THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH antecedent for the pronoun she is the

girl. Pronouns are further defined by

There are eight parts of speech in the
type: personal pronouns refer to specific
English language: noun, pronoun, verb,
persons or things; possessive pronouns
adjective, adverb, preposition,
indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns
conjunction, and interjection. The part of
are used to emphasize another noun or
speech indicates how the word functions
pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a
in meaning as well as grammatically
subordinate clause; and demonstrative
within the sentence. An individual word
pronouns identify, point to, or refer to
can function as more than one part of
nouns.
speech when used in different
circumstances. Understanding parts of The young girl brought me a very long
speech is essential for determining the letter from the teacher, and
correct definition of a word when using then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
the dictionary.
3. VERB
1. NOUN
 A verb expresses action or
 A noun is the name of a person, being.
place, thing, or idea.
jump... is... write... become
man... Butte College... house... happiness
The verb in a sentence expresses action
A noun is a word for a person, place, or being. There is a main verb and
thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with sometimes one or more helping verbs.
an article (the, a, an), but not ("She can sing." Sing is the main
always. Proper nouns always start with a verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb
capital letter; common nouns do must agree with its subject in number
not. Nouns can be singular or plural, (both are singular or both are
concrete or abstract. Nouns show plural). Verbs also take different forms to
possession by adding 's. Nouns can express tense.
function in different roles within a
The young girl brought me a very long
sentence; for example, a noun can be a
letter from the teacher, and then she
subject, direct object, indirect object,
quickly disappeared. Oh my!
subject complement, or object of a
preposition. 4. ADJECTIVE
The young girl brought me a very  An adjective modifies or
long letter from the teacher, and then describes a noun or pronoun.
she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
pretty... old... blue... smart
2. PRONOUN
An adjective is a word used to modify or
 A pronoun is a word used in describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually
place of a noun. answers the question of which one, what
kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the]
She... we... they... it
are usually classified as adjectives.)
A pronoun is a word used in place of a
The young girl brought me a
noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for
very long letter from the teacher, and
a specific noun, which is called its
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
antecedent. In the sentence above, the
5. ADVERB A conjunction joins words, phrases, or
clauses, and indicates the relationship
 An adverb modifies or
between the elements
describes a verb, an adjective,
joined. Coordinating conjunctions
or another adverb.
connect grammatically equal elements:
gently... extremely... carefully... well and, but, or, nor, for, so,
yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect
An adverb describes or modifies a verb,
clauses that are not equal: because,
an adjective, or another adverb, but
although, while, since, etc. There are
never a noun. It usually answers the
other types of conjunctions as well.
questions of when, where, how, why,
under what conditions, or to what The young girl brought me a very long
degree. Adverbs often end in -ly. letter from the teacher, and then she
quickly disappeared. Oh my!
The young girl brought me a very long
letter from the teacher, 8. INTERJECTION
and then she quickly disappeared. Oh
 An interjection is a word used
my!
to express emotion.
6. PREPOSITION
Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
 A preposition is a word placed
An interjection is a word used to express
before a noun or pronoun to
emotion. It is often followed by an
form a phrase modifying
exclamation point.
another word in the sentence.
The young girl brought me a very long
by... with.... about... until
letter from the teacher, and then she
(by the tree, with our friends, about the quickly disappeared. Oh my!
book, until tomorrow)
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
A preposition is a word placed before a
noun or pronoun to form a phrase The verb of a sentence must agree with
modifying another word in the the simple subject of the sentence in
sentence. Therefore, a preposition is number and person. Number refers to
always part of a prepositional whether a word is singular
phrase. The prepositional phrase almost (child, account, city, I) or plural
always functions as an adjective or as an (children, accounts, cities, we). Person ref
adverb. The following list includes the ers to whether the word denotes a
most common prepositions: speaker (I, we are first person), the
person spoken to (you is second person),
The young girl brought me a very long or what is spoken of
letter from the teacher, and then she (he, she, it, they; Gary, college, taxes are
quickly disappeared. Oh my! third person).
