8 PARTS OF SPEECH - Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb Etc. Basic English Grammar - with Examples

Learn English Lab
13 Sept 201617:20

Summary

TLDRIn this engaging lesson, instructor Ganesh introduces the eight essential parts of speech, emphasizing their roles in sentence construction. He highlights verbs as central to forming sentences and expressing tenses, while nouns represent entities like people and places. Pronouns are introduced as substitutes for nouns to enhance speech fluency. Adjectives and adverbs provide descriptive depth, answering questions about qualities and actions. Prepositions illustrate spatial and temporal relationships, conjunctions link ideas, and interjections convey emotions. The lesson aims to simplify grammar study by clarifying these fundamental linguistic components.

Takeaways

  • 📘 The video is an introductory lesson on the eight parts of speech, taught by Ganesh.
  • 🗣️ A part of speech is a category that classifies words based on their function in a sentence, similar to job titles for people.
  • 🏀 Verbs are the most important words in English, necessary for every sentence and the only words with tenses.
  • 🏋️ Verbs can express actions, like 'plays' in 'Dylan plays tennis,' or states, like 'am' in 'I am a teacher.'
  • 📚 Nouns are names for people, places, animals, things, feelings, or ideas, such as 'Rosie' or 'Malta' in the given examples.
  • 🔄 Pronouns are used to replace nouns to avoid repetition and make speech more natural, with subject pronouns like 'he' and object pronouns like 'her'.
  • 📝 Adjectives provide information about nouns or pronouns, answering questions about type, color, size, etc., like 'amazing,' 'big,' 'red' in the car example.
  • 🚶 Adverbs give information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, answering questions about manner, time, and degree, such as 'slowly' or 'somewhat slowly'.
  • 📍 Prepositions show relationships in time, place, or position, using words like 'at,' 'on,' 'in,' and help to relate nouns to other elements in a sentence.
  • 🔗 Conjunctions connect ideas, clauses, or sentences, using words like 'and,' 'but,' 'so,' and 'because' to show relationships between different parts of speech.
  • ❗️ Interjections express sudden emotions or exclamations, like 'Wow!' or 'Argh!', and are more common in spoken language than in writing.

Q & A

  • What is the main purpose of this lesson series?

    -The main purpose of this lesson series is to provide an introduction and detailed understanding of the eight parts of speech in the English language.

  • What does the instructor suggest if you have questions about the lesson?

    -The instructor suggests that if you have any questions, you should leave them in the comments section below the video, and he will address them there.

  • What is a part of speech according to the instructor?

    -A part of speech is the name given to a word based on the job that it does in a sentence, similar to how job titles describe a person's role.

  • Why are verbs considered the most important words in the English language?

    -Verbs are considered the most important because every sentence in English must have a verb, and only verbs have tenses, which allow us to express different times through their various forms.

  • What does the instructor mean by 'state' in the context of verbs?

    -By 'state,' the instructor means a situation or condition, as opposed to an action, which is what verbs also represent.

  • Can you give an example of a sentence with a verb that shows a state?

    -An example of a sentence with a verb that shows a state is 'I am a teacher,' where 'am' is the verb indicating the state of being a teacher.

  • What is a noun and what types of things can it represent?

    -A noun is a word that represents a person, place, animal, thing, feeling, or idea.

  • Why are pronouns used in sentences?

    -Pronouns are used in sentences to replace nouns, avoiding repetition and making speech sound more natural.

  • What is the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns?

    -Subject pronouns (I, you, we, they, he, she, it) replace a noun in the subject position, while object pronouns (me, you, us, them, him, her, it) replace a noun in the object position.

  • What function do adjectives serve in a sentence?

    -Adjectives provide information about nouns or pronouns, answering questions about type, color, size, and other descriptive aspects.

  • How do adverbs differ from adjectives in their function?

    -While adjectives give information about nouns or pronouns, adverbs give information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, often answering questions about manner, time, or degree.

  • What is the role of prepositions in a sentence?

    -Prepositions help to show relationships in time, place, and position, often connecting a noun or pronoun to other parts of the sentence.

  • What is the difference between conjunctions and prepositions?

    -Conjunctions connect ideas, clauses, or sentences, using words like 'and', 'but', 'or', 'so', and 'because', whereas prepositions show relationships in time, place, or position, using words like 'in', 'on', 'at', 'by', 'from', 'with', 'before', and 'after'.

  • What are interjections and how are they used?

    -Interjections are words or phrases that express sudden emotion or exclamation and are often used in speech to convey feelings like excitement, surprise, or frustration.

  • How does the instructor suggest using interjections in writing?

