Foundation Grammar - 1

Parts of Speech
 Introduction

The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically
within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when
used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the
correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.
 The Parts of Speech

Noun

Interjection Pronoun

Preposition
Parts of Verb
Speech

Conjunction Adverb

Adjective
 Nouns

Name of a person, place, thing or idea.

Examples - Daniel, London, table, hope.

Usage -
Mary uses a blue pen for her notes.
Mike owns the fastest car.
They decided to buy the house.
I believe in free speech.
 Types of Nouns

Common – Proper
Concrete – Abstract
Countable – Uncountable
Collective and Compound
 Types of Nouns

Common Proper
• Refers to people, places or things in general. • Identifies a particular person place or thing.
• Does not need an introduction. • Most of the time needs an introduction.
• First letter never capitalized. • First letter almost always capitalized.

For Example - For Example –

birthday, song, dog, joy September, Mark, Statue of Liberty, Arizona

Usage – Usage –
 My birthday is in July.  My sister’s birthday is in September.
 That is my favorite song.  My friend’s name is Mark.
 Types of Nouns

Concrete Abstract
• Refers to people and things that exist • Refers to ideas, qualities, conditions and things
physically. that do not exist physically.

• You can use all the 5 senses to identify them. • You might not be able to use some of the 5
senses to identify them.

For Example -
For Example –
person, planet, tree, monkey
Happiness, friendship, love, pain, information

Usage – Usage –
 That person is half the time late.  The information is corrupted.
 The planet needs to be protected  Your happiness is important.
 Types of Nouns
Countable
• Have a singular and plural.
• Can be used with a number.
• Can physically count.
For Example -
dolphin, desk, bike, month
Usage –
 The is one dolphin in the aquarium.
 My bike needs to be repaired.
Uncountable
• Can only be used in singular form.
• Cannot be used with number. Needs a measure
or collective noun to help count.
• Cannot physically count.
For Example –
nervousness, milk, air, bread
Usage –
 His nervousness is palpable.
 There are 20 loaves of bread for the party.
 Types of Nouns

Collective Compound

• Refers to a set or group of people, • Two or more words that together

places, animals or things. create a noun.

For Example - For Example –

audience, family, team, stack Butterfly, fruit juice, sister-in-law

Usage – Usage –
The audience at the concert went wild.  My sister-in-law hates me.
 The stack of books toppled over.  Fruit Juice is good for your health.
 Pronouns

Pronouns replace the name of a person, place, thing or idea in a sentence. This replacement is
done only after the first introduction is done.

Examples – he, she, it, we, they, him, her, this, that

Usage -
John gave her a gift.
Why did you push me?
Please look after yourself.
 Verbs

Is a word or group of words that describes an action and/or experience.

Examples – realize, walk, see, look, sing, sit, listen

Usage -
Federer plays tennis.
The floods are serious.
Take your time.
 Types of Verbs
Action Verbs – express specific actions e.g. run, dance, slide
1.

Auxiliary Verbs – Used together with a main verb to show verb’s tense or to form a question or negative.
2. e.g. would, do
Transitive Verbs – Express doable activities that relate or affect someone or something else. e.g. love,
3. respect, tolerate
Intransitive Verbs – Action Verbs that always express doable activities but there is no direct object. e.g.
4. walk, laugh
Model Verbs – Verbs that are used to express abilities, possibilities and permissions. e.g. can, may,
5. should
Phrasal Verbs – These aren’t single words but combinations of words used together to take a different
6. meaning to that original verb. e.g. run out, go away
Irregular Verbs – are those that don’t take on the regular spelling patterns of past simple and past
7. participle verbs. e.g. eat, think, bring
Regular Verbs – A verb that’s past (2nd form) & past participle (3rd form) is made by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’ is
8. called a regular verb. e.g. walk - walked
Finite Verbs – A verb which can change their form according to the subject. It defines the time and the
9. subject. It tells you who is doing the action and when it is being done. e.g. eat, eats
Infinite Verbs – A verb which has ‘to’ before it. It shows infinite action when is used at the beginning of
10. the sentence. e.g. To see is to believe.
 3 Main Types of Verbs

Actions Verbs Linking Verbs Helping Verbs

• Tells what action • Connects a noun or a • Added before another
someone or pronoun with a word word to make it a verb
something is that identifies or phrase
performing describes it Examples – there are 23!
• there are 23! Am, is, are, was and
were, being, been, and be, Have,
Examples - run, stand, Examples - am, is, are, has, had, do, does, did, will, would,
shall and should. There are five
eat, sit was, were, will, will more helping verbs: may, might,
be, has been must, can, could!
 Adverbs

An adverb tells how often, how, when, where. It can describe a verb, an adjective or an adverb.

Examples – loudly, always, never, late, soon, etc.

Usage -
She walked slowly.
They are extremely poor.
The police arrived very quickly.
 Adjective

An Adjective describes a noun or a pronoun.

Examples – red, tall, fat, long, short, etc.

Usage -
That was an exciting film.
The boy in the red jumper is happy.
This is the longest essay.
 Adjectives

Articles are considered Adjectives and not a main part of speech.

Examples – a, an, the

Usage -
A boy was standing near the store.
The apple was on the desk.
An eye for an eye.
Degrees of Comparison
Comparative Adjectives
 Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word which connects two words, clauses or sentences/ phrases and shows the
relation between them.
They are used to avoid making the text seem like bullet points and to make the text flow.

Examples – and, because, yet, therefore, since, or, so, until, but, etc.

Usage -
He’s tall and slim.
I’ll wait until she arrives.
Tom’s sick so he’s not here.
Types of Conjunctions
Used to link or join two
words or phrases that are
Coordinating equally important and For, And, Nor,
complete in terms of But, Or, Yet, Soon
Conjunctions grammar when compared
with each other

Used to join an
independent and complete
Subordinating clause with a dependent Although, As, Before,
clause that relies on the Once, Though, Until,
Conjunctions main clause for meaning and Whether, etc.
relevance

They are pairs of Both/and; Either/or;

Correlative conjunctions used in a
sentence to join different
Just as/so;
Neither/now;
Conjunctions words or groups of words in Not only/but also
a sentence together. Whether/or;
Hardly/when, etc.
 Prepositions

A preposition is used before a noun, pronoun, or gerund to show place, time or direction in a
sentence.

Examples – at, in, on, about, to, for, from, etc.

Usage -
The book is on the table.
He went into the room.
I’m against animal cruelty.
 Interjections

Interjections express strong emotions and are often followed by an exclamation point. They
almost always start the sentence however this is not a rule.

Examples – Bravo!, Aha!, Hooray!, Yeah!, Wow!, etc.

Usage -
Wow! What a beautiful woman!
Ouch! That really hurt.
Hey! How are you doing?
 THE END
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