Chapter 1

THE PARTS OF SPEECH

conjunction verb preposition adverb interjection adjective

Please fill in the blanks using the correct part of speech listed at the bottom.

WHAT IS A VERB ?

A verb expresses an

action, a condition

or a state of being.

LINKING VERBS

Forms of Verb to BE

Verbs that express conditions

is, am are, was, were, been, being…

look, smell, feel, sound, taste, appear, seem…

Some verbs can be either action or linking verbs.

Uncle Lou smelled skunks. They smelled awful.

Dad tasted the fresh water. It tasted wonderful.

ACTION

LINKING ACTION

LINKING

AUXILIARY VERBS AND VERB PHRASES

Auxiliary verbs or helping verbs, are

combined with other verbs to form

verb phrases.

Small wood pieces are crackling in the fire.

Our muscles will be sore from chopping wood. AUXILIARY

AUXILIARY

Underline each verb or verb phrase and identify it as linking or action. Circle the auxiliary verbs.

1. Like everyone else, travelers with disabilities want fun vacations.

2. With a wide range of accessibility features available, travel seems easy.

3. Wheelchair travelers can choose rental cars with hand controls.

4. A tour to Nepal has featured a ride on an elephant’s back through Royal Chitwan National Park.

VERBS

Underline each verb or verb phrase and identify it as linking or action. Circle the auxiliary verbs.

1. Like everyone else, travelers with disabilities want fun vacations. A

2. With a wide range of accessibility features available, travel seems easy. L

3. Wheelchair travelers can choose rental cars with hand controls. A

4. A tour to Nepal has featured a ride on an elephant’s back through Royal Chitwan National Park. A

VERBS

WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?

An adjective modifies or limits the

meaning of a noun or pronoun.

It answers the question

•WHAT KIND (fast)

•WHICH ONE (this)

•HOW MANY(four)

•HOW MUCH(enough).

Underline each adjective in these sentences and circle the word it modifies.

1. An enjoyable way to travel in a new country is on a horse. 2. In Jamaica, formerly a British colony, polo is popular among

English immigrants. 3. To exercise polo ponies in the hot country, trainers let them

swim in deep water. 4. My very competitive pony swam up between two other

ponies.

ADJECTIVES

Underline each adjective in these sentences and circle the word it modifies.

1. An enjoyable way to travel in a new country is on a horse. 2. In Jamaica, formerly a British colony, polo is popular

among English immigrants. 3. To exercise polo ponies in the hot country, trainers let them

swim in deep water. 4. My very competitive pony swam up between two other

ponies.

ADJECTIVES

WHAT IS AN ADVERB? An adverb modifies a verb, an

adjective or another adverb.

Mike scrambled quickly from the icy pond. MODIFIES

VERB

He was extremely cold.

MODIFIES

ADJECTIVE

He had fallen into the pond quite accidentally.

MODIFIES

ADVERB

An adverb answers the question

•WHERE (here, downstairs)

•WHEN (yesterday, never)

•HOW(slowly, well)

•TO WHAT EXTENT(almost, somewhat)

ADVERBS

Underline each adverb in these sentences.

1. Quite often, when we travel anywhere, we go to water parks. 2. We have slid crazily down water slides at the Wisconsin

Dells. 3. At the top of a slide, you sit carefully on a mat and nervously

grip its edges. 4. Immediately, you start whizzing down, careening nearly

uncontrollably from side to side.

ADVERBS

Underline each adverb in these sentences.

1. Quite often, when we travel anywhere, we go to water parks. 2. We have slid crazily down water slides at the Wisconsin

Dells. 3. At the top of a slide, you sit carefully on a mat and nervously

grip its edges. 4. Immediately, you start whizzing down, careening nearly

uncontrollably from side to side.

ADVERBS

WHAT IS A PREPOSITION? A preposition shows the relationship

between a noun or pronoun and

another word or sentence.

COMMONLY USED PREPOSITIONS

at

about

before

by rather

down for

out

of

Luis traveled to Guatemala with other teens.

A preposition that consists of more

than one word are called compound

prepositions.

Because of his heavy pack, Luis had trouble hiking.

COMMONLY USED COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS

aside from

according to

out of

by means of

in addition to

in place of

in front of

in spite of

instead of

on account of

because of

prior to

PREPOSITIONS

Circle the prepositions.

1. Some organizations plan trips for students, combining education, service and adventure.

2. These trips offer young people special opportunities in other countries.

3. These teens visit small villages instead of tourist attractions. 4. Sometimes they work with local teenagers on projects.

PREPOSITIONS

Circle the prepositions.

1. Some organizations plan trips for students, combining education, service and adventure.

2. These trips offer young people special opportunities in other countries.

3. These teens visit small villages instead of tourist attractions. 4. Sometimes they work with local teenagers on projects.

PREPOSITIONS

WHAT IS A CONJUNCTION?

A conjunction connects words or

groups of words.

Coordinating conjunctions connect

words or groups of words of equal

importance in a sentence.

Claudia and Peter visited the Yucatan Peninsula, but they stayed only a few days.

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

nor

and or

but

yet

so

for

CONJUNTIONS

Correlative conjunctions are word

pairs that serve to join words or

groups of words.

Neither Claudia nor Peter had been to Mexico before. They found it not only beautiful but also rich in history.

CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

Both…and

neither…nor

whether…or not only…

either…or but also

CONJUNCTIONS

Underline the conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs in the sentences.

1. Many people visit Mexico or Central America to see the remains of the Mayan civilization.

2. The Mayan culture fascinates visitors because the Mayans achieved so much.

3. Mayans not only created a written language but also built many large pyramids.

4. Beneath the slab, Ruz and his helpers found a stairway leading into the pyramid; however, it was filled with rubble.

CONJUNCTIONS

Underline the conjunctions and conjunctive adverbs in the sentences.

1. Many people visit Mexico or Central America to see the remains of the Mayan civilization.

2. The Mayan culture fascinates visitors because the Mayans achieved so much.

3. Mayans not only created a written language but also built many large pyramids.

4. Beneath the slab, Ruz and his helpers found a stairway leading into the pyramid; however, it was filled with rubble.

CONJUNCTIONS

WHAT IS AN INTERJECTION?

An interjection is a word or phrase that

expresses a feeling. A strong interjection

is followed by an exclamation point. A

mild interjection is set off with commas.

Yikes ! Have you ever seen such a tall building?

Well, no, I guess I haven’t.

Underline the interjections in these sentences.

1. Here we are in Chicago, and wow, is it cold! 2. Hey, is it always this cold here in the winter? 3. Oh, no! You left your gloves in the hotel room? 4. Well, we can always get you another pair. 5. Brrr! Better hurry; it’s about to snow.

INTERJECTIONS

Underline the interjections in these sentences.

1. Here we are in Chicago, and wow, is it cold! 2. Hey, is it always this cold here in the winter? 3. Oh, no! You left your gloves in the hotel room? 4. Well, we can always get you another pair. 5. Brrr! Better hurry; it’s about to snow.

INTERJECTIONS