Name___________________________ Date__________________________
Grammar Period_______
PARTS OF SPEECH
There are eight parts of speech.
Every word in the English language acts as one of these
parts of speech when in a sentence.
1. Nouns
2. Pronouns
3. Adjectives
4. Verbs
5. Adverbs
6. Conjunctions
7. Prepositions
8. Interjections
Some other important terminology in this packet is located in the conjunction section:
! Subjects
! Predicates
! Clauses – independent and dependent
! Fragments
! Run-ons
Steinberg 1
, 1. NOUNS (n.)
Nouns name persons, places, things, or ideas.
• Person - John, Tony, Alice, boy, teacher
• Place - Florida, New York, mountain, classroom
• Thing - book, chair, hair
• Idea - service, leadership, courage, Monday
! Many nouns can be identified by their suffixes or endings.
!
-ness, -ation, -tion, -ment, -tude, -hood, -ence, -ance, -ity, -dom
Examples of nouns with common suffixes:
happiness, capitalization, recreation, government, aptitude, fatherhood, existence,
defiance, celebrity; freedom; wisdom; gratitude; kingdom, carefulness
! Many times the articles/adjectives a, an, or the appear before a noun.
! The article/adjective an can only go in front of a noun that begins with a vowel, such
as an octopus.
! Many times nouns are modified, or changed, by adjectives, so be careful to identify the
noun and not the adjective.
***the hairy octopus. Octopus is a noun, but hairy is an adjective.
Circle the nouns. Do not include any adjectives that modify the nouns.
1. Doris is an ugly woman who has five bratty children.
2. What is all this craziness?
3. My patience is running out.
4. Martha, please be careful with the silver platter and the crystal glasses.
5. The improvement in your essay is amazing.
6. On Tuesdays, Mary likes to go to the museum to see the exhibits.
Steinberg 2
, Common versus Proper
Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are nonspecific. A common
noun always begins with a lowercase letter unless it is the first word in a sentence.
Ex: school, boy, car, dog, country
Proper nouns name SPECIFIC persons, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns always begin
with capital letters.
Ex: Seaford Middle School, Theo, Mercedes, Fido, Spain
Directions: There are twenty-five nouns in the following paragraph.
Circle the common nouns. Underline the proper nouns. USE PENCIL.
Rebecca Motte was a great patriot. During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers
seized her mansion in South Carolina and set up defenses. General Harry Lee told Motte that
the Americans would have to burn her home to smoke out the enemy. Motte supported the
plan and was glad to help her country. She even supplied fire arrows and a bow for the
attack. The enemy raised the white flag, and the house was saved. That night, Motte invited
both sides to dinner.
Steinberg 3
Grammar Period_______
PARTS OF SPEECH
There are eight parts of speech.
Every word in the English language acts as one of these
parts of speech when in a sentence.
1. Nouns
2. Pronouns
3. Adjectives
4. Verbs
5. Adverbs
6. Conjunctions
7. Prepositions
8. Interjections
Some other important terminology in this packet is located in the conjunction section:
! Subjects
! Predicates
! Clauses – independent and dependent
! Fragments
! Run-ons
Steinberg 1
, 1. NOUNS (n.)
Nouns name persons, places, things, or ideas.
• Person - John, Tony, Alice, boy, teacher
• Place - Florida, New York, mountain, classroom
• Thing - book, chair, hair
• Idea - service, leadership, courage, Monday
! Many nouns can be identified by their suffixes or endings.
!
-ness, -ation, -tion, -ment, -tude, -hood, -ence, -ance, -ity, -dom
Examples of nouns with common suffixes:
happiness, capitalization, recreation, government, aptitude, fatherhood, existence,
defiance, celebrity; freedom; wisdom; gratitude; kingdom, carefulness
! Many times the articles/adjectives a, an, or the appear before a noun.
! The article/adjective an can only go in front of a noun that begins with a vowel, such
as an octopus.
! Many times nouns are modified, or changed, by adjectives, so be careful to identify the
noun and not the adjective.
***the hairy octopus. Octopus is a noun, but hairy is an adjective.
Circle the nouns. Do not include any adjectives that modify the nouns.
1. Doris is an ugly woman who has five bratty children.
2. What is all this craziness?
3. My patience is running out.
4. Martha, please be careful with the silver platter and the crystal glasses.
5. The improvement in your essay is amazing.
6. On Tuesdays, Mary likes to go to the museum to see the exhibits.
Steinberg 2
, Common versus Proper
Common nouns name any person, place, thing, or idea. They are nonspecific. A common
noun always begins with a lowercase letter unless it is the first word in a sentence.
Ex: school, boy, car, dog, country
Proper nouns name SPECIFIC persons, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns always begin
with capital letters.
Ex: Seaford Middle School, Theo, Mercedes, Fido, Spain
Directions: There are twenty-five nouns in the following paragraph.
Circle the common nouns. Underline the proper nouns. USE PENCIL.
Rebecca Motte was a great patriot. During the Revolutionary War, British soldiers
seized her mansion in South Carolina and set up defenses. General Harry Lee told Motte that
the Americans would have to burn her home to smoke out the enemy. Motte supported the
plan and was glad to help her country. She even supplied fire arrows and a bow for the
attack. The enemy raised the white flag, and the house was saved. That night, Motte invited
both sides to dinner.
Steinberg 3