    -The instructor suggests that interjections are more commonly used in speech, but when used in writing, they are typically followed by an exclamation mark to convey the intended emotion.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Introduction to Parts of Speech

Ganesh introduces the concept of parts of speech, emphasizing their importance in understanding grammar. He explains that parts of speech categorize words based on their function in a sentence, similar to job titles. The lesson will cover eight parts of speech, starting with verbs, which are crucial because every English sentence requires a verb and they alone have tenses. Verbs can represent actions or states, as demonstrated through example sentences.

05:03

🏷️ Nouns and Pronouns: Identifying and Replacing

The paragraph delves into nouns, which are words that represent people, places, animals, things, feelings, or ideas. Ganesh uses a sentence to illustrate various nouns. Pronouns are then introduced as words that replace nouns to prevent repetitive speech and make language more natural. Examples of subject and object pronouns are given, with a note that pronouns will be further explored in a dedicated lesson.

10:04

🌟 Adjectives and Adverbs: Describing Words in Action

Adjectives are described as words providing details about nouns or pronouns, answering questions about type, color, and size. The role of articles (a, an, the) as adjectives is highlighted. Adverbs are shown to give information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, answering questions about manner, time, and degree. A sentence is used to demonstrate the various functions of adverbs.

15:06

🔗 Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections: Connecting and Reacting

Prepositions are explained as words indicating relationships in time, place, or position, with examples provided. Conjunctions are distinguished from prepositions and are shown to connect ideas, clauses, or sentences. Interjections are introduced as words expressing sudden emotions or exclamations, often used in speech and marked with exclamation marks in writing.

🔚 Recap and Conclusion of the Parts of Speech

The final paragraph provides a recap of the lesson, summarizing the eight parts of speech covered: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Each part of speech is briefly described, highlighting their role in language. Ganesh encourages subscription for the next lesson and bids farewell.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Parts of Speech

Parts of speech are the different types of words that play distinct roles in sentences. They are fundamental to understanding the structure of a language. In the video, the theme revolves around teaching these parts, which include verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. The script uses the analogy of job titles to explain the function of each part of speech in a sentence, emphasizing their importance in grammar.

💡Verb

A verb in the script is defined as a word that shows an action or a state. It is the most important part of speech in English because every sentence must contain a verb, and it is the only part of speech that has tenses, such as past, present, and future. The script illustrates this with examples like 'Dylan plays tennis' and 'I am a teacher,' where 'plays' and 'am' are the verbs indicating action and state, respectively.

💡Noun

Nouns are words that represent a person, place, animal, thing, feeling, or idea. They are central to the script's discussion on parts of speech as they are the subjects or objects in sentences. The script provides the example 'Rosie went to Malta on vacation with her family last year,' identifying 'Rosie,' 'Malta,' 'vacation,' 'family,' and 'year' as nouns.

💡Pronoun

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun to avoid repetition and to make speech more natural. The script explains that pronouns can be subject pronouns (like 'he' and 'she') or object pronouns (like 'him' and 'her'). It uses the example 'Melvin is at the movies with his girlfriend. He really enjoys spending time with her,' where 'his' is a possessive pronoun, and 'He' and 'her' are subject and object pronouns, respectively.

💡Adjective

Adjectives are words that provide information about nouns or pronouns, answering questions about type, color, size, etc. The script emphasizes their role in describing nouns with the sentence 'They drive an amazing big red sports car,' where 'amazing,' 'big,' 'red,' and 'sports' are adjectives modifying the noun 'car.'

💡Adverb

Adverbs give additional information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, often answering questions like 'when,' 'why,' 'how,' or 'in what way.' The script clarifies that adverbs are not limited to verbs, as commonly taught, but can also modify adjectives and other adverbs. It uses the sentence 'Yesterday evening, we walked somewhat slowly in a very beautiful garden' to illustrate this, where 'yesterday evening,' 'slowly,' 'somewhat,' and 'very' are all adverbs.

💡Preposition

Prepositions are words that show relationships in time, place, or position. They include words like 'in,' 'on,' 'at,' 'by,' 'from,' 'with,' 'before,' and 'after.' The script uses the example 'I'll see you at the office on Monday,' where 'at' and 'on' are prepositions indicating place and time.

💡Conjunction

Conjunctions are words that connect ideas, such as 'and,' 'but,' 'or,' 'so,' and 'because.' They can link nouns, verbs, or entire clauses. The script demonstrates this with the sentence 'Clara and Jasmine are best friends,' using 'and' to connect the nouns 'Clara' and 'Jasmine,' and 'I didn't go to school today because I don't feel very well,' where 'because' connects the reason and result clauses.

