English Grammar and Composition chapter 1: Parts of Speech

UNIT 1 Parts of Speech

Lesson 1

Look at the sentence below:

Sumona is a brilliant student.

You can divide the above sentence in different parts, such as:

Sumona/is/a/brilliant/student.

Again these parts play different functions as:

i) Sumona → refers to a person

ii) is → states something

iii) brilliant → gives more information about ‘student’

iv) student → refers to Sumona

Now, you understand that in Parts of Speech words are classified according to their functions. In English, there are eight parts of speech.

The lessons in this unit will discuss parts of speech. Do you remember them? Here is a beautiful poem that will help you remember the parts of speech.

Printed page 2

Every name is called a noun, As field and fountain, street and town;

In place of noun the pronoun stands As he and she can clap their hands;

The adjective describes a thing, As magic wand and bridal ring;

The verb means action, something done - To read, to write, to jump, to run;

How things are done, the adverbs tell, As quickly, slowly, badly, well;

The preposition shows relation, As in the street, or at the station;

Conjunctions join, in many ways, Sentences, words, phrases and clauses;

The interjection cries out, "Hark! I need an exclamation mark!"

[collected:http://www.happychild.org.uk/acc/tpr/mne/0011gram.htm]

Discuss the following questions in pairs:

a) What do the bold words in the poem tell about each part of speech?

b) What examples of different parts of speech are given in the poem?

c) Can you think of more examples of each part of speech? What are some of them?

Read the sentences below and identify each type of part of speech in it:

1. A frightened man was seeking help desperately.
2. The sun was setting slowly in the west.
3. A village boy came and asked the man, "Where did you find the golden chain around your neck?"

Printed page 3

Now, read about each type of parts of speech:

Nouns

A noun is a word used to name something: a person/animal, a place, a thing, or an idea. For example, all of the following are nouns.

• Rahul, Ann, Hamida, Malek
• Japan, Venezuela, the Atlantic, London, the Bay of Bengal
• pencil, store, music, air
• biology, honesty, geometry

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. It helps us to avoid repetitions.

For example: Instead of Elina talked to Elina's child, you might say Elina talked to her child. Her is the pronoun. It refers to the noun, Elina.

Adjectives

An adjective modifies (describes) a noun or pronoun. Usually, in English, the adjective comes before the noun.

For example: The smart student earned an ‘A’.

Adjectives also come after linking verbs. For example: I feel happy.

Verbs

Verbs generally express an action or a state of being. There are several classifications for verbs - action verbs, linking verbs, main verbs, auxiliary verbs, transitive, intransitive and phrasal verbs.

For example:

**Action verbs** *show action.*

He runs. She plays. They study.

**Linking verbs** *link the subject to an adjective or a noun.*Matin <u>***is***</u> intelligent. He **is** a teacher.Here the *linking verbs* connect the *adjective* (intelligent*)* or a *noun* (teacher*)* with the *subject*.

Printed page 4

Adverbs

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

The teacher carefully checks the homework. (Here carefully is an adverb that modifies the verb check.)

Examples:

Tomal was <u>extremely </u>enthusiastic about doing his homework. (Here *extremely* is an adverb that modifies the adjective *enthusiastic*.)
Maliha ran out of the classroom <u>very </u>quickly. (Here *very* is an adverb that modifies the adverb *quickly.)*

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that connect a noun or pronoun to another word in a sentence. Some common prepositions are on, in, at, with, about, for, to, through.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join together words, phrases and clauses.

Examples: He and his brother will come. (words)

He came to the class <u>and</u> started teaching.(clauses)It is easy to say <u>but</u> difficult to do. (phrases)She is intelligent; <u>therefore</u>, she does not need too much help.(clauses)

Interjections

Interjections are words used to express emotional states. They can usually be found in narrative writing, interviews, and in spoken English. They can stand alone.

Examples:

*Oh!, Wow!, Ouch! Oops! Hey!*

They can also be used in a phrase or sentence.

Printed page 5

Examples: What a lovely day!

How strong the man is!

The same word as different parts of speech

Remember that the same word can be used as different parts of speech. Its function in the sentence will help you to determine the part of speech. Look at the following sentences and notice the functions of the word ‘well’ in each of the sentences:

He does not look well. (adjective)
The student did well in the test. (adverb)
Well, I don't know about that! (interjection)

Exercise

Identify what part of speech each word is in the following sentences:

1. Wow! That is really nice.
2. He seemed sorry as he apologised to us.
3. Mother wanted an answer, but she did not get any reply from her daughter.

