The Eight Parts of Speech and the Article by Eguriase S. M. Okaka
The Eight Parts
Of Speech and the Article
By Eguriase S. M. Okaka
The eight parts
of speech are regarded as the foundation stone of your English language. A
student who is good at them will find sentence building very easy. It is like
building a house, you need a strong foundation. So are these parts of speech
helping you to build a strong and firm foundation of the English language?
Having a good
knowledge of the eight parts of speech and the Articles will boost your spoken
and written language in the sense that you will know the different parts of
speech and their various placements in a sentence. At the end of this article
you will be able to know the various parts of speech and the functions they
play in sentences to build and develop its structures. So let us now look at
the parts of speech in details:
·
Noun
·
Pronoun
·
Adjective
·
Verb
·
Adverb
·
Preposition
·
Conjunction
·
Interjection
·
And The Article
NOUN
A Noun is the
name of any person, animal, place, or things. That means that the name we call
anything we see, hear or think is a noun. The definition also states that there
are four components of a noun which are:
Components of a Noun
·
The name of a person, e.g. John, James, Peter, Paul, Kate, Janet
etc.
·
The name of an animal, e.g. Dog, Cat,
Rat, Lion, Ant, snail etc.
·
The name of a place, e.g. Lagos,
Abuja, Benin City, Asaba, Aba, Kano etc.
·
And the name of a thing, e.g. Chair,
Table, Pen, Book, Kettle, Knife, Spoon etc.
Examples:
·
Kate is a teacher.
·
The dog is barking at us.
·
Benin City is the capital of Edo
State.
·
The book is on the table.
Classifications of Nouns
Nouns are
classified into the following groups: Proper Noun, Common, Collective Noun,
Countable and Uncountable Noun, and Abstract Noun.
·
Proper
Noun: These are words that define the name of
persons or animals or things. All proper nouns begin with capital letters in
sentences; but the names of the seasons of the year are written in small
letters, except where they come at the beginning of a sentence.
·
Common
Noun: These are words that define a class of things
or a set of individuals, groups of places or things etc. Examples of common nouns are man, woman, boy, girl, tree etc.
·
Collective
Noun: These
are words that define the name of groups of persons or animals, groups of
places or things, etc. Examples of collective nouns are a choir of angels, a
bench of bishops, a swarm of bees, a flight of birds, a team of players etc.
·
Countable
and Uncountable Noun: Countable nouns are those nouns which
can be counted or numbered and, which, by way of classification can either be
singular or plural. Among other nouns include: the following chair, pen,
student, teacher, orange, bottle, etc.
Uncountable nouns
are those nouns which cannot be counted or numbered and which do not have
plural form or articles of description like ‘a’ or ‘an’. The examples of
uncountable nouns are: wine, water,
petrol, gas, kerosene, fire, air, etc.
·
Abstract
Noun: These nouns refer to names of things we
cannot see or touch but we can think about them. That is they exist in our
feelings and are often the qualities in some persons. Examples are: love, joy, beauty, sleep, dreams, etc.
PRONOUN
A Pronoun is a
word used instead of a Noun. This also means that a Pronoun can be used to
replace a Noun. That is why it is referred to as a Noun Equivalent. Let us now
consider the following two sentences:
Examples:
·
Janet is a beautiful girl.
·
She is a beautiful girl.
That is, the Noun
Janet, can be replaced with the Pronoun she. Other Pronouns are: he, him, she, her, we, they, them, and us
etc.
Classifications of Pronouns
The various forms
of pronouns nouns include: Personal
Pronoun, Possessive Pronoun, Demonstrative Pronoun, Relative Pronoun, Reflexive
Pronoun, and Interrogative Pronoun.
Personal Pronoun: These are those
nouns that refer to persons, which, by way of classification, can either be
first person, or second person or third person. Personal nouns can either be
singular or plural. ‘You’, and ‘He’, or
‘she’, are personal pronouns that respectively refer to the first and
second and third person singular. While ‘We’,
‘You’, and ‘They’ are personal pronouns that respectively refer to the
first and second and third person plural.
Possessive Pronouns: These are pronouns
that show possession, e.g.… This blue book is mine but the red one is hers.
Here, mine, and hers are possessive
pronouns. Other examples are: ours,
theirs, yours, his, are all possessive pronoun.
