*This has been adopted from “BBC Grammar Challenge” programme
TOPIC 13: PARTS OF SPEECH
All
the English words, though thousands in number are categorized under
eight types of words normally known as “parts of speech”. These eight
types of words are classified according to the use or work that these
words do in the sentences. For simplicity, I normally group these eight
parts of speech into three (3) classes based on their relationships.
However, do not take this grouping very seriously because it is just my
personal approach.
The
first group consists of Nouns, Pronouns and Adjectives. They centre on
the nouns as their key leader. The second group consists of Verbs and
Adverbs with the verbs as key leader. The last group consists of
Conjunctions, Prepositions and Interjections with no key leader for they
do not have a simple relationship among them.
Let us briefly discuss each of the eight parts of speech.
NOUNS
These are names of things, people, places, animals, et cetera. There are different kinds of nouns:
(a). Common – general names of creatures or objects such as lion, sword, soldier, shirt, et cetera.
(b). Proper
–specific names of persons, places, et cetera such as Ali, Dar es
Salaam, Africa. They are normally written beginning with capital
letters.
(c). Collective – names that represent a collection or groups; that is, implying more than one thing such as team, crowd, bunch, et cetera.
(d). Abstract – names of some quality that cannot be seen or grasped such as pity, bravery, anger, et cetera
(d). Concrete –names of things that can be seen and grasped such as chair, car, house, et cetera
(e). Countable- names which refer to things which can be labeled as one, two, three, et cetera such as house, pen, children.
(f).Uncountable –names which cannot be labeled as one, two, three, et cetera such as water, sand, ink, sugar.
SINGULAR AND PLURAL
These
nouns may come as one (singular) or many (plural). There are many ways
how singulars change to plurals and this is not a simple thing to
master. One has to take time learning how different names change from
the singular to the plural( for example: lady-ladies, boy-boys,
knife-knives, son-in-law, sons-in –law, penny-pence, child-children,
foot-feet, sheep-sheep, deer-deer).Compound nouns (
which are formed by joining two nouns) also have singular and plural
forms depending on the second word in the combination( for example:
housewife-housewives, watchmaker-watchmakers, armchair-armchairs).
GENDER
We can also look at the nouns from a gender perspective. Names which refer to males are called masculine (for example: father, king, cock) while names which refer to females are called feminine ( for example: mother, queen, hen). Names which can represent both males and females belong to common gender ( for example: teacher, cousin, baby, sheep) while names that do not refer to males or females form a neuter gender (for example: book, desk, house, football).
POSSESSION
Nouns
which show that something belongs to a certain name (possessive nouns)
often use an apostrophe before an ‘s’ (for example: a king’s throne, a
pupil’s book, a man’s shoe, children’s home, et cetera). For plural
nouns which end naturally with an ‘s’ the apostrophe is placed in front
of the “’s’ not before it (for example: kings’ thrones, pupils’ books)
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON NOUNS
Put a tick against the correct answer
(1). Here is……………….
(a trouser, the trousers, a pair of trousers, a trousers)
(2). Diana has……………...
(long hair, a long hair, long hairs, the long hairs)
(3). My class teacher’s table is made of………………….
(a wood, woods, wood, the wood)
(4). On Sports’ Day the City Education Officer gave the pupils…………………
(an advice, advices, a few advices, a piece of advice)
(5). …………….have been made
(The furnitures, Furniture, The pieces of furniture)
(6). A big …………………..of Egyptian soldiers fought a battle
(group, crowd, army, audience)
(7). A woman who is about to be married is a…………………
(spinster, bride, blue stocking, widow)
(8). ……………….is a very important to Egypt.
(A Nile, The Nile, A part of Nile, Nile)
(9)………………good news.
(There are, Those are, This is, These are)
(10). Mr Juma has a big…………………of cattle on his farm.
(herd, flock, pride, pack)
(11). A man whose wife is dead is a ……………………..
(bachelor, widower, bridegroom, monk)
(12). A party of pupils went to climb…………………….
(The Mount Kilimanjaro, A Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kilimanjaro)
(13).Steven came to school……………………………
(by a bus, by the bus, in bus, by bus)
(14).We saw a large……………..of monkeys in the Serengeti National Park.
