PARTS OF SPEECH

PARTS OF SPEECH

A speech refers to a vocal expression in words. Every spoken word belongs to a specific category called parts of speech. The ability to classify words in a language into their respective parts of speech is the beginning of knowledge of that language. There are eight parts of speech in English language. They include:

1.    Noun

2.    Pronoun

3.    Verb

4.    Adverb

5.    Adjectives

6.    Preposition

7.    Conjunction

8.    Interjection ( exclamation)

One of the ways of testing ones knowledge of the parts of speech is by trying to classify every word in a sentence into the respective parts of speech they belong to. At this juncture it is pertinent to note that a single word can belong to more than one part of speech depending on the context in which it is used.  Examples may help to throw more light on that. Consider the following sets of sentences:

1.    The tailor cut the thread with a razor blade (verb).

The little boy sustained a cut in his hand (noun).

2.    Man shall not live by bread alone (noun).

Soldiers had been deployed to man the city (verb).

Man! That was a wonderful experience (exclamation).

3.    One hundred metres race was the last event of the tournament (adjective).

The final year exam will last for a period of ten days (verb)

4.    The priest knelt before the altar and prayed (preposition).

We had arrived home before the rain began (conjunction).

The accused had been convicted before (adverb).

CLASSIFICATION OF WORDS INTO PARTS OF SPEECH

All learners of English with in-depth knowledge of parts of speech should be able to group the words in a sentence into the appropriate parts of speech they belong to. This can be practiced as shown below:

When(1) Emeka(2) returned(3) from(4) London(5), he(6) bought(7) some(8) beautiful(9) flowers(10) which(11) he(12) gave(13) to(14) his(15) friends(16) as(17) a(18) gift(19) of(20) love(21) during(22) the(23) last(24) Christmas celebration(25).

All the words in the above sentence can be grouped into their respective parts of speech as follows:                                  

(1)adverb (2)noun (3)verb (4)preposition, (5)noun, (6)pronoun (7)verb

(8)determiner (not a typical part of speech)adjective noun pronoun  verb preposition pronoun noun preposition article (not a typical part of speech) noun preposition noun preposition article adjective  noun

NOUN

A noun is a name given to anything within the earth surface. In other words, nouns are names by which things can be identified. Since, everything on earth can be classified into humans, animals, places and other non living things; one can therefore rightly say that a noun is a name of a person, animal, place or things.

CLASSIFICATION

Noun can be classified into the following types:

1.    Concrete noun

2.    Abstract noun

3.    Proper noun

4.    Common noun

5.    Countable noun

6.    Uncountable noun

7.    Collective noun

Concrete nouns: these are nouns that can be seen and touched ie the noun that can be perceived by two senses namely: the sense of sight and the sense of touch. Examples of concrete nouns are names of objects such as: book, torch, pen, telephone, radio, television, chair, table, fan, refrigerator, house, shirt, bag, wall, floor, water, sand, clock, lamp, cup, pot, spoon, nail, hammer, flask, football, basket, shoes, cap, etc.

Abstract nouns: these are direct opposite of concrete nouns. They are nouns that may or may not be seen, can be imagined but cannot be perceived by the sense of touch. They are names given to intangible entities or things that exist in a mental or spiritual realm. They are also used to express qualities possessed by a person or thing or the inner feeling of a person. E.g: happiness, intelligence, beauty, presence, bravery, patience, kindness, nepotism, patriotism, malady, madness, cleanliness, faithfulness, might, behaviour, sin, cleverness, punctuality, deficiency, anger, nervousness, righteousness, disappointment, proximity, recovery, longevity, stamina, durability, magnanimity, prosperity, abundance, miserliness, integrity, dignity, etc.

Proper nouns: these are names of persons, places or institution, days of the week and months of the year. The first letter of every proper noun must be written in capital letter irrespective of where they occur in a sentence, whether in the beginning, middle or at the end of a sentence e.g:

The democracy day in Nigeria is usually on 29^th May. (The first letters in “Nigeria and May” are capitalized because they are proper noun)

Examples of proper noun include:

Names of persons: Okey, Chima, Ikenna, Chizoba, Okeke, Eze, Ada, Jim, Nnedimma, Chioma, Sandra, Efua, Funmi, Okafor, Jide, Alexander, Peter, Christopher, Vivian, Ruth, Boniface, Onyekwere, Chidimma, Prince, Chibike, Prosper, Fabian, Jaachi, Chinwe, Chidiogo, Ugochi, Chidiebere, Mohammed, Sambo, Abubakar, Emeka, Onyinye, Bade, Edet, Ngozi, Chisom, Francis, Buhari, Gowon, Achebe, William, etc

Names of places: Enugu,  Benin Republic, Awgu, Okigwe, France,  Ituku, America, Nsukka, Agbogugu,  Gambia, Argentina, Ohofia, Niger, Gariki, Abuja, Europe,  Nenwe,  Coted’ voire, Mgbidi, Egypt, Ngwo, Nigeria,  Abakpa, Lagos, Lokoja, Agbor, Uromi, Africa, Gwagwalada, Cameroun,  Aba, Sierra-Leone,  Onitsha, Asia, etc.

Names of institutions: University of Nigeria,  Redeemed Christian Church of God, Intercontinental Bank, Mighty Unbeatable College, Federal High Court, St. Luke’s Hospital, Central Bank of Nigeria, Forcados High School, Brain Trust Academy, Adoration Ministry, Institute of Management Technology, Omega Fire Ministry, etc.

Names of associations, unions or agencies: United Nations, Academic Staff Union, Onoli Progressive Union, National Football Association, Nigeria Union of Teachers, Food and Agricultural Organization, World health Organization, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission. Etc.

Days of the week: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Months of the year: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Common nouns: these are names that do not belong to the proper noun. They are usually the names of objects. Common nouns unlike proper nouns do not have their first letter capitalized except when they begin a sentence. E.g:  book, house,  radio, book, torch, pen, telephone, television, chair, table, fan, refrigerator, shirt, bag, wall, floor, water, sand, clock, lamp, cup, pot, spoon, nail, hammer, flask, football, basket, shoes, cap, etc.

Uncountable (uncount) nouns: these are names given to things or group of things that cannot be counted or that cannot exist as a separate entity. Uncountable noun can either be a concrete or abstract noun.

Examples of uncountable nouns:

Uncountable abstract nouns: most abstract nouns are uncountable noun. E.g: information, news, advice, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, ignorance, diligence, kindness, repentance, mediocrity, gratitude, holiness, punctuality, air, etc.

Uncountable concrete nouns: these can be grouped into solids and liquids.

Solids include: Food e.g: rice, bread, flour, sugar, salt, meat, salad, moi-moi, omelettes, butter, garri, yam, cocoyam, etc. A collection of things e.g: furniture, luggage, equipment, traffic, money, etc.