Demonstration Pronoun: These are the pronouns which point out or demonstrate the nouns that they stand for; for example: That is the house that my father wants to buy. The word ‘that’ in the above sentence is used as a demonstrative pronoun; or when a pronoun is used to indicate or refer to something that is near at hand or that is distance at foot that pronoun is called a demonstrative noun. ‘This’ and ‘these’ indicate a near reference while ‘that’ and ‘those’ indicate a distance reference.
Relative
Pronoun: When a word defines a reference
to a noun or a word used instead of a noun, that word is called a relative
pronoun. Relative pronouns can be personal or non-personal. Examples of personal relative pronouns
are who, whom, whose. Examples of
non-personal relative pronoun are which,
whose.
Reflexive Pronoun:
When a word defines an emphatic reference to a subject-noun that word is called
a reflexive pronoun. We can also say that these are pronouns that end in self
or selves e.g.. The little girl hurt herself when she fell down. The word ‘herself’ in the above sentence is a
reflexive pronoun. Examples of reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, himself or herself, themselves. All pronouns that
end in self are reflexive pronouns.
Emphasizing Pronoun: These are the pronouns used for emphasis, to
make what is said stronger or more emphatic. Note that emphasizing Pronouns
also end in ‘self’ like reflexive pronoun but while it is possible a sentence
could still make sense if an emphasizing pronoun is omitted, it is not so with reflexive
pronouns, e.g.,
·
I saw myself in the mirror.
·
I saw the thief myself.
In the first
sentence myself is used as a reflexive pronoun while in the second sentence it
is used as an emphasizing pronoun. But the second sentence can still make sense
without the use of myself but the first sentence cannot.
Interrogative Pronoun: These are
pronouns used to ask questions, e.g., who are you?
What do you want
here?
Which of these
books is yours?
The word who, what, and which in the above sentences are interrogative pronoun.
Distributive Pronoun: These are the
pronouns used to distribute the meaning of what we are saying over two or more
things without mentioning a definite number, e.g.,
Many were called
few are chosen.
The words ‘many’ and ‘few’ in the above sentence are distributive pronouns. Other
examples are each, all, either,
everybody, everyone etc. Distributive pronouns are also called Universal
Pronoun.
ADJECTIVE
An Adjective is a
word that qualifies a noun or a noun equivalents i.e. Pronoun. Adjective talks
more of a noun or a pronoun as the case always is. So the Adjective tells us
more about a noun or its equivalents. Let us consider the following examples:
Examples:
·
Kate is a beautiful girl.
·
She is an ugly woman.
·
John has a new book.
·
He is a fat man.
In sentence 1 the
adjective beautiful tells us who Kate is, that is, to say, the word beautiful
qualifies the noun Kate.
In sentence 2 the
adjective ugly tells us something about the woman, therefore ugly is an
adjective qualifying the Pronoun she.
In sentence 3 the
word new is an adjective which qualifies John’s book. Sentence 4 tells us about
the pronoun – He. That means that any word that qualifies a noun or its
equivalent is an adjective.
Classifications of Adjectives
Adjectives are
classified as follows:
Qualitative Adjective: These adjectives are those that tell us what sort of person or what kind of thing they describe or qualify, e.g., a good student, a fat man, an ugly woman, a beautiful girl, a red hat, a new book, a young boy, etc.
Quantitative Adjective: These adjectives
are those that tell us ‘how many’ or how much’ about the nouns they qualify,
e.g., two boys, ten books many children, few students, much rain, several
plays, etc.
Demonstrative Adjectives: These are the
adjectives that point out the nouns they qualify, e.g.…This man, that girl, these
books, those men over there.
Note that a word
can be more than one part of speech, depending on how the word is used in a
sentence. Consider, for example, the following two sentences.
·
This is our house.
·
This house is our own.
In sentence (1) the
word ‘this’ is used as a Demonstrative Pronoun while in sentence (2) it is used
as a Demonstrative Adjective.
Interrogative Adjective: These are the
adjectives that are used with nouns to ask questions, e.g.,
Which student
came first?
What name does he
bear?
Whose book is
this?
The word ‘Which’, ‘What’, and ’Whose’, in the above sentences are
used as Interrogative Adjectives.
You should
however, not confuse Interrogative pronoun with Interrogative Adjective.
Consider the following sentences:
·
Which book is yours?
·
Which of these books is yours?
In the first
sentence the word ‘Which’ is used as an Interrogative Adjective while in the
second sentence ‘Which’ is used as an Interrogative pronoun.
Possessive Adjectives: These are
adjectives that show possession or tell us the owner of a thing, e.g.,
This is my house.
