SPOKEN ENGLISH : Parts of Speech in English & their function in a sentence.

 

1. Noun

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

Types of Nouns:

  • Common Noun: General names (e.g., girl, city, book)
  • Proper Noun: Specific names (e.g., Sarah, Paris, The Bible)
  • Abstract Noun: Ideas or qualities (e.g., happiness, freedom)
  • Concrete Noun: Things experienced by senses (e.g., apple, table)
  • Collective Noun: Groups (e.g., team, family, herd)

Examples:

  • Common: "The dog is barking."
  • Proper: "London is a big city."
  • Abstract: "She has great courage."
  • Collective: "The jury made its decision."

Usage:

  • Nouns can act as the subject or object of a sentence.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "I have two childs."
    • Correct: "I have two children."

Practice Exercise:

  • Underline the noun in the sentence: "The cat is under the table."
    • Answer: cat, table

2. Pronoun

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.

Types of Pronouns:

  • Personal Pronoun: Refers to a specific person (e.g., I, you, he, she)
  • Possessive Pronoun: Shows ownership (e.g., mine, yours, theirs)
  • Relative Pronoun: Introduces clauses (e.g., who, which, that)
  • Reflexive Pronoun: Reflects back to the subject (e.g., myself, yourself)
  • Demonstrative Pronoun: Points to something (e.g., this, that, these)

Examples:

  • Personal: "He is my brother."
  • Possessive: "That book is hers."
  • Relative: "The man who called is my father."
  • Reflexive: "I did it myself."

Usage:

  • Pronouns are used to avoid repeating nouns in sentences.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "Me and him went to the park."
    • Correct: "He and I went to the park."

Practice Exercise:

  • Replace the noun with a pronoun: "Sarah loves Sarah's cat."
    • Answer: "She loves her cat."

3. Verb

A verb is a word that expresses an action or a state of being.

Types of Verbs:

  • Action Verb: Describes an action (e.g., run, jump, eat)
  • Linking Verb: Connects the subject to more information (e.g., is, seem, become)
  • Auxiliary Verb: Helps the main verb (e.g., have, do, will)

Examples:

  • Action: "She drives a car."
  • Linking: "He is happy."
  • Auxiliary: "I am going to school."

Usage:

  • Verbs indicate what the subject is doing or being.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "She go to school every day."
    • Correct: "She goes to school every day."

Practice Exercise:

  • Identify the verb: "They are playing soccer."
    • Answer: are playing

4. Adjective

An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

Types of Adjectives:

  • Descriptive Adjective: Describes quality (e.g., big, red, fast)
  • Quantitative Adjective: Shows quantity (e.g., few, many, some)
  • Demonstrative Adjective: Points out a specific noun (e.g., this, that)
  • Possessive Adjective: Shows possession (e.g., my, your, their)

Examples:

  • Descriptive: "The blue sky is beautiful."
  • Quantitative: "She has three apples."
  • Demonstrative: "This book is interesting."

Usage:

  • Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns by giving more detail.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "She is more smarter than him."
    • Correct: "She is smarter than him."

Practice Exercise:

  • Identify the adjective: "The tall man is my teacher."
    • Answer: tall

5. Adverb

An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It often answers how, when, where, or to what extent.

Types of Adverbs:

  • Manner: Describes how an action is performed (e.g., quickly, slowly)
  • Time: Describes when an action happens (e.g., yesterday, now, soon)
  • Place: Describes where an action happens (e.g., here, there, everywhere)
  • Frequency: Describes how often an action happens (e.g., always, never, often)

Examples:

  • Manner: "She speaks softly."
  • Time: "He arrived yesterday."
  • Place: "They are playing outside."
  • Frequency: "She always reads before bed."

Usage:

  • Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, giving more information.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "He ran quick."
    • Correct: "He ran quickly."

Practice Exercise:

  • Identify the adverb: "He ran fast in the race."
    • Answer: fast

6. Preposition

A preposition shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence.

Common Prepositions:

  • in, on, at, by, with, about, for, under, between, through, etc.

Examples:

  • "The book is on the table."
  • "She is walking with her dog."

Usage:

  • Prepositions are used to indicate direction, place, time, and relationships.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "He is married with her."
    • Correct: "He is married to her."

Practice Exercise:

  • Choose the correct preposition: "The pen is ___ the drawer."
    • Answer: in

7. Conjunction

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.

Types of Conjunctions:

  • Coordinating Conjunctions: Join words or clauses of equal importance (e.g., and, but, or)
  • Subordinating Conjunctions: Introduce dependent clauses (e.g., because, although, if)
  • Correlative Conjunctions: Work in pairs (e.g., either/or, neither/nor)

Examples:

  • Coordinating: "I like tea and coffee."
  • Subordinating: "She left early because she was tired."
  • Correlative: "Neither John nor Peter was at the party."

Usage:

  • Conjunctions connect ideas and help create complex sentences.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "I want to go, but I am tired."
    • Correct: "I want to go, but I am too tired."

Practice Exercise:

  • Fill in the conjunction: "I want to go ___ I am tired."
    • Answer: but

8. Interjection

An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses emotion or exclamation.

Examples:

  • "Wow! That’s amazing."
  • "Oops! I dropped the cup."
  • "Oh no! The cake is ruined."

Usage:

  • Interjections are used to convey strong emotion or reaction.

Common Errors:

  • Incorrect: "Hey are you coming?"
    • Correct: "Hey! Are you coming?"

Practice Exercise:

  • Identify the interjection: "Oh! I forgot my keys."
    • Answer: Oh

Practice Exercise with Answers:

  1. Underline the noun: "The students are reading books."

    • Answer: students, books
  2. Choose the correct pronoun: "John and ___ are going to the park."

    • Answer: I
  3. Identify the verb: "They were dancing all night."

    • Answer: were dancing
  4. Fill in the adjective: "The ___ cat sat on the mat." (Choose: small, quickly)

    • Answer: small
  5. Choose the correct adverb: "He sings ___. (Choose: beautiful, beautifully)"

    • Answer: beautifully
  6. Fill in the preposition: "The book is ___ the shelf." (Choose: on, under)

    • Answer: on
  7. Identify the conjunction: "I like tea and coffee."

    • Answer: and
  8. Choose the interjection: "___! I missed the bus." (Choose: Oops, Slowly)

    • Answer: Oops

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