The Parts of Speech



The Parts of Speech

. Part of speech is the role a word can play in a sentence. That’s why a word can be more than one part of speech – it can change roles depending on the situation and on how you use it. For example, if you play golf, you might use a 9 iron. Iron is a noun here; it is part of the name of an object. If you say the club is made of iron, it is still a noun. But if you say that you plan to iron your good suit jacket before a meeting, iron is an action – a verb. When the clothes have been pressed, you can say the ironed clothes are ready, and now it is an adjective. Don’t panic! The trick is to understand the different roles words play in any sentence. Think of the Parts of Speech as the cast and crew of a Hollywood movie production.

|Term |Definition |Movie role |Examples |

|Noun |Person, place, thing, or idea |Noun thinks it’s the star of the show because |Bob, New York, cookie, love |

| |Includes several types, including common |it is the “subject” and refuses to make too | |

| |and proper |many appearances; even minor nouns insist on | |

| | |this. Some nouns feel so important, they | |

| | |insist on capital letters. Note that there are| |

| | |many nouns and each thinks it is very | |

| | |important even though only one is the subject | |

| | |of each sentence (usually). Nouns are chosen | |

| | |by the casting director and props department; | |

| | |choosing the right noun is crucial! | |

|Pronoun |Stands in for a noun |Pronoun is the stunt double who covers |Nominative: I, you, he, she, it,|

| |Includes several types, including |dangerous or boring shots. As an insult to the|we, you, they, who |

| |nominative and objective |stuck-up nouns, each pronoun refers to his own|Objective: me, you, him, her, |

| | |“star” as “Auntie;” the pronoun pretends to |it, us, you, them, whom |

| | |say it with respect, but really, the “Auntie” |Other: this, anyone, both, which|

| | |term is a total insult. The truth is, a | |

| | |pronoun must never lose sight of her. If the | |

| | |stunt double gets separated from his “star,” | |

| | |he’s fired! | |

|Adjective |Describes (modifies) a noun or pronoun |Adjective is the costuming department, telling|short, thin, brunette, loud in a|

| |Answers: How much or how many? What do I |us what the noun and its pronouns look like. |brown jacket |

| |look/sound/smell/taste/feel like? |Adjectives may include the voice and movement |soft-spoken, shy, muscular |

| | |coach department. In a live performance, |quick, agile, balanced |

| | |adjective can also cover smell, taste, and | |

| | |touch. Note that the adjective department can | |

| | |only do so much; the right nouns have to be | |

| | |cast in the roles! | |

| |Definition |Movie role |Examples |

|Term | | | |

|Verb |Verb is a word that shoooows |Verb is the star, since every shot will focus on |1) ran, jumped, fought, ate pizza, |

| |action, or a state of being |the action. |sang songs, petted a dog |

| |Includes several types, |(1) The main verb, the action, is what we see in |2) seemed angry, looked sad, was |

| |including action, linking and |the movie; an action verb might be an action done |lonely |

| |helping |to an object. (More on objects later.) |3) could, will, might, had |

| | |(2) Linking verbs connect nouns with adjectives. | |

| | |(3) Helping verbs are invisible on the movie | |

| | |screen, but they help us understand the timing and| |

| | |certainty of an action. | |

|Adverb |Describes (modifies) a verb, |Adverb is the director, telling everyone exactly |carefully balanced vs. easily |

| |adjective, or another adverb |how to do their jobs. |balanced; sang songs poorly vs. sang |

| |Answers: How is the action |Note: NOT is an adverb, even when it’s part of a |songs excellently; sang songs very |

| |done? How strong is the |contraction. “But I didn’t kill my mother—it was |poorly vs. slightly poorly |

| |adjective or adverb? |an accident!” – Gomez Addams, The Addams Family | |

|Preposition |Used with a noun (or its |Preposition is the assistant director, responsible|About, above, across, against, |

| |pronoun) to show how it is |for getting all the cast members into the right |behind, below, beside, between, |

| |related to another word, often |place at the right time for each shot. |during, except, in, near, on, over, |

| |by location in space or time. | |than, through, to, under, with |

| |“the cat and the box” | | |

|Conjunction |Connects words or groups of |Conjunction is the producer, assembling the right |FANBOYS |

| |words |members of each team and setting up their |AAAWWUBBIS |

| | |relationships. | |

|Interjection |Word or group of words that |Interjection is the soundtrack of the movie |Wow! Darn! Holy cow! |

| |shows emotion | |Oh … my … gosh! |

|Punctuation |Coded symbols for where to |Not a part of speech – but VERY important to the |, ; : “ ” ’ ( ) – - |

| |pause and stop |movie. Punctuation is also a director, who decides|. ! ? |

| | |when each scene will start and stop as filming | |

| | |happens, and then directs the editing process, | |

| | |choosing each shot, how long we will look at it | |

| | |and in what order. | |

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