🎓Core English
LESSON 2
Parts of Speech
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Core English Parts of Speech helps learners as an introduction to the parts of speech including determiners. Every lesson that follows builds on this understanding.
Contents
Common Parts of Speech
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
Other Parts of Speech – Part 2
- Adverbs
- Propositions
- Conjunctions
- Interjections
What are Parts of Speech?
- Parts of speech are the types of words in English,
- for what roles the different types of words play in a sentence.
- Parts of speech are the building blocks of making a correct sentence in English grammar
- for core English understanding for ESL learners.
We can use nouns, verbs and other parts of speech as blocks to build sentences to help use learn English
What Are the Different Types of Parts of Speech?
- Nouns
- Verbs
- Pronouns
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Propositions
- Determiners
- Conjunctions
- Interjections
The Main Parts of Speech
Nouns
What is a noun?
- A noun is a word used to name a person, place, idea, or thing.
- คำนาม คือคำที่ใช้เรียกชื่อบุคคล สถานที่ แนวคิด หรือสิ่งของ
- 名词是用来指人、地点、概念或事物的词。
Examples of a noun
Jon, dog, China, holiday, love, book.
Noun use
- Jon is smiling
- Jon is a good person
- Jon is on holiday
Noun Vocabulary
classroom items
pencil, book, table, chair, desk, textbook, tape, scissors
clothes
belt, blouse, boots, skirt, socks, coat, dress, gloves, pyjamas, trousers, hat, jacket, jeans, jumper, swimsuit
UK English: pyjamas vs US English: pajamas
Pronouns
What is a pronoun?
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun
Examples of a pronoun
- I, you, we, they, he, she and it.
- Me, you, us, them, him, her, and it.
Pronoun use
- I left early.
- The man slept, he was tired.
- Alice read the book, it was good.
Verbs
What is a verb?
A verb is a word used to express an action, a feeling or a state of being
Examples of a verb
singing, smile, learn, grow, sleep, studied
Verb use
- She is riding a bike
- He kicks the ball
- We learn English
Adjectives
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word used to add meaning to a noun
Examples of adjectives
light, old, beautiful, tall, wood, green, metal
Adjective use
- He is a happy person
- She is a thin girl
- There are two girls in the class.
Determiners and Articles
Determiners include articles, that are very important for learners of English, especially Thai speakers.
คำนำหน้าคำนาม (Determiners) รวมถึงคำนำหน้าคำนาม (Articles) มีความสำคัญมากสำหรับผู้เรียนภาษาอังกฤษ โดยเฉพาะผู้พูดภาษาไทย
Articles
What is an article?
An article is used before a noun to state id the noun is general (a, an) or specific (the).
Article use
- I can see a dog
- The girl is on an adventure
- Can you pass the water please?
Determiners
Other determiners
A determiner is a word used before a noun to ‘determine’ its use, so it includes articles.
Determiner use
- It is a large dog
- I want those shoes
Why articles are difficult but important
ภาษาไทยไม่มี a/an/the จึงทำให้ผู้เรียนสับสน
中文中没有完全对应的冠词，因此容易出错
Even though the articles ‘a’ and ‘the’ are small they are used in every sentence. Making constant mistakes with articles will make your writing read very poorly. As articles are not in Asian languages like Thai, it is not easy to fully understand the use of articles, but it is important.
The Other Parts of Speech
Adverbs
What is an adverb?
An adverb is a word used to add to the meaning of another word such as a verb, adjective or adverb
Examples of an adverb
quickly, slowly, yesterday, here, very, always
Adverb use
- I finished quickly.
- She is very beautiful
Prepositions
What is an adverb?
A preposition is a word used with a noun or pronoun. It shows how that noun/pronoun relates to something else
Examples of an adverb
on, in, under, at
Adverb use
- He is in the garden
- She is fond of music
Conjunctions
What is a conjunction?
A conjunction is a word used to join words, parts of a sentence, or sentences
Examples of a conjunction
and, but, so, also
Conjunction use
- I sat at home and felt good.
- I was alone, but was still fine
Interjections
What is an Interjection?
A interjection is a word used to express a sudden feeling
Examples of an Interjection
Oh, argh, oops
Interjection use
- Wow! Did not see that.
- Oh! Sorry.
teacher bio - Dr Séamus
- Dr Séamus is a university professor, qualified English teacher and researcher of language and translation.
- He started teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) learners in 2001, and has over 15 years of teaching Thai speakers at schools, universities and International colleges, in Thailand.
- This means thousands of successful students, having different cultures, languages, backgrounds, needs and skills.
- Dr Séamus teaches students in the final year before university, preparing them for study in English.
- Professional, experienced, caring and successful
Parts of Speech Practice
Final Parts of Speech Questions
"The cat runs quickly in the park."
Congratulations - go to the next lesson!
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Parts of Speech Explained
- Parts of speech are the types of words in English including nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, interjections and also determiners in real life.
- Parts of speech are important to understand what roles the different types of words play in a sentence.
- Parts of speech are the building blocks of making a correct sentence in English grammar and are therefore core English understanding for ESL learners.
What we will Learn in the Following Lessons
Lesson 2 and 3 Core English nouns
- Proper nouns – These refer to names of people, places and companies so they are capitalized. Like Thailand, Chiang Mai, Mr. Bean and Google.
- Common nouns – Common nouns refer to general items. Like door, table, book, or student.
- Concrete nouns – These refer to the things we can touch, smell, hear or smell. Like banana, wall, house and bang.
- Abstract nouns – These nouns represent qualities, emotions, or ideas. Like love, hate, right and wrong
- Collective nouns – groups. Like team
- Countable and Uncountable nouns – Countable nouns can be counted like one apple, two apples, while uncountable nouns cannot be counted like rice or water (no one rice or water)
Lesson 4, 5 and 6 Core English verbs
- Action verbs – They describe actions. Like run, sleep and think
- Helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) – These help the main verbs. Like is, has, have, can, and will
Other Core English Adverbs & Prepositions
- Adverbs of Manner – quickly, slowly
- Adverbs of Time – tonight, yesterday
- Adverbs of Place – here, there
- Adverbs of Frequency – always, sometimes
- Prepositions of Place – in, on, over, under
- Prepositions of Direction – into, through, toward
- Prepositions of Time – after, during, before.
Parts of Speech FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How many parts of speech are there?
Traditionally there were 8 parts of speech which were nouns, pronouns, verb, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. Now we also add determiners in English grammar.
Why include determiners as a parts of speech?
Again, traditionally, there were 8 parts of speech and determiners like the articles ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ were includes as adjectives as they are part of phrases. But this is not really how articles work in sentences, so we now use determiners in their own category of parts of speech.
Why are determiners important for ESL Learners like Thai speakers?
Although the articles ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ are very small, they are used extremely often during English, so using the wrong article can make your writing seem very poor. We do not use articles in the Thai language therefore, like other Asian speakers, articles can prove to be problematic. Even top university professors can find using the correct article difficult in their writing!
Why are use parts of speech important?
Parts of speech provide sentence structure and meaning, and make communication clearer, playing an important role in creating well-formed English sentences.
Parts of Speech Resources
- Free grammar explanations and quizzes at Khan academy
- Great images to learn parts of speech at codeyoung