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Part of Speech (POS)

Part 8

Interjections

Interjections are words that you can use to express a strong sense of emotion or feelings. Interjections are usually one single word.

Example:

● Wow!

● Hurray!

● Awesome!

Unlike the other seven parts of speech, interjections dont influence the grammar of a sentence. Interjections do not relate grammatically to the other parts of the sentence, nor do they help the reader understand the relationship between words and phrases in the sentence. Interjections simply convey the way the author (or speaker) is feeling. They can be added to any sentence to add a bit of color.

Example:

● “Oww, I hit my big toe.

● Yippee! I just won.

Lots of different words can act interjections.

Example:

● Yes!

● No, I’m not!

● Congratulations!

● Bam!

● Hello!

● Gosh!

● Hot dog!

● “Golly,

Different interjections can be used to express different kinds of emotions or feelings i.e.- happiness, sadness, anger, disappointment, and doubt.

Example:

● Please, just stop!

● Darn! That hurt.

● Bingo!

● Boo!

● Um! I dont know if I like it.

Interjections aren’t just for strong or extreme emotions.

Example:

● Excuse me, may I leave?

● Alright, I’m ready.

Bingo! We just completed our last workshop on parts of speech.

Interjections completes our eight week series of writing workshops on the 8 parts of speech. Understanding the different parts of speech is important in understanding how words can and should be joined together to make sentences that are both grammatically correct and readable. An understanding of the parts of speech is also important for knowing how to correctly punctuate sentences. 

From time to time, re-visit dfoww’s 8 workshops on parts of speech. Doing so, will help you improve your writing.

Now, it’s time for you to test your knowledge on interjections. Please complete the worksheet titled: Interjections. You’ll find it on our website. Just click on the menu section, then select worksheets.

We hope you enjoyed this workshop!

*Please visit our announcement page under the menu tab at the top of this page.

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Part of Speech (POS)

Part 7

Prepositions

Preposition = is a word used to link nouns,  pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. Prepositions are usually short words with the majority having less than six letters. Prepositions are normally placed directly in front of nouns.

A preposition answers where something is, when something happens, and how things are related.

There are more than 100 prepositions in the English language. There are endless possibilities for creating prepositional phrases. Below are some examples of prepositional phrases and a list of some common prepositions.

● I prefer to read in the library.
● Go down the stairs and through the door.

● in = preposition
● down/through = prepositions

Examples of prepositional phrases:

● She arrived in time.
● We lived in the green house by the church.
● Mike forgot to clean under the bed.

List of prepositions = on,  in,  under,  off,  over,  at,  to,  by,  in, above,  near,   with.

Prepositions can be classified as:

● Simple prepositions = prepositions which consists of only one word e.g., – on, at, in

● Compound prepositions = prepositions which consists of two or more words e.g., – instead of, in the middle, by the side of.

Types of prepositions

There are three types of prepositions.

1. Time prepositions
2. Place prepositions
3. Direction prepositions

Time prepositions = are those such as before, after, during, at, on, in, after, until.

Examples of time prepositions in a sentence:

I was at the mall.
I was born on January 17, 2000.
After dinner, I went to bed.

Place prepositions = are those indicating position, such as around, between, and against, under, over, inside, outside, above and below.

Examples of place prepositions in a sentence:

The dog is on the couch.
Put the cake over there.
The cat is under the table.

Direction prepositions = are those indicative of direction, such as across, up, and down. Each type of preposition is important.

Examples of direction prepositions in a sentence:

● Go down stairs to the kitchen.
● Tiffany went up the stairs.
● James and Justin are running across the park.

Rules for using prepositions =

1. Prepositions must be used to make the relationships between words in a sentence clear.

2. Prepositions must be followed by a noun.

You can use a prepositions with verbs nouns and adjectives.

Here are some examples:

Preposition with a verb =
verb + to

● I go to New York city every year.

Verb + for

● I work for myself.

Preposition with a noun =

Here are some examples:

● I will always have respect for you.

● I’m interested in learning a foreign language.

● Her answer to the question was correct.

Preposition with an adjective =

Here are some examples:

● Mike is loving towards his wife.

● Tiffany is afraid of spiders.

● I was hurt by his comments.

Tip: An easy way to remember prepositions –  Prepositions are anywhere a mouse can go, i.e.,- above, below, next to, between, beyond, through, by, with etc.

Now, it’s time for you to test your knowledge on prepositions. Please complete the worksheet titled: Prepositions. You’ll find it on our website. Just click on the menu section, then select worksheets.

We hope you enjoyed this presentation!

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Part of Speech (POS)

Part 6

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join ideas and words together. There are many different kinds, but the two basic groups of conjunctions are coordinating and subordinating.