💡Interjection

Interjections are words or phrases that express sudden emotions or exclamations, such as 'Wow!' for excitement or 'Argh!' for frustration. They are used more in spoken language than in writing, where they are typically followed by an exclamation mark. The script gives examples like 'Wow!' and 'Argh!' to convey different emotions.

💡Action

In the context of verbs, 'action' refers to a physical activity or something that is done. The script explains that verbs can represent actions, as in the example 'Dylan plays tennis,' where 'plays' is the verb indicating the action of playing tennis.

💡State

A 'state' in the script refers to a situation or condition, which is another function of verbs alongside action. For example, in the sentence 'I am a teacher,' 'am' is the verb representing the state of being a teacher.

Highlights

Introduction to the eight parts of speech in English.

Parts of speech are like job titles for words in a sentence.

Verbs are the most important words in English, necessary for every sentence and having tenses.

Verbs can show actions or states, such as 'plays' in 'Dylan plays tennis' or 'am' in 'I am a teacher'.

Nouns are names for people, places, animals, things, feelings, or ideas.

Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition and make speech more natural.

Subject pronouns and object pronouns are used in different sentence positions.

Adjectives provide information about nouns or pronouns, answering questions about type, color, size, etc.

Articles like 'a', 'an', and 'the' are also considered adjectives in English.

Adverbs give information about verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, answering questions like 'when', 'why', 'how'.

Prepositions show relationships in time, place, and position, such as 'at', 'on', 'in'.

Conjunctions connect ideas, such as 'and', 'but', 'or', 'so', 'because'.

Interjections express sudden emotions or exclamations, like 'wow', 'argh', 'ouch'.

Interjections are more common in spoken language and usually marked with exclamation marks in writing.

The importance of understanding parts of speech for studying grammar and improving language skills.

Invitation for viewers to ask questions in the comments section for further discussion.

Recap of the eight parts of speech and their functions in the English language.

Transcripts

play00:02

Hi and welcome to this series of lessons on the parts of speech

play00:07

My name is Ganesh and in this first lesson I'm going to give you a quick

play00:11

Introduction to the eight parts of speech. In the following lessons we'll

play00:16

learn more in detail about each part of speech. Before we start just remember if

play00:23

you have any questions at all you just have to let me know in the comments

play00:27

section below and I will talk to you there.

play00:31

OK so first of all what is a part of speech?

play00:36

Well a part of speech is just the name given to a word based on the job that it

play00:43

does in a sentence. Think of parts of speech as being kind of like job titles

play00:49

Just like a person can be a teacher or a doctor or a lawyer - a word can be a

play00:58

verb, an adjective, a noun etc depending on the job that it does in a sentence

play01:04

And these can be really useful to learn because when you're studying grammar you

play01:10

will come across terms like these, you will come across terms like nouns, verbs

play01:15

and adjectives, and if you know what they mean it can help you to speed up your

play01:20

study of grammar.

play01:22

Alright so how many parts of speech are there? There are eight parts of speech

play01:27

and we start by talking about the verb. We start with the verb because verbs are

play01:34

probably the most important words in the English language, and that is for two

play01:40

reasons: first every sentence in English must have a verb - you cannot have

play01:47

sentences without verbs in English, and the second reason is that only verbs

play01:54

have tenses. I'm sure you know about past tense, present tense and future tense

play02:01

That's how we talk about different times and to do that we change the forms of

play02:07

verbs. So verbs are really important. So what does a verb

play02:12

do? Well a verb is a word that shows an action or a state - state means a

play02:18

situation. For example in the sentence "Dylan plays tennis three times a week." In

play02:28

the sentence the verb is play because that's the action, and we're saying plays

play02:35

because for he,she and it we say plays - we add the 's' to the verb in the present

play02:43

tense, so "Dylan plays." In this next sentence "I am a teacher" - can you tell me

play02:50

which is the verb? The verb is 'am; - that's basically just the verb to be - but we say I am,

play02:59

you are, he is etc. so "I am a teacher" Now I want you to notice a very

play03:06

important difference between these two sentences. Notice that in the first

play03:12

sentence we are talking about a physical action because playing is something that

play03:18

we do physically. But in the second sentence we are not talking about any

play03:24

physical action - we're just saying "I am a teacher."

play03:28

We call that a state, that means a situation. So verbs can show actions or

play03:36

they can show states or situations.

play03:38

Those are the two types of verbs

play03:42

OKthe next part of speech is the noun. A noun is the name given to a person,

play03:48

place, animal, thing, feeling or idea. For example here's a sentence with a lot of

play03:57

nouns - "Rosie went to Malta on vacation with her family last year."

