CHAPTER 1: BASIC SENTENCE ELEMENTS AND WORD TYPES
PART II: WORD TYPES / PARTS OF SPEECH
1. Noun 5. Verb
2. Pronoun 6. Determiner
3. Adjective 7. Preposition
4. Adverb 8. Conjunction
1. NOUN
- functions as the name of something
- is the most common class of word in English
- Most nouns have singular and plural forms. They are countable nouns.
For example:
There is a letter on the table for you. (singular)
There are letters on the table for you. (plural)
- Some nouns only have one form. They are uncountable nouns.
For example:
There is a lot of money in my bank account.
- Many uncountable nouns refer to substances: chocolate, water, coffee, milk, sugar,
salt, cheese, bread, rice, wood, glass, plastic, soap, toothpaste
- For example:
The milk is sour – let’s make cheese.
Rice is only edible when it has been cooked.
- Many uncountable nouns refer to abstract ideas or emotions: love, sadness,
happiness, education, healthcare
For example:
Money can’t buy love.
We like to experience happiness.
This education is priceless.
2. PRONOUN
- is used to replace a noun / noun phrase to avoid repetition
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- performs all of the grammatical functions of a noun
Types of pronoun:
1. Personal pronouns: he, she, it, they, him, her, them
2. Reflexive pronouns: himself, yourself, themselves
3. Indefinite pronouns: everyone, nobody, anything
4. Possessive pronouns: yours, mine, his, hers, theirs, its, ours
3. ADJECTIVE
- describes the quality or the state of something
- modifies / describes a noun
Position of Adjectives
Attributive position: before or right after a noun
She is a beautiful girl.
I want someone intelligent.
Predicative position: after a linking verb (Subject complement)
Ex: The plan seems incomplete and unusually expensive.
4. ADVERB
- adds more information about place, time, manner, cause or degree to a verb, an
adjective, a phrase or another adverb
For example:
Please park your bike over there.
He usually talks to his grandparents.
Jim can speak Chinese fluently.
This dress is very expensive.
Types of adverbs
1. Adverbs of manner (well, quickly)
2. Adverbs of place (here, upstairs)
3. Adverbs of time (today)
4. Adverbs of frequency (always, never)
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5. Adverbs of degree (very, really)
6. Adverbs of focus and viewpoint (even, only)
7. Truth adverbs (certainly, perhaps)
8. Comment adverbs (luckily, surprisingly)
9. Linking adverbs (finally, in addition)
5. VERB
- shows an action or a state of being
- carries tense, person, number, voice (active & passive), mood (indicative mood -
chỉ định thức, imperative mood - mệnh lệnh thức, subjunctive - giả định thức)
For example:
She slept for 12 hours yesterday.
She looks marvelous in that dress.
You should leave right now.
The parent has had his house built.
5.1. VERB FORM
English verbs have 2 forms.
Finite verb
- shows agreement with a subject
- is marked for tense, person, number
Non - finite verb
- doesn’t show agreement with a subject
- isn’t marked for tense, person, number
- includes infinitive and participle forms
For example:
Seen (non-finite) at a distance, the picture looks (finite) extremely beautiful.
He wanted (finite) to find (non-finite) a solution.
5.2. VERB TYPE
English verbs have 2 types including Auxiliary verbs and Lexical/main verbs.
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5.2.1. Auxiliary verb
- is used with a main lexical verb
- provides grammatical information: tense, voice and mood
5.2.1.1. Primary auxiliaries
Be the continuous tense & the passive voice
e.g. She was reading books. / Rice is grown in tropical countries.
Do in interrogative, negative & emphatic structures
e.g. He doesn’t speak English, but he does speak a little Spanish.
Have the perfect
e.g. We have been friends for more than 10 years.
5.2.1.2. Modal auxiliaries
can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, would and need.
5.2.1.3. Compound auxiliaries
Have to, have got to, be able to, be about to, be supposed to, be expected to
5.2.2. Lexical verb
- shows the action, occurrence or state of being
- provides content and meaning information
- varies for tense and voice
- serves as the main/ head verb of verb phrases
For example:
The car is being washed by my sister.
The professor is lecturing on children's rights.
5.2.2.1. Linking verb
- doesn’t show an action but rather describes the subject.
e.g. Be, appear, taste, smell, feel, seem, look, become remain
She looks tired. She is a teacher. They are bored.
5.2.2.2. Action verb
- expresses a specific action
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Intransitive verb: has no object
e.g. He is running. She is reading.
Transitive verb: has 1 or 2 objects
e.g. They are reading books.
She cooked us a big meal.
5.2.2.3. Stative verb
- shows thoughts or opinions, emotions, senses, possession
- can’t be used in continuous tenses
- two types (transitive verb and intransitive verb)
e.g. believe, understand, have, hate, love, hear, depend, dislike, concern,
and consist
We have a beautiful garden.
He dislikes being at home alone.
6. DETERMINER
- is used before a noun to show which particular example of the noun being referred
to
For example: a boy, that book, her teacher, some children
Types of determiner
1. Article (a, the)
2. Demonstrative (this, that, these, those)
3. Possessive (my, his, their, etc.)
4. Quantifier (all, any, enough, less, a lot of, etc.)
7. PREPOSITION
- is used before a noun / noun phrase / pronoun to show a relationship in space or
time or a logical relationship between two or more people, places or things
Types of Preposition
1. Prepositions of Direction (She’s going to school.)
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2. Prepositions of Time (They don’t go to work on Saturday.)
3. Prepositions of Place (She put the book on the desk.)
4. Prepositions of Spatial Relationships (Can you see the trees behind the
house?)
8. CONJUNCTION
- is used to connect words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence
Types of Conjunction
1. Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, so, for, yet)
2. Subordinating conjunctions (because, since, as, although, though, while,
whereas, etc.)
3. Correlative conjunctions (either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also; etc.)
