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A knowledge of the parts of speech will help you understand how your sentences are constructed.
Noun
Nouns name something, a person, place, or thing. Nouns may be abstract or concrete. Something may be classified as a noun if you can put an article (a, an, or the) or a possessive pronoun (my, her, him) in front of it. Examples: advertising, philosophy, doctor, computer, honest, lion.
More pronouns:
Reflexive or Intensive: myself, yourself, themselves, and so on.
Frankensteins creature was shocked when he looked at himself in the mirror. (reflexive) I did it by myself. (intensive)
The best friends are those who know when to keep quiet.
Verbs
A verb is an action word or a word that describes a state of being. It may be composed of an auxiliary verb and a main verb. Verbs may be transitive or intransitive (some verbs may be either) or linking.
Helping Verbs
There are twenty three helping verbs in English: forms of have, do, and be, which also may function as main verbs; and nine modals which function only as helping verbs. They are: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would. The forms of have, do, and be change form to indicate tense; the nine modals do not. Forms of have, do, and be include: do, does, did be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been
Main Verbs
The main verb of a sentence is always the kind of word that would change form if put into these sentences.
Base form: Usually I (walk, ride). Past tense: Yesterday I (walked, rode). Past participle: I have (walked, ridden) many times before. Present participle: I am (walking, riding) right now. -s form: Usually he/she/it (walks, rides).
Adjectives
1. Adjectives describe or modify nouns. They can come before the noun or pronoun they modify or they can follow a linking verb. Adjectives answer the questions: Which one? What kind of? How many? A delicious meal awaited us. (delicious modifies the noun meal It answers the question what kind of?) A devilish apparition appeared in the doorway. (devilish modifies apparition. It answers the question what kind of? Her performance was wooden. (wooden modifies performance it follows the linking verb was and it answers the question What kind of?) Twenty students boarded the bus. (twenty modifies the noun students and it answers the question How many?) That hat belongs to me. (That modifies hat and it answers the question which one?)
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Adverbs
1. 2. 3. 4. Adverbs describe or modify verb, adjectives, and other adverbs. They often end in ly. Adverbs answer the questions: When? Where? How? Why? Under what conditions? And to what degree? The party ended too soon. (too modifies the adverb soon which modifies the verb ended.) Read the best books first. (Read when?) She was extremely good and very lonely. (extremely and very intensify and limit the intensity respectively of the adjectives good and lonely.) I am not happy. I am never sad. (not and never are used as negators and are classified as adverbs. In these cases they limit or modify the adjectives happy and sad respectively)
Prepositions
The preposition is a linking word that is always followed by a noun or a pronoun. It is a phrase that modifies another word in the sentence. The prepositional phrase nearly always functions as an adverb or adjective. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. (To hell functions as an adjective modifying the noun road; with good intentions functions as an adverb modifying the verb phrase is paved.)
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are used to join two words, phrases, or clauses and they indicate the relation between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions: connect grammatically equal elements and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Correlative conjunctions: pairs of conjunctions the connect grammatically equal elements either. . .or, neither . . . nor, not only . . . but also, whether . . . or, both . . . and.
Interjections
Interjections are exclamatory words or phrases that interrupt a sentence. No, I dont want to go to the dentist. Wow, I cant believe what you just told me.