(troop, pack, team, flock)
(15). A person who repairs boots, shoes and other footware is a …………….
(manufacturer, merchant, shoemaker, cobbler)
(16). A ship sank in ………………….
(Indian ocean, the Indian ocean, an Indian ocean)
(17). I met my friend……………………
(at night, at the night, in the night, on night)
(18). There was a swarm of………………….in the sky.
(birds, angels, bees, stars)
(19). The children made sand castles on the …………….
(beech, beach, bitch, witch)
(20). Shakespeare lived in the……………..of Queen Elizabeth I.
(rain, rein, reign)
PRONOUNS
These are words which are used in place of a noun ( for example: ‘he’ for ‘Rashidi’) or a noun phrase(such as ‘he’ for ‘the man’).Consider this sentence in which the nouns ‘Peter’ and ‘problem’ occur three times:
Though Peter tried to solve the problem, Peter could not do the problem and the teacher solved the problem for Peter.
Now read this revised sentence. The words in bracket represent pronouns:
Though Peter tried to solve the problem (he) could not do (it) and the teacher solved (it) for (him).
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
They are for showing something both in singular and plural. For example:
(This) is my dog. (These) are my dogs. (That) is a pen.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
They represent people in singular and plural form. For example:
(I) am your teacher.(You) are my student. (You) are teaching (me). (They) will come to our class.
POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
They show that something belongs to a person or another thing. For example:
This is my book. It is (mine).
That is his knife. It is (his).
These are our children. They are (ours).
That cat has a long tail. (Its) tail is black.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON PRONOUNS
Put a tick against the correct answer
(1)She is no friend of…………………….
(mine, me, us, you)
(2). Let you and ……………...be friends.
(I, myself, us, me)
(3). I rang…………….up this morning.
(she, her, herself, me)
(4). He is your student because you are teaching……………….
(he, himself, his, him)
(5). …………………..are in the same class.
(Him and me, me and he, he and I, I and him)
(6). What is the name of …………………who came first?
(he, him, hers, herself)
(7). They came to see………………….
(I and she, I and her, me and her, me and she)
(8). ……………….gave a present to John
(He and her, Him and she, He and she)
(9). Smith is polishing his shoes. He is polishing………………..
(it, they, theirs, them)
(10). Mr. John and ……………came last night.
(him, himself, he, me)
(11). We have not received any letter of…………………….
(their, them, themselves, theirs)
(12). I am here. Can you see………….now?
(myself, me, I, mine)
ADJECTIVES
These
are words which describe nouns. They give more information to the names
so that we are clear about them as much as possible. So, a ‘crowd’ is
more general in meaning than a ‘large crowd’. Examples of nouns with
adjectives in bracket include: (tall) man, (good) student, (friendly)
match, et cetera.
There are several kinds of Adjectives.
PROPER ADJECTIVES
Proper names can act as the basis for forming Proper Adjectives. For example:
Shakespeare: Hamlet is a (Shakespearean) play.
Paris: Charles is a (Parisian) painter.
Tanzania: Hamisi is (Tanzanian).
Russia: Pavlov is (Russian).
Zanzibar: Asha is (Zanzibari).
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
These are words which show that something or someone possesses a certain thing. For example:
(My) watch is new. (Our) watches are new.
That is (your) child. Those are (your) children.
This is (his) house. These are (their) houses.
DEGREES OF COMPARING ADJECTIVES
Adjectives
can be compared in positive, comparative and superlative degrees. The
positive degree is used when no comparison is made. The comparative
degree is used when comparing two things. It is in comparing more than
two things that we need to use a superlative degree of an adjective. For
example:
Positive: tall, big, dear, expensive, good, much,
Comparative: taller, bigger, dearer, more expensive, better, more,
Superlative: tallest, biggest, dearer, most expensive, best, most
Positive: Charles is tall
Comparative: Peter is taller than Charles
Superlative: William is the tallest of the three boys.
NOTE: the Superlative takes ‘the’ hence ‘the tallest boy’, ‘the longest river’, ‘the most expensive car’, et cetera.
