Parts of Speech are the building

blocks of writing. Here’s a tip sheet about the most

important things to remember about

each part of speech

Nouns

You will encounter – and use -- four types of nouns in your reading and writing: concrete – wall proper - John

collective - jury abstract – truth

Abstract nouns represent ideas such as truth and beauty, and can be the most difficult to identify.

Nouns

• In English, if you want to turn another part of speech into a noun, you sometimes can do so by adding the suffix (word ending) “ion” or “ness.”

• He will graduate in June. (verb)• His graduation is in June. (noun)

Adjectives Remember that adjectives describe nouns by

answering questions about the noun:

– what kind? gold ring–how many? dozen eggs–which one? new puppy

Adjectives

Adjectives often come before the words they modify, but they also can come after the verb (if the verb is a linking verb).– She makes great pizza.– Her pizza is great.

Pronouns

• Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repeating them.

• Pronouns need to be in the same number as the nouns they replace.

• The boy is ready to eat his lunch.• The girls are getting ready for their lacrosse

match.

Verbs

• Remember that verbs show action or link a subject with a description. Every complete sentence must have a verb.

• He runs like the wind.(action verb))

• He is a fast runner. (linking verb)

Verbs• Linking verbs are usually a form of the verb to be (am, is,

are, was, were,) But other verbs such as– seems– feels– becomes– appears can be used as linking verbs (and thus, followed by an adjective) in

the context of the sentence.• She seems unhappy today.• For more examples of linking verbs and what they do, you

can go to this link on the Grammar Bytes website. http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/linkingverb.htm

Adverbs

• Adverbs give us more information about an action (a verb). They are the easiest part of speech to identify if they end in “ly.”

- He carefully counted all the pennies. • There are other adverbs, however, that don’t

end in ly. • Examples are: not, now, often, and very.

Adverbs

• To identify adverbs that do not end in ly, think about the questions adverbs answer about the verb: how, when, where, why, and in what way (or, to what extent).

• He is going home now. (when)• He is very tired (to what extent)

Conjunctions

• Conjunctions connect words, sentences, and clauses in a sentence. There are two types:– coordinating – subordinate.

• The coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by using the acronym FANBOYS, which stands for these words: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

• His attitude is decidedly hot and cold on that subject.• Neither the boys nor their parents went to the game.

Conjunctions

• Subordinate conjunctions are words that begin dependent clauses. They include words such as when, who, which, that, because, if, since.

• The field that was covered with snow was not ready for baseball.

• Since I left home, I’ve been happier.

Prepositions

• Prepositions are words that begin prepositional phrases.

• Here is a list of some of the most common prepositions: http://www.towson.edu/ows/prepositions.htm

Prepositions

• You can identify a preposition without memorizing the list by remembering that they indicate position in space or time.

• A preposition is the first word in a prepositional phrase.

• The books in the library• The girl with the cell phone

Identifying Parts of Speech

• Please go to noredink.com and log in. You will be prompted to create a student account.

• Once you have created your account, enter this code to become part of Ms. Lannin’s class: mxcc8w8e

• Once you are a member, you will see a list of practice exercises (called assignments) to be completed.

• Once you have completed these exercises, you will be ready to complete the graded assignment for this lesson. Good Luck!