Read the song and guess why it leaves out one part of speech. Share your idea with a partner.

A NOUN's the name of anything,
As: school or garden, toy, or swing.

ADJECTIVES tell the kind of noun,
As: great, small, pretty, white, or brown.

VERBS tell of something being done:
To read, write, count, sing, jump, or run.
How things are done the ADVERBS tell,
As: slowly, quickly, badly, well.
CONJUNCTIONS join the words together,
As: men and women, wind or weather.

Printed page 6

The PREPOSITION stands before a noun
As: in or through a door.

The INTERJECTION shows surprise
As: Oh, how pretty! Ah! how wise!

The whole are called the PARTS of SPEECH,
Which reading, writing, speaking teach.

[By David B. Tower & Benjamin F. Tweed]

Lesson 2: Nouns

Noun is one of the eight parts of speech. You must have read about noun in your previous classes. Do you remember what kinds of words nouns are?

Read the story below and underline the nouns.

Friend

Bubbly was a rabbit who lived in the forest. He had many friends. He took pride in their friendship.

One day Bubbly heard the loud barking of the wild dogs. As he was timid, he became afraid. He decided to ask for help. He quickly went to his friend, deer. He said: “Some wild dogs are chasing me. Can you drive them away with your sharp horns?” The deer said: “That is right, I can. But now I am busy. Why don't you ask the bear for help?”

Bubbly, the rabbit, ran to the bear. “My dear friend, you are very strong. Please help me. Some wild dogs are after me. Please chase them away,” he requested the bear.

Printed page 7

The bear replied: “I am sorry. I am suffering from hunger and weakness. I need to find some food. Please ask the monkey for help”.

Poor Bubbly went to the monkey, elephant, goat and all his friends. Bubbly felt sad that nobody showed any interest to help him.

He understood that he has to think of a way out. He hid under a bush. He lay there till the wild dogs went their way.

[Adapted from http://www.kidsworldfun.com/shortstories_friends.php]

Now, compare your underlined words with a partner.

In pairs, discuss the following questions:

a) What is a noun?

b) What different types of nouns are there in English?

c) What roles do nouns play in a sentence?

Look at some more examples of nouns

Names of people and profession: Alam, Rosy, teacher, doctor
Names of animals: rat, zebra, lion, tiger
Names of places: house, Dhaka, factory, school
Names of objects: table, camera, printer, computer
Names of materials: lead, nitrogen, water, ice
Names of qualities: kindness, beauty, bravery, faithfulness
Names of actions: rowing, cooking, driving, reading, listening
Names of measurement: minute, second, day, month, litre

Read the story above again and see whether the words underlined by you are all nouns. As you read the text, try to find out the different types of naming words e.g. words that name a particular person/character, words that name an idea and words that name something in general, etc.

Printed page 8

Discuss the questions below

a) What type of noun is Bubbly in the story?
b) What type of noun is dog, deer, bear or elephant?
c) What type of noun is pride, hunger or weakness?

Read the section below to know more about different types of nouns.

Common nouns: These are the general names of people, places, things, or ideas.
Examples: writer, city, park, religion

Proper nouns: This type of noun has two features: i) It names a specific [usually a one-of-a-kind] item, and ii) It begins with a capital letter [no matter where it occurs in a sentence.]
Examples: Rabindranath Tagore, Paris, Dhaka, Islam

The chart below shows examples of common nouns and proper nouns:

Abstract nouns: Look at the following list. Can you touch or see any of them? Can you count any of them?

Printed page 9

They name something that you cannot experience with your five senses – they do not physically exist.

Concrete nouns: Concrete nouns physically exist and can be experienced by the five senses.

For example:

Can you chase them away with your sharp horns?

Horns is an example of a concrete noun. You can see horns of an animal and touch them with your finger and sometimes smell its breath. Look at this chart contrasting abstract and concrete nouns:

Collective nouns: These are nouns that refer to a group of things. Look at the chart below:

army, council, minority audience, department, navy board, faculty, senate crowd, family, society class, farm, team committee, group, troupe company, jury corporation, majority

Printed page 10