7. CONJUNCTION Third person singular
Choosing verbs to agree with first and
 A conjunction joins words,
second person subjects is not usually
phrases, or clauses.
much of a problem, but a peculiarity of
and... but... or... while... because third person singular verbs causes some
students, especially ESL students, some
confusion when working with third person the verb. (For more about subjects, see
singular subjects. the TIP Sheet Parts of Sentences: Subject,
Verb, Object, Complement. For tips on
It matters whether a subject in the third
how to use prepositional phrases to help
person is singular or plural because the
identify the subject, see Prepositions and
verb form for third person singular often
Prepositional Phrases.)
differs from other verb forms. For most
third person singular verbs, add an s to The pink and red flowers in the tall
the root form of the verb: sit + s = sits, vase have wilted.
the third person singular form. (Be The old table that my parents gave
careful-while an s on a noun usually us needs a coat of paint.
denotes a plural, an s on a verb does not The back wheels of the car you
make the verb plural.) Examples of how borrowed are wobbling.
the verb form changes in third person
The verb must agree with its simple
singular follow; notice that even irregular
subject -- not with the subject
helping verbs (to have, to be, to do) add
complement. The subject and its
an s -- has, is, was, does -- in third person
complement are not always both singular
singular:
or both plural. Even if one is singular and
Third person Third the other plural, the verb agrees with the
singular (he - she -person plural subject:
it) (they)
His only hobby is his pigeons.
sits sit Her parents are her sole support.
is sitting are sitting Compound subjects
A compound subject joined by and is
was sitting were sitting
plural and takes a plural verb form:
has sat have sat
Olivia and Phong are looking for the
have been remote control. (They are looking.)
has been sitting
sitting
The verb for compound subjects joined
does not sit do not sit by or or by (n)either...(n)or agrees with
the subject nearer to the verb:
doesn't sit don't sit
Olivia or Phong has the responsibility to
Thus, Olivia sits, Phong sits, the college
make the video presentation. (He has.)
president sits in her office, and the
Neither Phong nor Olivia knows if the
remote control sits on the table. When
board will be pleased. (She knows.)
Olivia and Phong get together, however,
The college president or
they sit; the college trustees sit.
the trustees interview all the
Only the simple subject candidates. (They interview.)
The verb must agree with its simple The trustees or
subject -- not with the description or the president often asks for a second
explanation of the subject; ignore the interview. (He or she asks.)
descriptions and explanations. If the
Relative clauses
simple subject is singular, use the
Relative clauses begin with the relative
singular form of the verb. If the simple
pronouns who, that, or which and contain
subject is plural, use the plural form of
a verb separate from that of the
independent clause. The verb in a Some indefinite pronouns are always
relative clause agrees in person and singular no matter how much you feel
number to the word -- the person or thing that words like everyone are plural. They
-- to which the relative pronoun refers: require the third person singular verb
form:
Most instructors appreciate students who
ask good questions. Nobody knows her.
The student who asks a lot of questions Has anyone asked?
is a valuable asset to a class. Everyone says so.
The logic class, which is known to be
Each gets a ticket.
difficult, nevertheless attracts a certain
One uses a hammer.
type of student.
Another has arrived.
The classes, which are held in the fall,
usually fill up fast. Other indefinite pronouns are always
plural and require a plural verb form:
Verb preceding the subject
In questions, the subject follows the verb, Several work here.
but the subject still determines the Many have done it.
person and number of the verb: Few believe it.
Both were yellow.
Where in the
house are the medicines kept? (They are
kept.)
Why doesn't the soup have any
noodles? (It does have.)
Under which
tree do the mushrooms grow? (They do
grow.)
In sentences that begin with a
construction such as here is or there are,
the subject follows the verb but still
determines the person and number of
the verb:
Here is the famous flea circus. (It is
here.)
Here are the famous fleas. (They are
here.)
There is a mouse in the attic. (It is there.)
There are mice in the attic. (They are
there.)
Indefinite pronoun subjects
Some indefinite pronouns are always
singular, and some are always plural.
(Some can go either way; for more on
indefinite pronouns, see the TIP
Sheets Pronouns and Pronoun Reference,
or see a writers' guide such as SF Writer.)