In the English language, conjunctions come in three basic types:

● The coordinating conjunction
● The subordinating conjunction
● The correlative conjunction

Coordinating conjunctions = are the most common one. The main function of coordinating conjunctions is to join words, phrases, and clauses together, which are usually grammatically equal.
Examples = and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet

Sentence example: Blue refuses to eat dry dog food, *nor will he go near a bowl of cat food.

Subordinating conjunction = has two jobs. First it provides a necessary transition between the two ideas in a sentence. This transition will indicate a time, place, or cause and effect relationship.

Examples: After, although, as, because, rather than, since, so that, *where, etc.

Sentence example = We looked on top of the refrigerator, *where Lisa will often hide a bage of potato chips.
where = subordinating conjunction

The second job of the subordinating conjunction is to reduce the importance of one clause so that a reader understands which of the two ideas is more important.

Sentence example: As Jenny blew out the birthday candles on top of the cake, she burned the tip of her nose on the stubborn flame.

Burning her nose =  the main clause
Blowing out candles = less important in the clause.

Correlative conjunction = as suggested by their name, correlative conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to join phrases or words that carry equal importance within a sentence.

Some correlative conjunctions =

● Rather / than
● Whether / or
● Just as /so

When using correlative conjunctions, ensure verbs agree so that your sentence makes sense.

Sentence Example : Every night, *either loud music *or fighting neighbors wake John from his sleep. (either/or)

When you use a correlation conjunction, you must be sure the pronoun agrees.

Example: Neither Kim nor Tina expressed her annoyance when the puppy knocked over the lamp.(neither/nor)

When using correlative conjunctions, be sure to keep parallel structure intact. Equal grammatical units need to be incorporated into the entire sentence. For example : Not only did Mary grill burgers for Michael, but she also fixed a steak for her dog Lucy. (Not only/but/also.

Conjunction adverb =  parts of speech that are used to connect one clause to another. They are also used to show sequence, contrast, cause and effect, and other relationships.

Like other adverbs, conjunctive adverbs may be moved around in the sentence or clause in which they appear. This is just one of the things you’ll need to remember; additional rules for using conjunctive adverbs follow:

Always use a period or semicolon before the conjunctive adverb when separating two independent clauses. Conjunctive adverbs are not strong enough to join independent clauses without supporting punctuation.

Use a comma if a conjunction such as and, but, or, so appears between the conjunctive adverb and the first clause.

Use a comma behind conjunctive adverbs when they appear at the beginning of a sentence’s second clause. The only exception to this rule is that no comma is necessary if the adverb is a single syllable.

If a conjunctive adverb appears in the middle of a clause, it should be enclosed in commas most of the time. This is not an absolute rule and does not normally apply to short clauses.

Example:

● I like you a lot; in fact, I think we should be best friends.
● in fact =conjuntive adverb

You may begin a sentence with a conjunction, just make sure it’s not a sentence fragment.

Now it’s time for you to test your knowledge on conjunctions. Please complete the worksheet titled: conjunctions. You’ll find it on our website. Just click on dfoww.org menu button, then click worksheets button. There you will find the conjunction worksheet.

We hope you enjoyed this workshop!

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Part of Speech (POS)

Part 5

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. They answer questions like what kind, how many, and which one. Adjectives are describing words that modify nouns.

Adjectives

● swarthy
● slim

Example of modifying a noun:

● Tall woman
● tall = adjective
● woman = noun

● Smart boy
● smart = adjective
● boy = noun

Adjectives can be divided into several classes.

● Adjectives of quality
● Adjectives of quantity
● Adjectives of number
● Demonstrative adjectives
● Interrogative adjectives

1. Adjectives of quality refer to a kind or quality of a person or thing. They answer the question ‘of what kind’?

2. Adjectives of quantity answer the question ‘how much’? Examples are: some, any, much, little etc.

3. Adjectives of number answer the question ‘how many’? Examples are: many, one, two, first etc.

4. Demonstrative adjectives answer the question ‘which’? Examples are: this, that, these, those,etc.

5. Interrogative adjectives are used in interrogative sentences to modify nouns found in the question. Example: what, which.

6. Possessive adjectives are used to indicate possession.

Example:

● My
● Your
● His
● Her
● Its
● Our
● Their

Possessive adjectives also function as possessive pronouns.

7. Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used in sentences where two nouns are compared, in this pattern: Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).

Example:

● My car is larger then hers
● My hair is longer than his
● Your dress is shorter than mine

8. Superlative adjectives are used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a quality (the tallest, the smallest, the fastest, the highest). They are used in sentences where a subject is compared to a group of objects.

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

Example:

Adjective | comparative | superlative

● tall        |    taller        |     tallest

● big        |   bigger        |   biggest

Add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative.

9.  Coordinate adjectives are adjectives that appear in sequence with one another to modify the same noun. For example, the adjectives in the phrases bright, sunny day and dark and stormy night are coordinate adjectives.

