A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, animal, or idea. A noun can be singular or plural.
Common nouns name general people, places,
things, animals, or ideas.
Proper nouns name specific people, places, things,
animals, or ideas. They always begin with capital letters,
no matter where they are in a sentence.
Example:
Mrs. Gomez
The noun, "Mrs. Gomez," is a proper noun that names a person. It is singular.
Houston
The noun, "Houston," is a proper noun that names a place. It is singular.
paintbrushes
The noun, "paintbrushes," is a common noun that names a thing. It is plural.
armadillo
The noun, "armadillo," is a common noun that names an animal. It is singular.
excitement
The noun, "excitement," is a common noun that names an idea. It is singular.
PRONOUN
A pronoun is a word that is used to replace a noun in a sentence.
Example:
She
Camila was going to the amusement park this weekend. She wanted to ride all the roller coasters.
The pronoun, "she," replaces the noun, "Camila."
him
Dwayne forgot his art supplies at home.
Please let him borrow some for today.
The pronoun, "him," replaces the noun, "Dwayne."
their
Olivia and Kumail's spring project was to start a garden. Their parents helped them pick out seeds to plant.
The pronoun, "their," replaces the possessive noun, "Olivia and Kumail's."
VERB
A verb is a word used to show action or being in a sentence.
Verbs have three different tenses: present, past, and future.
Present tense verbs show action that is happening right now or that happens regularly.
Past tense verbs show action that has already happened.
Future tense verbs show action that will happen later in time.
Example:
arrange
The florists arrange several bouquets for the wedding.
The verb, "arrange," is an action verb in the present tense.
The past tense of the verb is "arranged," while the future tense is "will arrange."
"To-be" verbs: am, is, are, was, were
The "to-be" verbs can express being in a sentence.
She is excited to be on the show.
They were
lost in the woods for an hour.
"To-be" verbs can also be used as helping verbs, which are put in front of action verbs to make their meanings clear.
I amswimming against Cam in the race.
The chicken waseating corn in the backyard.
ADJECTIVE
An adjective is a word used to describe nouns. Adjectives usually answer the question, what kind?, which one?, or how many?
Example:
intelligent
The intelligent mouse quickly found the cheese in the maze.
The adjective, "intelligent," describes the noun, "mouse," in the sentence.
It tells what kind of mouse quickly found the cheese in the maze.
a, an, or the
These three words are called articles. They are a special type of adjective.
Articles come before nouns:
I only ate a piece of toast for breakfast.
An elephant's nose is very long.
Ringo left the dishes for her brother to wash.
ADVERB
An adverb is a word used to describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs usually answer the questions, how?, when?, or where?
Example:
cheerfully
The children cheerfully wrapped presents for their parents.
The adverb, "cheerfully," tells how the children wrapped presents.
later
Georgina will tell you her secret later!
The adverb, "later," tells when Georgina will tell you her secret.
around
I looked around for my glasses, but I couldn't find them.
The adverb, "around," tells where I looked for my glasses.
PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are words or phrases that explain the relationship between words in a sentence.
Some examples of prepositions are about, below, for, and toward.
Prepositions begin prepositional phrases.
Prepositional phrases are groups of words that start with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun. The noun or pronoun at the end is called the object of the preposition.
Example:
below the window
The bench below the window was Flo's favorite place to read.
The preposition is "below." It begins the prepositional phrase, "below the window."
for the first time
I saw a polar bear for the first time last week.
The preposition is "for." It begins the prepositional phrase, "for the first time."
CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions are words used to connect words, phrases, or sentences.
Coordinating conjunctions are used to connect words, phrases, and simple sentences. There are seven coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
Example:
and
Gilfoyle and Jared are drinking lemonade outside.
The conjunction, "and," connects the nouns, "Gilfoyle" and "Jared," to make a compound subject.
or
You can go now or wait until I finish.
The conjunction, "or," connects two verbs, "go" and "wait."
but
Monica wanted to go to the movies, but she didn't have any money.
The conjunction, "but," connects the two simple sentences, "Monica wanted to go to the movies" and "She didn't have any money," to make a compound sentence.