Sanj ida Sultana Rika, Lecturer

Department of English
Varendra University

PARTS OF SPEECH
Wordsare divided into different kindsor classes, called Partsof Speech, according to their use; that is,
according to the work they do in a sentence. Apart of speech isa group of wordsthat are used in a
certain way.For example, "run," "j ump," and "be" are all used to describe actions/states. Therefore they
belong to the VERBS group. In other words, all wordsin the English language are divided into eight
different categories. Each category hasa different role/function in the sentence. The partsof speech
are eight in number.
1. Noun. 2. Pronoun. 3. Adj ective. 4. Verb.
5. Adverb. 6. Preposition. 7. Conj unction. 8. Interj ection.
Noun: Aword that namesa person, a place or thing ANoun isa word used asthe name of a person,
place, or thing; as, (pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John) example: Thisismy dog. He lives
in my house. We live in London. Akbar wasa great king. The rose smellssweet. The sun shinesbright.
Her courage won her honour.
Pronoun: Aword that isused instead of a noun/ replacement of Noun.(I, you, he, she) example: Tara is
Indian. She isbeautiful. John isabsent, because he isill. The booksare where you left them.
Adj ective: An Adj ective isa word used to add something to the meaning of a noun; as, (good, big, red,
well, interesting) example: I like red rose. She isa brave girl. There are twenty studentsin thisclass.
Verb: Aword or group of wordsthat expressan action or a state (to be, have, do, like, work, sing, can,
must) example: EnglishClub isa website. I like EnglishClub. The girl wrote a letter to her cousin.
Dhaka isa big city. Iron and copper are useful metals.
Adverb: Aword that describesor givesmore information about a verb, an adj ective or another adverb
or even the entire sentence (quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really) example: My dog eatsquickly.
When he isvery hungry, he eatsreally quickly.He worked the sumquickly. Thisflower isvery
beautiful. She pronounced the word quite correctly.
Preposition: APreposition isa word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing
denoted by the noun or pronoun standsin relation to something else; as, (to, at, after, on, but)
example: We went to school on Monday. There isa cow in the garden. The girl isfond of music. Afair
little girl sat under a tree
Conj unction: AConj unction isa word usedto j oin wordsor sentences; (and, but, when) example: I like
dogsand I like cats. I like catsand dogs. I like dogsbut I don't like cats. Omar and Kimare cousins. Two
and two make four. I ran fast, but missed the train.
Interj ection: An Interj ection isa word which expressessome sudden feeling. It isa short exclamation,
sometimesinserted into a sentence (oh!, ouch!, hi!, well) example: Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you?
Well! I don't know. Hurrah! We have won the game. Alas! She isdead.
Determiner: Determinersare wordslike a, an, the, this, that, these, those, every, each, some, any, my,
his, one, two, etc., which determine or limit the meaning of the nounsthat follow. Some modern
grammarsinclude determinersamong the partsof speech.
EXERCISE
Name the part of speech of each underlined word in the following sentences, giving in each case your
reason for the classification:
1.Still watersrun deep.
2. He still livesin that house.
3.After the stormcomesthe calm.
4. He told usall about the battle.
5.He kept the fast for a week.
6. They while away their eveningswith booksand games.
7. There isa man at the door.
8.I have some friendsin New York.
9. I don’t have a dog.
10. There aren’t any seats.
NOUN
Noun isa naming word. It isused asthe name of a person, thing or place. The word isused to mean
anything that we can think of. Example: Henry, band, town, Singapore, stadium, bravery.
June ismy favorite month.
The noun June refersto a particular month, but the noun month might be applied to any other
month aswell asto June. We call June a Proper Noun (alwaysbeginswith a capital letter), and
month a Common Noun (it isnot capitalized unlessit beginsa sentence). Similarly:
Rimi isa Proper Noun, while girl isa Common Noun. Naimisa Proper Noun, while boy isa Common
Noun. Khulna isa Proper Noun, while city isa Common Noun. Bangladesh isa Proper Noun, while
country isa Common.

COMMONNOUN& PROPER NOUN

Many proper nounsare made up of more than one word. Each important word in a proper noun begins
with a capital letter.
Common Proper
Persons- woman Jane Adams teacher Mr. Rahman
Places- state South Carolina lake Lake George
Things- bridge Golden Gate Bridge building World Trade Center
Ideas- belief Judaism
COMPOUND/// COLLECTIVE
Acompound noun isa single noun made up of two or more words.
