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ThePartsofSpeech

WhatisaVerb?

WhatisaNoun? WhatisaNoun?
WhatisaPronoun?

WhatisanAdjective? Anounisawordusedtonameaperson, animal,place,thing,and

abstractidea. Nounsare usuallythefirstwordswhichsmallchildren
WhatisanAdverb? learn. The highlightedwordsinthefollowing sentences are allnouns:

WhatisaPreposition?
Latelast year our neighboursboughta goat.
WhatisaConjunction? PortiaWhite wasan operasinger.
The businspectorlookedatallthe passengers'passes.
Whatisan Accordingto Plutarch,the libraryat Alexandria wasdestroyed
Interjection? in48B.C.
Philosophyisoflittle comfort tothe starving .
Review:Partsof
Speech?
Anouncanfunctioninasentenceasa subject ,a directobject ,an
indirectobject ,a subjectcomplement ,an objectcomplement ,an
ThePartsofthe appositive ,an adjective oran adverb .
Sentence

SubjectandPredicate NounGender
Objectsand
Complements Manycommonnouns,like"engineer"or "teacher,"canrefertomen
orwomen. Once,manyEnglish nounswouldchangeformdepending
Review:theSubject ontheir gender forexample,amanwascalledan "author"whilea
womanwascalledan"authoress" but thisuseof genderspecific
Review:thePredicate nounsisveryrare today. Thosethatarestillusedoccasionallytendto
referto occupationalcategories,asinthefollowing sentences.
Review:Partsofthe
Sentence
DavidGarrickwasaveryprominenteighteenth century actor.
SarahSiddonswasattheheightofhercareerasanactressin
Punctuation
the1780s.
Themanagerwastryingtowriteawantad,buthecouldn't
TheComma decidewhetherhewasadvertisingfora"waiter"ora "waitress"

Review:TheComma

TheSemicolon
NounPlurals
TheColon Mostnounschangetheirformtoindicate number byadding" s"or"
es",asillustratedinthe followingpairsofsentences:
EndPunctuation

QuotationMarks WhenMatthewwassmallherarelytoldthe truthifhe thought

hewasgoingtobepunished.
TheApostrophe Manypeopledonotbelievethat truthsare self evident.
TheDash
Astheywalkedthroughthesilenthouse.theywerestartledby
Review:Indentifying anunexpected echo.
PunctuationErrors Iliketoshoutintothequarryandlistentothe echoesthat
returned.
Review:Adding
Punctuation
Hetrippedovera boxleftcarelesslyinthe hallway.
UsingPronouns Sincewearemoving,wewillneedmany boxes.

PronounReference Thereareothernounswhichformthe plural bychangingthelast

letterbeforeadding "s". Somewordsendingin"f"formtheplural by
Review:Pronoun deleting"f"andadding"ves,"andwordsendingin "y"formtheplural
Reference bydeletingthe"y"and adding"ies,"asinthefollowingpairsof
sentences:
TrickyPointsof
PronounUsage
TheharbouratMarbleMountainhasone wharf.
Thereareseveral wharvesinHalifaxHarbour.
UsingVerbs

Warsawistheirfavourite citybecauseitremindsthem oftheir

CompoundVerbs
courtship.
AuxiliaryVerbs Thevacationmygrandparentswonincludestripstotwelve
European cities.
Transitiveand
IntransitiveVerbs
Thechildrencircledaroundtheheadmasterandshouted,"Are
Review:Transitiveand you a mouseoraman?"
IntransitiveVerbs Theaudiencewasshockedwhenallfivemenadmittedthat
they wereafraidof mice.
LinkingVerbs

Review:LinkingVerbs Othernounsformthepluralirregularly. IfEnglishisyourfirst

language,youprobablyknowmostofthese already:whenindoubt,
Verbals consultagooddictionary.

