Nouns

Noun: Common noun: Proper noun:

Parts of Speech - Grammar Study Guide

names a person, place, or thing a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea names a specific person, place, thing, or idea. Always capitalized.

Collective noun:

ex. Common: Proper:

names a group of individuals or things.

city Nashua

river Merrimack River

person Daniel Webster

Compound noun: Concrete noun: Abstract noun:

made up of two or more words used together as a single noun.

ex. army, team, flock, group, audience

names a thing that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted. names an idea, feeling, quality, or characteristic.

ex. post office, ice cream, peanut butter, sunshine, light-year ex. book, tree, jacket, bicycle

Pronouns
Pronoun: Antecedent:

ex. courage, kindness, excitement, vanity

takes the place of a noun the noun for which a pronoun stands

ex: Bob will study before he takes the quiz. pronoun: he; antecedent: Bob Subject Pronouns
Person 1st 2nd 3rd Singular I you he, she, it Plural we you they

Demonstrative Pronouns: point out a specific person, place, or thing and are used alone. the demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those

ex: These are easy questions. Interrogative Pronouns: used to begin a question. what, which, who, whom, whose. ex: Who is going to lead the way? ex: anybody everybody nobody someone anyone everyone no one both anything everything nothing few each much one all

Indefinite pronouns: refer to people, places, or things without specifying which ones.

Verbs
Action verbs: Visible action: Mental action: Linking verbs:

either neither somebody several

Forms of be:

tell what action someone or something is performing. actions that are easy to see. ex: swim, run, eat, smile actions that are not seen. ex: think, wonder, decide, enjoy connects a noun or pronoun at the beginning of a sentence with a word at or near the end of the sentence. The most common linking verb is forms of the verb be. am, is, are, was, were, been, being

Other linking verbs: appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, remain, smell, sound, taste Helping verbs: are added before the main part of the verb to make a verb phrase. Various forms of be are often helping verbs.

ex: Dr. Smith is a rocket scientist. David seems sleepy.

Adjectives
Adjectives:

ex: Julie is walking every day to get in shape. is: helping verb; walking: main verb
modify (describe) a noun or pronoun. They answer one of four questions:
What kind? Which one? How many? How much?

summer breeze second trimester two cookies no snow

flash flood Haitian earthquake many awards enough money

Articles:

come before nouns and answer question: Which one? They are : a, an, the

Adverbs
Adverbs: modify (describe) a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs modifying verbs: answer one four questions:
In what manner? To what extent? Where? When quickly nearly inside today quietly completely away often

Adverbs modifying adjectives or other adverbs: usually answer To what extent?

Prepositions
Prepositions:

ex: really, extremely, so, very, too, completely, not

Prepositional phrases: begin with the preposition and end with a noun or pronoun. They will never contain the subject of the sentence. ex: above the bookcase, across the aisle, between the lines

ex: above, across, after, before, beneath, beside, between, during, at, in, out, off, on

relate the noun following it to another word in the sentence. They often convey spatial or time relationships.

Conjunctions

Conjunction: a word that links words, phrases, or clauses. Coordinating conjunctions:

O Y

for and nor but or yet so Correlative conjunctions: always come in pairs:

both...and not only...but also either...or

neither...nor whether...or
ex: Ouch! Wow! Yikes!

Interjections:

express strong feeling or emotion.