ARTICLES
‘A’,
‘an’ and ‘the’ are little words that are often placed before a noun and
in a way they act as adjectives because they modify the meaning of the
noun. A and An mean ‘one’ and hence are used for singular nouns. If the
sound of the singular noun begins with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u), An
is used (an owl, an orange, an hour, et cetera). If the sound is a consonant (b, k, d, et cetera), A is used ( a pen, a youth, a uniform, et cetera).
Because
A and An are used to refer to general things, they are called
“indefinite articles” because they do not refer to something specific
between the speaker and the hearer. On the other hand, ‘the’ is called a
‘definite article” because it refers to things that are definite, clear
and known to the people communicating. To master the use of ‘the’ you
have to study more about its many rules and exceptions.
Examples with ‘the’:
(1). For definite things
(The) man waiting at (the) bus stop is my uncle. (The) book we bought yesterday is here.
(2). For a whole class of things
(The) cow is a useful animal.
(3). For certain geographical names and countries
(The) Nile. (The) Indian Ocean. (The) Congo. (The) United States of America
(4). For plural meaning
(The) rich should help. (The) poor have nothing to enjoy.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON ADJECTIVES
Put a tick against the correct answer
(1). ……………pupils always act as they are told to do
(careless, shy, obedient, unintelligent)
(2). Both exercises are difficult but the first is the ……………..of the two.
(very difficult, difficult enough, more difficult, easy)
(3). Suzan chose the pastries which looked the……………………
(salty, sweet, sweeter, sweetest)
(4). One shilling is the ……………..charge for this film.
(little, a little, very little, least)
(5). There are two roads leading to the village, the lower road being the ………….one.
(narrow, broadest, narrower, very broad)
(6). Travelling by road is……………than flying by air.
(more cheaper, cheap, cheaper, the cheapest)
(7). I have done…………..work this term than the previous
(neat, the neatest, most neat, neater)
(8). This house is…………… of the two.
(the best, the worst, very good, the better)
(9). Pamela is……………reader in the class.
(worse, the worse, the worst, bad)
(10). Kikwete’s…………..brother is in business.
(older, elder, oldest, more elder)
VERBS
These
are words which show physical or mental actions. In other words they
are ‘doing’ words (ask, kick, pass, sing, run, read, et cetera).These
action words are used to give information about past, present and future
events.
REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS
Sometimes verbs can be grouped into regular and irregular verbs.
Regular
verbs are those verbs which show a systematic pattern (by adding –d,
-ed or -ied) when forming a simple past tense. Examples of regular verbs
with their simple past in bracket include: ask (asked), kick (kicked),
pass (passed), report (reported), try (tried), bury (buried), build
(built), et cetera.
Irregular
verbs do not have a simple pattern when changed into simple past tense.
They may not change their shape or sometimes look like they are
different words. Examples of irregular verbs with their simple past in
bracket are such as: go (went), put (put), shut (shut), lie (lay), bleed
(bled), break (broke), meet (met), draw (drew), bring (brought), sing
(sang), read (read), run (ran), et cetera.
TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS
Transitive
verbs are verbs which take an object; they cannot stand alone without
an object for it. If you say ‘people keep” the hearer will ask ‘people
keep what?’. There is a feeling that the verb ‘keep’ needs something to
complete its meaning. So to make it complete you may wish to add an
object and get something like ‘people keep animals’. You can easily find
an object of the sentence by asking ‘who’ or ‘what’ about the verb.
Examples of transitive verbs with suggested objects in bracket include:
win (a prize), break(a window), cut down(a tree), see(an elephant),
catch(a thief), kill(a man), et cetera.
Because
transitive verbs carry objects they can be used in constructing passive
voice statements. Examples of active sentences with their passive
sentences in bracket are such as: People keep animals (Animals are kept
by people), He killed a man (The man was killed by him), The boys won
the prize (The prize was won by the boys), et cetera.
An intransitive verb
does not take an object and therefore cannot be used to construct
passive sentences. Some examples of intransitive verbs include: go,
sleep, cry, shine, et cetera. These verbs are complete in meaning by
themselves. Nobody will be surprised if you said ‘the baby cried’. The
verb ‘cry’ does not need an object.
