8 Parts of Speech

8 PARTS of SPEECH

The Parts of Speech
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 or bridal ring,
The verb means action, something done
To read and write, to jump and 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, or phrase and phrase.
The interjection cries out, “Hark!
I need an exclamation mark!”

1. ADJECTIVES are words that describe nouns.

Adjective Exercise #1
From Ralph Raico’s “The Road to World War II,” locate and double underline all of the adjectives in the article.  Obviously, you don’t have to underline all the adjectives in one sitting; you may split this article  up into three separate sessions.

Adjective Exercise #2
From Text #2, Five Little Peppers Midway, locate and underline all adjectives.

Adjective List.  Perfect for all writers.  Here’s another.

There are rules for adjectives.  Did you know?  

This was interesting: Adjectives for the word evil.  

2. ADVERBS are words that color how a verb acts; similar to the way that adjectives alter the meaning of nouns.

3. CONJUNCTIONS are words that join and coordinate two independent clauses or phrases.  There are also different types of conjunctions, so for exams you’ll need to know the different types.  You’re in luck.  I found a list of the types.

The English language has seven coordinating conjunctions, and they’re easy to remember if you can just remember FANBOYS:

“For” explains reason or purpose (just like “because”)
I go to the park every Sunday, for I love to watch the ducks on the lake.

“And” adds one thing to another.
I go to the park every Sunday to watch the ducks on the lake and the shirtless men playing soccer.

“Nor” is used to present an alternate negative idea to an already stated negative idea.
I don’t go for the fresh air nor really for the ducks. Honestly, I just like the soccer.

“But” shows contrast
The soccer in the park is entertaining in the winter, but it’s better in the heat of summer.

“Or” presents an alternative or a choice
The men play on teams: shirts or skins.

“Yet” introduces a contrasting idea that follows the preceding idea logically (similar to “but”)
I always take a book to read, yet I never seem to turn a single page.

“So” indicates a result, effect, or consequence
I’ve started dating one of the soccer players, so now I have an excuse to watch the game each week.

4. INTERJECTIONS are short words thrown in to add excitement and feelings to a comment or dialogue.  Here, here, and here are nice lists of interjections.  This list offers their meanings.  Enjoy!

Tom yelled, “Wow!  I can’t believe that we won the championship!”

Trudy: Come in!

John: Hi, Trudy!  How are you!

Trudy: Ugh!  John, I’ve had a terrible day.

John: Why?  What happened?

Trudy:  My boss wants me to submit a 25-page report by this Friday, and I am already swamped by all of my other assignments.

John: Hey!  That’s not so bad!  It means that your boss really likes your work and relies on you!  By summer’s end, you should be in a good position to ask for a decent raise.

Trudy: Yeah. Wow! I never thought of it that way.  I may be able to ask for a 25% increase, eh?

John: Oh! I think that he likes your work.  You’ve already had praises from so many people, Trudy.

Trudy: Almost makes me want to dance and sing!  Almost.  Whew!  I’d better get cracking on that report.

John: Don’t be surprised if he recommends you for that position as the new Human Resource Manager.

Interjections are used in spontaneous, friendly speech where you want to add excitement to the retelling of an event.  A list of interjections in the dialogue above are:

Ugh!  (an interjection that expresses dread.)

Wow!  (an interjection that expresses excitement, surprise, or joy.)

eh? (an interjection that invites or asks the other person to agree with you.)

Oh!  (an interjection that expresses emphasis, agreement, and recognition.)

Whew!  (an interjection that expresses relief or amazement.)

5. NOUNS are words that name persons, places, things, and abstract concepts, like “peace,” “love,” and “freedom.”

Noun Exercise #1
From Ralph Raico’s “Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” locate and double underline all of the proper and all of the common nouns in the article.

Noun Exercise #2
From Four American Naval Heroes, locate and underline all nouns, both proper and common nouns.

6. PREPOSITIONS are words that indicate where the action of a verb takes place.

7. PRONOUNS are words used in place of a person’s specific and  proper name.

8. VERBS are words that express action and being.

1.  Irregular Verbs 
2.  Irregular Verbs

This was interesting and helpful.