Nouns

A noun is the word that refers to a person, thing or abstract idea. A noun can tell you who or what.

There are several different types of noun:-

•       There are common nouns such as dog, car, chair etc.

•       Nouns that refer to things which can be counted (can be singular or plural) are countable nouns.

•       Nouns that refer to some groups of countable nouns, substances, feelings and types of activity (can only be singular) are uncountable nouns.

•       Nouns that refer to a group of people or things are collective nouns.

•       Nouns that refer to people, organizations or places are proper nouns, only proper nouns are capitalized.

•       Nouns that are made up of two or more words are called compound nouns.

•       Nouns that are formed from a verb by adding -ing are called gerunds

EXERCISES:

1.      The book was heavy.

2.      The child is happy.

3.      The box was empty.

4.      The synopsis is accurate.

5.      The tomato was being baked.

ANSWERS:

1.      The books were heavy.

2.      The children are happy.

3.      The boxes were empty.

4.      The synopses are accurate.

5.      The tomatoes were being baked.

Verb

The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verb or compound verb asserts something about the subject of the sentence and express actions, events, or states of being. The verb or compound verb is the critical element of the predicate of a sentence.

In each of the following sentences, the verb or compound verb is highlighted: Transitive Verbs followed by Adverbs

back up: support                                 I will back up your story.

bail out: rescue           If you run into difficulties, who will bail you out? break in: make something new fit

I broke in my new hiking boots.

for use breathe in: inhale      We breathed in the fresh air. breathe out: exhale  I breathed out a sigh of relief.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe or give information about nouns.

The good news is that the form of adjectives does not change; it does not matter if the noun being modified is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object. Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun - age, size colour etc (fact adjectives - can't be argued with). Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody - nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives - not everyone may agree).

EXERCISE:

1.  Yesterday she heard ________________ news. (to surprise)

2.  The ______________ tools must be returned by five o'clock. (to rent)

3.  The ______________ rabbit stayed perfectly still. (to frighten)

4.  We had a ________________ experience. (to frighten)

5.  The play is ________________. (to entertain)

ANSWERS:

                        1.   surprising 2. rented 3. frightened 4. frightening 5. entertaining

Preposition

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition.

A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:

The book is on the table.

The book is beneath the table.

The book is leaning against the table.

The book is beside the table.

She held the book over the table.

She read the book during class.

In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time. A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. The most common prepositions are "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside,"

"between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from,"

"in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over,"

"past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a preposition:

The children climbed the mountain without fear.

In this sentence, the preposition "without" introduces the noun "fear." The prepositional phrase "without fear" functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed.

There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated. Here, the preposition "throughout" introduces the noun phrase "the land." The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.

The spider crawled slowly along the banister.

The preposition "along" introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the prepositional phrase "along the banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled. The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.

Here the preposition "under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the porch," which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb "is hiding."

The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office.

Similarly in this sentence, the preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in his office," which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers.

Conjunction

You can use a conjunction to link words, phrases, and clauses, as in the following example:

I ate the pizza and the pasta.

Call the movers when you are ready.

Coordinating Conjunctions

You use a coordinating conjunction ("and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet") to join individual words, phrases, and independent clauses. Note that you can also use the conjunctions "but" and "for" as prepositions.

In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a coordinating conjunction: Lilacs and violets are usually purple.

In this example, the coordinating conjunction "and" links two nouns.

This movie is particularly interesting to feminist film theorists, for the screenplay was written by Mae West.

In this example, the coordinating conjunction "for" is used to link two independent clauses.

Daniel's uncle claimed that he spent most of his youth dancing on rooftops and swallowing goldfish.

Here the coordinating conjunction "and" links two participle phrases ("dancing on rooftops" and "swallowing goldfish") which act as adverbs describing the verb "spends."

Subordinating Conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction introduces a dependent clause and indicates the nature of the relationship among the independent clause(s) and the dependent clause(s). The most common subordinating conjunctions are "after," "although," "as," "because,"

"before," "how," "if," "once," "since," "than," "that," "though," "till," "until," "when,"

"where," "whether," and "while."

Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a subordinating conjunction:

After she had learned to drive, Alice felt more independent.

The subordinating conjunction "after" introduces the dependent clause "After she had learned to drive."

If the paperwork arrives on time, your cheque will be mailed on Tuesday. Similarly, the subordinating conjunction "if" introduces the dependent clause "If the paperwork arrives on time."

Gerald had to begin his thesis over again when his computer crashed. The subordinating conjunction "when" introduces the dependent clause "when his computer crashed."

Midwifery advocates argue that home births are safer because the mother and baby are exposed to fewer people and fewer germs.

In this sentence, the dependent clause "because the mother and baby are exposed to fewer people and fewer germs" is introduced by the subordinating conjunction "because."

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions always appear in pairs -- you use them to link equivalent sentence elements. The most common correlative conjunctions are "both...and,"

"either...or," "neither...nor,", "not only...but also," "so...as," and "whether...or."

(Technically correlative conjunctions consist simply of a coordinating conjunction linked to an adjective or adverb.)

The highlighted words in the following sentences are correlative conjunctions:

Both my grandfather and my father worked in the steel plant.

In this sentence, the correlative conjunction "both...and" is used to link the two noun phrases that act as the compound subject of the sentence: "my grandfather" and "my father".

Bring either a Jello salad or a potato scallop.

Here the correlative conjunction "either...or" links two noun phrases: "a Jello salad" and "a potato scallop."

Corinne is trying to decide whether to go to medical school or to go to law school.

Similarly, the correlative conjunction "whether ... or" links the two infinitive phrases "to go to medical school" and "to go to law school."

The explosion destroyed not only the school but also the neighbouring pub. In this example the correlative conjunction "not only ... but also" links the two noun phrases ("the school" and "neighbouring pub") which act as direct objects.