NOTE,
however that there are verbs which can be used both transitively and
intransitively depending on the nature of the sentence-whether it can or
cannot carry an object. Take for example a verb ‘open’. You may say
‘the door opened’ (intransitively) or ‘the teacher opened the door’
(transitively).
MAIN AND HELPING VERBS
In
a verb phrase such as ‘I am going’ you have the word ‘going’ as the
main verb and the word ‘am’ as a helping verb. The word ‘am’ is helping
to complete the meaning of the verb ‘going’, whether we should take it
in the past or present or future, et cetera. The ordinary (main) verbs
are such as jump, kill, eat, swim. The list of helping (auxiliary) verbs
includes these: be, have, do, can, may, must, shall, will, need, dare,
used.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON VERBS
Put a tick against the correct answer
1.An experienced surgeon will…………..the operation
(make, construct, perform, produce)
2.The headmaster did not…………….me leave to stay absent from school.
(permit, admit, favour, grant
3. We asked him to........... his doctor since he was ill.
(consult, advise, instruct, recommend)
4.The detectives from Scotland Yard arrived to............the crime.
(explore, seek, investigate, pursue)
5.The city magistrate will.............sentence on the accused tomorrow.
(say, tell, speak, pronounce)
6.Such an insult cannot be..............by anybody.
(bore, born, borne, bared)
7.This exercise book has...................on the floor for a week.
(laid, lain, lied, lay)
8.The poster was...................on the wall.
(stroke, struck, stricken, stuck)
9.Many trees.....................in the storm.
(fallen, felled, fell, filled)
10.The Assistant Minister for Education.......................the school in our village.
(founded, found, pounded, laid)
11.Ronald has.......................into a tall handsome boy.
(groan, grew, grown, groaned)
12.Nobody.....................done any homework.
(have, have not, has not, has)
13. They, you and I.....................pupils of primary school in 1965
(are, were, are not, was)
14. Peter…….play for the club now.
(do, do not, does not, did not)
15.It……….very hot in the evening yesterday.
(were, is, are, was)
16. A purse containing three pounds……….found last Monday.
(are, is, were, was)
17. I ……………nothing about this matter.
(no, new, known, knew)
18. WE had…………….the boat for an hour when you reached there.
(rowed, ridden, rode, road)
19. Tom……………to God for help.
(praised, preyed, prayed, paid)
20.This plan does not………………..me at all.
(sight, site, suit, cite)
ADVERBS
These
are words which tell ‘how’, ‘where’ and ‘when’ an action is done. Some
of the different kinds of adverbs are such as those of MANNER (fast,
hard, carefully, brightly, cheerfully, faithfully, et cetera), PLACE
(near, here, there, everywhere, anywhere, far, under, above, up, et
cetera), TIME (to-day, yesterday, early, immediately, now, soon, still,
then, et cetera) and FREQUENCY (often, repeatedly, seldom, never, twice,
always, occasionally, sometimes, et
cetera).Examples of some sentences with adverbs in bracket include: I
opened the door (immediately). Juma has (always) stood (first) (in the
class).Ana did the questions (easily).Alice dances (well).The teacher
left the room (hurriedly).
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON ADVERBS
Put a tick against the correct answer
1.The pupils protested…………….against their class monitor.
(correctly, angrily, immediately, skillfully, rapidly, comfortably)
2.Carol answered every question………………
(correctly, angrily, immediately, skillfully, rapidly, comfortably)
3.The patient sat………………..in the armchair.
(correctly, angrily, immediately, skillfully, rapidly, comfortably)
4.On receiving the message the doctor went to the hospital………………
(correctly, angrily, immediately, skillfully, rapidly, comfortably)
5.The small pox spread……………..to all parts of the city.
(correctly, angrily, immediately, skillfully, rapidly, comfortably)
6.The wood carvers’ carvings were done……………………
(correctly, angrily, immediately, skillfully, rapidly, comfortably)
6. Children should speak……………….to their elders.
(rudely, angrily, politely, loudly)
7.The naughty boy was punished……………….
(generously, kindly, humbly, severely)
8.John started school……………
(in 1998, to 1998, at 1998, on 1998)
9.Khamis went………………………
(at the station, on the station, to the station, the station).