SINGLE WORD: deadline, shoelace HYPHENS: walkie-talkie, daughter-in-law Boy-friend, runners-up,
ladies-in-waiting, break-insSEPARATE WORDS: disc j ockey, life boat, White House, travel agents.
Acollective noun isa noun that namesa group or a collection of personsor things; as, army,
audience, band, class, committee, crowd, flock, mob, team, herd, fleet, j ury, family, nation, parliament.
The police dispersed the crowd. The French army wasdefeated at Waterloo. The j ury found the
prisoner guilty. Aherd of cattle ispassing.
EXERCISE
On your paper, use each of the following compound nounsin a sentence.
1. Sunset 2. passer-by 3. Disc j ockey
4. walkie-talkie 5. Handwriting 6. check-in
ABSTRACT NOUN
An Abstract Noun isusually the name of a quality, action, or state considered apart fromthe obj ect
to which it belongs;
Quality - Kindness, darkness, hardness, brightness, honesty, wisdom, bravery. Action - Laughter, theft,
movement, j udgment, hatred. State - Childhood, boyhood, youth, sleep, sickness, death, poverty.
The namesof the Artsand Science (e.g., grammar, music, chemistry etc.) are also Abstract Nouns.
[We can speak of a brave soldier, a strong man, a beautiful flower. But we can also think of these
qualitiesapart fromany particular person or thing, and speak of bravery, strength, beauty by
themselves.
NOUN: CASE
Examine the sentence –
ThisisNita'sumbrella. (Nita'sumbrella =the umbrella belonging to Nita)
The formof the noun Nita ischanged to Nita'sto show ownership or possession. The Noun Nita’sis
therefore said to be in the Possessive Case.
The Possessive answersthe question, ‘Whose?’ Whose umbrella? - Nita's.
 The Possessive Case doesnot alwaysdenote possession. It isused to denote authorship, origin, kind,
etc. as,
Shakespeare'splays=the playswritten by Shakespeare. The President'sspeech =the speech delivered
by the President. Achildren'splayground =a playground for children. Aweek'sholiday =a holiday
which lastsa week.
Use of the Possessive Case
The Possessive Case isnow used chiefly with the namesof living thing; as,
The Governor’sbodyguard; the lion’smane.
So, we must say:
The leg of the table [not, the table'sleg]. The cover of the book [not, the book'scover]. The roof of
the house [not, the house'sroof).
• When you are in doubt whether to use a noun in the possessive case or with the preposition of,
remember that, asa general rule, the possessive case isused to denote possession or ownership. Thus, it
isbetter to say 'the defeat of the enemy' than 'the enemy'sdefeat', even though no doubt asto the
meaning would arise.

interj ection pron. conj . det. adj . noun verb prep. noun adverb
Well, she and my young John walk to school slowly.
Noun: 1. Abstract & 2. Concrete
Abstract: (Vocabulary Based) – ness, sion/tion, dom, ment, hood, ship, ism, th, ty, ce, cy, er, or, our, ry.
Example: truth, danger, happiness.
Concrete: Refersto a physical thing, person or place.
a) Common Noun (Refersto a general things) – rose/s. flower.
b) Proper Noun (Name of a specific place, person or thing) – Sun, moon, World, Dhaka.
c) Collective Noun (Refersto a group of people animals, things/ Treated assingular) – Team,
gang, herd, dozen etc.
d) Material Noun ( Aword used to describe an obj ect that can be perceived) – cement, glass,
plastic, paper, cloth, stone)

Proper Noun Common Noun Collective Noun Material Noun Abstract Noun

Econo Pen/s dozen plastic honesty

 Agnibina Book/s bundle paper Love

1. Countable (Countable noun can be counted) – an apple, two applesetc.

2. Uncountable (Uncountable noun cannot be counted) – air, rice, water, coffee, information.
PRONOUN
Apronoun isa word that takesthe place of a noun. You use pronounsto refer to persons, places,
things, or ideaswithout having to rename them.
My uncle likesthe roller coaster best. It doesn't scare himone bit.
[The pronoun it takesthe place of the noun roller coaster. The pronoun himtakesthe place of the
noun uncle.]
The noun that a pronoun replacesiscalled the antecedent of the pronoun.
Uncle Sambought two ticketsfor Jimmy. He gave themto him.
[The noun Uncle Samisthe antecedent of the pronoun He. Ticketsisthe antecedent of the pronoun
them, Jimmy isthe antecedent of the pronoun him.]
When we speak or write, we use pronounsfor two reasons.
First, by using pronouns, we do not have to use the same nounsover and over.
