Part of Speech

PART OF SPEECH

A. NOUNS

There are various types of nouns. Some nouns may fall under more than one type. This blog takes up the following types of noun:

1.    Countable Nouns

2.   Uncountable Nouns

1.   Countable Nouns

Countable nouns can take the singular or plural form.

Singular	Plural
A cat	Cats
A man	Men
A tooth	Teeth
An egg	Eggs
An Elephant	Elephants
An Axe	Axes

Examples:

Coca-cola, a popular soft drink, started outs as a remedy for headaches.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, held annually, appeals to many children and adults.

a.   Singular Nouns

When a noun refers to one person or thing, it is singular.

Or
A girl	One girl
A book	One book
A report	One report
An insect	One insect
An orange	One orange
An icon	One icon

Examples:

I need to buy a book.

One report is missing from the file cabinet.

·    Do not end singular nouns with -s/-es.

Example: There is one empty chair in the back row for you to sit on.

·    Use singular nouns after the words below. A, an, this, that, a single, another, each, every

Example: She needs every penny she earns to support her family.

·   Singular countable nouns usually need articles. Use the with singular countable nouns when referring to things in general or to specific things; use a/an with singular countable nouns when referring to general or nonspecific things.

Example: The rain forest usually contains exotic animals.

b.  Plural Nouns

When a noun refers to more than one person or thing, it is plural. The plural form of most nouns is made by adding -s/-es to the singular form; however, there are some exceptions.

Singular	Plural
Owl	Owls
Baby	Babies
Party	Parties
Wife	Wives
Sheep	Sheep
Datum	Data
Man	Men

Examples:

We will recruit more men for the project.

Most student look forward to attending graduation parties.

·    Do not use a/an with plural nouns.

Example: There are beautiful birds of paradise in the zoo.

·   Use plural nouns after the words below. All, some, some (of the), a few (of), many (of), a lot of, lots of, various, these, those, every one of, each one of, each of, one of, both, other, dozens of, hundreds of, thousands of, a number of, the number of, a couple of, several (of the).

Example: It took them a couple of hours to finish their class project.

·   When words such as hundred, thousand or million follow number, do not put them into a plural form.

Example: Tens of teenagers were arrested for fighting during the rock concert.

·    Be careful or irregular plural nouns.

Example: Most housewives prefer to have part-time jobs.

2.  Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are nouns that have only one form and take a singular verb.

·    Do not use uncountable nouns after the words/ phrases below. A/an, another, one, a single, each, every, some, some (of the), a few (of), many (of), a lot of, lots of, various, these, those, every one of, each one of, each of, one of, both, other, dozens of, hundreds of, thousands of, a number of, the number of, a couple of, several (of the).

Example: The school issued many regulations for students and teachers

·   Use uncountable nouns with the words below. Much, little, a little, an amount of, all*, some*, a lot of*, plenty of* (*they can also be used with countable plural nouns)

Example: The institution has done a lot of research on the new drug.

·    Do not put uncountable nouns into plural form.

Example: Cats cannot stand pepper.

B.  SUBJECT AND OBJECT PRONOUNS

Subject pronouns are used as the subject of a verb and object pronouns are used as the object of a verb or of a preposition.

Subject Pronouns
I	We
You	You
He	They
She	It
Object Pronouns
Me	Us
You	You
Him	Them
Her	It

Example: Jason lent the novel to her after he finished reading it.

C.  POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

Possessive pronouns may function either as the subject a verb or as the object of a verb or of a preposition.

Possessive Pronouns

Mine

Yours

His

Hers

Ours

Theirs

Example: He promised to introduce a friend of his tomorrow.

D.  REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Reflexive pronouns are used as the object of a verb or of a preposition. They are used when the object of the verb or preposition refers to the subject. A special use of reflexive pronouns is to intensify nouns or pronouns.

Reflexive Pronouns

Myself

Yourself

Himself

Herself

Oneself

Itself

Ourselves Yourselves

themselves

Example: The student themselves insisted on having a discussion.

E.  POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

Possessive adjectives function to modify nouns and must agree with the nouns they refer to.

Possessive Adjectives

My

Your

His

Her

Our

Their

Example: All students must bring their ID’s

F.  RELATIVE PRONOUNS AND ADVERBS

Relative pronouns are all used in adjective/ relative clauses.

·      Who or that is used as a subject referring to a person.

·      Whom is used as an object referring to a person.

·      Which or that is used as a subject or an object referring to a thing.

·      Whose is used to replace a possessive adjective.

Relative adverbs, also used in adjective/ relative clauses, substitute for an adverb, and they are not pronouns.

·      When refers to a time

·      Where refers to a place

·      Why refers to a reason

Examples:

My sister who graduated from college last month is thinking of having a business of her own.

The book that I bought yesterday when I went to the new mall is expensive.

G.  FORMS OF OTHER

Another refers to a nonspecific singular noun; “others” refers to a nonspecific plural noun; “the others” refers to a specific singular noun; and “the others” refers to a specific plural noun. All of these pronouns are used as the subject or the object of a verb.

