Parts of Speech Overview Nouns Pronouns Verbs Adjectives

Parts of Speech Overview Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs Reference: Wyldeck, K. (2003). All You Need to Know About Grammar: Years 7 -10. Glebe: Pascal Press.

Nouns (People, places, things, feelings and abstract ideas) COMMON NOUNS ØObjects or things that you can see , touch or feel using your physical senses. e. g. pencil, pen, desk, computer, kitten, sun, breeze, trees etc. PROPER NOUNS ØNames, places, events, months, days of week ØStart with a capital letter e. g. Joshua went skiing in Switzerland last Tuesday. Christmas is in December and Easter is usually in March or April.

Nouns cont’d COLLECTIVE NOUNS ØAre the names of collections or groups of people, animals and objects e. g. herd, crowd, group, school, gaggle, audience, fleet, pack etc ABSTRACT NOUNS ØAre the names of feelings or ideas e. g. happiness, joy, boredom, anger, sadness, hunger, fear, fun, education, sympathy etc

Exercise (verbal) 1. Put the following nouns into their correct category in the table below: apple wind loneliness giraffe flock London Saturday swarm cloud cluster pavement Christmas insight imagination reality Tuesday herd dominance January audience NOUNS COMMON PROPER ABSTRACT COLLECTIVE

Pronouns Are words used in place of nouns. PERSONAL PRONOUNS – refer to people and things. e. g. He is washing it now. We went out with them yesterday. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS – show possession. e. g. This shirt is mine and that one is yours. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS – point things out. e. g. This is the way to school and that is the way to the shops.

Pronouns cont’d INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS – ask questions. e. g. Who is that over there? What is the time? REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS – show the action is done by the doer to him or herself. e. g. I get myself breakfast every morning. They took themselves straight home after school. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS – refer to people generally, not specifically. e. g. They say he wasn’t very keen on surfing. Nobody knows where she went.

Exercises (verbal) Identify the pronoun (and the type if you are able to) in each of the sentences below: 1. She went to the park because she liked playing there. (3) 2. Who sent you to get it? (3) 3. Why are you doing that to him? (4) 4. They say that you did it yourself. (3) 5. This is the way to my house. (2)

Verbs Are doing, being and having words. DOING words – tell about the action happening in the sentence. e. g. I cooked dinner last night. He trains intensely for soccer every day. BEING words – usually help tell when the action happened and also tell how something is. e. g. I am fifteen years old. They were at the beach last night. HAVING words – usually help tell when the action happened and also tell what someone has. e. g. I have everything I need for today. He will have a great time tonight at the football game.

Exercises (verbal) Identify the verbs (and their type) in the sentences below: 1. I am going to be very happy when I go home today. 2. He kicked the ball so high it flew right over the house. 3. Mum says that we’re having pasta for dinner tonight.

Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns, giving them more detail. [They come before nouns (cute puppy) and after verbs of being or sensing (She is pretty; this tastes delicious although coming after the verbs, they are still describing the noun)] E. g. The blustery wind roared through the swaying treetops, scattering dry leaves everywhere. The cheeky monkey scratched its furry head, grinning at the curious, young children watching it.

Exercises (verbal) Identify the adjectives in the following sentences: 1. His greasy hair clung to his sweaty face as he trained relentlessly for soccer that night. 2. Those beautiful, red roses look stunning in that glass vase. 3. Happily chatting together, the carefree group of teenagers didn’t notice the dark storm clouds building in the ominouslooking sky overhead.

Adverbs describe verbs, giving them more detail. Adverbs tell how, where, when or how much about the verb. e. g. - I climbed the fence carefully so I didn’t hurt myself. - Because you arrived late, you missed the bus. - The cat was kept inside so it couldn’t chase the lizard. - She really enjoyed the shopping trip, although she was absolutely exhausted by the end of it.

Exercises (verbal) Identify the adverbs in the sentences below: 1. “No!” she cried loudly, waving her hands in exasperation. 2. The lioness crept stealthily through the long grass, silently stalking her unsuspecting prey. 3. The annoying mosquito buzzed loudly and continuously in her ear as she tried unsuccessfully to fall asleep.

Applications – Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives: • Describe nouns, giving further information about that noun. • Give you information about how the object looks, sounds or feels. • Make descriptions interesting and engaging. • Bring an image that you are describing to life by giving it interesting qualities. • Assist the reader to imagine the object more clearly. • Build up mood and atmosphere in your writing. Adverbs: • Give information about how an action is carried out e. g. running quickly, singing sweetly, talking softly. • Give more information and interest in descriptions. • Contribute in building mood and atmosphere in descriptions. TIP: Using too many adjectives or adverbs just for the sake of using them can clutter your writing, so use them judiciously to create a specific effect.

Exercises – 1 (written) 1. In the following passage: • Underline the nouns • Circle the adjectives • Put a dotted line under the verbs • Highlight the adverbs As the warm sun shone lazily through the tall trees, a small, brown lizard peeked its head out cautiously from behind an old, mossy tree stump. Dry leaves rustled in a slight breeze and a lone cricket chirped sporadically, its clear voice a reminder of the teeming life hidden within the depths of the quiet forest. 2. Rewrite this short passage, removing all the adjectives and adverbs. • How are the two passages different? 3. Write your own version of this passage, adding in different adjectives and adverbs for the nouns and verbs. Try to create a different atmosphere or feel to the passage. • How does your version feel different to the original? • How have you created a different feel or effect?

Exercises – 2 (written) Choose five objects from the list below. Write one sentence about each object, including at least one noun, adjective, verb and adverb in each sentence. Label each part of speech. e. g. cat The fluffy (adjective) cat (noun) washed (verb) its delicate (adjective) whiskers (noun) carefully (adverb). spider desk bedroom clouds toddler umbrella bucket thunderstorm crocodile school beach butterfly mosquito rubbish father car

Exercises – 3 (Extension/homework) Swap books with the person next to you. Write the name of an object or topic in their book. Try to challenge your friend. The topic does not have to be serious – it can be quirky or humorous. 1. Write a descriptive paragraph about the object or topic written in your book. Your paragraph must include several adjectives and adverbs (highlight and label them) and it must be an effective description. Try to create an atmosphere or mood if it is possible with your object or topic. 2. Swap books with your friend again and write a comment about how effective you think their descriptive paragraph is. 3. If there is time, read out some volunteer paragraphs to the class and discuss why you think they are effective. Prizes for the most impressive, inventive or funniest examples (class vote) REMEMBER: using too many adjectives or adverbs can clutter your writing, so use your judgement and creativity to create the effect you are after.