WITHOUT PRONOUNS Mr. Petershired John and Jane because Mr. Petersknew that John and Jane
could take care of the horses.
WITHPRONOUNS Mr. Petershired John and Jane because he knew that they could take care of the
horses. [lessrepetitive]
Second, with pronounswe can expressthoughtsthat are difficult or impossible to expresswith
nouns.
What isthat? Hasanybody seen a blue sweater?
PERSONAL PRONOUN
Apersonal pronoun isa pronoun that takesthe place of a noun naming a particular person, place,
thing, or idea. Personal pronounschange formto show person, number, and gender.
Person: We use first-person pronounsto refer to the speaker: I, me, my, we, us, our. We use second-
person pronounsto refer to the person being spoken to: you, your. You use third-person pronounsto
refer to the person, place, thing, or idea spoken about: he, him, she, her, it, they, them, their.
FIRST PERSON I repaired the clock.
SECONDPERSON Thank you for the help.
THIRDPERSON They tried a new route.
Number: Personal pronounshave different formsdepending on whether their antecedentsare singular
or plural. The singular pronounsinclude I, he, she, and it. The plural pronounsinclude we and they. The
personal pronoun you can be either singular or plural.
SINGULAR She ridesa bike to school. PLURAL They ride bikesto school.SINGULAR Ann, will you put
the rake away? PLURAL Children, will you put the brakesaway?
Gender: Personal pronounsexpressgender. He, him, and hisindicate the masculine gender. They refer
to nounslike brother that name males. She, her, and hersindicate the feminine gender. They refer to
nounslike sister that name females. It and itsindicate the neuter gender. They refer to places, things,
and ideas.
MASCULINE: The man packed for the vacation that he wastaking. FEMININE: The woman packed for
the vacation that she wastaking. NEUTER: Isthe record available? I want to buy it.

It: The Pronoun it isused:

(1) For thingswithout life Here isyour book; take it away. (2) For animals, unlesswe clearly wish
to speak of themasmale and female; as, He loveshisdog and cannot do without it. The horse fell
and broke itsleg. (3) For a young child, unlesswe clearly wish to refer to the sex; as, When I saw the
child, it wascrying. That baby hastorn itsclothes.
Personal pronounshave possessive formsto show ownership or belonging. Such pronounsare
possessive pronouns.
Thisismy bicycle. That bicycle ismine.
The following chart showsthe different formsof the personal pronouns. Possessive pronounsare in
parentheses.
Singular Plural
FIRST PERSON I, me (my, mine) we, us(our, ours)
SECONDPERSON you (your, yours) you (your, yours)
THIRDPERSON he, him(his) them, they she, her (her, hers) (their, theirs) it (its)
OTHER KINDS OF PRONOUNS
An indefinite pronoun isa pronoun that doesnot refer to a specific person, place, thing, or idea. We
can often use these pronounswithout antecedents.
Somebody handed me a wrench. Hasanybody seen my scarf? Suppose that we gave a party and
nobody came?
The following list includessome frequently used indefinite pronouns: all each much other another
either neither some any everybody nobody somebody anybody everyone no one someone
anyone everything nothing something anything many one
An interrogative pronoun isa pronoun that introducesa question. The most frequently used
interrogative pronounsare who, whom, which, what, and whose.
Who built that snow sculpture? What isyour favorite song?
Ademonstrative pronoun isa pronoun that pointsout someone or something. The four
demonstrative pronounsare this, these, that, and those.
The demonstrative pronounsthisand these refer to something nearby. That and those refer to
something farther away. Thisand that are singular forms; these and those are plural.
Thisisa cotton shirt; that isa silk one. I'll take some of these and some of those.
When -self isadded to my, your, him, her, it, and -selvesto our, your, them, we get Reflexive
Pronounswhen the action done by the subj ect turnsback (reflects) upon the subj ect; as,
She played the piano herself. Why can’t you do it yourself?
It will be noticed that each of these Reflexive Pronounsisused asthe Obj ect of a verb, and refersto
the same person or thing asthat denoted by the Subj ect of the verb.
Now look at the following sentences:
Remi herself solved the puzzle. They themselvesadmitted their guilt.
It will be seen that here Compound Personal Pronounsare used for the sake of emphasis, and are
therefore called Emphatic Pronouns.
Each of the boysgetsa prize. Either of these roadsleadsto the railway station. Neither of the
accusationsistrue.
Each, either, neither are called Distributive Pronounsbecause they refer to personsor thingsone at
a time. For thisreason they are alwayssingular and assuch followed by the verb in the singular.
I met Hari who had j ust returned. Here isthe book that you lent me.
