Name:

Parts of Speech
Basic Overview Notes
Directions: Follow along with the PowerPoint and fill in the blanks with the correct word or
words from each slide.
Nouns
A noun is a word that denotes a __________, __________, or __________. In a sentence, nouns
answer the questions who and what.
Example: The dog ran after the ball.
In the sentence above, there are two nouns, ________ and ________. A noun may be concrete
(something you can touch, see, etc.), like the nouns in the example above, or a noun may be
abstract, as in the sentences below.
Example 1: She possesses integrity.
Example 2: He was searching for love.
The __________ concepts of integrity and love in the sentences above are both nouns.
Nouns may also be proper when they refer to the names of __________ people, places,
organizations, and sometimes things.
Example 1: She visited Chicago every year.
Example 2: Thanksgiving is in November.
_________, Thanksgiving, and __________ are all proper nouns, and they should be capitalized.

Pronouns
A pronoun is a __________ that takes the place of a __________ in a sentence.
Example: She decided to go to a movie.
In the sentence above, ________ is the pronoun. Like nouns, pronouns may be used either as
__________ or as __________in a sentence.
Example: She planned to ask him for an interview.
In the example above, both she and him are pronouns; she is the __________of the sentence
while __________is the object. These different variations are known as cases.

The three types of cases are:
1. ______________ case: pronouns used as subject.
2. ______________ case: pronouns used as objects of verbs or prepositions.
3. ______________ case: pronouns which express ownership.
The chart below shows the subjective, objective, and possessive case of different pronouns.
Pronouns as Subjects Pronouns as Objects Pronouns that show Possession
I me __________
__________ you your (yours)
he, she, it __________ his, her (hers), it (its)
we us __________
__________ them their (theirs)
who whom __________
The pronouns This, __________, These, __________, and Which do not change form.
Problems with Pronoun Case:
1. In compound structures, where there are _______ pronouns or a __________ and a
pronoun, drop the other noun for a moment. Then you can see which case you want.
Not: Bob and me travel a good deal.
(Would you say, "me travel"?)
Not: He gave the flowers to Jane and I.
(Would you say, "he gave the flowers to I"?)
Not: Us men like the coach.
(Would you say, "us like the coach"?)
2. In comparison structures, usually there are __________words. If you complete the
comparison in your head, you can choose the correct case for the pronoun.
Comparisons usually follow than or as.
Comparisons are really shorthand sentences which usually omit words, such as those in the
parentheses in the sentences above. If you complete the comparison in your head, you can
choose the correct case for the pronoun.
Not: He is taller than me.
(Would you say, "than me am tall"?)
This helps you as much as (it helps) me.
She is as noisy as I (am).

Noun/Pronoun Agreement
Because a pronoun __________ to or TAKES THE PLACE OF a noun, you have to use the
correct pronoun so that your reader clearly understands to which __________ your pronoun is
referring.
Therefore, pronouns should:
1. Agree in __________

2. Agree in __________

3. Refer clearly to a __________ noun
1. Agree in number
If the pronoun takes the place of a singular noun, you have to use a __________ pronoun.
If a student parks a car on campus, he or she has to buy a parking sticker.
(INCORRECT: If a student parks a car on campus, they have to buy a parking sticker.)
The words everybody, anybody, __________ , each, neither, nobody, __________, a person, etc.
are singular and take singular pronouns.
Everybody ought to do his or her best.
(INCORRECT: __________ best)
NOTE: Many people find the construction "his or her" wordy, so it is permissible to use just
"his" or "her" rather than "his or her."
2. Agree in person
If you are writing in the __________ person (I), don't confuse your reader by switching to the
second person (you) or __________ person (he, she, they, it, etc.). Similarly, if you are using
the __________ person, don't switch to first or third.
When a person comes to class, he or she should have his or her homework ready.
(INCORRECT: When a person comes to class, you should have your homework ready.)
3. Refer clearly to a specific noun.
Don't be __________ or ambiguous.
INCORRECT: Although the motorcycle hit the tree, it was not damaged.
(Is "it" the motorcycle or the tree?)


Verbs
A verb is a word that denotes __________ , or a state of __________ , in a sentence.
Example 1: Beth rides the bus every day.
Example 2: Paul was an avid reader.
In example 1, __________ is the verb; it describes what the subject, Beth, does. In example 2,
__________ describes Pauls state of being and is therefore the verb.
There may be multiple verbs in a sentence, or there may be a ________ _______________
consisting of a verb plus a helping verb.
Example 1: She turned the key and opened the door.
Example 2: Jackson was studying when I saw him last.
In example 1, the subject she performs two actions in the sentence, __________ and
__________. In example 2, the verb phrase is ______ __________.
Verb Tenses
Strictly speaking, in English, only two tenses are marked in the verb alone, present (as in "he
sings") and past (as in "he sang").
Understanding the six basic tenses allows one to re-create much of the reality of time in his
writing.
Simple Present: They __________
Present Perfect: They __________ walked
Simple Past: They __________
Past Perfect: They __________ walked
Future: They __________walk
Future Perfect: They will __________walked
Problems in sequencing tenses usually occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by
adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part.
walk, walked, walked
The most common auxiliaries are forms of "be," "can," "do," "may," "must," "ought," "shall,"
"will," "has," "have," "had," and they are the forms we shall use in this most basic discussion.

