The Ultimate Guide to Choosing WordPress Pros and Cons
Parts of Speech Identification Guide
1. Review – the Parts of Speech Nouns Verbs Adjectives Determiners Prepositions Conjunctions Pronouns Adverbs (Auxiliaries)
2.
3. The distribution of Nouns I. Nouns may follow determiners – The house , most people , some ideas , few years , each person , their dog II. Nouns may follow adjectives – Nice house , hungry people , great ideas , good years
4. The distribution of Nouns I. Proper Nouns are simply names , and they do NOT follow determiners – John , Queens College , U.S.A II. Count Nouns follow “ many ” – many houses , many people , many ideas III. Noncount Nouns follow “ much ” – much water , much money , much soup
5.
6.
7. The distribution of Verbs I. Verbs may follow auxiliaries – should go , must do , will come , is studying , have eaten II. Verbs may follow infinitive to – to go , to do , to have , to believe III. Verbs may follow NPs – John left , the computer crashed , he ate
8. The distribution of Verbs I. Linking Verbs may be followed by Adj . is thirsty , was cold , feels great II. Transitive Verbs are followed by NPs Met Sam , saw a movie , sold her car , III. Intransitive Verbs can NOT be followed by NPs – John left , they ate , she slept , it rained
9.
10. The distribution of Adjectives I. Adjectives may come between a determiner and a noun – a nice boy , the perfect time , one lovely afternoon , that incredible book II. Adjectives may follow linking verbs – is happy , seems tired , tastes wonderful , smells great , sounds good , were sad
11.
12. The distribution of Determiners Determiners are followed by nouns – a boy , the desk , one afternoon , that book, his laughter , those chairs , these movies , some people , every summer
13.
14. The distribution of Prepositions Prepositions are followed by NPs – for the man , around that time , with her , by my side , up the hill , from Mary , over the rainbow , at school , before class , across the street , on your shirt , in her apt. , out the door , near this lake . The NP that follows the preposition is: The Object of the Preposition!
15.
16. The distribution of Conjunctions Conjunctions must relate constituents of the same category : relating nouns : John and Mary relating adjectives : sad but true Relating verbs : eat or drink relating clauses : [He thinks] that [he is smart] [Mary slept] while [John studied]. [She ate] after [she ran]. [I’m tired] so [I’ll go].
17.
18. The distribution of Pronouns Pronouns have the distribution of NPs ! Subject Pronouns : Can only be the subject of a sentence – I , we , you , he , she , it , they Object Pronouns : Can be the object of a verb or of a Prep.: Me , us , you , him , her , it , them
19. The distribution of Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns : Must have an antecedent in their clause- myself , ourselves , yourself , himself , herself , itself , themselves Demonstrative Pronouns : Can NOT be followed by a Noun – This , that , these , those
20. The distribution of Pronouns Possessive Pronouns : Can NOT be followed by a Noun – mine , ours , yours , his , hers , its , theirs Interrogative Pronouns : Are used to ask a question – how , what , when , where , which , who , whom , whose , why
21. The distribution of Pronouns Relative Pronouns : Follow a NP (which they replace) and start a relative clause (which describes the NP )- The man [ who lives here]… That book [ which you told me about]… A woman [ that I met]…
22.
23. The distribution of Adverbs I. Adverbs may follow verbs – Eat quietly , sleep peacefully , speak well II. Adverbs may precede adjectives – very happy , so tired , quite wonderful III. Adverbs may precede adverbs – Very quietly , so peacefully , rather well
24.
25. The distribution of Auxiliaries Auxiliaries precede verbs , or other Aux. Modals precede verbs in Base Form : Should eat , will have , must see Have precedes verbs in Past Participle : Have eat en , has se en , have be en Be precedes verbs in Progressive Form : Is eat ing , was laugh ing , am drink ing
26.
27. Question : What part of speech is the word “fax”? Answer : It depends! If the preceding word is “the”, then “fax” is… Noun But if the preceding word is “to”, then “fax” is… Verb If the following word is “machine”, then “fax” is… Adjective Conclusion : To tell what part of speech a word is, you must know what words come before and after it. Distribution exists only in context
28. Question : What part of speech is “that”? 1. John likes that movie. Determiner 2. John thinks that the movie is good. Conjunction 3. The man that lives here is nice. Relative Pronoun 4. John likes that. Demonstrative Pronoun Distribution is relevant only in context
29. Question : What part of speech is “when”? 1. John knows when the movie is over. Conjunction 2. When are you coming? Interrogative Pronoun 3. That time when you came over was great. Relative Pronoun Distribution is relevant only in context
30. Question : What part of speech is “before”? 1. John studies before he watches T.V. Conjunction 2. We had lunch before our long class. Preposition 3. I never realized this before. Adverb Distribution is relevant only in context
31. Question : What part of speech is “book”? 1. I love this book. Noun 2. Can I please book a flight to Denver? Verb 3. Mary enjoys attending her book club. Adjective Distribution is relevant only in context
32. Question : What part of speech is “who”? 1. Who is the best one here? Interrogative Pronoun 2. I wonder who is the best one here? Conjunction 3. The student who is absent is sick. Relative Pronoun Distribution is relevant only in context
33. Question : What part of speech is “since”? 1. We didn’t see you since last year. Preposition 2. Let’s order lunch since we’re both hungry. Conjunction Distribution is relevant only in context
34. Question : What part of speech is “why”? 1. We don’t know why you even came here. Conjunction 2. Why did you even come here? Interrogative Pronoun 3. The reason why he came here is unclear. Relative Pronoun Distribution is relevant only in context
35. Question : What part of speech is “have”? 1. They have so much homework to do. Verb 2. Have you ever been to Disneyland? Auxiliary Distribution is relevant only in context
36. Question : What part of speech is “on”? 1. The lights are on. Adjective 2. You’ll see the supermarket on Elm street. Preposition Distribution is relevant only in context
37. Question : What part of speech is “out”? 1. The birds flew out the window. Preposition 2. John went out. Adverb 3. Silly John, you came in through the out door. Adjective Distribution is relevant only in context
38. Question : What part of speech is “were”? 1. They were homesick. Verb 2. Sam and Rachel were traveling together. Auxiliary 3. Weren’t you going to the movies tonight? Auxiliary Distribution is relevant only in context
39. Question : What part of speech is “home”? 1. They miss their home in Chicago. Noun 2. Sam is going home now. Adverb 3. I work from home. Noun 4. She has been home all day. Adverb Distribution is relevant only in context
40. Question : What part of speech is “did”? 1. They did their homework. Verb 2. Sam didn’t laugh at that joke. Auxiliary 3. Did you see me on T.V? Auxiliary 4. You are wrong, Mary did do her homework. Auxiliary Distribution is relevant only in context