Arelative pronoun isa word that isused to connect an independent clause to a relative clause.
Relative pronounsare meant to provide more information about the subj ect (noun or pronoun) it
relatesto. These relative pronounsfunction exactly like adj ectives, and so the clausesthey formcan
also be called adj ective clauses.
a) Personal pronoun (Aword that replacesthe name of a person place, thing or idea in a
sentence) – I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, themetc.
i) I ama good student. ii) They are students.
b) Demonstrative Pronoun (Apronoun that pointsto a specific noun or pronoun the
audience already knowsabout) – this, that, these, those, so, such, the same.
c) Interrogative Pronoun (An interrogative pronoun isa pronoun that isused to introduce
 a question) – all WHwords(who, what, whose, where, when, why, which, what, how etc.
i) Which isyour brother?
d) Reflexive Pronoun (Areflexive pronoun isa pronoun that refersto another noun or
pronoun within the sentence) – myself, ourselves, yourselves, itself, himself, herself,
themselves.
i) He killed himself.
e) Distributive Pronoun (Adistributive pronoun considersmembersof a group separately
rather than collectively.) – Each, every, either, neither.
i) Each of the boyshasa pen.
f) Relative Pronoun (Arelative pronoun isa word that isused to connect an independent
clause to a relative clause. Relative pronounsare meant to provide more information
about the subj ect it relatesto. Relative pronounsinclude who, whom, whose, that and
which.)
i) I did well in chemistry, which wasalwaysmy favorite subj ect.
g) Indefinite Pronoun (An indefinite pronoun isa pronoun which doesnot have a specific
familiar represent) – one, all, none, no one, nobody, anybody, any, anyone, some,
someone, somebody, every, everyone, everybody, many, others.
i) I lost many booksbut I didn’t find any.
h) Reciprocal Pronoun (Reciprocal pronounsare wordsthat are used to indicate a mutual
relationship between two subj ectsor obj ects. ‘Each other’ and ‘one another’ are the
only two reciprocal pronounsin the English language.)
i) Rasel and Rose love each other.
ii) My brother and my cousin were blaming one another.
i)Emphatic Pronoun: (An emphatic pronoun isa pronoun such asmyself, herself, yourself, etc.,
that isused immediately after the noun to which it refersin order to show emphasis.)
i) He cheated me himself.
ii) The town itself isnot very large.
ADJECTIVE
Adj ectivesand adverbsare modifiers. Modifiersdescribe, limit, or give more exact meaningsto words.
Modifiersalso help to make sentencesmore alive and more interesting. An adj ective answersone of
three questions:
1. Which? 2. What kind? 3. How many?
USAGE OF ADJECTIVE
1. The lazy boy waspunished. 2. The boy islazy.
• In sentence 1, the Adj ective lazy isused along with the noun boy asan attribute. It is, therefore,
said to be used Attributively.
• In sentence 2, the Adj ective lazy isused along with the verb is, and formspart of the Predicate. It is,
therefore, said to be used Predicatively.
• Some Adj ectivescan be used only Predicatively; as,
He isafraid. She speaksEnglish well. He isa frightened man. I can speak good English. (NOT... 'an
afraid man’) (NOT… 'well English')
KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
• Adj ectivesof Quality show the kind or quality of a person or thing; as,
Dhaka isa large city. He isan honest man.
Adj ectivesof Quality answer the question: Of what kind?
• Adj ectivesof Quantity show how much of a thing ismeant as,
I ate some rice He showed much patience. He haslittle intelligence. We have had
enough exercise. He haslost all hiswealth. You have no sense.
Adj ectivesof Quantity answer the question: How much?
• Adj ectivesof Number show how many personsor thingsare meant, or in what order a person or
thing stands; as,
The hand hasfive fingers. Few catslike cold water.
• Aproper adj ective isa proper noun that modifiesanother noun or pronoun. It alwaysbeginswith a
capital letter.
Do you want to go see the John Wayne movie? [Which movie? The John Wayne movie.]
To create many proper adj ectives, you add the suffix –n, -an, -ian, or -ic to the proper noun.
Proper Nouns Proper Adj ectives
Asia - Asian Rome - Roman King Edward - Edwardian Napoleon - Napoleonic
Indefinite pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and interrogative pronounsmay also modify nouns. Here
isa list of the pronounsthat function most often asadj ectives.
INDEFINITE some, many, several, few
DEMONSTRATIVE this, that, these, those
INTERROGATIVE which, what, whose
Some people do not like sports. [How many people? Some people.]
