order for Multiple Adjectives?
When you list several adjectives in a row, there’s a specific order they
need to be written or spoken in. Native speakers of English tend to put
them in the correct order naturally, but if you’re learning English, you’ll
have to memorize the order. It goes like this:
 Determiner – This means an article (a, an, the), a number or amount,
a possessive adjective (my, his, her, its, your, our, their), or a
demonstrative (this, that, these, those).
 Observation/Opinion – Beautiful, expensive, gorgeous, broken,
delicious, ugly
 Size – Huge, tiny, 4-foot-tall
 Shape – Square, circular, oblong
 Age – 10-year-old, new, antique
 Color – Black, red, blue-green
 Origin – Roman, English, Mongolian
 Material – Silk, silver, plastic, wooden
 Qualifier – A noun or verb acting as adjective

This is the correct order for adjectives that come directly before a
noun, and they are separated by commas.
 My beautiful, big, circular, antique, brown, English, wooden coffee
table was broken in the move.
If the adjectives come after the verb “be” as the complement, then
the qualifier (the defining word) will stay with the noun at the
beginning of the sentence. The adjectives in the complement are
separated by commas with the final two being separated by “and.”
 My coffee table is beautiful, big, circular, antique, brown, English
and wooden.
Adjectives add information and interest to your writing but more
adjectives do not necessarily make a better sentence. Use them wisely.
5. ADVERB
 An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another
adverb.
gently... extremely... carefully... well
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.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher,
and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

Kinds of Adverbs

Here you can see the basic kinds of adverbs.

Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of Manner tell us the manner or way in which something

happens. They answer the question "how?". Adverbs of Manner mainly
modify verbs.

 He speaks slowly. (How does he speak?)

 They helped us cheerfully. (How did they help us?)
 James Bond drives his cars fast. (How does James Bond drive his
cars?)
We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic (action) verbs, not
with stative or state verbs.

 He ran fast. She came quickly. They worked happily.

 She looked beautifully. It seems strangely. They are happily.

Adverbs of Place

Adverbs of Place tell us the place where something happens. They

answer the question "where?". Adverbs of Place mainly modify verbs.

 Please sit here. (Where should I sit?)

 They looked everywhere. (Where did they look?)
 Two cars were parked outside. (Where were two cars parked?)
Adverbs of Time

Adverbs of Time tell us something about the time that something

happens. Adverbs of Time mainly modify verbs.

They can answer the question "when?":

 He came yesterday. (When did he come?)

 I want it now. (When do I want it?)

Or they can answer the question "how often?" (frequency):

 They deliver the newspaper daily. (How often do they deliver the
newspaper?)
 We sometimes watch a movie. (How often do we watch a movie?)

Adverbs of Degree

Adverbs of Degree tell us the degree or extent to which something

happens. They answer the question "how much?" or "to what degree?".
Adverbs of Degree can modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.

 She entirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree with
him?)
 Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is Mary beautiful? How
beautiful is Mary?)
 He drove quite dangerously. (To what degree did he drive
dangerously? How dangerously did he drive?)
6. PREPOSITION
 A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form
a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
by... with.... about... until
(by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)
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:
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

Kinds of Prepositions
Kinds of Prepositions
1. Simple Preposition
The simple prepositions are short words which are used in simple
sentences.
Common Simple Prepositions: (At, by, for, from, in, into, of, off, on,
out, over, till, to, up, upon, with, under, down, etc.)
• I am not coming with you.
• She is in the park.
• We are going to the market
• She dived into the water.
• The Pakistani players were genius from the beginning of the
tournament.
2. Compound Preposition
Compound prepositions are formed by adding the preposition to front
of a noun, an adjective or an adverb. When we join nouns, pronouns and
phrases then we use compound prepositions.
Common Compound Prepositions: (About, across, among, beside,
before, without, inside, outside, etc.)
• Ali is sitting beside Zahra and Ahmed.
• I will reach there before she leaves.
• There is something strange about him.
• There’s a bank right across the street.
• This attitude is common among the under -25s.
3. Double Preposition
Double prepositions are two (prepositional) words which are joined
together to connect nouns, pronouns, and phases with other words in
sentence.
Common Double Prepositions: (Outside of, out of, from behind, up to,
next to, because of, according to, etc.)
• Suddenly he emerged from behind the curtain.
• The match between Pakistan and India was delayed due to rain.
• Nobody outside of this class should know about the plan.
• According to the news reporter, the weather will be cloudy today.
• Next to skiing my favorite sport is skating.
4. Participle Preposition
Participle preposition are verbs + ing that function as a preposition in a
sentence is called participle preposition.
Common Participle Preposition: (Barring, considering, during, following,
including, etc.)
• Barring accidents, we should arrive on time.
• He took charge of the family business following his father’s death.
• No one should talk during the class.
5. Phrase Prepositions (Prepositional Phrase)
Phrase preposition is a phrase containing a preposition and functions as
a preposition in a sentence and connects nouns, pronouns, or other
phrase toother words in a sentence.
Common Phrase Prepositions: (On behalf of, on account of, with regard
to, in spite of, to the fact that etc.)
• I am playing in the team on behalf of captain today.
• He succeeded by means of perseverance.
• We could not win the match in spite of playing good.
• Natural honey has been used for centuries on account of their healing
properties.
 7. CONJUNCTION
 A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.
and... but... or... while... because
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.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the
teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

Conjunctions

What is a conjunction?
A conjunction is a part of speech that is used to connect words,
phrases, clauses, or sentences. Conjunctions are considered to be
invariable grammar particle, and they may or may not stand between
items they conjoin.

