🧠 IIT Madras Notes

English Week 2 - Parts Of Speech

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Week 2: Parts of Speech

  • Core Idea: This week, we learn to be “word detectives.” Every word in a sentence has a specific job or role. By identifying a word’s part of speech, we can understand its function and how it relates to the other words in the sentence. This is the foundational grammar skill for building and understanding correct sentences.

đź“š Table of Contents

  1. Fundamental Concepts
  2. Question Pattern Analysis
  3. Detailed Solutions by Pattern
  4. Practice Exercises
  5. Visual Learning: The Sentence Machine
  6. Common Pitfalls & Traps
  7. Quick Refresher Handbook

1. Fundamental Concepts

Think of a sentence as a machine. Each part of speech is a different type of gear or component with a specific job.

🎯 1.1 The Core Components

  • Noun: A word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
    • Examples: Catherine (person), Hyderabad (place), balloon (thing), courage (idea).
    • Abstract Noun: A noun for a concept, quality, or feeling that you cannot touch (e.g., honour, worry, intelligence).
  • Pronoun: A word used in place of a noun to avoid repetition.
    • Examples: I, you, she, he, it, they, myself, yourself.
    • Reflexive Pronoun: Refers back to the subject of the sentence (e.g., “The bus stopped by itself.”).
  • Verb: A word that shows an action or a state of being. Every complete sentence must have a verb.
    • Action Verbs: run, sing, floated.
    • State of Being Verbs: is, am, are, was, were (e.g., “She was worried.”).

⚙️ 1.2 The Modifiers (Describing Words)

  • Adjective: A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. It answers questions like: Which one? What kind? How many?
    • Examples: a red balloon, the most amazing site, soft music.
    • Comparative/Superlative: Adjectives change form to compare things (e.g., amazing, more amazing, most amazing).
  • Adverb: A word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It often (but not always) ends in -ly and answers questions like: How? When? Where? To what extent?
    • Modifying a Verb: She was softly singing. (How was she singing?)
    • Modifying an Adjective: It was a very red balloon. (How red was it?)
    • Modifying another Adverb: She sang extremely softly. (How softly did she sing?)

đź”— 1.3 The Connectors and Positioners

  • Preposition: A word that shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence. It often indicates location, time, or direction.
    • Examples: a book on the desk, a prescription for my headache, worried about her work.
  • Conjunction: A word that joins words, phrases, or clauses.
    • Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS): For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (e.g., “Ajay and Sanjay are intelligent.”).
    • Subordinating Conjunctions: because, since, while, although, etc.
  • Article: A special type of adjective that specifies a noun.
    • Indefinite Articles (a, an): Used for non-specific nouns. a is used before a consonant sound, an before a vowel sound.
    • Definite Article (the): Used for a specific, known noun.

2. Question Pattern Analysis

From the Week_2_Graded_Assignment, the patterns are direct and focused on identification.

Pattern #Pattern NameFrequencyDifficultyCore Skill
2.1Identifying the Part of Speech in ContextHighEasy-MediumGiven a sentence with an underlined word, identify its function (Noun, Verb, Adj, etc.).
2.2Fill-in-the-Blank: Pronouns & ArticlesHighEasyChoosing the correct pronoun or article (a/an/the) to complete a sentence.
2.3Fill-in-the-Blank: Prepositions & ConjunctionsMediumEasySelecting the correct connecting word to show the right relationship in a sentence.
2.4Choosing the Correct Adjective FormLowEasySelecting the correct comparative or superlative form (e.g., amazing, more amazing, most amazing).

3. Detailed Solutions by Pattern

Pattern 2.1: Identifying the Part of Speech in Context

  • Core Skill: Looking at the word’s job in the sentence, not just its dictionary definition. Many words can be different parts of speech depending on their use.

Example Problem A:

Identify the part of speech of the underlined word: She was honoured for her courage.

TAA in Action:

  1. Triage: This is an identification problem. The word is “courage”.
  2. Abstract: What is the job of “courage” here? It’s preceded by “her,” a possessive pronoun. Possessive pronouns are followed by things that can be possessed. “Courage” is the name of an idea or quality that she has.
  3. Act: Words that name things or ideas are nouns. Since it’s an idea you can’t touch, it’s an abstract noun, but the general category is Noun.

Final Answer: Noun.

Example Problem B:

Identify the part of speech of the underlined word: Catherine was worried about her work.

TAA in Action:

  1. Triage: Identification problem. The word is “worried”.
  2. Abstract: What is the job of “worried”? It’s describing the state of being of the subject, “Catherine”. It follows the “state of being” word “was”. This structure (was + word) describes what Catherine was doing or feeling.
  3. Act: Words that describe an action or a state of being are verbs.

Final Answer: Verb.

Pattern 2.2: Fill-in-the-Blank: Pronouns & Articles

  • Core Skill: Matching the pronoun to its antecedent and choosing a/an based on sound, not spelling.

Example Problem A (Pronoun):

The bus came to a halt by _________. Options: Himself, Itself

TAA in Action:

  1. Triage: This is a pronoun fill-in-the-blank.
  2. Abstract: I need to find the noun the pronoun is replacing (the antecedent). The antecedent is “The bus”. A bus is a thing, which is referred to as “it”. The reflexive pronoun for “it” is “itself”.
  3. Act: Choose the correct pronoun.

Final Answer: Itself.

Example Problem B (Article):

There is ______ book on the desk. Options: A, An, The

TAA in Action:

  1. Triage: Article fill-in-the-blank.
  2. Abstract: The noun is “book”. Is it a specific book we already know about? No, it’s just a general book. So, I need an indefinite article (a or an). Does the word “book” start with a vowel sound or a consonant sound? It starts with a /b/ sound, which is a consonant.
  3. Act: The article used before a consonant sound is a.

Final Answer: A.

Memory Palace: Week 2 Concepts

  • The Sentence Kingdom:

    • The Noun is the King or Queen (the subject).
    • The Verb is the Action the King or Queen performs (what they do).
    • An Adjective is the royal Decorator. It describes the King (“The tall King”).
    • An Adverb is the royal Commentator. It describes the action (“The King ruled wisely”).
    • A Pronoun is the King’s Stand-in or substitute.
    • A Preposition is the royal GPS. It tells you where or when things are in relation to the King (The King is **in** the castle).
    • A Conjunction is the royal Bridge-Builder. It connects the different parts of the kingdom (The King **and** the Queen...).

  • A vs. An (The Sound Rule):

    • Forget spelling! It’s all about the first sound you make.
    • “An hour” - because “hour” starts with an “ow” sound (vowel).
    • “A university” - because “university” starts with a “yoo” sound (consonant).

  • Adjective vs. Adverb Test:

    • Ask: What is this word describing?
    • If it’s describing a person, place, or thing (a noun), it’s an Adjective.
      • “The music is soft.” (Describes the music).
    • If it’s describing an action (a verb), it’s an Adverb.
      • “She sings softly.” (Describes how she sings).

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