FormingandUsing
VerbTenses PossessiveNouns
Review:VerbTense
Inthe possessivecase ,anounor pronoun changesitsformtoshow
Frequently Confused thatitownsoris closelyrelatedtosomethingelse. Usually,nouns
Verbs become possessivebyaddingacombinationof an apostrophe and
theletter"s."
Review:Frequently
ConfusedVerbs
Youcanformthepossessivecaseofa singular nounthatdoesnot
UsingVerbTenses endin"s" byaddinganapostropheand"s,"asinthefollowing
sentences:
UsingVerbTensesin
Sequence
Theredsuitcaseis Cassandra's.
UsingVerbMoods Theonlyluggagethatwaslostwasthe primeminister's.
Theexhaustedrecruitswerewokenbeforedawnbythe drill
Frequently Confused thatitownsoris closelyrelatedtosomethingelse. Usually,nouns
Verbs become possessivebyaddingacombinationof an apostrophe and
theletter"s."
Review:Frequently
ConfusedVerbs
Youcanformthepossessivecaseofa singular nounthatdoesnot
UsingVerbTenses endin"s" byaddinganapostropheand"s,"asinthefollowing
sentences:
UsingVerbTensesin
Sequence
Theredsuitcaseis Cassandra's.
UsingVerbMoods Theonlyluggagethatwaslostwasthe primeminister's.
Theexhaustedrecruitswerewokenbeforedawnbythe drill
Review:VerbMood sergeant's screams.
The miner'sfacewascoveredincoaldust.
Modifiers
Youcanformthepossessivecaseofa singularnounthatendsin"s"
UsingAdverbsand byaddinganapostrophealoneorbyaddingan apostropheand"s,"
Adjectives asinthefollowing examples:

UsingtheComparative
The bus'sseatsareveryuncomfortable.
andSuperlative
The bus'seatsareveryuncomfortable.
Review:Adverbsand
Adjectives Thefilmcrewaccidentallycrushedthe platypus'seggs.
Thefilmcrewaccidentallycrushedthe platypus'eggs.
Misplacedand
DanglingModifiers
FeliciaHemans's poetrywasoncemorepopularthanLord
Review:Identifying Byron's.
MisplacedorDangling FeliciaHemans'poetrywasoncemorepopularthanLord
Modifiers Byron's.
Review:Fixing
MisplacedModifiers Youcanformthepossessivecaseofa pluralnounthatdoesnotend
in"s"by addinganapostropheanda"s,"asinthefollowing
examples:
BuildingPhrases

TheFunctionof The children'smittenswerescatteredonthefloorof theporch.

Phrases The sheep'spenwasmuckedouteveryday.
Sincewehaveacomplexappealprocess,a jury'sverdictisnot
Review:Phrase alwaysfinal.
Functions The men'shockeyteamwillbeplayingassoonasthe
women'steamisfinished.
BuildingClauses Thehunterfollowedthe moose's trailallmorningbut lostitin
theafternoon.

RecognisingClauses
Youcanformthepossessivecaseofa pluralnounthat doesendin
Review:Identifying "s"byaddinganapostrophe:
Clauses

UsingClausesas Theconcertwasinterruptedbythe dogs'barking,the ducks'

Nouns,Adjectives,and quacking,andthe babies'squalling.
Adverbs The janitors'roomisdownstairsandtothe left.
Myunclespentmanyhourstryingtolocatethe squirrels'nest.
Review:Noun, Thearchivistquicklyfinishedrepairingthe diaries'bindings.
Adjective,andAdverb Religionisusuallythesubjectofthe roommates' many late
Clauses nightdebates.

BuildingSentences
UsingPossessiveNouns
WhySentence
StructureMatters Whenyoureadthefollowingsentences,youwillnotice thatanounin
thepossessivecase frequentlyfunctionsasanadjectivemodifying
TheStructureofa another noun:
Sentence

Review:Sentence The miner'sfacewascoveredincoaldust.

Structure
Herethepossessive noun"miner's"isusedtomodifythe noun"face"
TheOrderofa andtogetherwiththe article "the,"theymakeupthe nounphrase
Sentence
thatisthesentence's subject.
ThePurposeofa
Sentence Theconcertwasinterruptedbythe dogs'barking,the ducks'
quacking,andthe babies'squalling.
Review:Sentence
Usage
Inthissentence,eachpossessivenounmodifiesa gerund .The
possessive noun"dogs"'modifies"barking,""ducks"' modifies
WritingParagraphs
"quacking,"and"babies"'modifies "squalling."

StartwithanOutline
Thefilmcrewaccidentallycrushedthe platypus'seggs.
WritingTopic
Sentences
Inthisexamplethepossessive noun"platypus's"modifiesthenoun
Review:Topic "eggs"andthenounphrase"theplatypus's eggs"isthedirectobject
Sentences ofthe verb "crushed."

