Parts of Speech

Introduction :

                Speech in grammar is defined generally as the ability to express or communicate a certain thought or idea by articulating sounds. It does not exist without components/ elements that constitute it. Parts of speech are mainly and precisely as follows:

1.       Noun: It is a word (part of speech) that names persons, places, things, ideas, and/or concepts. Nouns can be classified in different ways depending on their meaning and their use in different sentences. Nouns in a sentence can be as follows regarding their “FUNCTION”:

·  Subject:

  • Dogs bark.
  • Anna is reading.

·  Direct Object:

  • She found a book.
  • They ate pizza.

·  Indirect Object:

  • He gave Emma a gift.
  • I sent my friend a message.

·  Object of a Preposition:

  • She sat on the bench.
  • They walked through the park.

·  Subject Complement:

  • He is a teacher.
  • The winner is Alice.

·  Object Complement:

  • They named him captain.
  • The team elected Sarah leader.

·  Appositive:

  • My friend, John, arrived.
  • The city Paris is beautiful.

 

Nouns can also be divided into types and subtypes just like : Proper ( Ali) , common ( Palace) , concrete ( table) , Abstract ( Courage), collective (Wealth/ advice)  as they can be seen as countable and  uncountable). 

 

2.       Verb: It is a word (Part of speech) that exists to express an action, an incident/happening, or a state of being. They are important because the yshow us what the subject is , does, or experiences. Verbs are categorized according to their types and functions:

 

A.   Action Verbs

These verbs are used to denote physical or mental actions.

  • Physical Action:
    • She runs every morning.
    • They built a castle.
  • Mental Action:
    • He thinks deeply.
    • I imagine a world with peace.

B.    Linking Verbs

These verbs are there to connect the subject to a description or state, often with adjectives (or nouns)

  • She is a doctor.
  • The flowers smell lovely.
  • They seem happy.

C.   Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs

They are usually combined with main verbs to create various tenses and moods…etc.

  • I am eating dinner.
  • They have finished their homework.
  • They will go tomorrow.

D.   Modal Verbs

These verbs are mostly called (modals) and they express ability, possibility, permission, or necessity.

  • She can play well. (Ability)
  • He might arrive late. (Possibility)
  • You should finish your meal. (Necessity/Advice)
  • May I leave early? (Permission)

 

3.       Adjective:  It is a word ( part of speech) used to describe, modify or offer more details or information about a given noun or pronoun. These adjectives add more to particular descriptions by giving details on:

 

·  Quality: beautiful, smart, red, white…

·  Quantity: few, several, multiple

·  Size: big, small, huge.

·  Shape: round, short, long, rectangular.

·  Age: new, old, ancient,

·  Origin: American, Mexican,

 

4.      Adverb: a word ( part of speech) used to describe or modify a verb, adjective, and/or even another adverb. These adverbs offer additional information and details about how, when, where, or to what extent a certain action happens. They also ntensify the meaning of another adverb.

·  Manner (how): quickly, carefully, easily, calmly

  • She slept peacefully

·  Time (when): now, later, yesterday, ealier

  • They arrived yesterday.

·  Place (where): here, there, inside, outside, somewhere,

  • He looked everywhere.

·  Frequency (how often): always, never, often

  • She often goes to her aunt’s.

·  Degree (to what extent): very, too, somehow, quite

  • The movie was extremely interesting.

 

5.      Articles: words (parts of speech) that “define” a noun as “specific” or “unspecific“ . They exist to help clarify whether something is known and specific or general and undefined. There are two types of articles:

A.    Definite Article: « the »

  • It refers to a particular noun that is known and familiar to the listener or reader.

Ex: Please pass the ball. (It refers to a specific known “Ball”)

B.     Indefinite Articles: a and an

  • Refer to a non-specific noun that is unknown to the listener or reader.
  • We use ‘a’ before words that start with a consonant sound, and an before words that start with a vowel sound.

Ex

  •  She adopted a dog. (It could be any dog, not a specific one)
  • He saw an elephant. (it could be any elephant, not a specific one)

6.      Preposition: It is a word (part of speech that displays the relationship between a noun/ pronoun and other words within the same sentence they indicate different relationships and they are usually followed by a noun , a pronoun or a noun phrase, forming in the process what we would call a ‘ prepositional phrase”.

 Some of the common relationships expressed by prepositions may be:

A.    Location: in, on, at, above, under, between

    • The mug is on the counter.
  1. Time: before, , during, since, prior, after
    • We met before sunset.
  2. Direction: into, to, from, toward
    • They walked toward the parking lot.
  3. Cause: because of, due to
    •  The game was canceled because of the heavy rains

7.      Quantifier: It is a word or a phrase used to designate the quantity or the amount of something. It is usually used to indicate or offer information about “how much” or “ how many” without giving an exact number. They are usually used with countable and uncountable nouns to give a sense of general amounts.

We have quantifiers for countable nouns such as: MANY , FEW, SEVERAL, A COUPLE OF.

We have quantifiers for uncountable nouns such as: MUCH , LITTLE, BIT..

We have quantifiers that could work for both such as: ALL, MOST, SOME, ANY.