Our school is
very big.
The careless boy
has lost his book.
Her name is not
on the list.
Many school girls
often spend their holidays in Lagos.
The words my,
our, his, her, and their; in the above sentences are used as Possessive
Adjectives.
Note also the difference between a
Possessive pronoun and a Possessive Adjective, in the following sentences:
·
The blue book is his.
·
His book is blue.
In the first
sentence ‘his’ is used as a Possessive Pronoun while in the second it is used
as Possessive Adjective.
Distributive Adjective: These are the
adjectives that denote an indefinite number attached to a noun, e.g.,
Each player was
rewarded.
Either dress is
good enough for the occasion.
Not every woman
like cooking.
The word ‘each’, ‘either’, and ‘every’ in
the above sentences are used as Distributive Adjective. However, you should not
confuse Distributive Adjective with Distributive Pronoun. Consider the
following sentences:
·
Each student won a prize.
·
Each of the students won a prize.
In the first
sentence the word ‘each’ is used as a Distributive Adjective whiles in the
second sentence it is used as a Distributive Pronoun. This means, in most
cases, the part of speech of a word depends on how it is used in a sentence.
VERB
A Verb is an
action word in a sentence. Any doing word in a sentence is always a verb. That
is if there is no action word in a sentence that sentence is incomplete that
tells you that this is one important part of speech. A Verb is also a word that shows the state of
being of a person or an object, that is, any word that shows happiness or
sadness is a verb. So verbs do two things in a sentence i. e.:
·
A Verb shows the action word in a
sentence.
·
A Verb shows the state of being of a
person or an object.
Examples:
·
The lady tore the letter.
·
The boy is angry.
The word ‘tore’ and ‘is’ in the above sentences are both verbs. Sentence 1 expresses an
action – it tells us what the lady did.
While that in sentence 2 indicates a state of being – it tells us how
the boy is or how he feels. A state of being is indicated by the verb “to be” – am, is, are, was, and were.
Any word that
tells us the action in a sentence is always a Verb.
Classifications
of Verbs
There are two
main types of verbs which are: Finite Verb and Non-Finite Verb.
Finite Verb
Finite Verb
A sentence makes
a meaning because of the telling word sense in it. It is the action or doing
word that defines the telling word-sense, i. e. the Finite Verb. Without the
Finite verb a sentence will make no meaning at all. A Finite verb can be Transitive or
Intransitive verb.
Transitive Verb
When the action
that is the verb in a sentence needs both a subject and an object, so much so
that the action is carried across from the subject, the verb involved is called
a transitive verb.
Examples are:
·
I drank the Pepsi.
·
Ada sang the song.
·
Obi killed the Christmas Cock.
Note: Transitive verbs are cast: in two
voices, namely Active and Passive voice.
Intransitive Verb
But, when the action that is called the verb does not need an object that is when there is no need or chance of carrying the action across from the subject to the object, the verb involved is called an intransitive verb.
Examples:
·
The motherless babies are crying.
·
The students are dancing in the hall.
Non-Finite Verb
When the telling
word-sense in an action or the doing word does not need and has not a subject.
The verb that is that word is called a non-finite verb. The Gerund, the
infinitive, and the Participle are examples of three types of non-finite verb.
The Gerund
The Gerund does
the work of a noun in a sentence. The gerund can be subject or object of a
sentence. For examples:
Eating is his
name.
He enjoys eating.
The Infinitive
The infinitive
does the work of a verb in a sentence. The infinitive can be used as a subject,
object or compliment.
Example:
The teacher wants
to see you.
The teacher’s job
is to teach the students during classes.
The Participle
The participle is
a form of verb used as either an adjective or a part of certain tenses.
Participles have two parts different types, the present participle and the past
participles. And participle used as adjectives can form a longer participle
phrase, e.g. Hidden in the bushes the treasure was hard to see.
Examples:
The hidden
treasure is in the rocks.
We are hiding the
treasure.
Auxiliary Verb
Auxiliary verbs
are mainly helping verbs. They are of two major types, namely the primary
auxiliary verbs and the modal auxiliary verbs. Examples of the primary
auxiliary verbs are ‘be’, ‘have’, ‘do’. Examples of the modal auxiliary verbs
are ‘can’, ‘could’, ‘will’, ‘would’, ‘shall’, ‘should’, ‘nay’, etc.
ADVERB
Adverbs are words
which modifies or add to the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
Now let us consider the following examples:
·
Obi ran.
·
Obi ran quickly.
