Grammar: Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech

• Nouns:
  • Proper nouns: names of specific people, places, or things (e.g. John, London, Amazon)
  • Common nouns: general categories of things (e.g. dog, city, company)
  • Collective nouns: groups of people, animals, or things (e.g. family, herd, flock)
  • Abstract nouns: concepts or ideas (e.g. happiness, freedom, love)
• Verbs:
  • Action verbs: express action or activity (e.g. run, jump, read)
  • Linking verbs: connect the subject to additional information (e.g. be, seem, appear)
  • Helping verbs: used to help form the tense, mood, or voice of another verb (e.g. will, would, shall)
• Adjectives:
  • Describe nouns or pronouns (e.g. happy, big, red)
  • Can be used to compare things (e.g. bigger, happiest, most beautiful)
• Adverbs:
  • Describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g. quickly, very, well)
  • Can be used to compare things (e.g. faster, more quickly, most wisely)
• Pronouns:
  • Replace nouns in a sentence (e.g. he, she, it, they)
  • Can be used as subjects, objects, or complements
• Prepositions:
  • Show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence (e.g. in, on, at, with)
• Conjunctions:
  • Join words, phrases, or clauses together (e.g. and, but, or, so)
• Interjections:
  • Express emotion or feeling (e.g. oh, wow, ouch)

Sentence Structure

• Simple sentences:
  • One independent clause (e.g. I like coffee)
• Compound sentences:
  • Two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction (e.g. I like coffee, and I also like tea)
• Complex sentences:
  • One independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (e.g. I like coffee because it helps me wake up)
• Compound-complex sentences:
  • Two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses (e.g. I like coffee because it helps me wake up, and I also like tea because it helps me relax)

Verb Tenses

• Present tense:
  • Expresses an action that is happening now (e.g. I am studying)
• Past tense:
  • Expresses an action that happened in the past (e.g. I studied)
• Future tense:
  • Expresses an action that will happen in the future (e.g. I will study)
• Present perfect tense:
  • Expresses an action that started in the past and continues up to the present (e.g. I have studied)
• Past perfect tense:
  • Expresses an action that happened before another action in the past (e.g. I had studied)
• Future perfect tense:
  • Expresses an action that will be completed at a specific point in the future (e.g. I will have studied)

Clauses and Phrases

• Independent clause:
  • A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence
• Dependent clause:
  • A clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence
• Phrase:
  • A group of words that functions as a unit in a sentence
• Relative clause:
  • A clause that begins with a relative pronoun (e.g. who, which, that) and provides additional information about a noun
• Subordinate clause:
  • A clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and provides additional information about the main clause

Parts of Speech

• Nouns: classified into proper nouns (e.g. John, London), common nouns (e.g. dog, city), collective nouns (e.g. family, herd), and abstract nouns (e.g. happiness, freedom)
• Verbs: classified into action verbs (e.g. run, jump), linking verbs (e.g. be, seem), and helping verbs (e.g. will, would)
• Adjectives: describe nouns or pronouns, and can be used to compare things (e.g. bigger, happiest)
• Adverbs: describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, and can be used to compare things (e.g. faster, most wisely)
• Pronouns: replace nouns in a sentence, and can be used as subjects, objects, or complements
• Prepositions: show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence
• Conjunctions: join words, phrases, or clauses together
• Interjections: express emotion or feeling

Sentence Structure

• Simple sentences: contain one independent clause (e.g. I like coffee)
• Compound sentences: contain two or more independent clauses joined by a conjunction (e.g. I like coffee, and I also like tea)
• Complex sentences: contain one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (e.g. I like coffee because it helps me wake up)
• Compound-complex sentences: contain two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses

Verb Tenses

• Present tense: expresses an action that is happening now (e.g. I am studying)
• Past tense: expresses an action that happened in the past (e.g. I studied)
• Future tense: expresses an action that will happen in the future (e.g. I will study)
• Present perfect tense: expresses an action that started in the past and continues up to the present (e.g. I have studied)
• Past perfect tense: expresses an action that happened before another action in the past (e.g. I had studied)
• Future perfect tense: expresses an action that will be completed at a specific point in the future (e.g. I will have studied)

Clauses and Phrases

• Independent clause: a clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence
• Dependent clause: a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence
• Phrase: a group of words that functions as a unit in a sentence
• Relative clause: a clause that begins with a relative pronoun (e.g. who, which, that) and provides additional information about a noun
• Subordinate clause: a clause that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and provides additional information about the main clause