A verb is a word that shows an action, occurrence, or a state of being.
Action: We go. Occurrence: I become. State of being: I am.
- Auxiliary verbs (can, could, may, must, will, etc.) are combined with main verbs to make verb phrases.
I must go to the library right now.
[divider top=”0″]A noun refers to a person (mother), place (park), thing (building), or idea (sadness). A proper noun refers to a specific person (Jane), place (Chicago), thing (Senate), or idea (Catholicism).
- A collective noun refers to groups of people, places, things, or ideas, but is treated as if it is singular.
The flock of birds flew above me.
The team was not happy about the loss. (Even though there is more than one person on the team, we treat it like it is singular).
- Most nouns can be made plural by adding s or es to the end of the singular noun. There are irregular nouns, however, that use different letters to make them plural (woman-women, alumnus-alumni, mouse-mice). A list of irregular verbs is included in the appendix.
The woman chose one puppy, but I decided to choose two puppies.
[divider top=”1″]A pronoun is a word that replaces or stands in place of a noun in a sentence. We use pronouns to avoid repeating nouns and to express them in a shorter form. The noun that the pronoun replaces is called the antecedent.
- A pronoun is a word that replaces or stands in place of a noun in a sentence. We use pronouns to avoid repeating nouns and to express them in a shorter form. The noun that the pronoun replaces is called the antecedent.
Due to Nancy’s passion for learning, she (Nancy) chose to go to college.
- A possessive pronoun indicates ownership of something (mine, yours, hers, theirs, its, ours, etc.).
I asked her to give me back my pen, but she told me that it was hers.
- A reflexive pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence or the clause that it is a part of. It always ends in self or selves.
The teenagers mocked themselves (the teenagers) in a parody of their class.
- An intensive pronoun appears in the same form as a reflexive pronoun, but is used to give emphasis to the antecedent.
I went to the concert myself (emphasizing I).
- An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific noun in particular; rather, it conveys the idea of a quantity (some, all, none) or a random person or thing (somebody, anybody). It refers to identifiable things.
We outlined everything in our plan, but everyone still seemed confused.
- A demonstrative pronoun identifies a specific noun to which it is referring (this, that, these, those).
This (my house) is my house and these (my flowers) are my flowers.
- An interrogative pronoun is used to ask questions (who, what, which).
What is the cause of the problem?
- A relative pronoun introduces dependent clauses and relates the dependent clause to the rest of the sentence (who, which, that, what, whoever). Note: An explanation of that vs. which is under the section Components of a Sentence.
Jamie read a book that related to music.
- A reciprocal pronoun describes the individual parts of the plural noun antecedent (each other, one another, etc.).
The countries found it difficult to come to an agreement because they did not trust each other (the countries).
[divider top=”1″]An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. It can do this through identifying, quantifying, describing, or comparing the noun or pronoun.
Describe: My black Mini Cooper is faster than the Batmobile.
Identify: That Batmobile needs a better engine.
Quantify: There are several other cars that are faster than the Batmobile.
Comparison: The Batmobile is the slowest car in Chicago.
- A proper adjective stems from or modifies proper nouns and is capitalized (Irish, American, etc.).
The Freudian perspective was applied to our analysis.
An adverb is a word that modifies verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and entire clauses. Some, but not all, adverbs end in the letters ly. Conjunctive adverbs modify an entire clause and relate it to a previous clause (therefore, however, likewise, etc.).
Verb: I frequently attend lectures given on World War II.
Adjective: Sarah had an oddly enjoyable experience at the circus.
Adverb: They very quickly realized that they were not alone in the cave.
Clause: Consequently, my car was towed and I had to pay a serious fine.
[divider top=”1″]A preposition is a word that expresses a relationship between a noun or a pronoun, and other words in a sentence. It can describe space, time, etc.
- Common Prepositions
| About | Behind | During | Near | Through |
| Above | Below | Except | Of | To |
| Across | Beneath | For | Off | Toward |
| After | Beside | From | On | Under |
| Against | Between | In | Out | Until |
| Around | Beyond | Inside | Outside | Up |
| At | By | Into | Over | Upon |
| Before | Down | Like | Since | With |
- A compound preposition is made up of more than one word. Here are some common examples of compound prepositions:
| According to | By way of | In addition to | In spite of | On account of |
| As well as | Due to | In front of | Instead of | Out of |
| Because of | Except for | In place of | Next to | With regard to |
A conjunction is a word that connects other words or groups of words together.
