Overview of Parts of Speech / Some Common Prepositions / Some Exercises / More Exercises

 

 

The Parts of Speech                                                                                                      go to top of page

 

NOUN: a person, place, thing, idea, feeling, or animal

                        Ex: cat, leader, girls, Ms. Jones, love, school, trust

 

PRONOUN: takes the place of a noun

Parts of Speech

                        Ex: he, she, it, we, they, none, everybody

 

VERB: expresses action or state of being

                        Ex: run, think, buy, feel

 

ADJECTIVE: describes nouns and pronouns; tells us ÒWhich one?Ó  ÒHow many?Ó ÒWhat kind?Ó

                        Ex: four, blue, big, silly, the, a, an

 

ARTICLE: the little word before a noun. Sometimes considered an adjective

                        Ex: the, a, an

 

ADVERB: describes verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.  Tells us ÒHow?Ó ÒWhen?Ó ÒWhy?Ó ÒWhere?Ó 

ÒIn what way?Ó ÒUnder what condition?Ó ÒTo what extent?Ó

                        Ex: frequently, yesterday, sometimes, never, very, quietly

 

PREPOSITION: shows the relationship (often direction) between noun or pronoun and some other word. 

(Think of any relationship between the noun ÔairplaneÕ and a cloud)

                        Ex: to, up, around, by, through

 

CONJUNCTION: joins words or groups of words

                        Ex: and, but, or, yet, because, although

 

INTERJECTION:  expresses sudden emotion.

                        Ex: Oh! Ouch! No! Oops! Yikes!

 

A Partial List of Prepositions                                                             go to top of page

about

above

across

after

against

along

amid

among

around

at

before

behind

below

 

 

beneath

beside

besides

between

beyond

but (ÒexceptÓ)

by

concerning

down

during

except

for

from

 

in

into

like

of

off

on

over

past

since

through

throughout

to

toward

 

under

underneath

until

up

upon

with

within

without

 


 

Strategies for finding parts of speech in a sentence:

 

1.     Find the main VERB in the sentence and underline it twice.

2.     Find the subject of the sentence by asking ÒWho or what is doing the action?Ó  The subject will be a noun.  Underline the subject once.

3.     Now, it should be easier to figure out the functions of the other words in the sentence.   

4.     SoÉ  Do the other words modify other words?  Do they connect?  Do they stand in for other words?  Do they show emotion but not affect that sentence grammatically?

 

 

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Exercise 1: Underline subjects once.  Underline verbs twice.  Circle all prepositions and draw an arrow

to the noun that the preposition connects to the rest of the sentence.

 

1.     He walked into the house.

 

2.     She sings like a bird. 

 

3.     My houseplants need a drink of water, for my house is very dry. 

 

4.    Despite my anger, I felt sorry for the man who stole my lawnmower.  The grass in his yard looked terrible. 

 

5.    I walked through the snow without a jacket until I was frozen to the bone. 

 

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Exercise 2: Identify the part of speech for each underlined word

 

Like my sister, I love playing in the outdoors.  In the summer, I often climb mountains in New Hampshire and

visit beaches on Cape Cod.  The last mountain I climbed, Mt. Monadnock, was beautiful.  At the top, I took a

photograph of the view.  I also gave a hungry hiker half of my sandwich.  On the trail down the mountain, I

tripped over a loose rock, but I didn't get hurt.  Phew!  Usually, I don't like to climb alone. 

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Exercise 3: Identify the part of speech for each underlined word

 

 

The week before winter vacation requires energy, strength and durability.   There are holiday cards to write,

tests for which to prepare, and travel plans to confirm.   And of course, we canÕt forget school!   Students

have tests in every subject, and some of these tests are (gasp!) cumulative!  Nevertheless, it is important that we

enjoy these last days together as a school.  From a teacherÕs perspective, the energy of a school right before a

vacation is buoyant, healthy and alive.   When the holidays are imminent, the very lively spirit of young people

will always prevail. 

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Same Actor, Different Role

Lesson:  The same word can act as different parts of speech, depending on the sentence itÕs in!

 

            For example:

 

q      Grammar gives me the goosebumps.  (noun. subject)

q      I am a veritable grammar fiend!  (adjective. modifying ÔfiendÕ)

 

q      Today we will study Mars.  (adverb. modifying study)

q      Today is a perfect day for studying planets.  (noun. subject)

 

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Exercise 5: Label the Part of speech in the underlined word.

  1. Both children didnÕt want to eat their peas.
  2. However, since both finished their peas, I bought them ice cream.
  3. The boys liked both sundaes and root beer floats.
  4. I like ice cream, for I have a sweet tooth.
  5. For dessert, I usually eat chocolate cake.
  6. The lamp on the table is usually left on.
  7. He swam off after he jumped off the deep end.
  8. I went outside and I walked around.
  9. I walked around the block and sat outside the post office.
  10. Without a doubt, green is my favorite color.
  11. I doubt that my father is cooking diner right now.

 

 

 

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Exercise 6:  Identify the part of speech of the underlined words below.

 

1.     I like to hear the ring of the cash registers as the salespeople ring up their sales.

 

 

2.     According to the daily schedule, the boat makes three trips daily.

 

 

3.     She chose an especially large book at the book sale.

 

 

4.     Be sure to turn right at the right corner; our house is the first one on the right.

 

 

5.     That shows you didnÕt read that explanation carefully.

 

 

6.     I fancy people in fancy clothes.  I therefore took a fancy to him.

 

 

7.     The vampire powdered his nose; then he ate the powder, as well as the powder box.

 

 

8.     Yesterday I thought that tomorrow was a thing of the future.

 

 

9.     I lost that lost feeling as soon as I found the lost and found.

 

 

10.  I failed the taste test when I tasted the dish without my sense of taste.