DividingyourArgument
Myunclespentmanyhourstryingtolocatethe squirrels'nest.
Review:Dividingyour
Argument Inthissentencethepossessivenoun"squirrels"'isusedto modify
thenoun"nest"andthenounphrase"thesquirrels'nest"isthe
DevelopingUnifiedand object of the infinitivephrase "tolocate."
CoherentParagraphs

Review:Paragraph
Development
TypesOfNouns

Diction Therearemanydifferenttypesofnouns.Asyouknow, youcapitalise

somenouns,suchas"Canada"or "Louise,"anddonotcapitalise
others,suchas"badger"or "tree"(unlesstheyappearatthe
CatchPhrases beginningofa sentence).Infact,grammarianshavedevelopeda
Connotationsand whole seriesofnountypes,includingthepropernoun,thecommon
noun,the concretenoun,theabstractnoun,thecountablenoun(also
Denotations
calledthe countnoun),the non countablenoun(alsocalledthemass
Review:Diction noun),andthecollective noun.Youshouldnote thatanounwill
belongtomorethanonetype:itwillbe properorcommon,abstract
orconcrete, andcountableor non countableorcollective.
Spelling

Spellingwordswith"ei" Ifyouareinterestedinthedetailsofthesedifferenttypes,you can

readabouttheminthefollowingsections.
and"ie"

Review:"ei"and"ie"
ProperNouns
Spellingfinal"y"
beforeasuffix
Youalwayswritea propernounwithacapital letter,sincethenoun
Review:final"y" representsthenameofaspecific person,place,orthing. Thenames
beforeasuffix ofdaysoftheweek,months, historicaldocuments,institutions,
organisations,religions,their holytextsandtheiradherentsare
FinalSilent"e" propernouns. Apropernounistheoppositeofacommonnoun

Review:FinalSilent"e"
Ineachofthefollowingsentences,thepropernounsare highlighted:
SpellingWordswith
DoubleConsonants The Marroonsweretransportedfrom Jamaica and forcedto
Spellingfinal"y"
beforeasuffix
Youalwayswritea propernounwithacapital letter,sincethenoun
Review:final"y" representsthenameofaspecific person,place,orthing. Thenames
beforeasuffix ofdaysoftheweek,months, historicaldocuments,institutions,
organisations,religions,their holytextsandtheiradherentsare
FinalSilent"e" propernouns. Apropernounistheoppositeofacommonnoun

Review:FinalSilent"e"
Ineachofthefollowingsentences,thepropernounsare highlighted:
SpellingWordswith
DoubleConsonants
Review:Double
Consonants
MiscellaneousTopics
TheThesisStatement
The Marroonsweretransportedfrom Jamaica and forcedto
buildthefortificationsin Halifax.
Manypeopledread Mondaymornings.
Beltane iscelebratedonthefirstof May.
Abraham appearsinthe Talmudandinthe Koran.
Lastyear,Ihada Baptist ,a Buddhist,anda Gardnerian
Witchasroommates.

WordFormation CommonNouns
Apposition
Acommonnounisanounreferring toaperson,place,orthingina
NounandPronoun generalsense usually,you shouldwriteitwithacapitalletteronly
Characteristics whenitbeginsa sentence. Acommonnounistheoppositeof a
propernoun.

CopyrightandTerms
ofUse Ineachofthefollowingsentences,thecommonnounsare
highlighted:

Accordingtothe sign,thenearest townis60 milesaway.

Allthe gardensinthe neighbourhoodwere invadedby beetles
this summer .
TheWritingCentre Idon'tunderstandwhysome peopleinsistonhavingsix
different kindsof mustard intheir cupboards.
SimardHall Theroad crewwasstartledbythe sightof threelarge moose
Room0021 crossingthe road.
60University Manychild care workersareunderpaid.
P.O.Box450
StationA,Ottawa,ON
Sometimesyouwillmakepropernounsoutof commonnouns,asin
Canada K1N6N5 thefollowingexamples:
Tel.:613562 5800
ext.2267
Thetenantsinthe GarnetApartments are appealingthelarge
andsuddenincreaseintheirrent.
Noonlinewritinghelp ThemealsintheBouncing BeanRestaurant are less
available expensivethanmealsinordinaryrestaurants.
Email: Many witchesrefertotheRenaissanceastheBurning Times.
writcent@uOttawa.ca The DiaryofAnneFrank isoftenachild'sfirst introductionto
thehistoryofthe Holocaust.

ConcreteNouns

Aconcretenounisanounwhich namesanything(oranyone)that
youcanperceivethroughyourphysical senses:touch,sight,taste,
hearing,orsmell. Aconcretenounistheoppositeofaabstractnoun.

