Are You Missing a Part?

Name: ______LA-______

Are You Missing a Part?

(Parts of Speech Review)

Are you bored? Do you daydream through most of the

daylight hours? If so, it is possible that you lack the

proper amount of verbs in your life.

Verbs are everywhere! A verb states action, being, or a

condition. It also tells time.

Action verbs tells what the subject does, has done, or will do. It can be physical (walked) or mental (thought).

A linking verb, or being verb, tells what the subject is or feels. It links the subject with another word or group of words. (were, become, appear)

-Some verbs can be used as action or linking verbs. If you can substitute a form of be for the verb, it is usually a linking verb. i.e. The shoes felt (were) uncomfortable.

-Helping verbs help complete the meaning of the main verb.

-A transitive verb is an action verb that sends its action to another word. (The word that receives the action is the direct object of the verb. It answers the question what? or whom? after the verb. It is usually a noun or pronoun.)

-An intransitive verb does not have a direct object.

The first words you spoke were probably nouns:

-Mommy-Ball-Cookie

-Daddy-Toy-Remote control

You learned nouns first because nouns are words that

name things. You found that using nouns is much easier

than pointing.

A noun names a person, place thing or idea.

Proper nouns name particular persons, places, things or ideas. They begin with a capital letter.

Common nouns are general names for persons, places, things, or ideas.

Concrete nouns name objects that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted.

Abstract nouns name ideas and qualities.

Collective nouns name groups that act together.

Compound nouns have two or more words. They are written as one word, separate words, or words with hyphens.

Singular nouns name one item. Plural nouns name more than one item.

Possessive nouns show belonging.

Prepositions in sentences are like wheels on a car-

It’s hard to make things run smoothly without them.

Prepositions are often small words like to, by, of, in,

on, up, for, but, off and from. They make up for the size by performing important tasks.

A preposition shows a relationship between a noun and a pronoun and some other word.

A preposition is always part of a group of words called a phrase. A prepositional phrase can appear anywhere in a sentence. It begins with a preposition. It ends with a noun or pronoun called the object of the preposition.

Adjectives are to a writer what paints are to a painter-

They bring color, texture, depth, and detail to a scene

you are creating.

An adjective modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun.

It can answer the questions What kind? Which? How

much? or How many?

A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun, and it is capitalized.

A demonstrative adjectivewordthat modifies something using the following words:this, that, these, those.

You can tell what adverbs do just by listening to their

name. Adverbs add to verbs. They give us more information about how, where, when or to what extent the action of the verb is being performed.

An adverb modifies, or gives information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Three hints to help recognize adverbs: they often end in ly, the words very and too are probably the most common adverbs, and the words never and not are usually adverbs.

When you look at a beautiful fountain with the water

splashing over the cool stones, you don’t say, “Look at

the lovely mortar connecting those stones!” Nobody

notices the mortar, not even the people who put it

there. But everyone sees the pattern of the stones,

with their unique shapes and colors made dark and

vivid by the water.

So it is with conjunctions. They are the “mortar” between words; they bind other words and even entire sentences into one unit.

A conjunction is a word that connects words or groups of words.

A coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) connect subjects, verbs, modifiers, and sentences.

A subordinating conjunction connects a subordinate/dependent clause to the rest of the sentence. (after, although, as, as if, as long as, as soon as, as though, because, before, if, in order that, since, so that, than, unless, until, when, whenever, where, while)

Correlative conjunctions connect words that are used in the same way. They word in pairs. (both…an, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, whether…or)

Interjections are words or short phrases that show strong emotion or surprise in a sentence; they act

like crashing cymbals. Bang! The reader is suddenly

alert.

An interjection is set off by a comma or exclamation

point.

Actors and actors who are about to take a hard fall usually stop and yell, “Stand in!” This means someone else who resembles the star is going to have to tumble into a waterfall, jump from a burning potato chip truck,

or leap out of an exploding helicopter.

Pronouns do the same for nouns. When a noun is about to wear itself out in a sentence, a pronoun can hop in. The sentence reads better, the noun takes a break, and the reader is happier.

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

The antecedent of a pronoun is the noun that it stands for.

Personal pronouns are the most common pronouns. They show person, number, and gender.

First person refers to the person speaking.

Second person refers to the person spoken to.

Third person refers to the person or thing spoken about.

Number: Singular pronouns refer to one person or thing. Plural pronouns refer to more than one.

Gender: Third person singular pronouns show gender (masculine, feminine, neuter)

Possessive adjectives are used to replace possessive nouns. (my, our, you’re his, her, its their before nouns and mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs to stand alone.)

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject (myself, yourself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves)

Demonstrative pronouns point out persons or things (this, that, these, those)

Interrogative pronouns ask questions (who, whom, which, what, whose)

Indefinite pronouns refer to persons or things that are not identified. Therefore, they often have no antecedents. They can be singular (another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one other, somebody, someone, something) or plural (both, few, many, others, several).