Types of Conjunctions
There are several different types of conjunctions that do various jobs
within sentence structures. These include:

 Subordinating conjunctions – Also known as subordinators, these

conjunctions join dependent clauses to independent clauses.
 Coordinating conjunction – Also known as coordinators, these
conjunctions coordinate or join two or more sentences, main clauses,
words, or other parts of speech which are of the same syntactic
importance.
 Correlative conjunction – These conjunctions correlate, working in
pairs to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a
sentence.
 Conjunctive adverbs – While some instructors do not teach conjunctive
adverbs alongside conjunctions, these important parts of speech are
worth a mention here. These adverbs always connect one clause to
another, and are used to show sequence, contrast, cause and effect,
and other relationships.
 When people first learn to write, they usually begin with short, basic
sentences like these: “My name is Ted. I am a boy. I like dogs.” One of
the most important jobs conjunctions do is to connect these short
sentences so they sound more like this: “I am a boy named Ted, and I
like dogs.”

Conjunction Rules
There are a few important rules for using conjunctions. Remember
them and you will find that your writing flows better:

 Conjunctions are for connecting thoughts, actions, and ideas as well

as nouns, clauses, and other parts of speech. For example: Mary went
to the supermarket and bought oranges.
 Conjunctions are useful for making lists. For example: We made
pancakes, eggs, and coffee for breakfast.
 When using conjunctions, make sure that all the parts of your
sentences agree. For example: “I work busily yet am careful” does not
agree. “I work busily yet carefully” shows agreement.

Conjunctions List
There are only a few common conjunctions, yet these words perform
many functions: They present explanations, ideas, exceptions,
consequences, and contrasts. Here is a list of conjunctions commonly
used in American English:

 And
 As
 Because
 But
 For
 Just as
 Or
 Neither
 Nor
 Not only
 So
 Whether
 Yet
 Examples of Conjunctions
In the following examples, the conjunctions are in bold for easy
recognition:

 I tried to hit the nail but hit my thumb instead.

 I have two goldfish and a cat.
 I’d like a bike for commuting to work.
 You can have peach ice cream or a brownie sundae.
 Neither the black dress northe gray one looks right on me.
 My dad always worked hard so we could afford the things we wanted.
 I try very hard in school yet I am not receiving good grades.

Conjunction Exercises
The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about
how conjunctions work. Choose the best answer to complete each
sentence

8. My brother loves animals. He just brought a puppy

__________ a kitten home with him.
1. But
2. Or
3. Yet
4. And
Answer: 4. My brother loves animals. He just brought a puppy and a
kitten home with him.

9. I’d like to thank you ______ the lovely gift.

1. Or
2. For
3. And
4. Yet
Answer: 2. I’d like to thank you for the lovely gift.

10. I want to go for a hike _____ I have to go to work

today.
1. But
2. Yet
3. Or
4. For
Answer: 1. I want to go for a hike but I have to go to work today.
 11. They do not smoke, _____ do they play cards.
1. And
2. Or
3. Nor
4. Yet
Answer: 3. They do not smoke, nor do they play cards.

12. I’m getting good grades _________ I study every

day.
1. Or
2. Yet
3. But
4. Because
Answer: 4. I’m getting good grades because I study every day
8. INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word used to express emotion.
Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
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!

An interjection is one of the eight major parts of speech, along

with verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conju
nctions. Some grammarians believe that interjections are the least
important part of speech. This is because interjections are not
generally required in order for the meaning of a sentence to become
clear.
An interjection is a word solely designed to convey emotion. It
expresses meaning or feeling. It does not:
relate grammatically to the other parts of the sentence