Present Perfect
The present perfect consists of a __________ tense verb with "has" or "have." It shows action
which began in the past but which continues into the present.
1. Betty __________ for ten years. (simple past)
2. Betty __________ taught for ten years. (present perfect)
The implication in example 1 is that Betty has retired; in example 2, that she is still teaching.
Past Perfect
The past perfect tense shows action in the past just as simple past does, but the action of the past
perfect is action __________ in the past before another action.
1. Renee __________ the car when George arrived (simple past)
2. Renee __________ washed the car when George arrived. (past perfect)
In example 1, she waited until George arrived and then washed the car. In example 2, she had
already finished washing the car by the time he arrived.
In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states
the condition.
1. If I __________ done my homework, I would have passed the test.
2. I think George would __________ been elected if he hadn't sounded so pompous.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense designates action that will have been completed at a __________ time in
the __________.
1. Saturday I __________ finish my housework. (simple future)
2. By Saturday at noon, I will __________ finished my housework. (future perfect)
Review
1. Judy saved thirty dollars. (____________________)
2. Judy will save thirty dollars. (____________________)
3. Judy has saved thirty dollars. (____________________)
4. Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (____________________)
5. Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (____________________)

Adjectives
An adjective is a word that __________, or describes, a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may come
__________ nouns, or they may appear after a form of the __________ verb to be (am, are, is,
was, etc.).
Example 1: We live in the red brick house.
Example 2: She is tall for her age.
In example 1, two consecutive adjectives, __________ and __________, both describe the noun
house. In example 2, the adjective __________ appears after the reflexive verb is and describes
the subject, she.
Basic Adjective Rules
Adjectives modify nouns or __________. For example:
"I ate a meal." Meal is a noun. We don't know what kind of meal; all we know is that someone
ate a meal.
"I ate an enormous lunch." Lunch is a noun, and enormous is an adjective that __________ it. It
tells us __________ __________ of meal the person ate.
Generally speaking, adjectives answer the following questions:
__________?
What __________ of?
How __________?
Adjective vs. Adverb
Be sure to understand the differences between the following two examples:
"The dog smells carefully." Here, carefully describes __________ the dog is smelling. We
imagine him sniffing very cautiously: therefore carefully is acting as an __________, not an
ADJECTIVE
But:
"The dog smells clean." Here, clean describes the __________ itself. It's not that he's smelling
clean things or something; it's that he's had a bath and does not stink.

Adverbs
Adverbs modify verbs, __________, and other __________. (You can recognize adverbs easily
because many of them are formed by adding __________ to an adjective, though that is not
always the case.)

Let's look at verbs first.
"She sang beautifully."
Beautifully is an adverb that modifies __________. It tells us __________ she sang.
Adverbs also modify __________ and other adverbs.
"That woman is extremely nice."
Nice is an __________ that modifies the noun woman. Extremely is an __________ that modifies
nice; it tells us how nice she is. How nice is she? She's extremely nice.
So, generally speaking, adverbs answer the question how. However, they can also answer the
questions __________, where, and __________.

Prepositions
Prepositions work in combination with a __________ or pronoun to create phrases that modify
__________, nouns/pronouns, or __________. Prepositional phrases convey a spatial, temporal,
or directional meaning.
Example 1: Ivy climbed up the brick wall of the house.
There are two prepositional phrases in the example above: up the brick wall and of the house.
The first prepositional phrase modifies the __________ by describing where the ivy climbed.
The second phrase further modifies the __________ wall and describes which wall the ivy
climbs.
Prepositions are most often used to show __________ and __________.
Below is a list of common prepositions in the English language:
Aboard, about, __________, across, after, against, along, amid, __________, around, at,
before, behind, below, beneath, beside, __________, beyond, by, down, during, except, for,
from, in, __________, like, near, of, off, on, onto, out, over, past, since, __________,
throughout, to, toward, under, underneath, _________, unto, up, upon, with, within, without.

Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that joins two __________ clauses, or sentences, together.
Example 1: Ellen wanted to take a drive into the city, but the cost of gasoline was too
high.
Example 2: Richard planned to study abroad in Japan, so he decided to learn the
language.

In the examples above, both __________ and __________ are conjunctions. And, but, for, or,
nor, so, and yet can all act as conjunctions.
Articles
Articles include a, an, and the. They precede a __________ or a noun phrase in a sentence.
Example 1: They wanted a house with a big porch.
Example 2: He bought the blue sweater on sale.
A vs. An
The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (__________) quality of the first letter
in a word, not on the orthographic (__________) representation of the letter. If the first letter
makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter would make a consonant-type sound,
you use "a."
"A" goes before words that begin with __________.
a cat
a dog
a purple onion
a big apple
"An" goes before words that begin with __________.
an apricot
an egg
an orbit
an uprising
Exceptions
Use "an" before unsounded "______." Because the "_______" hasn't any phonetic representation
and has no audible sound, the sound that follows the article is a vowel; consequently, "an" is
used.
an honorable peace
an __________ error
When "u" makes the same sound as the "y" in "you," or "o" makes the same sound as "w" in
"won," then a is used.
a united front
a __________
a used napkin
a _______________ man
All materials contained in this document were taken from the Purdue Online Writing Lab at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/730/01/