play04:04

Can you identify all the nouns in the sentence?

play04:07

Well the first noun is Rosie - it's the name of a person. The second noun is Malta

play04:15

Malta is the name of a place. It's actually a beautiful small little island

play04:21

country in Europe. Malta is a place. The next noun is vacation. Vacation is the

play04:29

name given to a type of trip the people take, and the noun after that is family

play04:36

What's a family? Afamily is a group of people who are related - mothers, fathers,

play04:40

sons, daughters, brothers, sisters etc. and the last noun in the sentence is year - a

play04:48

year is just 365 days or the time that it takes the earth to go around the Sun.

play04:55

Now of course nouns can also be animals like dogs or cats or a noun could be a

play05:03

thing like watch, pen, t-shirt etc. Or it could be a feeling such as love or anger

play05:13

Those are all nouns.

play05:16

What's a pronoun then? A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun - replaces means

play05:24

it takes the place of a noun. But you might ask - why should a pronoun do that?

play05:30

Well take a look at this sentence - "Melvin is at the movies with Melvin's

play05:37

girlfriend."

play05:38

"Melvin really enjoys spending time with Melvin's girlfriend" Now of course that

play05:46

sounds really stupid and that is because - can you tell me why? Can you tell me what

play05:52

the problem is in that sentence?

play05:54

Well the problem is that we keep repeating Melvin and Melvin's girlfriend

play06:00

and that is very unnatural - we don't talk like that. And to avoid that kind of

play06:06

repetition we can use pronouns. So can you tell me where you would use pronouns

play06:11

in those two sentences? We can say "Melvin is at the movies with his

play06:18

girlfriend. He really enjoys spending time with her."

play06:23

There are three pronouns there - his, He and her. Did you get all of those?

play06:31

OK now i want you to notice that the pronoun 'he' is in the subject position. He

play06:38

is the subject of the verb enjoy - who enjoys? He enjoys, and the pronoun 'her' is

play06:46

in the object position. Now to replace a noun in the subject position like Melvin

play06:54

for example, we use what are called subject pronouns - these are I, you, we, they, he, she,

play07:04

and it. And to replace a noun in the object position - can you guess what we

play07:10

use? We use object pronouns - Those are me, you, us, them, him, her, and it. Now there are

play07:22

other pronouns in English such as his, hers, this, that etc. but we will talk about

play07:28

them in more detail when we come to the lesson on pronouns. For now just remember

play07:33

that the pronoun replaces a noun to avoid repetition and to make our speech

play07:41

sound more natural.

play07:43

OK the next part of speech is the adjective. An adjective is a word that

play07:48

gives us information about a noun or a pronoun. Have a look at this sentence

play07:56

"They drive an amazing big red sports car." Here the noun that we are interested

play08:05

in is car. So can you identify all the adjectives that give information about

play08:11

car?

play08:12

Well if you said amazing, big, red and sports, you are correct because all of

play08:21

those are adjectives and if you look at them closely you will realize that these

play08:28

give us answers to questions like What color? What size? What type? etc. The

play08:36

adjective 'amazing' gives us the answer to the question "What is your opinion of the

play08:41

car?

play08:42

If you ask me "What's your opinion of the car?" I will tell you it's amazing. What

play08:49

size is the car? Tt's big

play08:52

What's the color? It's red. And what type of car is it?

play08:57

It's a sports car. OK now that's all great but I don't know if you noticed

play09:05

There's actually one more adjective in this sentence and that is the word 'an'

play09:11

Now the words

play09:13

a, an, and the are called articles in English. And articles are also adjectives

play09:20

because they give us information about the nouns that come after them. In this

play09:25

sentence, for example, we know that they drive one car - we know that because we

play09:31

said an amazing big red sports car.

play09:36

So remember that adjectives give us information about nouns and pronouns, and

play09:42

they answer questions like What type? What color? What size etc. OKbut what are

play09:49

adverbs? Now when I learned grammar in school I was taught that adjectives give

play09:57

information about nouns and adverbs give information about verbs, and in fact a

play10:03

lot of teachers still teach it that way. But the thing is that's only half

play10:08

correct because an adverb can give information about a verb but it can also

play10:15

give information about an adjective or even another adverb. So these are really

play10:20

talented words you see - they can do a lot of things. And adverbs usually answer

play10:26

questions like When? Why? How? In what way? etc.