Why are we going thisway? [Which way? Thisway.]
PROPER USE OF SOME ADJECTIVES
• Some, any - To expressquantity or degree, some isused normally in affirmative sentences, any in
negative or interrogative sentences.
I will buy some mangoes. I will not buy any mangoes. Have you bought any mangoes?
• But any can be used after if in affirmative sentences.
If you need any money, I will help you.
• Some isused in questionswhich are really offers/requestsor which expect the answer “yes”.
Will you have some ice-cream? (Offer) Could you lend me some money? (Request) Did you buy some
clothes? (=I expect you did.)
• Little =not much (i.e., hardly any). Thus, the adj ective little hasa negative meaning.
There islittle hope of hisrecovery. (He isnot likely to recover)
• Alittle =some though not much. 'Alittle' hasa positive meaning.
There isa little hope of hisrecovery. (He may possibly recover)
• The little =not much, but all there is.
The little information he had wasnot quite reliable.
• Few =not many, hardly any. ‘Few’ hasa negative meaning.
Few people are able to do the work.
• Afew =some. ‘Afew’ hasa positive meaning, and isopposed to ‘none’.
I gave a dinner party for a few close friends.
• The few =not many, but all there are.
The few clothesthey had were all torn.
ARTICLES
• The most frequently used adj ectivesare the articlesa, an, and the. They are really Demonstrative
adj ectivesand come before nouns.
INDEFINITE I enj oy an apple with my lunch. [any apple] DEFINITE The apple had a wormin it. [a
particular apple]
• The indefinite article isused before singular countable nouns, e.g. a book, an orange, a girl.
• The definite article isused before singular countable nouns, plural countable nounsand uncountable
nouns, e.g., the book, the books, the milk.
• The choice between a and an isdetermined by sound.
>Before a word beginning with a vowel sound an isused; as, an enemy, an ink-pad, an orange, an
umbrella, an hour, an honest man, an heir.
• It will be noticed that the wordshour, honest, heir begin with a vowel sound, asthe initial
consonant h isnot pronounced.
>Before a word beginning with a consonant sound a isused; as, a boy, a woman, a yard, also a
university, a union, a European, a ewe, a unicorn, a useful article because these words(university,
union, etc.) begin with a consonant sound, that of yu.
• Similarly, we say, a one-rupee note, such a one, a one-eyed man because one beginswith the
consonant sound of w.
(1) In itsoriginal numerical sense of one; as,
Twelve inchesmake a foot. Not a word wassaid. Aword to the wise issufficient. Abird in the hand
isworth two in the bush.
(2) In the vague sense of a certain; as,
AMichael issuspected by the police. (=a certain person named Michael)
One evening a beggar came to my door.
(1) Before some proper names, viz., these kindsof place-names:
(a) oceansand seas, e.g., the Pacific, the black Sea (b) rivers, canalse.g., the Ganga, the Suez Canal (c)
deserts, groupsof islandse.g., the Sahara, the West Indies(d) mountain-ranges, e.g., the Himalayas, the
Alps(e) a very few namesof countries, which include wordslike republic and kingdom(e.g., the Irish
Republic, the United Kingdom) also: the Ukraine, the Netherlands.
(2) Before the namesof certain books; as, The Vedas, the Iliad, the Ramayana. But we say – Homer's
Iliad, Valmiki'sRamayana.
(3) Before namesof thingsunique of their kind; as, The sun, the sky, the ocean, the sea, the earth.
[Note – Sometimesthe isplaced before a common noun to give it the meaning of an abstract noun;
as, At last the warrior in himwasthoroughly aroused.]
(4) Before a proper noun when it isqualified by an adj ective or a defining adj ectival clause; as, The
great Caesar : the immortal Shakespeare.
(5) With superlatives; as, The darkest cloud hasa silver lining. Thisisthe best book of elementary
chemistry.
(6) With ordinals; as, He wasthe first man to arrive. The ninth chapter of the book isvery
interesting.
OMISSIONOF THE ARTICLE
(1) Before namesof substancesand abstract nouns(i.e. uncountable nouns) used in a general sense; as,
Sugar isbad for your teeth. Gold isa preciousmetal. Wisdomisthe gift of heaven. Honesty isthe
best policy. Virtue isitsown reward.
• Note – Uncountable nounstake the when used in a particular sense (especially when qualified by
an adj ective or adj ectival phrase or clause); as,
Would you passme the sugar? (=the sugar on the table) The wisdomof Solomon isgreat. I can't
forget the kindnesswith which he treated me.
