The Write Rules

Chapter One

Using the Writing Rules Properly

PARTS OF SPEECH

Nouns (naming words) – Nouns come in abstract and concrete forms. They are the most common part of speech.

An abstract – home

A concrete – house

A person – teacher

A specific person – Maggie

A place – city

A specific place – New York City

A thing – television, shirt, chair

An idea – happiness, sadness, peace

A quality – bravery

New York City is my home.

Robert evaluated the chair.

Frances believes in peace.

The report is ready for distribution.

Pronouns - replaces a noun to make sentences shorter and clearer

A person – he, her

A group of people – they, them

A thing or a place – it

He lives in New York City

They vacationed at the beach.

It stopped working last night.

Adjectives – describes a noun, limits a noun. It is a modifier of a noun or pronoun. Adjectives make the meaning of a noun more precise

A person – big, small, brave, honest

A place – large, beautiful, busy, complex

A thing – heavy, light, colorful

Any of the adjectives used as examples above could be used with any nouns or pronouns.

I don’t like loud music because it gives me an earache.

Honest Mark can always be counted on to get the job done.

Yellow paint is required for the warning sign.

Verbs – State an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Without a verb, you cannot make a sentence.

Action – walk, play, go, come, do

Occurrence – happen, became

State of being – be, is, are, feel

Turn left at the signal.

After passing the exam, he became a certified engineer.

Joe and Sam are business partners.

Cyd hates to eat alone.

Adverbs - Describe, limit an adjective, a verb, or another adverb. Adverbs make language more precise by describing how something happens.

When? – Joseph always arrives early to work.

How? – Carolyn manages her team well.

In what way? – He is talking slowly so she can understand what he’s