To test whether adjectives are coordinate, you can replace comma(s) with and. If the sentence makes sense with that change, and if you can rearrange the adjectives in any order without compromising sense, they pass the test.

Example:

● Bright, sunny day
● Gloomy, cloudy day
● Perilous, aberrant lifestyle

10. Non-coordinate adjectives should not be separated through comma as they are not equal. One adjective takes precedence over the other non-coordinate adjective.

Example:

● She wore a nice red
● I have two old
● I have two pair of tennis shoes

11. Articles: There are only three articles in the English language: a, an and the. Articles are actually adjectives because they describe the nouns that they precede.

Example:

● A — A singular, general item.

● An — A singular, general item. Use this before
words that start with a vowel.

● The — A singular or plural, specific item

Example:

Use ‘the’ to define something as specific:

This is (the) park.

(This is a previously specified park known to the audience).

Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to define something as unspecific

This is a park.

(This is a previously unspecified park).

We hope you enjoyed this workshop. For additional information, please feel free to email us at:

dfoww@comcast.net

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Part of Speech (POS)

Part 4

Adverb

What is an Adverb?

An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Example:

● He sings loudly.
● She’s very tall.
● Sings = verb
● loudly = adverb

Common adverbs

● anxiously
● calmly
● annually
● cowardly

Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.

Example:

● Courageous= adjective
● Courageously= abverb

● Bold = adjective
● Boldly = adverb

If the adjective already ends in (y), the y usually changes to -i.

Example

● Crazy = adjective
● Crazily = adverb

● Unnecessary
● Unnecessarily

Here are some examples of adverbs that don’t end in -(ly).

● Nonetheless

● Anyway

● Nevertheless

● Moreover

There are four different types of Adverbs

● Adverb of Manner
● Adverb of Time
● Adverb of Place
● Adverb of Degree.

“Adverb of Manner” describes the manner of an action or the way of the occurrence of an action.

Example = Clearly, Deliberately

●She clearly stated her position.
● He deliberately yelled at the dog.

“Adverb of Time” states the time of the occurrence of the action.

Example= Tomorrow, Soon

● He will go to school tomorrow.
● She will come soon.

“Adverb of Place” express the place of the occurance of an action or regarding an action.

Example =Here, Somewhere, Nearby

● My grandmother’s house is nearby.
● She was going somewhere in Europe.
● He walked southwest.

“Adverb of Degree” tells us about the intensity of something.

Example = Just, Almost

● He just walked in.
● I’m almost done eating.

For additional information on today’s workshop, please free to email us at:

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Context Clues

What are context clues and why are they so important when reading and writing?

Answer: Context clues are hints or clues to the meaning of a word. Context clues are the words and sentences that surround a word and help explain the word’s meaning. The clue may appear within the same sentence as the word to which it refers or it may follow in the next sentence.

Because most of our vocabulary is gained through reading, it is important that you be able to recognize and take advantage of context clues.

The five basic types of context clues are:

1. Synonym or restatement clues = When an writer uses these types of clues, he or she will say the same thing twice, once with the more difficult word, and then again in a more simple way, often right in the same sentence.

Example:

● Tiffany is wise and perspicacious, and quickly discerns a situation. 

perspicacious = having a ready insight into and understanding of things

quickly discerns = to be able to see, recognize, understand or decide something

2. Antonym or contrast clues = These types of context clues give us hints to the meaning of words by telling us what they’re not. The sentence uses a word with an opposite definition to give the meaning of the unfamiliar word.

Example:

● Most over the counter medications are innocuous, but there are a few over the counter drugs that can be harmful.

innocuous means = not harmful

harmful = the antonym of/for the word innocuous

Below are a list of hint words to look for when trying to determine contrast clues in a sentence or paragraph. 

● whereas

● but

● yet

● unlike

● nevertheless

● however

3. Definition or explanation clues =  With this type of context clue, the definition of the word is literally given to the reader in the form of an explanation. With definition or explanation clues, the word’s or phrase’s meaning is explained immediately after its use.

Examples:

● Because Justin is bellicose, he’s quick to fight with anyone who disagrees with him.

● The convivial clerk at the local supermarket is always so cheerful and friendly.

4. General or inference clues = These types of context clues are a little more subtle. They usually require readers to look beyond the sentence they’re reading for understanding. The reader must look for clues within, before, and after the sentence in which the word is used.

Examples:

● The Slutty Vegan was Tiffany’s favorite place. The employee’s were genial and the food was good.

● Jonathan’s boerboel is quite intimidating. He’s strong and athletic. Weighing over 200lbs, this giant is quite impressive. Jonathan has always loved big dogs.

5. Punctuation or font clues =  The clues hidden here are found in capitalization, italicization, quotation marks and even parentheses.