Forms of “other” as pronouns

Another

The other

Others

The others

Example: Did you lose your copy? I have still another

H. NON REFERENTIAL “IT” AND “THERE” SUBJECTS

It and there, though classified as pronouns in most dictionaries and grammar books, differ from other pronouns. The main function of it and there is either to provide a sentence with a subject or to anticipate a true subject in the predicate position.

The non referential it introduces predicates with special meanings such as to show identification, to express weather, time and distance, and to describe a situation. It is also used to anticipate the true subject.

The non referential there occurs most often with a linking verb and the verb agree with the subject that comes after it.

Examples:

It to show special meanings:

o  Identification : It’s Jane.

o  Weather : It was raining yesterday.

o  Time : It’s Monday.

o  Distance : It’s nine miles from the university to my house.

o  Situation : It’s lonely here.

It to anticipate the true subject:

o  It is important to be punctual. (To be punctual is important.)

o  It is incredible what scientists can do these days. (What scientists can do these day is incredible.)

There to anticipate the true subject:

o  There is a student in the library. (A student is in the library.)

o  There seems to be two problems in the project. (Two problems seem to be in the project.)

I.    ADJECTIVES

There are different types of adjectives and this blog takes up descriptive adjectives, participles, and noun adjunct (nouns that modify other nouns, and so, they function as adjectives)

Adjectives modify nouns, appearing before the nouns or after linking verbs. They also modify pronouns, usually appearing after linking verbs (be, become, remain, etc.).

Descriptive Adjectives
Beautiful
Intelligent
Generous
Participles
Present	Past
Interesting	Interested
Boring	Bored
Spoiling	Spoiled
Breaking	Broken
Selling	Sold
Grinding	Ground
Noun Adjunct
A school bag
Pencil cases
A night cap

Example: The broken windows should be replaced.

*broken      = adjective

*windows    = noun

·    Do not use nouns in place of adjectives, and vice versa.

Example: The canal in Panama has made tourism in that country an important business.

·   Use adjectives before nouns and after linking verbs. (Linking verb: be, look, seem, appear remain, feel, prove, taste, smell, become, keep, sound)

Example: The egg of a penguin remains warm in the pouch above its feet.

·   Be careful of participles. Present participles are active in meaning but past participles are passive in meaning.

Example: During World Wide II, all the fighting nations transported troops behind enemy lines by plane.

·   Be careful of the position of noun adjuncts. They are nouns but they function as adjectives. So, noun always precedes the nouns they modify.

Example: Paris, located on the Seine, is the beautiful capital city of France.

J.   ADVERB

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or the whole sentence. This unit discusses only the first three. The position of adverbs is flexible, depending on what is being emphasized.

Adjectives	Adverbs
Fast	Fast
Hard	Hard
High	High and highly
Diligent	Diligently
Careful	Carefully
Attentive	Attentively
Other adverbs (not formed from adjectives)
Very
Too
Almost
Never
Often
Just
Marely
Recently
Really

Example:

They are too young to be married.

The boys work diligently.

·    Do not use adverbs in place of adjectives, and vice versa.

Example: Clocks have special devises that give the pendulum a tiny push regular intervals.

K.  VERB

Verb forms may be classified as follows:

Base form

Start

Think

Draw

Write

Run

Let

Examples:

The police artist will draw criminal’s artist.

I must write the paper now for tomorrow’s discussion.

He should let the dog out in the evening.

Infinitive

To start

To think

To draw

To write

To run

To let

Examples:

He sat aside his salary to start his own business.

To write well, we must practice writing a lot.

It was thoughtful of her to buy me a watch.

Gerund

Starting

Thinking

Drawing

Writing

Running

Letting

Examples:

My father is very fond of reading.

I’m thinking of writing another novel.

John is looking forward to running his father’s store.

Past Participles

Started

Thought

Drawn

Written

Run

Let

Examples:

The principal was enraged by the student’s behavior.

The contract has been signed.

Mr. Hung has signed the contract.

Simple Pat Form

Started

Thought

Drew

Wrote

Run

Let

Examples:

I started to cry as I listened to his account.

He wrote a letter to say that he couldn’t come to New York.

Donny saw Andy off to his office.

·    Use the base form after modals such as will, can, or may.

Example: Will the professor allow us to submit the paper after the exam?

·    Use the infinitive form to show purpose.

Experts are sent to the tsunami-stricken province to rebuild the region

·    Use the infinitive form after adjectives.

Example: He is too tired to walk.

·    Use the gerund form after prepositions.

She doesn’t approve of spending a lot of money on food.

·   Use the past participles after the forms of be (be, being, am, is, are, was, were, been) to express passive meaning, and after the forms of have (have, has, had) to express active meaning.

Example: My brother has worked in a bank for ten years

·    The simple past form is used with particular time makers. Below are some of them.

Example: He left for the airport yesterday.

Adapted from LBPP LIA. 2010. LIA Preparation Course for the Toefl Test 1 & 2. LBPP LIA:JAKARTA.