10. John plays cricket………………
(yesterday, everyday, last Sunday, in 2008)
11. The minister donated…………….to the school fund.
(generously, deeply, politely, highly)
12. Betty comes to school………………..
(in bus, by bus, on bus, with bus)
13. We are going to Mwanza…………….
(Sunday, in Sunday, at Sunday, on Sunday)
14. The pupil said to the headmaster, “I……………request you to grant me leave”.
(disobediently, harshly, proudly, humbly)
15.Tom left school…………………..
(to 1st December, 2009, on 1st December, 2009, at 1st December, 2009, in 1st December, 2009)
16. Joseph works…………….to pass the examination.
(fast, quickly, hard, simlessly)
17. Anastazia went ……………………
(to upstairs, upstairs, on upstairs, at upstairs)
18.The child was given the cuts of cane. He was beaten……………..
(mercifully, mercilessly, moderately, lightly)
19. I ran all the way………….from school.
(to home, for home, home, at home)
PREPOSITIONS
These
are words which show relationships between nouns, or pronouns and other
words (such as verbs) in a sentence. Prepositions are normally placed
before nouns and pronouns but they can also come at the end of the
sentence. Mastering the use of prepositions requires some effort.
You
should also note that many words used as prepositions can also be used
as conjunctions and adverbs. Some of the prepositions in common use
include the following: about, above, across, after, against, along,
among, around, at, before, behind, below, beside, between, beyond, by,
down, during, for, from, in, into, near, of, on, opposite, over, since,
through, till, to, towards, under, until, up, upon, with, within,
without. Examples of sentences with prepositions in bracket include:
They succeeded (in) escaping. I showed the map (to) Bill. I wash my hands (with) soap. (To) whom were you talking? Whom were you talking (to)?
Let us look at some types of prepositions.
PREPOSITIONS OF TIME AND DATE
These
include: at, on, by, before, in. Examples of prepositions of time and
date include the following: at six, at midnight, at 4.30, at the age of
sixteen (or at sixteen), on Monday, on 4 August, On Christmas day, On
Maulid, at night, at Christmas or at Easter (referring to the period of
Christmas or Easter not the day only).
PREPOSITIONS OF TRAVEL, MOVEMENT, PLACE AND DIRECTION
These
include: from, to, at, in, by, on, into, onto, off, out, out of.
Examples: They flew (from) Paris to London. When are you coming back
(to) Tanzania? They arrived (in) Spain. I arrived (at) the hotel. We got
(off) a public vehicle. We went (via) Kariakoo. They went home (by)
bus. There is a bridge (over) the river. They went (to) the market to
buy some things.
PREPOSITIONS USED WITH SOME ADJECTIVES AND VERBS
Some
adjectives and verbs can be followed by certain prepositions and it is
important to learn how they are used in a sentence. Look at this short
list:
Interested
in, anxious for or anxious about, confident of, capable of, bad at or
bad for, fond of, good at or good for, suspicious of, tired of, used to,
pleased with, accuse somebody of, apologize(to somebody) for, believe
in, occur to, punish(somebody) for, hope for, consist of, beware of,
persist in, insist on, laugh at, smile at, look for, look at, et cetera.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON PREPOSITIONS
Put a tick against the correct answer
1. Let us look………………….picture.
(in, at, on, of)
2. A fire broke……………….near here yesterday.
(into, down, out, up)
3.He was accused…………….robbery.
(with, of, in, for)
4.Pour this water…………the tank.
(in, into, on, to)
5.Tom fell as he was getting…………..his bicycle.
(on, up, in, for)
6.Mrs. Pinto was disappointed…………her daughter.
(with, in, at, about)
7.Why is that man staring………….us?
(at, on, to, after)
8. He is not interested…………….anything but cricket.
(at, with, on, in)
9.The match ended……………a victory for our school.
(for, at, to, in)
10.The teacher was angry…………..his pupils.
(at, with, on, to)
11.They went home…………..foot.
(by, on, with,at)
12.She sat…………her aunt and uncle.
