Parts of Speech

• Words are divided into different classes , called parts of

speech.
• There are 8 parts of speech
– Noun
– Adjective
– Pronoun
– Verb
– Adverb
– Preposition
– Conjunction
– Interjection
 Noun
• A noun is a word used as the name of a
person, place or thing e.g

• Akbar was a great King.

• The rose smells sweet.
• The sun shines brightly.
• His courage won him honor.
 Adjective
• An Adjective is a word used to add something
to the meaning of a noun e.g

• He is a brave boy.
• There are twenty boys in this class.
 Pronoun
• A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun
e.g

• John is absent, because he is ill.

• The books are where you left them.
 Verb
• A Verb is a word used to express action or
state such as

• The girl wrote a letter to her cousin.

• Iron and copper are useful materials.
• He kicked the ball.
 Adverb
• An adverb is a word used to add something to
the meaning of a verb, adjective or another
adverb e.g

• He worked the sum quickly.

• This flower is very beautiful.
 Preposition
• A preposition is a word used with a noun or a
pronoun to show how the person or thing
denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in
relation to something else as

• There is a cow in the garden.

• The girl is fond of music.
• A little girl stands under the tree.
 Conjunction
• A conjunction is a word used to join words or
sentences e.g

• Ali and Ahmad are cousins.

• Two and two make four.
• I ran fast but missed the train.
 Interjection
• An interjection is a word which expresses
some sudden feeling e.g

• Hurrah ! We won the match.

• Alas ! She has passed away.
 The Verb
• A verb is a word that tells or asserts something
about a person or thing.
• A verb may tell us
1. What a person or thing does
Hari laughed. The clock strikes.
2. What is done to a person or thing.
Hari is scolded. The window is broken.
3. What a person or thing is.
The cat is dead. I feel sorry.
• A verb can also consist of more than one word
eg

• I have learnt my lesson.

• The watch has been found.
 Transitive vs Intransitive Verb
• The boy kicks the football.

• The boy laughs loudly.

• In the first sentence, the action denoted by the verb
KICKS is passed over from the doer i.e the boy to the
object i.e the football. The verb KICKS is therefore
known as a transitive verb.

• In the second sentence, the action denoted by the

verb laughs stops with the doer and is not passed
onto anything. Hence laughs here is a intransitive
verb.
• Most verbs can be used both as transitive as
well as intransitive verbs. It is better to say
that a verb is either used transitively or
intransitively rather than to say that a word is
transitive or intransitive.
 Examples of Transitive

• The ants fought the wasps.

• The shot sank the ship.
• Ring the bell, Rama.
• The driver stopped the train.
• He spoke the truth.
• The horse kicked the man.
• I feel severe pain in my head.
 Examples of Intransitive
• Some ants fight fiercely.
• The ship sank rapidly.
• The bell rang loudly.
• The train stopped suddenly.
• This horse never kicks.
• How do you feel?
 Reflexive verbs
• Sometimes it so happens that both the subject and
the object are the same in a sentence. In sentences
like these we say that the verb is being used
reflexively e.g
The man killed himself.
• Sometimes the verb is used reflexively but the
object isn't mentioned.
– The bubble burst. (itself)
– Please keep (yourselves) quiet.
– The guests made (themselves) merry.
 Exercise

Name the verbs in the following sentences

and tell whether each verb is Transitive or
Intransitive.
1. The Sun shines brightly.
2. The boy cut his hand with a knife.
3. The clock stopped this morning.
4. The policeman blew his whistle.
5. The Sun rises in the east.
6. An old beggar stood by the gate.
7. The clock ticks all day.
8. I looked down from my window.
9. Put away your books.
10.The moon rose early
11.Birds fly in the air.
 Mood
• DEFINITION: The form a verb takes to indicate
the ATTITUDE of the person using the verb.

• It is the mode or manner in which a Verb may

be used to an action in a sentence
– Indicative Mood
– Imperative Mood.
– Subjunctive Mood.
 Indicative Mood
• Express a fact, opinion, or question

It is 84 degrees in here.
I think I am going to pass out.
Can we please turn the heat down?

