Here are some related resources that you can use if you'd like to learn more about this particular topic. These resources were used in the preparation of the above presentation:
Parts of Speech
Noun: Nouns name persons, places, things, qualities, or ideas.
Nouns can be common (and name a class, like dogs), proper (and name a person, like Martin), collective (and refer to a group of some sort, like a team or family), concrete (and denote something tangible, like a flower), or abstract (and refer to something intangible, like love).
Pronoun: Pronouns stand in place of a noun.
Pronouns can be personal (1st person I, 2nd person you, 3rd person he/she), relative (who, which, that), demonstrative (this), interrogative ( what, which, who, whom, and whose—when used to ask a question), indefinite (anyone), and compound personal (myself).
Pronouns can express number: singular (I, you, he, she, it) or plural (we, them, they). Pronouns also take the following gender forms: masculine, feminine, or neuter (he, she, it).
Adjective: Adjectives limit or describe a noun or pronoun—as, for example, nearly everyone, or beautiful person.
a, an (which are indefinite) and the (which is definite) act as limiting adjectives.
Nouns can function as adjectives--as, for example, “The teacher’s tie is ugly.”
Pronouns can function as adjectives--as, for example, “That is my tie.”
Verbs can function as adjectives, as, for example, “Rising storm activity will cause worry.”
Adjectives can express degrees of comparison (such as hotter), including the highest degree or superlative (such as hottest).
Verb: Verbs express action or a state of being—as, for example, “Walter worked…” or “John loves…”
The verb (such as the word is) can function as a linking or copulative device—as, for example, “Alberto is a hard worker.”
The transitive verb does take an object. Ex. “The athlete moved quickly toward the goal.”
The intransitive verb is not linked to an object. Ex. “The athlete moved quickly.”
Verbal: The verbal is a form of the verb that functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb.
Gerunds are verbs that function as nouns. Ex. “Playing is fun.”
Participles are verbs that function as adjectives. Ex. “A working woman faces...”
The infinitive is a verb coupled with the word to, placed before it, and can be used as a noun, adjective or adverb. Ex. “To write is sometimes to work.” “Her determination to study hard obviously showed up in her grades.” “He studied conscientiously to become a better student.
Verb characteristics:
Voice:
Active: The active voice reveals an action performed by the subject. Ex. “John hit the ball.”
Passive: The passive voice displays the action received by the subject. Here the subject is acted upon. Ex. “The player was hit by the ball.”
Tense:
Tense refers to the time of the verb’s action or state of being.
Simple tense: past, present, future.
Perfect tense displays a relationship between time periods.
Present perfect: has or have used with past participle. Ex. “I have studied.”
Past perfect: had used with a past participle. Ex. “I had studied.”
Future perfect: will have or shall have used with a past participle. Ex. “I will have studied before she arrives.”
Mood:
The indicative asserts a fact or asks a direct question.
The imperative asserts a command.
The subjective expresses a wish or a supposition.
Adverb: Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
Ex. “She ran quickly.” Ex. “The thoroughly exhausted player threw the ball.” Ex. “The player very closely observed the other players.”
Preposition:
Prepositions (words like to, in, by, from) appear with a noun (or pronoun) and relate it to other words in the sentence. Ex. “Plants grow by the river.” Here by relates river to grow.
Conjunction:
The conjunction is a word that connects words to one another. The coordinating conjunction connects words or phrases within the sentence. They are and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet. Ex. “Melissa and Doug were hired the same week.”
The correlative conjunction is composed of two conjunctions that relate parts of the sentence to one another. The correlative conjunctions are: both…and, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor. Ex. “Either Caroline or Alberto will be the next department head.”
The subordinating conjunction subordinates words or phrases to one another. They are: after, although, as, because, before, if, since, until, when, whenever, where, while, and whatever. Ex. “She did not study because she had already mastered the material.”
Interjection:
The interjection is a word that expresses strong feeling, is inserted into a sentence, and is usually grammatically unrelated to the sentence. Ex. “Great, we finished the work!”
The appositive is a noun that appears with another noun that helps explain it. Ex. “Dr. Thompson, the University’s president, did a wonderful job.”
The Sentence
Sentence:
The sentence is a unit of grammar that is able to articulate a complete thought. It begins with a capitalized word and ends with a period, question mark or exclamation point.
A complete sentence is composed of a subject (a noun or pronoun) and predicate (verb and its qualifiers).
Sentence forms:
The simple sentence
is composed of one main clause, which contains a subject and a predicate, both
of which may be compound.
Ex. "Joe ordered the book." Ex. “Joe and
Stephanie ordered a book and an article.”
The compound sentence is composed of two or more main clauses. Ex. “Hannah played in the baseball game, and her dad watched with great pride.”
The complex sentence is composed of a main clause and at least one subordinate clause. Ex. “Alberto watched his wife, who performed the concerto beautifully.”
The compound-complex sentence is composed of two or more main clauses and at least one subordinate clause. Ex. "Since the examination was to be so difficult, we studied all day Tuesday, and we thoroughly reviewed the material again on Wednesday.”
Groups of words
Phrase:
The phrase contains related words but not a subject and a verb.
The prepositional phrase contains of a preposition and its object. Ex. “We walked to the field house.”
The participle phrase contains a participle and functions as an adjective. Ex. “Leaping from the ground, the cat swatted the toy.”
The gerund phrase contains a gerund and functions as a noun. Ex. “Working late is not wise.”
An infinitive phrase begins with the word to and is coupled with a verb. Ex. “She was always willing to practice.”
Clause:
The clause is composed of a subject and predicate. Ex. “Whoever plays the game enters the world of competition.”
The independent clause is composed of a subject and predicate and articulates a complete thought. Ex. “I shared my ideas with Professor Finley, who was my history teacher at the time.”
The dependent clause does not articulate a complete thought, even though it is composed a subject and predicate. Ex. “Whoever chooses to compete in the contest will surely experience great difficulty.”
The relative clause is preceded by a “clause maker,” such as: who, whose, whom, which, that. Ex. “The typist who is not cautious will surely produce many typographical errors.”
The topic sentence, paragraph, and paper
Your paper should begin with a well organized topic sentence. The topic sentence should clearly state what the paper is about and give the paper a singular direction. For example, a topic sentence dealing with the war in Estonia may be expressed as follows.
"The war in Estonia is has had a devastating effect on the Estonian people."
The rest of this essay should demonstrate what the topic sentence expresses. One paragraph of the essay, for instance, could offer information about the number of Estonian people killed in the war. The next paragraph could discuss the number of people displaced from their homes. While a third paragraph could offer data regarding the collapse of the Estonian economy, etc.
Topic sentences can be developed in many ways, by using facts, by using reasons, by comparing or contrasting information, etc.
A paragraph should develop one main idea. It should have an introductory sentence, sentences that develop the introductory sentence, and a final sentence that re-expresses the paragraph’s main idea. The sentences in the paragraph should be connected and should follow from one another. Transition devices frequently help accomplish this task. Words like next, moreover, furthermore, first, secondly, thirdly, finally, as well as pronouns and conjunctions, function well as transition words.
Generally speaking a paper should follow the same structure as a paragraph. It should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning of the paper should state what it is going to be about. The middle should develop or demonstrate the main idea. While the conclusion should state what has been accomplished.
Here are some related
resources that you can use if you'd like to learn more about this particular
topic. These resources were used in the preparation of the above
presentation:
Dr. Douglas Low
Reference Librarian
March 2007