(besides, with, beside, by)
13. This is a secret…………..you and me.
(among, with, between, amidst)
14. During the rains this little stream turns…………a big river.
(over, for, into, in)
15. I shall call……………..his house later.
(on, for, out, at)
16.Your headmaster is satisfied………….your progress.
(at, in, with, for,)
17. I bought this hat…………….five thousand shillings.
(in, of, for, with)
18. He is going for a trip……………the world
(for, on, with, round)
19. I like to listen…………….the wireless.
(to, with, in, on)
20.When did you set ………..for Mtwara?
(out, of, away, in)
CONJUNCTIONS
These
are words which connect or join words or groups of words. Some of the
most commonly used conjunctions include the following: and, but, so,
either…or….., neither..…nor…..., before, after, when, because, until,
unless, till, as, if, while. Examples of sentences with conjunctions in
bracket are such as: Juma (and) Ali went to school. John is honest (but)
poor. William and Steven arrived (before) Mary. (Neither) John (nor)
Jane is present today. (Both) Diana (and) Cesilia are students of this
college. This is the car (that) Jackson bought last month. The boy (who)
works in the post office is my brother.
The types of conjunctions are as follows:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
They
are for joining pairs of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, phrases and
clauses. They include: and, but, both………and, or,
either…….or………,neither…..nor, not only……….but also, et cetera. Examples
of sentences with coordinating conjunctions in bracket include: He is
small (but) strong. He can (neither) read (nor) write. Ring Tom (or) Bill. (Not only) men (but also) women were chosen.
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
They
introduce subordinate clauses. They include: if, that, though,
although, unless, when, et cetera. Examples of sentences with
subordinating conjunctions in bracket are such as: He had no
qualifications; (nevertheless) he got the job. He got the job (although)
he had no qualifications. (Despite) the severe weather conditions all
the cars completed the course. (As) I left the house I remembered the
key.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON CONJUNCTIONS
Put a tick against the correct answer
1.He was very ill;…………………..we called in the doctor.
(and, but, so)
2.Sheila is clever……………….she is not friendly.
(so, because, but)
3. It is very late………….we can still catch the last train.
(but, so, and)
4.He is honest…………….he is stupid.
(so, because, although)
5.I am pleased with this book…………..the principal gave to me.
(who, whom, which)
6.Chinua Achebe………….novels are known all over Africa was born in Nigeria.
(which, whose, whom)
7. Tomorrow there will be neither snow……………rain.
(either, or, nor)
8. You can go there………………….by coach or by rail.
(neither, nor, either)
9. You will not succeed …………..you do not work hard.
(unless, so, if)
10. In the evening…………..the sun is low, the birds return to their nests.
(so, when, unless)
11.Maimuna waited at the school……………her father came to take her home.
(when, because, until)
12.You do it your way……………I shall do it mine.
(because, and, so)
13. I have my imbrella………….I do not care if it rains.
(as, because, so)
14. Mashaka works hard………………he is badly paid.
(and, but, if)
15.We shall play football this afternoon……………it rains.
(if, because, unless)
16.The boy…………….eye sight is weak wears thick glasses.
(whom, which, whose)
INTERJECTIONS
These
are words used to express strong feelings or emotions to show
attention, concern, joy, relief, surprise, et cetera. An interjection is
always followed by an exclamation mark (!). Some of the interjections
(exclamations) include: alas! Hi! Indeed! Oh! Hurrah! Hush! Hello!
There are several types of interjections.
INTERJECTIONS OF SURPRISE AND JOY
Oh dear! What are you doing now?
Hurrah! Our team has won the match.
Ha! They have passed their O-level examinations.
INTERJECTIONS OF PITY AND CONCERN
Alas! Martha is dead.
Hark! The inspector is coming to arrest us.
Hush! Don’t make a noise.
INTEJECTIONS OF ATTENTION AND LOVE
Hello! When did you come?
Hi! You are warmly welcome.
QUESTIONS ON INTERJECTIONS
Pick out the interjections and say what feeling is expressed by each
1.Good gracious! I shall be late for school.
2.Hurrah! Our team has won.
3. Oh dear! My pet is badly hurt.
4. Hush! You will wake the patient.
5. Bravo! You have all done well in your examination.
6. At last! The work is over.