The highlightedwordsinthefollowing sentencesareallconcrete

nouns:

The judgehandedthe filestothe clerk.

Whenevertheytakethe dogtothe beach,it spendshours
chasing waves.
Therealestate agenturgedthe coupletobuy thesecond
housebecauseithadnew shingles.
Asthe cardrovepastthe park,the thumpofadisco tune
overwhelmedthestring quartet's renditionofa minuet.
The bookbinderreplacedtheflimsypaper cover withasturdy,
cloth covered board.

AbstractNouns

An abstractnoun isanounwhich namesanythingwhichyoucan not

perceivethroughyour fivephysicalsenses,andistheoppositeofa
concretenoun. The highlightedwordsinthefollowing sentencesare
allabstractnouns:

Buyingthefireextinguisherwasan afterthought .
Tillieisamusedbypeoplewhoarenostalgicabout childhood.
Justiceoftenseemstoslipoutofourgrasp.
Somescientistsbelievethat schizophreniais transmitted
genetically.

CountableNouns

Acountablenoun(or countnoun)isanounwithbothasingular and

apluralform,anditnamesanything(oranyone)that youcan count.
Youcanmakeacountablenoun pluralandattachittoa pluralverbin
asentence. Countablenounsaretheoppositeofnon countable
nounsandcollectivenouns.

Ineachofthefollowingsentences,the highlightedwordsare
countablenouns:

Wepaintedthe tableredandthe chairsblue.

Sinceheinheritedhis aunt'slibrary,Jerome spendsevery
weekendindexinghis books.
Miriamfoundsixsilver dollarsinthe toeof a sock.
Theoak tree lostthree branchesinthe hurricane.
Overthe courseoftwenty seven years ,Martha Ballad
deliveredjustovereighthundred babies.

NonCountableNouns

Anoncountablenoun(or massnoun)isanounwhichdoesnothave
apluralform,andwhichreferstosomethingthatyoucould (orwould)
notusuallycount. Anon countablenoun alwaystakesasingularverb
ina sentence. Non countablenounsaresimilar tocollectivenouns,
andaretheoppositeof countablenouns.

The highlightedwordsinthefollowing sentencesarenon countable

nouns:

JosephPriestlydiscovered oxygen .
 Anoncountablenoun(or massnoun)isanounwhichdoesnothave
apluralform,andwhichreferstosomethingthatyoucould (orwould)
notusuallycount. Anon countablenoun alwaystakesasingularverb
ina sentence. Non countablenounsaresimilar tocollectivenouns,
andaretheoppositeof countablenouns.

The highlightedwordsinthefollowing sentencesarenon countable

nouns:

JosephPriestlydiscovered oxygen .

Theword"oxygen"cannotnormallybemade plural.

Oxygen isessentialtohumanlife.

Since"oxygen"isanon countablenoun,ittakes thesingularverb

"is"ratherthanthe pluralverb"are."

Wedecidedtosellthe furnitureratherthantakeit withuse

whenwemoved.

Youcannotmakethenoun"furniture" plural.

The furnitureisheapedinthemiddleofthe room.

Since"furniture"isanon countablenoun,it takesasingularverb,"is

heaped."

Thecrewspreadthe gravelovertheroadbed.

Youcannotmakethenon countablenoun"gravel" plural.

GravelismoreexpensivethanIthought.

Since"gravel"isanon countablenoun,ittakes thesingularverb

form"is."

CollectiveNouns

Acollectivenounisanoun namingagroupofthings,animals,or
persons. Youcouldcountthe individualmembersofthegroup,but
youusuallythinkofthegroupas awholeisgenerallyasoneunit.
Youneedtobeabletorecognise collectivenounsinordertomaintain
subject verb agreement. Acollectivenounissimilartoa non
countablenoun,andisroughlytheoppositeofa countablenoun.

Ineachofthefollowingsentences,the highlightedwordisacollective
noun:

The flockofgeesespendsmostofitstimeinthe pasture.

Thecollectivenoun"flock"takesthe singularverb"spends."

The juryisdiningontake outchickentonight.

Inthisexamplethecollectivenoun"jury"isthe subjectofthesingular
compoundverb "isdining."

Thesteering committee meetseveryWednesday afternoon.

Herethecollectivenoun"committee"takesa singularverb,"meets."

The classwasstartledbytheburstinglight bulb.

Inthissentencetheword"class"isa collectivenounandtakesthe
singular compoundverb"wasstartled."

WrittenbyHeatherMacFadyen

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Lastupdated: 2009.04.27