Parts of Speech (Bedford 61)
All of the words in the English language can be classified into
divisions called parts of speech. There are eight main categories and a number of
subcategories:
| Nouns | basket, chair, island |
| Pronouns | I, you, he, she, it (see table below) |
| Verbs | swim, eat, decide |
| Adjectives | enormous, happy, soft (includes articles: a, an) |
| Adverbs | gladly, softly |
| Prepositions | into, under, beside |
| Conjunctions | Coordinating: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so Subordinating: although, since, because |
| Interjections | Alas! D'oh! (Thanks to Homer Simpson) |
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Parts of Speech Tutorial
Test your knowledge of parts of speech with this tutorial. Study each highlighted word and determine its part of speech. Then roll over the square at the right to check your answer.
End of tutorial. Scroll down to review the next subtopic, "phrases."
Phrases as Parts of Speech (Bedford 63)
On occasion a group of words can act as a single part of speech. Such words groups are called phrases. Unlike the words groups known as clauses, phrases do not contain the right mix of elements needed to stand alone as a sentence. As you review the parts of speech in preparation for further work with the grammar guide, you may want to review a few types of phrases.
| Type of Phrase | How to Identify | Part of Speech | Example |
| Participial | verbs ending in ing | adjective | Needing help, she called her aunt. |
| Gerund | verbs ending in | noun | Buying a car can be stressful. |
| Infinitive | to plus verb | adjectives, adverbs, nouns | Barbara likes to take the bus. (noun) |
| Absolute | noun followed by participial form | adjectives, adverbs | The bell having run, she ran into the classroom. (modifies whole sentence) |
| Prepositional | begin with a preposition | adjectives, adverbs | After the show, will will meet you at Taco Bell. (adverb) |
| Appositive | phrase follows a noun | nouns | Sharyn, a successful attorney, likes to ski. (further defines/describes subject of sentence) |
Phrase Tutorial
The paragraph below includes seven phrases that act as parts of speech. See if you can find them and the part of speech they mimic. The table below provides feedback.
Laura, an avid snorkler, wants to visit Key West next year. Knowing that travel can be costly, she has started a special savings account. Dreaming of the vacation helps her to avoid wasting money. Her goal firmly established, she can even resist the temptation to buy clothes on the sale racks.
an avid snorkler |
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| to visit Key West next year | |
| Knowing that travel can be costly | |
| Dreaming of the vacation | |
| to avoid wasting money | |
| Her goal firmly established, | |
| to buy clothes on | |
Sentence Elements
The various parts of speech, arranged in logical patterns and sometimes joined into phrases, each serve a specific function in the sentence. The sentence elements are defined by the role they play in creating the meaning and logic of a sentence.
You may have learned that all sentences contain a subject and a predicate. The subject names the person or thing the sentence is about, while the predicate consists of everything that is said about the subject. Here we break down the predicate into its parts, as shown in the following table:
| Sentence Element | Part of Speech | Function | Bedford Section |
| Subject | noun, pronoun | agent, topic of sentence | 62a |
| Verb | verb | conveys action or condition | 62b |
| Subject complement | noun, adjective | modifies or tells more about subject | 62b |
| Object complement | noun, adjective | modifies or tells more about object | 62b |
| Direct object | noun, pronoun | receives action of the verb | 62b |
| Indirect object | noun, pronoun | action of the verb is done for or to this entity | 62b |
Sentence Elements Tutorial
This tutorial offers feedback on sentence elements. Individual words as well as phrases can perform the work of a sentence element. Study each highlighted word or phrase and roll over to see if you have correctly determined its function in the sentence.
| Study the sentence: | Identify: | Check your answer: |
| Sharesa brought her guitar to Ian's party. | Direct object |  |
| Her music usually makes the guests happy. | Object complement | |
| My cousin Sherry enjoys dancing under the stars. | Subject | |
| When we travel our dog stays with my neighbor. | Subject | |
| Mom gave Danny her old truck. | Indirect object | |
| Where is the book I borrowed from Andrea? | Subject | |
| Struggling through calculus has given me confidence. | Subject | |
| Struggling through calculus, I had no time for a trip. | Participial phrase modifying the subject | |
| My favorite recipes often require hours in the kitchen. | Direct object | |
| James quit his job and moved to Tucson. | Verb | |
Sentence Patterns (Bedford 62)
Most English sentences are written in one of the following sequences. As a result, we know what to expect when reading or listening. Knowing these possible patterns will help you to identify and to use correctly the parts of speech and sentence elements.