(2) Before plural countable nounsused in a general sense; as,
Children like chocolates. Computersare used in many offices.
• Note that such nounstake the when used with a particular meaning; as, Where are the children? (=
our children)
(3) Before namesof meals(used in a general sense); as,
What time do you have lunch? Dinner isready.
• Note: We use a when there isan adj ective before breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. We use the when we
specify.
I had a late lunch today.
(4) Before school, college, university, church, bed, hospital, prison, when these placesare visited or used
for their primary purpose; as,
I learnt French at school. We go to church on Sundays. He staysin bed till nine every morning. My
uncle isstill in hospital.
• Note – The isused with these wordswhen we refer to themasa definite place, building or obj ect
rather than to the normal activity that goeson there; as,
The school isvery near my home. I met himat the church. The bed isbroken. I went to the hospital
to see my uncle.
Adj ective: (Good, beautiful, blue, fine, hard, ugly, rich, little, small, a, two, much, first, second etc.)
1. before Noun: a) It isa heavy bag. b) These poor people need help.
c) He isan intelligent boy. d) That wasa clever idea.
2. After linking verb: a) Thisbag isheavy. B) These people are poor.
Linking Verb: Be, become, appear, remain, seem, taste, look, feel, sound, stay, smell, turn, keep, grow,
come, go.
Example: a) Children become tired quite easily. b) The rose smellsgood.
 I bought a red dressfor the wedding.
I have eight apples.
The food isdelicious.
My brother isnaughty.
The movie we watched last night wasboring.
Pablo Picasso isa fine artist.
The weather in Chennai issultry all round the year.
Now isa great time to visit the United States.
It wasa fabulousdrive.
The Marina Beach isthe longest beach in India.
VERB
Averb expressesaction or being. ("She can sing." Sing isthe main verb; can isthe helping verb.) Averb
must agree with itssubj ect in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbsalso take different
formsto expresstense.
Verbschange their formsbased on time/tense (past, present, and future), person (first person, second
person, and third person), number (singular, plural), voice (active and passive), etc.
Kindsof Verb:
Firstly, verb isdivided into two maj or categories:
i. Principal or Lexical or Main Verb
ii. Auxiliary or Helping Verb
Principal or Lexical Verb: Verbswhich are used independently without the help of other verbsare
called Principal or Main verb.
Example:
He isa singer.
The honey tastessweet.
She doesher j ob.
They have many problems.
I saw her crying.
He makesme proud.
Principal verbsare of two typesdepending on the obj ect they take:
a. Transitive verb: Transitive verb isan action verb that requiresone or more obj ectswhich receive
the action of the verb in the sentence.
You will find obj ect in transitive verb
You have to question with who/what
While you are questioning with who/what and you will get the answer.
Rimi writesa letter/ I drink tea/ The children are flying kites/ She crossed the street.
Examples:
She readsthe book. (Verb with the obj ect ‘the book’)
He gave me a mobile phone. (Verb with the obj ect ‘me’ and ‘mobile phone’)
I saw her in the market.
Rifat wantsa pen formRyan.
Note: Most of the verbtakesone obj ect but give, ask, offer, tell, return promise etc. take two or more
obj ects. (Direct - Materialistic and indirect - person)
Hisfather gave me a book.
The teacher asked me a question.
He told me a lie.
She returned himhiswallet.
b. Intransitive verb: Intransitive verb isan action verb that requiresno direct obj ect in the sentence.
Example:
She reads. (no obj ect in the sentence)
Sit down here.
The birdsare flying.
She issinging.
The sun set.
I walked to the park today.
I went to the campusfor a scheduled class.
Way to find transitive and intransitive verb:
 -If obj ect isavailable in a sentence then the verb istransitive.
-And if obj ect isnot present in sentence then the verb isintransitive.
-So, to find an obj ect we ask the verb by “Whom” or “what”, and the answer we get isan obj ect of
that sentence.
Example:
He gave me a mobile phone.
Gave whom? Answer isme. And Gave what? Answer ismobile phone.
So the “gave” verb should be a transitive verb.
She reads.
Readswhat? No answer isfound.
So the readsverb isintransitive verb.
Auxiliary or Helping Verb: Verbswhich help a Principal verb to forma sentence are called Auxiliary or
Helping verb.
Example:
He issinging a song.
She isdoing her j ob.
They are facing many problems.
Here, 'is' and 'are' are helping the main verbssing, do and face.
Auxiliary verbsare of two types:
i. Primary or Tense Auxiliariessuch asbe, am, iswas, are, were, been, being, have, has, had, having, do,
doesand did. (To be, to have, to do)
Example:
Different formsof verb are used in different situations.
