Look at the sentence below:
Sumona is a brilliant student.
You can divide the above sentence in different
parts, such as: Sumona/is/a/brilliant/student.
Again
these parts play different functions as:
i) Sumona —refers to a person
ii) is —states
something
iii) brilliant —gives
more information about 'student'
iv) student —refers to Sumona
Now, you understand that in Parts of Speech
words are classified according to their functions. In English, there are eight parts of speech.
The lessons in this unit will discuss parts of speech. Do you remember them? Here is a beautiful poem that will help you
remember 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 and bridal ring;
The verb
means action, something done -
To read, to write, to jump, to 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, phrases and clauses;
The interjection
cries out, "Hark! I need
an exclamation mark!"[coliected:http://www.happychild.org.uk/accitprimne/0011gram.htm]
Discuss the following questions in pairs:
a) What
do the bold words in the poem tell about each part of
speech?
b) What
examples of different parts of speech are
given in the poem?
c) Can you think of more examples
of each part of speech? What
are some of them?
Read the sentences below and identify each type of part of
speech in it:
1. A frightened man was seeking help
desperately.
2. The sun was setting slowly in the west.
3. A village boy came and asked the man, "Where did you find the golden chain around your neck?"
Nouns
A noun is a word used to name something: a person/animal, a place, a
thing, or an idea. For example, all of the following are
nouns.
• Rahul, Ann, Hamida, Malek
• Japan, Venezuela, the Atlantic, London, the Bay of
Bengal
• pencil, store, music, air
• biology, honesty, geometry
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. It
helps us to avoid repetitions.
For example: Instead of Elina
talked to Elina's child, you might say Elina talked to her child. Her is
the pronoun. It refers to the noun, Elina.
Adjectives
An adjective modifies (describes) a noun or pronoun. Usually, in English,
the adjective comes before the noun.
For example: The smart student earned an 'A'.
Adjectives also come after linking verbs. For
example: I feel happy.
Verbs
Verbs generally express an action or a state of
being. There are several classifications for verbs - action verbs,
linking verbs, main verbs, auxiliary verbs, transitive,
intransitive and phrasal verbs.
For
example:
Action
verbs show
action. He runs.
She plays. They study.
Linking verbs link the subject to an adjective or a noun. Matin is intelligent. He is a teacher.
Here the linking
verbs connect the adjective (intelligent)
or a noun (teacher) with the subject.
Adverbs
An
adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
The teacher carefully checks the
homework. (Here carefully
is
an adverb that modifies the verb check.)
Examples:
Tomal was extremely enthusiastic about doing his homework. (Here extremely is an adverb that modifies the adjective enthusiastic.)
Maliha ran out of the classroom very quickly. (Here very is an adverb that modifies the adverb quickly.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words that connect a noun or
pronoun to another word in a sentence. Some common prepositions are on, in, at, with, about, for, to, though.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions
join together words, phrases and clauses.
Examples:
He and his brother will come. (words)
He came to the class and started
teaching.(clauses) It is easy to say but difficult to do. (phrases)
She is intelligent; therefore, she does not
need too much help. (clauses)
Interjections
Interjections are words used to express
emotional states. They can usually be found in narrative writing, interviews,
and in spoken English. They can stand alone.
Examples:
Oh!, Wow!, Ouch! Oops! Hey!
They
can also be used in a phrase or sentence.
Examples:
What a lovely day!
How strong the man is!
The
same word as different parts of speech
Remember that the same word can be used as
different parts of speech. Its function in the sentence will help you to determine the part of speech.
Look at the
following sentences and notice the functions of the word 'well' in each of the sentences:
He
does not look well. (adjective)
The
student did well in the test.
(adverb)
Well, I don't know about that. (interjection)
Exercise
Identify
what part of speech each word is in the following sentences:
1.
Wow! That is really nice.
2. He seemed sorry as he apologised to us.
3.
Mother wanted an answer, but she did not get any reply from her daughter.
Read the song and guess why it leaves out one
part of speech. Share your idea with a partner.
A NOUN's the name of anything, As: school or garden, toy, or swing.
ADJECTIVES
tell the kind of noun,
As:
great, small, pretty, white, or brown.
VERBS tell of something being done: To read, write, count, sing, jump, or run. How things are done the ADVERBS tell,
As:
slowly, quickly, badly, well.
CONJUNCTIONS
join the words together,
As:
men and women, wind or weather.
The PREPOSITION stands before a noun
As: in
or through a door.
The INTERJECTION shows surprise As: Oh, how prettyl Ahl how wise!
The whole are called the PARTS of SPEECH, Which
reading, writing, speaking teach.
[By David B. Tower & Benjamin F. Tweed]
