Parts of Speech - Basic Grammar Overview Flashcards
What are the eight main parts of speech?
\+ Nouns \+ Pronouns \+ Adjectives \+Adverbs \+ Verbs \+ Conjunctions \+ Prepositions \+ Interjections
What is a noun and how are they classified?
Nouns are words which name people, animals, things, places, abstract ideas, feelings, substances or qualities.
Classifications \+ Common or Proper \+ Concrete or Abstract \+ Countable or Uncountable \+ Collective, Compound, or Possessive
Nouns
Countability - Countable vs Uncountable
+ In English, nouns generally only change form based on number/quantity.
+ If a noun can be separated into discrete occurrences (such as individual units), then it is countable. If not then it is uncountable.
+ Singular countable nouns and uncountable nouns take the same form and are accompanied by the same verb form.
+ Plural countable nouns take a different form, most commonly, the addition of an s, and are accompanied by the same verb form
Nouns
Concreteness - Concrete vs Abstract
Concrete
+ Nouns that name people, places, animals or substances
+ Can be experienced using the five senses, sight, touch, hearing, taste, or smell
Abstract
+ Nouns that name concepts, feelings or qualities
+ Perceived intellectually - we understand the concept however we are unable to experience it with our senses and instead we use cognitive structures
Nouns
Commonality - Proper vs Common
Proper Nouns
+ Name a specific, known, named occurrence of a noun
+ In written form, it always begins with a capital letter
+ Includes people’s names. company names, country names
Common Nouns
+ Name things in a general sense
+ The vast majority of nouns are common nouns
What is a pronoun and how are they classified?
+ A pronoun is a word which replaces a noun usually to reduce repetition within a sentence or paragraph.
Classifications \+ Personal Pronouns --> Personal pronouns can be subjective or objective, possessive, reflexive, reciprocal \+ Indefinite Pronouns \+ Interrogative \+ Relative \+ Demonstrative
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns - Overview
Personal pronouns are words which replace the names or possessions of known people or things
Can be categorized based on their function
+ Subjective –> The pronoun is replacing a noun in the subject position within a sentence
+ Objective –> The pronoun is replacing a noun in the object position in a sentence
+ Possessive –> The pronoun is replacing a noun which names a possession where the possessor is known
+ Reflexive –> If the subject and object of a verb are the same, then the pronoun in the object position is a reflexive personal pronoun
+ Reciprocal –> If each member of a plural subject performed an action on each member of a plural object, then the pronoun in the object position is a reciprocal personal pronoun
Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns - Overview
Indefinite pronouns stand in for unnamed, unknown, or undefined people or things
+ May function in both the subject and object positions
+ Do not need any previous reference
+ Can replace known nouns or unidentified ones
+ May also function in other parts of speech, especially as determiners
Pronouns
Relative Pronouns - Overview
A relative pronoun replaces the noun sitting at the head of a relative clause. Relative clauses give more information about a noun in the main clause
+ May also function as an adverb or as a determiner
Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns - Overview
Interrogative Pronouns are used in WH-questions to substitute for the thing that the question is about.
+ Stand in for unknown people or things
+ May function as the subject or object of a questions.
+ May also function as a determiner
Pronouns
Demonstrative Pronouns - Overview
Demonstrative pronouns may replace nouns naming people or things and provide a sense of proximity. Therefore, they are influenced by grammatical number
+ This and That replace singular or uncountable nouns
+ These and Those replace plural countable nouns
+ Can also function as determiners
Adjectives and Their Classifications
Adjectives represent characteristics that help describe and distinguish places, people, or things thus modifying nouns. They can also simply identify or quantify these nouns.
Classifications \+ Attributive or Predicative \+ Descriptive or Limiting \+ Gradable or Non-Gradable \+ Compound, Participial or Phrasal
Adjectives
Attributive or Predicative
Attributive –> The adjective is placed directly next to the noun it is modifying.
+ Pre-modify –> placed before
+ Post-modify –> placed after
Predicative –> The adjective functions as the complement of a stative verb
- Remember: Stative verbs are verbs that indicate state or conditions or that indicate physical or emotional sense
Adjectives
Descriptive vs Limiting
Descriptive –> Directly describe some characteristic of the nouns they modify
+ Vast majority of adjectives are descriptive
+ Includes size, shape, color, opinion, condition, origin and purpose.
Limiting –> Places some kind of limit on the nouns they modify
+ Includes, articles, cardinal and ordinal numbers, demonstratives, and possessive
+ Can also be categorized as determiners
Adjectives
Gradable VS Non-Gradable
Some descriptive adjectives may be modified to indicate relative degree.
+ These adjectives may take a comparative or superlative form meaning, they may show a higher or lower intensity of the adjective or noun.
+ For example, higher and lower are the comparative forms of the gradable adjectives high and low
+ If an adjective cannot take a comparative or superlative form then they are considered non-gradable
