Parts of Speech - Spartanburg County School District 3



Parts of Speech

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The term parts of speech describes the building blocks of sentences. In order to be competent writers, students must learn to use the parts of speech correctly; in order to be proficient writers, students must learn to use the parts of speech correctly and creatively. Teachers should be aware that the mere memorization of grammatical terms by students with no opportunity to apply that knowledge in the authentic context of writing yields no positive impact on students’ writing. Effective grammar instruction occurs only within the context of effective writing instruction and practice.

The chart in this appendix provides a thorough review of terms related to the parts of speech. Teachers should refer to their particular grade level indicators for Standards 3 and 4 as well as the Composite Writing Matrix to understand what the students in their classrooms are responsible for demonstrating knowledge of at the end of a given school year.

Conventions is a broad term that includes grammar, mechanics, and usage. Many errors in usage are directly related to students’ levels of knowledge and their ability to use the rules of language. The chart in this document includes a column which specifically describes types of errors that often occur in students’ writing.

It is also important to teach students the proper vocabulary regarding grammar, usage, and mechanics so they can discuss writing more knowledgeably. It also enables students within a learning community to speak more precisely during revision and editing conferences as they provide feedback to other writers.

The chart has been compiled from a variety of resources, including Writer’s Inc. (Sebranek, Kemper, and Meyer), A Writer’s Reference (Hacker), and Elements of Literature (Holt, Rinehart and Winston).

The following information is provided to the teacher as a resource and is not designed to be used with students. The standards indicators delineate more global expectations for student learning. It is not designed to be an all inclusive or exhaustive list.

|Parts of Speech and |Definitions and Explanations |Examples |

|Related Terms | | |

|Noun—a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea |

|Common Noun |Names a person, place, thing, or idea |student, building, car, happiness |

| |Is not capitalized | |

|Proper Noun |Names a specific person, place, thing or idea |George Washington, South Carolina |

| |Must be capitalized | |

|Concrete Noun |Names a thing that can be seen, heard, touched, smelled, or tasted |grape, song, paper, pencil, dinner, Mary |

| |Can be common or proper | |

|Abstract Noun |Names an idea, condition or feeling |freedom, optimism, jealousy |

|Singular Noun |Refers to ONE person, place, thing, or idea |cat, dog |

|Plural Noun |Refers to more than one person, place, thing or idea |cats, dogs |

|Collective Noun |Names a group or unit that functions as one |class, team |

| |May be singular or plural | |

|Count Noun |Refers to persons, places, things, or ideas that can be counted |There are hundreds of books in the library, but they contain |

| |Especially helpful distinction for ESL students |immeasurable knowledge. |

|Noncount Noun |Refers to things or ideas that cannot be counted or made plural |There are hundreds of books in the library, but they contain |

| |Especially helpful distinction for ESL students |immeasurable knowledge. |

| | | |

| | |Other examples—advice, anger, gasoline, plastic, satisfaction, poetry, |

| | |news |

|Pronoun—a word that takes the place of a noun |

|Personal Pronoun |Takes the place of a noun |I, she, you, they |

|Reflexive Pronoun |Formed by adding –self or –selves to a personal pronoun |myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, |

| | |themselves |

| | |Matt wrote himself a note to bring his doctor’s excuse to school. |

|Intensive Pronoun |Reflexive pronouns used to intensify or emphasize the noun or pronoun to which it |The president himself presented the award to the essay winner. |

| |refers | |

|Nominative Case Pronoun |Functions as the subject of a clause or sentence OR as a predicate nominative |I, you, he, she, it, we, they |

| |following a verb of being |He is moving from middle school to high school this year. (subject) |

| | |It was he who sent the flowers. (predicate nominative) |

|Objective Case |Functions as a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition |me, you, him, her, it, us, them |

|Pronoun | |The teacher gave us more time to work in our group. (indirect object) |

| | |The teacher gave more time to us to work in our group. (object of |

| | |preposition) |

| | |The room was a mess after the art project, but the students cleaned it |

| | |up quickly. (direct object) |

|Possessive Case |Shows ownership |my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, your, yours, |

|Pronoun |An apostrophe is NOT used to form the possessive case |their, theirs |

|Indefinite |Refers to an unknown or unnamed person or thing |all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, each one, |

