parts of speech presentation

parts of speech presentation

Exploring the Fundamental Parts of Speech: A Comprehensive Presentation

1. Introduction to Parts of Speech

As is so well said, witty and ponderous minds cringe at such an overture, for the facts of the matter are that there are at present five principal parts of speech – nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs; and parts curiously troublesome to the student – prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. In a broader view, there are but two classes – naming words, bringing words. It is the purpose of this paper to present these forms of speech to the student, to note the various kinds of each form, and to present illustrative sentences containing the forms. Such sentences are a necessity in the teaching of form – a thumbprint, as it were, impressionable by the ear gate.

Speak, ye witty and ponderous minds, of the myriad parts of speech, to wit: first, the noun – a word that represents a person, place, or thing; secondly, the personal pronoun – a word that stands for a naming noun; thirdly, the verb – a word that signifies being, action, or passion; and, in the breach, a verb is that part of speech which makes the sentence most easily understood.

2. Nouns: The Building Blocks of Language

Once you have a full understanding of what a noun is, you can create them—or, rather, formulate the “ideas” of the things that nouns represent with conjunctions of the letters of the alphabet. Writing is imagination, and the descriptive arts and their sciences indeed call upon your imaginative abilities. All in all, a noun is the base abstract idea of something or someone in one’s mind. It is the name of what you bought; it is the name of its manufacturer. It is the name of me. In a forest of trees exist the names for the trees, and in a nursery school exist the names for the children. Be they cutesy or nostalgic, nouns are the labels for all beings—real or unreal, imaginable or conceivable, spiritual or corporal.

Like peaches with their pit and trees with their roots, no sentence would be complete without a noun. These are the people, places, or things to which any description and action is applied. Highlighted in the following examples are the nouns: “The tree stood tall and majestic.” “With a feeling of nostalgia and remorse, John cleaned his garage.” In speech, they are the label of any person, place, or thing—the parts of which anything is composed and of whose definition everything requires. Phrase them together, and you—in one sense—have language.

3. Verbs: The Powerhouse of Sentences

This brief discussion underscores the concept that verbs are the powerhouse of a sentence, just like coaches are more important to play than Indians! Verbs are the words responsible for providing the predominant amount of the strength; they are the strikers, the performers of action. Verbs are the words filling the meaning position—in reality, verbs are life. Moreover, unlike feelings or conditions, verbs show action is taking place and signal the presence of the other necessary parts. Because of the primacy of the verb, a sentence cannot exist without one.

If the main goal of language is to communicate, then coaches in American English play a major role in the types of messages word-balls can score a “True” or a “False.” The ball has to be present for the play to take place. So too, verbs have to be present for sentences to really say anything. No other coaches are needed.

4. Adjectives and Adverbs: Adding Color and Detail

An adverb adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a noun, a pronoun, a preposition, or conjunction. Adverbs in English often perform the same function that adjectives perform in Russian. In the sentence “He is a very energetic man,” “energetic” is an adjective that describes the noun “man” and “very” is the adverb that describes the adjective. Most adverbs are derived from an adjective by adding the suffix -ly to them. It is very usual that a sentence contains an adverb. Adverbs simply and sharply distinct and emphasize the meaning of a verb and an adjective, a noun, a pronoun, a preposition, or conjunction. Adverbs often answer one of the three basic questions: “When? Where? How?” They are always very changeable (having several forms according to the qualities they are characterizing) and may occur in the position after your noun, the position after your adjective, or after the verb. Prevent adverbial repetition in the sentence.

An adjective modifies a noun or another adjective; that is, the adjective helps to describe or make the meaning of the noun more specific. Adjectives always answer the fundamental question “Which one?” When we say “the little book” and “the green book,” “green” and “little” give us more information about the meaning of the book. The word “green” specifies (or limits) the smaller meaning of the word “book”. Adjectives can also present some qualities of the noun, such as type, quality, thickness, touch, age, size, shape, color, taste, smell. Adjectives are not only words, they could be word combinations, too. In the sentence “The man was wearing a blue suit,” “blue” is an adjective that describes the color of the suit. Adjectives do not change their form (do not have a singular or plural form), don’t take the article, and do not go after the verb even if it is untypical for adjectives.

Like a frame around a picture, adjectives and adverbs make nouns and verbs more interesting. Adjectives and adverbs often give important clues about the meaning and purpose of the context in which they are used.

5. Conjunctions, Prepositions, and Interjections: The Glue that Holds Sentences Together

Interjections An interjection is a word or words that expresses emotion and do not require a grammatical link to the rest of the sentence and parts surrounding the word. Interjections can take the form of mild to severe strong emotions. They can represent any kind of emotion and can come either at the start of the sentence or in the middle of the sentence. Other examples of strong emotions include anger, sadness, joy, and irritation. Interjections often set the tone for the sentence. Greetings are strong interjections because they allow people to express demonstrative joy to both those who are their audience and the individuals they want to reach.

Prepositions Prepositions act on the relationship between two parts of an adjective or an adverb. They are often employed to help describe a change in location, as in such examples as under, in, over, near, out, below, above, through, on, from, along, with, by, and at. A preposition has three characteristics: it always sets up a relationship with the noun that follows it, it never stands alone, and it often sets the tone of time and location. Logically, the preposition is linked to the noun that the prepositional phrase describes. Although phrases that come after prepositions often modify the preposition, the noun is the part that is most clearly linked to it.

Conjunctions A conjunction acts on the relationship between different parts of speech in the sentence that they are part of. Conjunctions are divided into three categories: coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions join units that are syntactically similar. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Conjunctions such as and, or, and but link similar parts of sentences, while yet contrasts ideas.