Write one sentence in indicative mood.

• The Indicative mood is used in two ways

1. To make a statement of fact e.g

– The child is alive

– We go to school everyday.
– Napoleon died at St. Helena

2. To ask a question e.g

– Have you found your book?
Are you well?
 Imperative Mood
• Direct command or request

Show me the money.

Now give me the money.
Don’t call the police.
• The imperative mood is used in 3 ways

1. To express a command as
– Wait here.
– Come here.
– Open your books.
2. An exhortation (empathetically)
– Be steady.
– Take care of your health.
3. A prayer
– Have mercy on us.
 Subjunctive Mood
• PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE:
– To express a suggestion, a necessity, or an indirect
command/order

• PAST SUBJUNCTIVE:
– To express an untrue condition, or a wish or
desire.

• Not used in modern English anymore.

What does the subjunctive mood look like?

Present Subjunctive:

The teacher recommended that I be in her class.

I recommend that you be on time the rest of the
year.
The judge suggested that we be given first prize.
• I demand that he do the assignment.

• Her mom insisted that she not play tomorrow

night.

• I insist that Michael come early.

• I strongly suggest that he cooperate with the

police.
 PAST SUBJUNCTIVE
I wish you were in my English class.

I wish Mr. McGowan weren’t so awesome.

If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.

 Exercise

• Point out the verbs in the following sentences

and name their Moods.
• The river flows under the bridge.
• I shall answer the letter tonight.
• It has been raining all night.
• I am hoping to get a holiday soon.
• We have heard a strange story.
• Beware, least something worse should happen
to you.
• Be good, sweet maid.
• God forgive you.
• I have been living here for months.
Auxiliaries And Modals
 Auxiliaries
1. Auxiliary is simply a VERB that accompanies the
main verb to express the tense, aspect, mood,
voice etc, to form interrogative sentences etc.
2. Auxiliary changes the verb that follows it .
3. There can be more than 1 auxiliary in a sentence
4. They can be used separately as verbs themselves
E.g. : I am leaving
She has arrived
Do you smoke?
Am, Has and Do are auxiliaries.

The 3 most common auxiliary verbs are

DO, HAVE, BE
 Modals
1. Modal is a type of verb that is used to
indicate likelihood, ability, permission,
request, suggestion, advice, order etc. They
always take the first form of the verb.
Examples include verbs like can/ could,
may/might, must, ought, will/ would,
shall/should
2. All modal verbs are auxiliary verbs but not all
auxiliary verbs are modal verbs.
 Defective Verbs
Verbs which do not have all forms required to
create sentences in different tenses. Lack in
the various forms.
E.g.: Can is defective verbs because it only has
a past tense i.e. COULD , no other form is
there.
Must is also defective verb because it only has
Present form nothing else.
 ADVERB
• An adverb is a word that is used to modify the
meaning of an adjective, verb or another
adverb, expressing manner, time or degree.
• Adverb can modify phrases or a complete
sentence even.
E.g. :
Rama runs quickly. ( runs is a verb)
This is a very sweet mango. (sweet is an adj)
Goving reads quite clearly (clearly is an adverb)
 Types of Adverbs
• Adverb of Time
These adverbs tell us when an action took place
e.g. : I have heard this before.
I hurt my knee yesterday.
• Adverb of Frequency
How frequently we do thing or how often things occur
e.g. : He frequently comes unprepared.
She never cleans the house.
• Adverb of Place
Answers the question WHERE did it happen?
e.g. : Go there.
Come in.
• Adverb of Manner
Describes how something happened.
E.g. : The Sikhs fought bravely.
The child slept soundly.
• Adverb of Quality/ Degree
Used to describe the degree or intensity of an adj, adv or verb
E.g. : He was too careless.
You are quite wrong.
• Adverb of Negation/ affirmation
When you confirm something.
E.g. : Surely you are mistaken
• Adverb of Reason
When you give reason for an action
E.g. : He therefore left school