|Pronoun | |either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, most, much, neither,|

| | |nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, other, several, some, somebody, |

| | |someone, something, such |

|Interrogative |Asks a question |who, whose, whom, which, what |

|Pronoun | | |

|Demonstrative |Points out people, places, or things without naming them |this, that, these, those |

|Pronoun | | |

|First Person |Used in place of the speaker’s name |I, we |

|Pronoun | | |

|Second Person |Used to name the person who is being spoken to |you |

|Pronoun | | |

|Third Person |Used to name the person or thing being spoken about |he, she, it, them |

|Pronoun | | |

|Pronoun Gender |Indicates whether a pronoun is masculine, feminine, or neuter |masculine—he, him, his |

| | |feminine—she, her, hers |

| | |neuter—it, its |

|Verb—a word that expresses action or a state of being |

|Action Verb |A word that expresses action |Athletes compete in many sports during the Olympic games. |

|Auxiliary |Used to help form the tense, voice, or mood of the main |is, am, was, were, be, being, been, do, did, does, has, have, had, should, would, could, will, |

|(Helping) Verb |verb |shall, can, may, might, must (not an exhaustive list) |

| | |He is training daily to prepare for the marathon. (present tense) |

| | |The fingerprints were matched to the suspect. (voice) |

| | |If we were finished with our homework, we could be outside enjoying the beautiful weather. (mood) |

|Linking Verb |Links the subject to a noun or adjective in the predicate |is, seem, stay, are, grow, look, was, become, turn, were, appear, get, be, sound, been, taste, am, |

| | |feel, smell, remain (not an exhaustive list) |

| | |Jessica is the tallest student in the class. [is links the subject Jessica and the predicate |

| | |nominative student] |

|Transitive Verb |Communicates action that is received by an object that |The chef baked a special cake in honor of the important occasion. [baked is an action verb; its |

| |completes the meaning of the verb |meaning is completed by the direct object cake] |

| | | |

|Intransitive Verb |Communicates action that is complete in itself |During the chase, the suspect jumped over the fence. [jumped is an action that does not require an |

| | |object to complete its meaning] |

|Singular Verb |An action performed by a single person or thing |Mrs. Brown usually repeats the directions to make sure all of the students hear them. [Mrs. Brown |

| |A singular subject must have a singular verb. |is singular and repeats is a singular verb] |

|Plural Verb |An action performed by more than one person or thing |The students repeat the directions to show that they have been listening. [students is plural and |

| |A plural subject must have a plural verb. |repeat is the plural form of the verb] |

|Past Tense Verb |Expresses action that is completed at a particular time in|On June 5, we celebrated the final day of school. |

| |the past | |

|Present Tense Verb |Expresses action that is happening at the present time or |Every year, Mariah celebrates her birthday in a special way. |

| |that happens continually or regularly | |

|Future Tense Verb |Expresses action that will take place in the future |Next year, the couple will celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary. |

|Past Perfect Tense Verb |Expresses an action that occurs before another past action|The hallways became very crowded with students after the final bell had rung. |

|Present Perfect |Expresses action that began in the past but continues or |The eagle has served as the school’s mascot since it first opened. |

|Tense Verb |is completed in the present | |

|Future Perfect Tense Verb |Expresses action that will begin in the future and will be|By this time next month, students across the state will have returned to school. |

| |completed by a specific time in the future | |

|Indicative Mood |Used to state a fact or ask a question |When the fire alarm rings, everyone must evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. |

|Imperative Mood |Used to give a command |Line up quickly and quietly. |

|Subjunctive Mood |Used to express a condition that is contrary to fact |If there were a real emergency, we would need to listen carefully to the directions given. |

| |Used to express an unreal condition | |

| |Used to express necessity, legal decisions, or | |

| |parliamentary motions | |

|Active Voice Verb |Indicates that the subject of the verb has been, is, or |The teachers are organizing their materials and supplies. |

| |will be doing something | |

|Passive Voice Verb |Indicates that the subject of the verb has been, is being,|The materials and supplies are being organized by the teachers. |

| |or will be acted upon | |

|Verbal—a verb that functions as a different part of speech in the context of a sentence |