- A coordinating conjunction joins equivalent structures. For example, it joins a noun to a noun, or a verb to a verb, etc. The seven coordinating conjunctions are (FANBOYS) for, and, nor, but, or yet, and so.
I asked my professor for an extension, but he said that watching television was not a good reason for needing one.
- A correlative conjunction joins two elements, and the conjunctions come in groups of two (both…and, either…or, whether…or, etc.).
Neither my muscles nor my good looks helped me to get the job.
- A subordinating conjunction can identify the relationship between the adverb clause and another clause (after, as, because, even though, if, since, so that, though, until, while, etc.).
I desperately searched my garden for my dog while my mom called out his name.
- A conjunctive adverb connects independent clauses and often acts as a transitional expression (also, anyway, besides, indeed, otherwise, similarly, therefore, thus, etc.). They are considered to be both adverbs and conjunctions because they both modify and connect clauses. If a conjunctive adverb connects two independent clauses, a semicolon or period must be used to separate them.
Chicagoans love mustard on their hot dogs; however, I think mustard is rancid.
[divider top=”1″]An article can be classified as an adjective, as it describes the noun that follows it. There are two main categories of articles. The first type is the definite article (the). The definite article refers to a specific thing. The second type of article is the indefinite article (a/an). This article refers to an unspecific thing.
- The indefinite article has two forms, a or an. The indefinite article is used when referring to one of many things, without it being something specific. It is usually used with count and noncount nouns.
Can I have a book? (The indefinite article a refers to one book, but not a specific book).
- The definite article has one form, the. The definite article is used when referring to a specific thing. It is usually a thing that the reader is aware of or that has already been referred to. The definite article can only refer to count nouns.
Can I have the book? (The definite article the refers to a specific book).
- The zero article refers to situations where no article is necessary before a noun. This is the case when you are making generalizations about noncount or plural count nouns.
People have difficulty understanding that taxes are necessary. (The word “people” is both a noncount and a count noun, but is being used as a noncount noun here. The noun “taxes” refers to taxes in general, without specifying any kind of tax).
Articles can be a difficult area to deal with because they are so subjective. There are a few rules, however, which can help you to navigate through the maze that is articles! Here are some helpful hints when dealing with articles:
A versus an:
- A is used before most words that begin with a consonant (exceptions are the next point).
– A horse, a monkey, a school
- The exception to this rule is that we use an before a silent h.
–An honest mistake, an honor
- An is used before most words that begin with vowels (exceptions are listed after this).
–An animal, an island, an egg
- The exceptions are when the letter u makes the same sound as the y in you, and when the letter o makes the same sound as the w in won.
–A university, a unicorn, and a one-horned, etc.
The definite article should be used:
- When referring to something that there is only one of in existence.
The Pope visited a number of countries during the year. (There is only one Pope, and we are not referring to a specific country, so we use “a”).
- When referring to geographic places (except when the place has a modifier in front of it and when it is a country).
The park seemed like the best place for us to go, but they chose to go to the beach.
- When referring to pluralized proper nouns.
The Dells in Wisconsin is a great place for families to visit.
- When referring to oceans or seas (if they are proper nouns).
I would love to swim in the sea; especially the Red Sea.
The zero article is used:
- When referring to languages, sports, and academic subjects.
I speak fluent French, play soccer, and study history.
- When referring to seasons, diseases (although some can take articles), institutions, meals, and times of day.
In autumn, I go to class at night and eat my dinner beforehand.
- When referring to countries, states, counties, provinces, lakes, and mountains unless it is describing a group or collections of countries or states (the United States, the E.U.).
I am going to France, Italy, and Germany.
- When referring to something abstract (a concept or feeling).
I hope for peace in my neighborhood.
There is so much injustice in this city.
Exception: I feel the love in this room. (While “love” is abstract here, we are referring to the specific love present in the room).
Source: St. Martin’s Handbook, 5th and 6th editions