I amdoing the j ob. (present Continuous)
They are doing a good j ob.
I will write a book in thismonth.
Ryan wassleeping that moment. (past Continuous)
It isdone by her. (passive form)
Rifat readsthe book. (present formasprinciple verb)
 She ishere. (principle verb)
They have completed the mission. (present perfect)
Doeshe make it?
Have you prepared for the situation?
ii. Modal Auxiliariessuch ascan, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, need, dare, used to,
ought to etc.
Modalsonly take the base formof verbsafter them.
Example:
Shall we start the game? (Asking the question)
You should read the book attentively. (Suggest)
Would you give a cup of coffee? (request)
I can do the sum? (ability)
May I come in? (permission)
I used to have tea in the evening. (habit)
We ought to respect our seniors(moral obligation)
Finite and Non-finite Verbs:
Finite verb: AVerb which changesitsformaccording to the number, person or tense and must have
subj ect iscalled finite verb.
Non-finite verb: ANon-finite verb isa formof verb that isnot limited by person, number or tense in a
sentence and cannot act asmain verb.
There are four kindsof non-finite verbs.
i. Infinite
ii. Bare infinitive
iii. Gerund
iv. Participles
Infinitive: Infinitive verb isa non-finite verb that ismade up of “to +base formof verb”.
(To +verb)
Example:
I want to go there.
 He went to see the doctor.
I don’t know what to do.
She ran to catch the train in time.
He likesto play football.
Honey issweet to taste.
The man istoo late to go.
People gathered here to hear the news.
Bare Infinitive: Certain verbssuch asbid, let, make, need, dare, see, hear, etc. are used without ‘to’ and
are called bare infinitive.
(Without to)
Example:
Make her stand.
Let the people go there.
You need not leave the place.
Gerund: Agerund isa word based on a verb that functionsasa noun in a sentence.
Agerund isa formof non-finite verb which ismade up by adding the ‘ing’ at the end of the base form
of a verb.
Example:
I saw her crying.
Swimming isgood for health.
Being tired I took rest for a while.
Seeing isbelieving.
Participles: Aword formed froma verb (going, gone, being, been) and used asan adj ective (working
woman, burning toast) or a noun (good breeding).
AParticiple isverbal but worksasan adj ective. Participle can be following types.
Present Participle: Present participle ismade by adding ‘ing ’ to the base form.
Example:
Aswimming snake bit himin the leg.
Don’t put your hand into boiling water.
 Look at the setting sun.
Don’t get into a running bus.
N. B: Both of Gerund and Present Participlesare made by adding ‘ing’ to the base form.
But difference between themisthat gerund functionsasa noun and present participlesfunctionsas
an adj ective.
Example:
Swimming isgood for the people. (Here swimming isnoun)
Aswimming snake bit himin the leg. (Here swimming isan adj ective)
Past Participle: Past participle ismade by adding ‘ed’, ‘-d’ or ‘-t’ to the base formof a regular verb. Such
aslooked, said, learnt, broken, etc.
The past participle can be preceded by have, has, had, etc. to expressthe perfect aspect. And it also
expressesthe passive voice.
Example:
They have invited himto the party.
Afaded flower attractsnone.
It issaid by them.
The floated area isgood for cultivation.

ADVERB
• An adverb isa word that modifiesa verb, an adj ective, or another adverb.
MODIFIES AVERB The pianist played skillfully.
MODIFIES ANADJECTIVE She isa very skillful pianist.
MODIFIES ANADVERB She playsquite beautifully.
An adverb answersone of five questionsabout the word or phrase that it modifies:
1. How or in what manner? 2. When? 3. Where? 4. How often? 5. To what extent or degree?
KINDS OF ADVERBS
Adverbsmay be divided into the following classes, according to their meaning:
(1) Adverbsof Time (which show when): ago, lately, soon, daily, yesterday etc.
I have heard thisbefore. We shall now begin to work.
(2) Adverbsof Frequency (which show how often): again, always, frequently etc.
I have told you twice. He often makesmistakes.
(3) Adverbsof Place (which show where): there, up, away etc.
(4) Adverbsof Manner (which show how or in what manner): clearly, bravely, soundly, hard, thusetc.
I wasagreeably disappointed. Isthat so? Thisstory iswell written.
[Note - Thisclassincludesnearly all those Adverbswhich are derived fromadj ectivesand end in -ly.]
(5) Adverbsof Degree or Quantity (which show how much, or in what degree or to what extent): fully,
quite, very, rather, enough, partly, altogether, pretty, asetc.