|Gerund |A form of a verb that ends in –ing |Swimming is excellent exercise. |

| |Functions as a noun | |

|Infinitive |A verb form that is usually introduced with “to” |Mark’s plan was to study before basketball practice. |

| |May function as a noun, adjective, or adverb | |

|Participle |A verb form usually ending in –ing or –ed |The fascinated students moved closer to the teacher; they didn’t want to miss any part of the |

| |Functions as an adjective but retains some qualities of a |experiment. |

| |verb | |

|Adverb—a word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb |

|Adverb of Time |A word that tells when, how often, or how long |Yesterday we went to the movie theater. |

|Adverb of Place |A word that tells where, to where, and from where |There are two theaters nearby. |

|Adverb of Manner |A word that tells how something is done |There was a long line for tickets, but it moved smoothly. |

| |Often ends in –ly | |

|Adverb of Degree |A word that tells how much or how little |We really enjoyed the new film because of all of the special effects. |

|Positive Adverb |Describes a verb, adjective, or adverb without comparing |The mayor of the city shouted angrily at the villain. |

| |it to anything else | |

|Comparative Adverb |Describes a verb, adjective, or adverb in comparison to |The villain shouted at the hero more angrily. |

| |one other thing | |

|Superlative Adverb |describes a verb, adjective, or adverb in comparison to |The hero shouted most angrily. |

| |two or more other things | |

|Adjective—a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun |

|Article |Words that indicate nouns |indefinite articles—a, an |

| | |Julia wants a car for her birthday. (indicates any car) |

| | |definite article—the |

| | |Julia wants the car for her birthday. (indicates one specific car) |

|Positive Adjective |Describes a noun or pronoun without comparing it to |The car looked shiny after it was washed. |

| |anything else | |

| | | |

| | |The car looked more shiny after it was waxed. |

| | | |

| | |The car looked most shiny after the second coat of wax. |

|Comparative Adjective |Compares two nouns or pronouns | |

|Superlative Adjective |Compares three or more nouns and pronouns | |

|Proper Adjective |Created from a proper noun |The American athletes competing in the Olympics are expected to win many medals. |

| |Capitalized | |

|Predicate Adjective |Follows a verb of being |Summer days are hot and humid. |

| |Describes the subject | |

|Conjunction—a word that connects words or groups of words |

|Subordinating |Connects and shows the relationship between two clauses |after, although, as, as if, as long as, as though, because, before, if, in order that, provided |

|Conjunction |that are not equally important |that, since, so that, that, though, till, unless, until, when, where, whereas, while |

| |Connects a dependent clause to an independent clause in |Until everyone is finished with the test, there will be no talking. |

| |order to complete the meaning of the dependent clause | |

|Coordinating |Connects a word to a word, a phrase to a phrase, or a |for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so |

|Conjunction |clause to a clause |On our vacation we visited the national monument, and we stayed in a very nice hotel. |

| |The connected items are equal in importance or type. | |

| | | |

|Correlative |Connects words used in pairs |either…or; neither…nor; not only…but also; both…and; whether…or |

|Conjunction | |Both proper rest and proper nutrition improve students’ performance in school. |

|Preposition—a word or phrase that shows the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence |

|Prepositional |Includes the preposition (simple or phrasal), its object, |(Simple Prepositions) aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, alongside, amid, among, |

|Phrase |and any modifiers of the object |around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, by, concerning, |

| |May function as an adjective or adverb in a sentence |considering, despite, down, during, except, excepting, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of,|

| |A preposition used without an object is functioning as an |off, on, onto, opposite, out, outside, over, past, regarding, round, save, since, through, |

| |adverb. |throughout, till, to, toward, under, underneath, until, unto, up, upon, with, within, without |

|Phrasal |A group of words that function as a single preposition |according to, across from, alongside of, along with, apart from, aside from, away from, because of,|

|Preposition | |by means of, down from, except for, from among, from between, from under, in addition to, in back |

| | |of, in behalf of, in front of, in place of, in regard to, inside of, in spite of, instead of, near |

| | |to, on account of, on behalf of, on top of, out of, outside of, over to, owing to, prior to, round |

| | |about, subsequent to, together with, up to |

|Interjection—a word used to express strong emotion or surprise |

| |Examples: wow, ouch, hurray, oh no, uh-oh, hey |

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