SV (Subject Verb): My little sister knows.
SVO (Subject Verb Direct Object): My little sister knows the alphabet.
SVIoDO (Subject Verb Indirect Object Direct Object): My little
sister tells me her problems.
SVSc (Subject Verb Subject Complement): My little sister is
hyperactive.
SVDOOc (Subject Verb Direct Object Object Complement): My
little sister makes me angry.
Word Groups II: Clauses
If all of the writing we encountered or produced were as simple
as the examples you have practiced with so far, we would have very few problems with
grammar. Yet only the youngest children think and communicate at this level of simplicity.
From a very early age we take in and attempt to communicate more complex ideas. The
English language is well equipped to help us convey this complexity in clear and
consistent ways.
The phrases introduced above add complexity and precision to
sentences by giving us a little bit more information and detail than a single word can
express. For example, it is more precise to write about Susan's singing (a gerund) than
Susan's songs. Singing lets us know that Susan is actually performing the music, whereas
songs could refer to music Susan has composed.
A second kind of word group, known as clauses, offers a number of
additional opportunities to convey complex ideas and the relationships among them. A
clause is a group of words that includes a subject and a verb. The verb must be acting
like a verb; it cannot be a gerund or participle. A simple sentence is a clause. In addition, there are two kinds of clauses: independent and
dependent, or subordinate. An independent clause is actually a sentence. It can stand by
itself to express a thought.
A dependent clause also contains a subject and a verb, but it
also contains at least one other word that prevents it from conveying a complete and
logical idea of its own. A dependent clause must be attached to an independent clause with
the correct punctuation or with connecting words. The dependent or subordinate clauses in
the following examples are underlined:
While Jamie peeled the potatoes, Sam grated some cheese.
Because we had spent our money on pizza, we couldn't eat out last night.
Logically, a dependent clause leaves us wanting more information. If someone said to you, "Because we had spent our money on pizza" and then stopped, you would probably wonder what happened as a result. The correct use of subordinate clauses allows us to convey complex relationships and to show the relative value of the ideas within a sentence.
Sentence Types (Bedford 64)
The sentence elements can combine in ways which express both
simple and complex ideas. Good writers try to combine these sentence types to achieve both
clarity and a pleasing rhythm.
Simple: One main clause:
Brittany demanded a new car for her sixteenth
birthday.
Compound: Two clauses of equal weight, joined by a semicolon or coordinating conjunction:
Brittany demanded a new car for her sixteenth
birthday,
and her father indulged her.
Complex: Two clauses of unequal weight:
Because she was rather spoiled,
Brittany demanded a new car for her sixteenth birthday.
Compound/complex: A combination of elements:
Because she was rather spoiled, Brittany demanded
a new car
for her sixteenth birthday,
and her father indulged her.
An understanding of the building blocks of sentences--parts of speech, sentences elements, phrases and clauses--will help you to express your meaning clearly and completely.
Tutorial: Recognizing Phrases and Types of Clauses
Directions: Using the key below, identify the type of word group that appears in bold.
IC=Independent Clause
DC=Dependent Clause
P=Phrase
| Read: | Identify: | Review: |
| After she sold a painting for $600, Nancy decided to become an art major. |  |
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| The number of incoming freshmen planning to join sports teams at Meredith. | |
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| Dena, a sophomore majoring in biology, lives next door. | |
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| Having eaten all of her own pizza, she turned her hungry eye toward mine. | |
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| Because Mindy has been elected to three major offices on campus. | |
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| Consequently, she had to resign from two of them. | |
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| Although, she was happy to be so well-respected on campus. | |
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| When her replacement is named, she can stop worrying about all of the responsibility that she has taken on. | |
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| Eating in restaurants, even elegant ones, can grow old quickly. | |
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