Chapter XXII: Review: Parts of Speech

=72.= We have seen that words are classified according to their use into eight parts of speech,—nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

A =noun= is a name word.

A =verb= is an asserting word.

A =pronoun= is a word used instead of a noun.

An =adjective= is a word used to point out or describe an object and modify a noun or a pronoun.

An =adverb= is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

A =preposition= is a word that is used with its object to form a phrase, and shows the relation of its object to the word the phrase modifies.

A =conjunction= is a word that joins sentences or parts of sentences.

An =interjection= is a word used to express sudden or strong feeling.

=Exercise.=—Tell what part of speech each word is in the following sentences. Tell in each case how you know.

1. Toto’s good grandmother bore this commotion quietly for some
time.

2. “Now, set those baskets down.” He spoke sharply.

3. Mowgli knew the manners and customs of the villagers very
fairly.

4. No other mother ever made such deep, smooth, golden custard
pies, or fried such light and spicy doughnuts.

5. Queen Elizabeth and Mary Queen of Scots are strongly
associated together in the minds of all readers of English
history.

6. The tamest tiger is a tiger still.

7. The negro cleared for us a path to an enormously tall tree.

8. Nobody scolded me or laughed at me.

9. Then my eyes came back to the wall paper, and I studied out
figures in its spreading vines.

10. Perhaps a little starch would have some effect.

11. The roaring hot wind of the Jungle came and went between
the rocks and the rattling branches.

12. Ring-ting! I wish I were a primrose.

13. O love, they die in yon rich sky.

=73.= In sentence 13 in the preceding exercise, it is evident that the word _love_, which is often a verb, is used as a term of address, and therefore is a noun. Many words may be used as verbs or as nouns.

=Exercise.=—Tell what part of speech the italicized words are in the following sentences. Give your reason in each case.

1. Don’t scour your porcelain _sink_ with sapolio.

2. When bodies _sink_ in Lake Superior, they never rise.

3. Oh, what _fall_ was there, my countrymen.

4. We _fall_ to rise, are baffled to fight better.

5. Alice gave the branch a vigorous _shake_.

6. Nay, do not _shake_ your gory locks at me.

7. Will you _show_ me your lineage book?

8. There are ten thousand moving picture _shows_ in the United
States.

9. What a good _catch_ our right fielder made.

10. Did you _catch_ this sturgeon last night?

Make sentences in which the following words shall be used as nouns and as verbs: _fight_, _pay_, _rap_, _shed_, _shoe_, _sting_, _tread_.

=74.= Many words that are usually adjectives may also be used as nouns. Such words fall into different classes:—

(1) Adjectives denoting color; as, _black_, _white_, _red_. We may say, “The blacks were once slaves of the whites.” We may also say, “Red and green are complementary colors.”

(2) Certain adjectives denoting qualities of persons, which may also be used to name classes of persons having those qualities; as, _rich_, _poor_, _old_, _young_, _bad_, _good_. We say, “The rich should not scorn the poor,” “The good die young.”

(3) Certain adjectives denoting qualities, which may also be used to name classes of things having those qualities; as, _good_, _evil_, _true_, _false_. We say, “Love the good, cherish the true, admire the beautiful.”

(4) Certain other adjectives, such as _native_, _secret_, _fat_, _lean_, _thick_. We say, “The natives had no secrets,” “Jack Sprat would eat no fat,” “He was always in the thick of the fight.”

=Exercise.=—Make sentences containing the following words used as adjectives and as nouns: _purple_, _blue_, _brave_, _righteous_, _evil_, _wet_, _cold_, _sweet_, _right_, _wrong_, _solid_, _strong_.

=75.= Some words may be used both as adjectives and as adverbs. When _well_ means the opposite of _sick_, as in the sentence, “Grace never was a well child,” it is an adjective. When _well_ means in a good manner, as in the sentence, “Esther sings well,” it is an adverb.

=Exercise.=—Tell what part of speech the italicized words are in the following sentences. Give your reason in each case.

1. The paper is large _enough_, but I have not _enough_ string.

2. As she came _near_ I recognized one of my _near_ neighbors.

3. _All_ flesh is grass.

4. The girls playing basket ball are _all_ tired out.

5. The doctor liked a _fast_ horse.

6. We must walk _fast_ this cold morning.

7. Nobody could play golf _worse_ than I.

8. May I never do a _worse_ deed!

9. Have you _any_ ribbon to match this sample?

10. Will this color do _any_ better?

11. Somebody _else_ will marry her then.

12. How _else_ could I get there in time?

Make sentences containing the following words used as adjectives and as adverbs: _high_, _last_, _long_, _low_, _much_, _round_, _slow_, _straight_.

=76.= Some words may be used both as adverbs and as prepositions. In the sentence, “I looked in as I went by,” both _in_ and _by_ are adverbs. How do we know this? In the sentence, “As I went by the house, I looked in the window,” both _in_ and _by_ are prepositions. What are their objects? What do the phrases modify?

=Exercise.=—What part of speech are the italicized words in the following sentences? Give your reason in each case.

1. _Beyond_ lay the city of their dreams.

2. Our house stands _beyond_ the church.

3. _Over_ the Alps lies Italy.

4. Come _over_ this evening if you can.

5. She fainted and did not come _to_ for an hour.

6. The granary is _behind_ the barn.

7. Ichabod looked _behind_ for an instant.

8. A storm of sleet was raging _without_.

9. Civilized man cannot do _without_ cooks.

Make sentences in which the following words are used both as adverbs and as prepositions: _about_, _above_, _along_, _down_, _off_, _on_, _through_, _under_, _up_, _within_.