·
Obi ran very quickly.
·
But the distant was too short for Obi
to display his full speed.
In sentence 1 we
are only told that Obi simply ran. But in sentence two we are told how Obi ran
– he ran quickly. The adverb quickly has thus modified or added to the meaning
of the verb ran.
In sentence 3 we
are told the degree of Obi’s race: he ran very quickly. The adverb ‘Very’ thus
modifies another adverb quickly. Sentence 4 shows us how the adverb ‘too’
modifies the adjective ‘short’.
Classifications of Adverb
The various
classes of Adverbs include:
Adverb of Time
Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of Result
or Reason
Adverbs of Number
Adverbs of Time: These are the
adverbs whose modification or qualification is done by sense of time. Examples
are now, then, first week, last month,
yesterday, etc.
Adverbs of Place: These are the adverbs whose modification or qualification is given by sense of place. Examples include: here, there, here and there, inside, outside, etc.
Adverbs of Manner: These are the
adverbs whose modification or qualification is achieved by sense of manner. Examples of adverbs of manner are: quickly,
slowly, and sorrowfully, lonely, hatefully, etc.
Adverbs of Degree: The adverbs
whose modification or qualification is given of degree are called the adverbs
of degree. Examples are the following:
very, very much, so, so much, rather, almost, etc.
Adverbs of Result or Reason: The adverbs whose modification or qualification is done by sense of result or reason are known as adverbs of result or reason. Examples of adverbs of result or reason include: so that, therefore, hence.
Other kinds of adverbs include: the
following ones: Adverbs of Affirmation (Yes, Certainly) Adverbs of Negation
(No, Not). Adverbs of Interrogation (How, Where, when?)
PREPOSITION
Consider these examples:
·
The books are on the table.
·
Why is he hiding under the bed?
In sentence 1 the
preposition ‘on’ shows the
relationship between the two nouns books and table while the preposition ‘under’ shows the relationship between
the pronouns ‘he and the noun bed’.
Other Prepositions are: at, to, Up, above, across, over, by, for, of, after, before, with, about, among, since, along, and until etc.
Classifications of Prepositions
The main classes
of prepositions are as follows:
Simple Preposition: Examples are: on,
in, under, at, to, up, above, across, over, by, for, of, after, with, etc.
Compound Preposition: Examples are:
into, within, behind, without, upon, beyond, throughout, between, etc.
Double Prepositions: Examples are: in
front, from behind, from within, in between, down below, etc.
E.g.: The enemies emerged from behind them
and opened fire.
Note: that there is also what we call
Prepositional Phrases. These are phrases used as prepositions. Examples are by means of, on account of,
full of, according to, angry with, ashamed of, in praise of, good for, etc.
Examples:
He spoke in
praise of his wife.
She was angry
with her daughter for being rude to visitors.
CONJUNCTION
Consider these examples:
·
A book and a pen.
·
Either yes or no.
· I was there but I did not see you.
The words ‘and’, ‘or’, and ‘but’ in the above expressions are examples of conjunctions.
Classification of Conjunctions
There are two
major classes of conjunctions which include: Coordinating conjunctions and
Subordinating conjunction.
Coordinating Conjunction: Coordinating
conjunction joins words, phrases or clauses of equal grammatical importance.
Examples are: and, but, yet, still, or, etc.
A boy and a girl
He came and sat
down.
The spectators
were there but the players did not turn up.
Subordinating Conjunction: Subordinating
conjunction joins words, phrases or clauses to main clauses. Examples are: when,
while, that, as, after, until, unless, than, because, since, although, so that,
in order that, if, etc.
Examples:
·
Study hard so that you may pass your
exams.
·
Titi failed her exam because she did
not work hard enough.
·
I was in the house when the thief
entered.
INTERJECTION
Oh! Ah! Hi! What!
Hello! Hurrah!
Good heavens!
Goodness me! Gracious
God!
Wow! Wonderful!
Great!
Horrible!
Incredible! Impossible!
Note: Every interjection is always accompanied
by an exclamation mark (!) if not
accompany by an exclamation mark such word is regarded as a mere statement.
ARTICLES
As a matter of
fact, the articles a, an, the, are adjectives but they are commonly known as
articles.
‘a’ and ‘an’ are known as the Indefinite Articles, e.g.,
a boy, a girl, an egg, an iroko tree, etc. while ‘the’ is known as the Definite Article, e.g., the faithful wife; the man who helped me
yesterday, etc.
THE END
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