Examples:

● The “gobbledygook” coming out his mouth was appalling.

● Mark’s hyperbole – speech not intended to be taken literally, was somewhat amusing.

● Everyone at the concert really enjoyed Lil’ Kim.

6. Tone or mood clues = Sometimes the mood that the writer has set for us helps us guess at a word’s meaning.

Examples:

● Demetrius had so much animus against his ex-wife, because she filed a false police report  on him, and because she had an affair with his best friend. 

animus means = hostility or ill feeling

● The beautiful woman’s skin was sweaty and swarthy from being out in the sun.

swarthy means = dark 

When a word has multiple meanings, how do you know which definition applies?

Answer: rely on context clues.

Example:

Chasm

Definition:

1. A deep crack in the Earth’s surface.

2. Profound difference between people, viewpoints, feelings, etc.

In the following sentences which definition applies, and what context clues did you rely on? Please provide your answer in the comment section below.

A. Lisa was overwhelmed with fear, when her five year old son, fell through the chasm on the hill.

B. There is a chasm between John’s spiritual beliefs and his friend Michael’s spiritual beliefs.

Example:

Bark

Definition:

1. the sharp explosive cry of certain animals, especially a dog, fox, or seal

2. the tough exterior covering of a woody root or stem

In the following sentences which definition applies, and what context clues did you rely on? Please provide your answer in the comment section below.

A. Because the fire was almost out, he used the bark to keep the fire from extinguishing.

B. I couldn’t sleep last night, because of all the loud barking.

The following list of words all have something in common. They all share multiple meanings.

grade
farouche
account
peculiar
investment
bark
chemistry
chasm
intoxicating

Now it’s your turn. In the comment section below, name a few additional words that have multiple meanings.

Remember writing should be fun! We hope you enjoyed this workshop.

For additional information on today’s workshop, please email us at:

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Part of Speech (POS)

Part 3

Verbs

A verb is one of the main parts of a sentence or question in English. You can’t have a sentence or a question without a verb! That’s how important these “action” parts of speech are.

The verb signals an action, an occurrence, or a state of being. Verbs always express activity.

Physical verbs e.g., –

● Let’s run to the corner and back.

● Call me when you’re finished at work.

Mental verbs e.g., – Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as discovering, understanding, thinking or planning.
e.g., – I know the answer.
Do you believe everything people tell you?

Know = mental verb
Believe = mental verb

Types of Verbs

1. Action verbs = A verb that expresses physical or mental action. e.g., – Larry Walked to school. Larry thought about the math problem.
Walked = action verb
Thought = action verb

2. Transitive verbs = A verb that needs a direct object to complete its meaning. e.g., – Tom kicked John under the table.

Kicked = Transitive verb
John = direct object

3. Intransitive verbs = A verb that does not take a direct object. There’s no word in the sentence that tells who or what received the action. e.g., – She grew up.

She = subject
“grew up” = intransitive verb

4. Auxiliary verbs = They help to form the various tenses, moods and voices of other verbs. e.g.,  – be, do, and have.

Be: I am taking a bath. (Progressive sentence)
Be: I was given a free meal. (Passive sentence)
Do: I do not know the truth. (Negative sentence)
Do you want to have another one? (Used in questions)
Have: I have been following you for a mile. (Used in the perfect sentences)

5. Stative verbs = verbs that express a state rather than an action. They usually relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being and measurements. e.g., – think, see and taste.

Think (stative) = have an opinion.
I think that coffee is great.

See (stative) = see with your eyes/understand.
I see what you mean.

Taste (stative) = has a certain taste.
This soup tastes great.

6. Modal verbs = We use modal verbs to show if we believe something is certain, probable or possible or not. Modal verbs are a combination of the preposition (to). e.g., – can, must, should.

Modal|       meaning     |example

●Can  |   to express ability | I can speak a little Spanish.

●Must|   to express obligation |I must go now.

●Should|   to give advice | You should stop smoking.

7. Phrasal verbs = A verb that is made up of a main verb together with an adverb or a preposition or both. They are phrases that indicate action. Typically their meaning is not obvious from the meanings of the individual words themselves. e.g., – She has always looked down on me.

The phrasal verb ‘to look down on someone’ doesn’t mean that you are looking down from a higher place at someone who is below you; it means that you think you are better than someone.

8. Irregular verbs = A verb in which the past tense is not formed by adding the usual – d, ed, or -ied ending or past participle. That means the spelling of irregular verbs can be tricky. Learning irregular verbs means memorization.

Example – rise, rose, risen
mistake, mistook, mistaken
Present tense = rise, mistake
Simple past tense = rose, mistook
Past participle = risen, mistaken

For additional information about today’s workshop, please email us at:

dfoww@comcast.net