play10:31

Llet me show you a sentence so you can see all the different things that

play10:36

adverbs can do - "Yesterday evening, we walked somewhat slowly in a very

play10:42

beautiful garden." In this sentence the first adverb is 'yesterday evening' - that

play10:50

shows us when the action happened.

play10:52

The action here is 'walk' - that's the verb. There's another adverb

play10:58

'slowly' and that shows us how the action happened - How did we walk? We walked

play11:04

slowly. So both 'Yesterday evening' and 'slowly' tell us about the verb 'walk'. But

play11:12

notice that you can further ask - how slowly did we walk? Did we walk very

play11:18

slowly or a little slowly? The answer is somewhat slowly. Somewhat means something

play11:25

like a little. Now notice that somewhat is actually giving us information about

play11:32

slowly - how slowly? Somewhat slowly. So that's an adverb that gives information

play11:38

about another adverb, and there's yet another one - 'very'. That adverb is giving

play11:47

us information about 'beautiful'. 'Beautiful' is an adjective.

play11:52

OK so you see all the different kinds of things that adverbs can do

play11:57

Alright the next part of speech is the preposition

play12:03

Prepositions are words like in, on, at, by, from, with, before and after. And these

play12:12

words help us to show relationships in time, place and position. For example

play12:20

here's a common thing that we say to people that we know a lot - "I'll see you

play12:25

at the office on Monday." There are two prepositions in this sentence - can you

play12:32

say which those are? The prepositions are at and on. The first preposition 'at' shows

play12:42

us the place. Where? At the office. And the second proposition 'on' shows us the time

play12:51

When? On Monday. So that's what prepositions do - they help us to show

play12:57

relationships in time, place and position. Now students sometimes confuse prepositions

play13:04

with conjunctions but these are very different. Conjunctions are words

play13:10

like and, but, or, so and because. And they help to connect ideas - for example in the

play13:22

sentence "Clara and Jasmine best friends."

play13:26

Can you say which the conjunction is? The conjunction is 'and' and it helps to

play13:33

connect Clara and Jasmine both of which are nouns. But conjunctions can even

play13:41

connect sentences. For example "I didn't go to school today because I don't feel

play13:48

very well." Here

play13:50

there are two sentences - we call them clauses. The second clause "I don't feel

play13:57

very well" is the reason and the first Clause "I didn't go to school today" is

play14:04

the result. The conjunction here is 'because' and it shows us this reason and

play14:11

result relationship. notice that we can also say "I don't feel very well today so

play14:19

I didn't go to school." In that case the conjunction would be 'so'. Alright the last

play14:28

part of speech that we will look at is the interjection. Interjections are words

play14:34

that have no real meaning but they help us to show sudden emotion or exclamation.

play14:40

For example, the interjection

play14:44

Wow! shows excitement, surprise or amazement. The interjection

play14:54

Argh! shows frustration or anger. Like if I'm trying to open a jar of cookies or

play14:59

jar of pickles and I can't open it, I might say Argh! I just can't do it. That shows I'm angry

play15:06

or I'm frustrated. Some other common interjections are Ouch!

play15:10

Oops! Hey! and Hi! These last two words are used when we

play15:16

meet someone or when we want to call out to someone. For example I can say "Hi, how are

play15:22

you?"

play15:23

or "Hey John, over here. Look, I'm standing over here!" So I want to call out to John.

play15:30

Alright so those are the eight parts of speech

play15:35

Let's do a quick recap of what we've learned today - we started with the verb

play15:41

The verb is a word that shows an action or state - state means situation. A noun is

play15:49

a person, place, animal, thing, feeling or idea. A pronoun replaces a noun and we

play15:57

use pronouns so that our speech is not repetitive and more natural. Adjectives

play16:05

are words that give us information about nouns or pronouns, and they answer

play16:09

questions like What kind? How many? What color? What size? etc. Adverbs give us

play16:18

information about verbs or adjectives or even other adverbs. Prepositions are

play16:25

words that help us to show relationships in time, place or position. Conjunctions

play16:32

are words like and, but, because etc. and they help us to connect ideas.

play16:40

Those can be nouns they can even be verbs and even whole sentences - so you can

play16:45

connect any two ideas using conjunctions. And finally interjections are words with

play16:51

no real meaning and they help us to show exclamation

play16:55

or sudden emotion. Just remember that these are used

play17:00

more commonly in speech and not so much in

play17:06

writing. When we write them, we usually put an exclamation mark.

play17:12

Alright so I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

play17:15

Remember to subscribe to this channel and I'll see you in the next lesson.

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Grammar BasicsParts of SpeechEnglish LanguageVerbsNounsPronounsAdjectivesAdverbsPrepositionsConjunctionsInterjections