Parts of Speech Test Review Sheet

Parts of Speech Test Review Sheet

Test date: ______

Note: this is a review summary. You should also study your notes as well as Chapter one in your Warriner’s Handbook, all handouts, and exercises completed.

NOUN Nouns are words that name people, places, things, and ideas/characteristics/qualities.

Examples: student, chef, Jennifer, school, Florida, Europe, chair, homework, book, peace, happiness, honesty, freedom, and anger.

A proper noun is the name of a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. A common noun is a general word that can mean more than one person, place, or thing. These nouns are lower case, except when they come at the beginning of a sentence. Concrete nouns can be perceived by at least one of the 5 senses (cat, moon, wood, light bulb) but abstract nouns can not (freedom, intelligence, thought). Compound nouns are two or more words put together: lighthouse, Cape Cod, tug-of-war.

***BEWARE of words that look like actions, but are being used as nouns:

Noun: I raced in the 10-mile run. Verb: I run with my dog.

Noun: Are you going to the dance? Verb: We will dance to the music.

PRONOUN A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun or more than one noun.

Examples: Personal pronouns include: I, me, my, mine, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, her, hers, it. Demonstrative pronouns point things out: this, that, these, and those. Relative pronouns include: who, whom, whose, which. Interrogative pronouns ask a question: who, whose, what, whom, which. Indefinite pronouns include: all, another, any, everybody, several, such. Reflexive pronouns include: myself, ourselves, yourself, themselves.

All pronouns have antecedents. The antecedent is the noun that a pronoun stands for. For example, in the sentence, Mrs. Madison told us we would read and analyze literature in her classroom, the word her is the pronoun and its antecedent is Mrs. Madison.

VERB Verbs are words that express action (mental or physical) or a state of being.

Action verbs tell what a person, place, or thing is doing: run, think, decide, read, go, jump, laugh. Linking verbs connect the subject of the sentence with a noun, pronoun, or an adjective in the predicate. The most commonly used linking verbs are forms of Be: is, are, was, were, being, am, might be, could have been, shall be, etc. Other linking verbs include: appear, seem, become, feel, turn.

Verb phrases have two or more words: is going, should have been done, will be talking.

ADJECTIVE Adjectives are words that describe (modify) nouns or pronouns

Adjectives answer the questions: What kind? Which one? How many?

Examples: purple, five, talkative, large, many, smart, this (this house), those (those shoes), that (that one). The most frequently used adjectives are: a, an, and the. They are also called articles. A and an are indefinite; the is the only definite article. Pronouns can be used as adjectives when they come before a noun:

Pronoun: I want a slice of that. Adjective: I want a slice of that cake.

ADVERB Adverbs are words that modify (describe, or give more specific information about) verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Adverbs answer these questions: Where? When? How? To what extent?

Many adverbs end with the letters –ly, such as slowly, gently, carefully, totally, widely, and usually. Others do not: often, fast, tomorrow, very, sometimes, quite.

**BEWARE of telling the difference between adverbs and adjectives. Ask yourself what the word is describing or modifying: Adjective = Make a right turn at the stoplight.

Adverb = We turned right onto Benvenue Road.

PREPOSITION Prepositions show the relationship of a noun (or pronoun) to another word in the sentence. Common prepositions include in, on, under, beside, below, to, at, by, like, of, over, since, and with.

Prepositions are always found in prepositional phrases. A prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition and the noun or pronoun that comes after it, like “at the mall,” “under the table,” “with Mrs. Brown,” or “of mine.” Compound prepositions have two or more words: in addition to, on account of, aside from.

***BEWARE of prepositions that can also be used as adverbs. Remember that a preposition always has to be part of a prepositional phrase – it can’t stand alone. An adverb can stand alone.

Preposition = We waited in line outside the movie theater.

Adverb = We waited in line outside.

CONJUNCTION Conjunctions are words that connect words, groups of words, or sentences.

There are three kinds of conjunctions: (1) coordinating conjunctions include FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So. (2) Correlative conjunctions are made up of two or more words: both-and, either-or, neither-nor, not only-but also, and whether-or: Both she and I are flying to Ireland. (3) Subordinating conjunctions join two ideas, but one is grammatically dependent on the other: in order that, whenever, whereas, as soon as, as far as: In soccer, as long as you head the ball properly, it won’t hurt you.

**BEWARE of “for.” It’s only a conjunction when it connects two sentences. Otherwise, it’s a preposition: Conjunction = I got a new coat, for it’s cold this winter.

Preposition = I got a new coat for my birthday.

INTERJECTION Interjections are words that show strong emotion, like Wow! Oops! Yippee! Boo! Eek! Ouch! Uh-oh! Ta-Da! Ugh! Golly gee!, Huh? and Holy moly!

Usually, these stand alone and are followed by an exclamation point (!). Sometimes they are followed by commas instead: “Oh dear, I forgot my homework again”, “My, how you’ve grown”, “Whew, that was close!” They can even appear at the end of a sentence: "What do you think of that, eh?"

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