THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: NOUN, PRONOUN, VERB, ADJECTIVE, ADVERB,
PREPOSITION, CONJUNCTION, AND INTERJECTION.

 . A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

Nouns have these characteristics:
 They are abstract or concrete.
 They are proper or common.
 Most are singular or plural, but... 
 Some are collective.

Every noun is either abstract or concrete.

 Abstract nouns name things we cannot see, touch, or detect readily through our senses. Abstract
nouns name ideas (existentialism, democracy), measurements (weight, percent), emotions
(love, angst), or qualities (responsibility)
.
 Concrete nouns, on the other hand, name persons, including animals (cousins, Roger Rabbit), places
(beach, Chico), or things we can see, touch, or otherwise detect through our senses (smoke, beer).

Every noun is either proper or common.

 A proper noun identifies a particular person, animal, place, thing, or idea--Roger Rabbit, for example.
The first letter of each word of a proper noun is capitalized.

 A common noun does not name a particular person or thing; rather, it refers to a whole class or type.
Common nouns do not require capitalization.
Proper noun (capitalized) common noun
Sierra Nevada Crystal Wheat is his favorite beer.
The Rooks and the Rangers are our local soccer and baseball teams.
Bidwell Park is one of the largest municipal parks.
Lundberg Family Farm is a sustainable, organic farm.

Most nouns are either singular or plural...

Most nouns are made plural with the addition of s or es. Thus, instructor becomes instructors,
and class becomes classes. Some nouns have irregular plural forms: man becomes men,
and woman becomes women. Child becomes children, and person becomes people.

Many people, both men and women, believe that having children will be a remedy for their existential angst.

Some nouns have the same form in both singular and plural: "A moose is crossing the river. No, wait--
three moose are crossing the river!"

 Some nouns are collective.

A collective noun names a collection or group of things. Although a collective noun refers to a group of many
things, it is usually singular in form. We think of a collective noun as singular because its members act in one
accord: The army is withdrawing from those Asian countries that are in negotiations. 

PRONOUNS

Pronouns replace nouns. Without them, language would be repetitious, lengthy, and awkward:

President John Kennedy had severe back trouble, and although President John Kennedy approached stairs
gingerly and lifted with care, President John Kennedy did swim and sail, and occasionally President John
Kennedy even managed to play touch football with friends, family members, or co-workers.
There are six types of pronouns:

1. Personal 4. Reflexive
2. Indefinite 5. Relative
3. Possessive 6. Demonstrative

Personal pronouns also refer to specific persons, places, or things.

First person Second person Third person
 Subjective Objective Subjective Objective Subjective Objective
I, we me, us you you he, she, it, they him, her, it, them

Indefinite pronouns refer to general persons, places, or things. Indefinite pronouns all are third-person
pronouns and can be subjects or objects in sentences.
Indefinite pronouns, singular
anyone anybody anything either each
no one nobody nothing another one
someone somebody something any
everyone everybody everything
 
On the other hand, some indefinite pronouns are plural:
Indefinite pronouns, plural
both few many several

Indefinite pronouns, singular or plural

most any all none some neither

Possessive pronouns
my our your his, her its their whose
mine ours yours his, hers theirs

Reflexive pronouns add emphasis.

Reflexive pronouns
yourself himself, herself, itself
myself ourselves
yourselves themselves

Relative pronouns
that who whoever whose
which whom whomever what

Demonstrative pronouns
this these
that those

All verbs are one of three types:

1. Action verbs Action verbs express physical or mental actions: think, eat, collide, realize, dance.

2. Linking verbs
Another set of linking verbs are those pertaining to our five senses--seeing, tasting, touching, hearing, and
smelling--and how we perceive the world: the verbs appear, seem, look, feel, smell, taste, and sound

1st person (I; we) 2nd person (you) 3rd person (she, he, it; they)
present am; are are is; are
past was; were were was; were
participle [have] been; [had] been [have] been; [had] been [has] been; [had] been

3. Helping verbs
 have, has, had
 to be: am, are, is, was, were, been
 do, does, did
 will, shall
 would, could, should, can, may, might