 help the reader understand the relationship between words and
phrases in the sentence
Instead, it simply conveys to the reader the way the author is feeling.
Interjections are rarely used in academic or formal writing, but are
common in fiction or artistic writing. They are usually, but not always,
offset by an exclamation point (which is also used to show emotion).
Use of Interjections
Beginning of Sentences
When people think of interjections, they commonly think of them being
used at the beginning of the sentence. Many also associate
interjections with a punctuation mark designed to convey emotion: the
exclamation point.
This is often true. Interjections can and do appear in the beginning of
sentences. For example:
 “Yikes, I didn’t realize that there was a test on grammar today!”
 “Oh no, I can’t believe that it is snowing here again!”
In both of these sentences the interjection - “yikes” and “oh no”
appear at the beginning of the sentence. In addition, in both of the
sentences, the emotion is a strong emotion and the sentence itself
ends with an exclamation point.
Middle or End of Sentences
Interjections do not always have to be at the beginning of a sentence.
They can appear in the middle, at the end, or anyplace else where the
author wants to interject a bit of feeling and emotion.
For example, in the sentence “So, it’s snowing again, huh?” the
interjection is found at the end. Here, the interjection is designed to
express confusion (or perhaps dismay) at the continued snow falling. In
this sentence, the emotion wasn’t an emotion that necessitated an
exclamation point--instead, the interjection ‘huh’ turned the sentence
into a question.
The sentence “In my opinion, my gosh, this is just the smartest thing
you have ever said” the interjection is found in the middle. It designed
to express or convey the author’s emphasis on his opinion that the
statement was smart. Again, no exclamation point is required.
Stand-alone Sentence
An interjection can also be used by itself as a stand-alone sentence.
For example, look at the two sentences: “Oh gosh! I can’t believe how
late it is.” The interjection “oh gosh” is a stand-alone sentence. This is
grammatically correct, although “Oh Gosh” does not contain a subject
and action that is normally required for a complete thought to be
expressed. The interjection--or the emotion felt--is the entire point
of the sentence.
Types of Interjections
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of interjections in the
English language. Most are designed to express strong emotions, such
as love, hate, surprise, happiness, anger, enthusiasm, disgust, boredom,
confusion or unhappiness. However, this is not always true. Some
interjections can express either a mild emotion, or can be expressions,
such as “Excuse me.”
A sample list of interjections includes words such as:
 Aha
 Boo
 Crud
 Dang
 Eew
 Gosh
 Goodness
 Ha
 Oh
 Oops
 Oh no
 Ouch
 Rats
 Shoot
 Uh-oh
 Uh-huh
 Ugh
 Yikes
 Yuck
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but is representative of the
types of interjections you may use on a daily basis. For more examples
see Examples of Interjections.
Identifying Interjections
Now that you’ve looked at a list of interjections, practice identifying
them in these ten sentences:
1. Yowza! That is a fine looking car.
2. Hurray! It is a snow day and school is cancelled.
3. It is so exciting, my goodness, I just can’t believe it.
4. Joe was late to school and yikes, the teacher was mad.
5. Oh! I can’t believe how nice you look.
6. Well, gee, that sure is a kind thing to say.
7. Boo! I scared you.
8. Woops, I dropped the milk and it spilled.
9. Yay, it is finally Friday and the work week is over.
10. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.
Answers to Identifying Interjections:
1. Yowza! That is a fine looking car: Yowza is the interjection here. It
is expressing the emotion of being quite impressed with the car.
2. Hurray! It is a snow day and school is cancelled Hurray is the
emotion here. Clearly, it is expressing happiness.
3. It is so exciting, my goodness, I just can’t believe it. My goodness is
the interjection here, expressing excitement.
4. Joe was late to school and yikes, the teacher was mad. Yikes is the
emotion being expressed here.
5. Oh! I can’t believe how nice you look. Oh, the interjection, acts as a
classic interjection at the beginning of a sentence. It is offset by
its exclamation point.
6. Well, gee, that sure is a kind thing to say. Here, we have two
interjections: well and gee.
7. Boo! I scared you. Boo is the rather obvious (and scary) interjection
in this sentence.
8. Woops, I dropped the milk and it spilled. Woops is the interjection
used to express the error.
9. Yay, it is finally Friday and the work week is over. Yay is another
interjection that expresses the emotion of happiness, just as
hurray did in sentence #2.
10. Oh well, all good things must come to an end. Oh well is the
emotion here, an interjection with a tinge of resignation.
Interjections in Writing
Interjections are not commonly used in formal or academic writing.
Because of the function that interjections serve, there is virtually no
place for them in an academic paper that is designed to convey facts.
By definition, facts should be devoid of emotion or opinion such as the
emotions conveyed by interjections.
Interjections are used most often in speech. While people don’t
necessarily pause to think about it, they use interjections all the time.
This is even more true when you consider the fact that common words
used in pauses, such as “uh,” and “um” are interjections.
Interjections can find their way into fictional pieces, most often in the
form of dialogue. They can also be used in informal written
communication between two people, such as letters or emails.
 Bicol Regional Science High School
Tuburan, Ligao, City

Submitted to:

Jhon Leonard P. Cuizon

Subject Teacher

Submitted by:

Angelo Gil N. Marquez

7-Mars
 Table of Contents

Nouns …………………………………… 1–4

Pronoun ………………………………….. 5 – 10
Verb ……………………………………… 11 – 13
Adjective ……………………………........... 14 – 16
Adverb …………………………………… 17 – 18
Preposition ……………………………… 19 – 21
Conjunction ……………………………... 22 – 25
Interjection ……………………………… 26 - 29