Grammatical Convention: Parts of Speech

Determiner

Determiner includes:

Quantifiers: many, some, few
Articles: the, a, an
Some pronouns: his, her, your, my
Demonstratives: this, that, these, those

The Noun

Names or tags given to things:

Nouns of Places: markets, schools, city, roads, states, countries, mountains, rivers, etc.
Objects: table, book, instrument, stationery, etc.
Animals: lion, tiger, birds, fish, etc.
Concepts: idea, wisdom, cooperation, knowledge
Persons: John, Femi, Kofi, Katezulu, etc.

Kinds of Noun

Proper Noun:
- It refers to names given to specific places, persons, days, and months.
- First letters of proper nouns are capitalised.
Examples:
- Name of individuals: James, Kalu, Brian, Samantha, Keba, etc.
- Names of specific places: Michigan, Aba, Congo, Angola, London, Ariaria International Market, Nigeria, Ghana, America, Ring Road, Group Community School Omoba
- Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
- Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, etc.
- Titles: Reverend, Ezeogo, Mr. and Mrs., High Chief, Dr. Mark
Common Nouns:
- Names that do not belong to anyone or particular place or animal.
Examples:
- Place: city, school, market, road
- Animal: animal, birds, kitten, cat, hen, monkey
- Humans: man, woman, girl, boy, brother, uncle, niece, nephews
Abstract Nouns:
- They are names of things that cannot be touched or seen. They state concepts such as feelings, actions, qualities, events.
Examples: knowledge, idea, honesty, principle, beauty, love, behaviour
Pronouns:
- Pronouns are words that replace nouns in sentences. In the absence of nouns, pronouns are used.
Examples: we, I, she, he, it, they; him, her, me, them

FQA:
- Should pronouns be classified as a kind of noun or as a part of speech?
  Pronoun is a sub-category. It has no existence of its own apart from the attributes it derives from the noun it replaces. Both semantic and structural properties are derived from the noun it replaces, hence pronouns are regarded as a kind or sub-category of noun.
Collective Noun:
- Names given to assemblage of individuals, animals, objects, or things which function as a unit or a group.
Examples: troop, class, battalion, flock of birds, herd of sheep, personnel, band, class, group, etc.
Concrete Noun:
- It refers to nouns with physical properties that can be seen and touched.

Adjective

These are words that expand the idea of a noun. They qualify nouns by giving additional information about the nouns they follow.

Verbs

Verbs are words that state action or state of being.

Examples: know, move, agree, receive

Types of Verb

Finite Verbs:
- Finite verbs are limited by time, person, and number. Tenses are attached to finite verbs to denote time, person, and number.
Non-finite Verbs:
- These are verbs that do not denote definite time and action.
Examples: laughing, clinging
Transitive Verbs:
- Transitive verbs denote actions that are transferable to objects.
Examples: hit, blow, kill, etc.
Non-transitive Verbs:
- Non-transitive verbs do not transfer actions.
Examples: laughs, clings, etc.

Adverbs

The primary function of adverbs is to modify verbs, adjectives, and itself.

Examples: carefully, very slowly, fortunately, very

Conjunction

Conjunction joins words, phrases, and clauses together.

Examples: and, but, for, yet, or

Types of Conjunction

Coordinating Conjunction:
- Coordinating conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses of the same class.
Examples: sweeping and cooking, James or John
Subordinate Conjunction:
- Subordinate conjunction introduces subordinate clauses.
Examples: if, even, so, unless, although, because, while, etc.

Examples in sentences:
- I will pass all my exams if I study hard.
- I need your assistance because I cannot finish the task as scheduled.

Preposition

Prepositions are words used to identify location (place) and time (temporal) in sentences. Prepositions denote time and spatial relationships between objects or persons stated in a sentence.

Examples: in, from, in front of, behind, at, by, beyond, on, under, beside, between, inside, between, of

Negation

It is a class given to the negative marker represented by ‘not.’

Example: I am not alone.

Complementizer

Complementizers are functional words used to introduce embedded clauses.

Examples: that, if, for

Examples in sentences:

I know that you love me.
Do you know if the students have gone home?

Auxiliary Verbs

They are also called helping verbs. Their function is to denote the time of action denoted by the verb and aspect.

Examples:

Be Verbs: am, is, was, are, were
Do: do, does, did
Have: have, has, had
Modals: will/would, shall/should, can/could, may/might, must

FQA:

Are auxiliaries a kind of verb?
They are not. In modern grammar, auxiliaries perform different functions from those of the verb. Auxiliaries are in complementary distribution with tenses, the infinite marker ‘to.’

Lesson List

Lessons 101