At the first level, parts of speech are defined as categories of words according to their function in sentences. Each part of speech thus helps bring out meaning and grammatical relationships between words. In English, the following are the main parts of speech:
- Nouns are the words that define a people, place, thing, or idea: "dog," "city," "happiness,"
- Pronouns are the words that replace the nouns to avoid repetition: "he," "she," "they," "it."
- Verbs denote the action-the state of being-by which the subject does or is affected: For example, "run," "is," "have."
- Adjectives tell us more of the noun by describing or modifying that noun. Examples are: "blue," "tall," "interesting."
- Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or even another adverb: "quickly," "very," "yesterday," for instance.
- Prepositions: The noun (or pronouns)-other words relate to it in relation to direction or location or time: "in," "on," "at," etc.
- Conjunction: These are words that join two or more words, phrases, or clauses (and, but, or).
- Interjections are those parts of speech that express feelings in a sudden outburst. Examples of interjections are: "Wow!" "ouch!" "hey!".
Common Nouns:
- Definition: General designations for people, places, things, ideas.
- Examples: " Person: teacher, doctor Place: city, park Thing: book, car
- Idea: happiness, freedom."
Example :" The teacher assigned homework." "We went to the park."
Proper Nouns:
- Definition- Specific names of persons, places, or organizations, capitalized.
- Examples: Person: Albert Einstein, Marie Curie
- Place: New York, Eiffel Tower
- Organization: Microsoft, United Nations.
- "Albert Einstein was a famous physicist."
- "I visited Paris last summer."
Collective Nouns
- Definition: Words that stand for a group of people or things.
- Examples: People: team, committee
- Things: flock, bunch
- Example: " The team won the championship." " A flock of birds flew overhead."
Abstract Nouns
- Definition: Names for things that cannot be perceived through the five senses; they represent ideas, qualities, or conditions.
- Examples:
- Qualities: bravery, beauty;
- Conditions: love, sadness
- Example: " Her bravery in the face of danger was quite inspiring."
- "The beauty of the sunset took my breath away."
Concrete Nouns
- Definition: Names for things that can be perceived through the senses; they refer to physical objects.
- Examples:
- Objects: apple, car Places: school, beach
- Example:
- "I ate an apple." "They walked along the beach."
The noun functions within the sentence.
Nouns may serve diverse functions in a sentence. They may serve as:
- Subject: The noun which performs an action.
- Example: "The dog continually barks."
- Object: The noun receiving action.
- Example: "She threw the ball."
- Complement: A noun that appends the subject's name or describes it.
- Example: "He is a doctor."
Singular vs. Plural Nouns
- Singular Nouns: Refers to one thing.
- Example: "cat," "city"
- Plural Nouns: Denote more than one thing, usually formed by adding "-s" or "-es."
- For example, "cats," "cities."
Examples of irregular plural forms:
Some nouns possess an irremediably plural form.
- Examples:
- Child → Children
- Mouse → Mice
Possessive Nouns
Possessive nouns show ownership or relationships as in "the student's homework," formed mostly by using an apostrophe and "s" for singular nouns or just an apostrophe for plural nouns already ending with "s."
- Examples:
- Singular: "The girl's book."
- Plural: "The teachers' lounge."