He wastoo careless. Isthat any better? These mangoesare almost ripe.
(6) Adverbsof Reason:
He ishence unable to refute the charge. She therefore left school.
• Some of the above Adverbsmay belong to more than one class
She singsdelightfully. (Adverb of Manner)
The weather isdelightfully cool. (Adverb of Degree)
Don't go far. (Adverb of Place)
He isfar better now. (Adverb of Degree)
ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB?
It issometimesdifficult to decide whether a word isan adj ective or an adverb. Alarge number of
adverbsend in -ly, but so do some adj ectives.
ADVERB The guide yelled loudly. ADJECTIVE The bear seemed friendly.
Sometimesthe same word may be used aseither an adj ective or an adverb.
ADVERB Everyone worked hard. ADJECTIVE Thisishard work.
To decide whether a modifier isan adj ective or an adverb, figure out what part of speech the
modified word is. If the modified word isa noun or a pronoun, the modifier isan adj ective. If the
modified word isa verb, an adj ective, or an adverb, the modifier isan adverb.
• You can also tell whether a modifier isan adj ective or an adverb by deciding which question the
modifier answers.
ADJECTIVE ADVERB
1. Which? 1. How or in what manner? 2. What kind? 2. When? 3. How many? 3. Where? 4.
How often? 5.To what extent or degree?
ADJECTIVE Jane isan early riser. [Think: Early tellswhat kind of riser. Early modifiesriser, which isa
noun. Early istherefore an adj ective.]
ADVERB Jane left early. [Think: Early tellswhen Jan left. Early modifiesleft, which isa verb. Early
is therefore an adverb.]
USING COMPARISONS CORRECTLY
Rule: Avoid double comparisons.
Use either the suffixes-er and -est or the wordsmore and most to formthe comparative and the
superlative degreesof adj ectivesand adverbs. Do not use -er or -est when you use more or most.
INCORRECT The fruit wasthe most bitterest I've ever tasted.
CORRECT The fruit wasthe bitterest I've ever tasted. The fruit wasthe most bitter I've ever
tasted.
Adverb: An adverb describesor modifiesa verb, an adj ective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It
usually answersthe questionsof when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree.
Adverbsoften end in -ly.
Example:
I closed the door quietly.
The girl isfairly tall.
She studieshard to passthe exam.
I have done badly in the exam. (manner +ly)
Do not speak so loudly.
It may rain tonight.(time)
How do you feel now?
My father went abroad last year. (place)
The busstopshere/there.
She alwaysquarrelswith others. (Frequency – never, seldom, hardly etc.)
We often make mistakes.
The tea istoo hot. (Intensifiers)
The girl isextremely beautiful.
The busran unusually fast.
PREPOSITION
Apreposition isa word placed before a noun or pronoun to forma phrase modifying another word in
the sentence. Therefore a preposition isalwayspart of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase
almost alwaysfunctionsasan adj ective or asan adverb. The following list includesthe most common
prepositions:
By... with.... about... until (by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)
Thiscomesbefore a noun or a noun phrase and linksit to other partsof the sentence. These are
usually single words(e.g., on, at, by) but can be up to four words(e.g., asfar as, in addition to, asa
result of, owing to, in front of, in spite of).
I chose to interview teachersin the district closest to me.
The recorder wasplaced next to the interviewee.
I stopped the recording in the middle of the interview due to a low battery.
There isa garden in front of our house.
He could not come owing to illness.
He attended the meeting in spite of hisillness.
CONJUNCTION
Aconj unction j oinswords, phrases, or clauses, and indicatesthe relationship between the elements
j oined. Coordinating conj unctionsconnect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.
Subordinating conj unctionsconnect clausesthat are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc.
There are other typesof conj unctionsaswell.
And, but, or, while, because, that, unless, though, although, nor, yet, so etc.
He ran fast so that he could catch the train.
Hiswife and my wife work together.
You can stay with me aslong asyou like.
Wait here and see what happens.
It rained but I had a walk anyway.
Work hard or/otherwise you will fail the exam.
I know that he isa bright student.
Some conj unctionsappear in pairs:
Either you or your brother should come.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
INTERJECTION
The interj ection isa word which indicatesan emotional state or an attitude like delight or surprise. /
An interj ection isa word used to expressemotion.
Oh! Wow! Oops! Alas! Hurrah! Shh! Hush!
Alas! The man iskilled.
Hurrah! We have won the game.
Wow! What a nice gift.
Ugh! You have hurt me.
Hush! Don’t make a noise.