GST 111 - CHAPTER TWO (The Parts of Speech Pt. 1)

PARTS OF SPEECH (part 1)

~ By J. C. IRO (MR. TEKNO)

The term ‘parts of speech’ in a simple language can be defined as the ‘families of words’ classified on the basis of their functions in a given sentence structure. On the basis of this definition, we have the following parts of speech:

PARTS OF SPEECH	FUNCTION(S)
NOUNS	They perform the function of ‘naming’.
PRONOUNS	They can ‘replace’ nouns in any given sentence
ADJECTIVES	They ‘describe’ nouns, pronouns and noun phrases
VERBS	They show ‘action/state of being’ i.e. activity
ADVERBS	They ‘describe’ verbs, adjectives and other adverbs
CONJUNCTIONS	They ‘join’ other parts of a sentence
INTERJECTIONS	They ‘express: emotional elements’ e.g. pain, joy etc.
PREPOSITIONS	They show ‘the relationship’ between two entities

 

Now that we know the above information, let us move onto to even more important things, shall we?

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PARTS OF SPEECH???

·         The parts of speech are divided into two main categories: (a) The Open Class Items and (b) The Closed System Items.

·         The ‘Open Class Items’ is made up of those parts of speech that are inexhaustible i.e. you can’t know or given a complete inventory [list] of their members. E.g. Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Adverbs.

·         The ‘Closed System Items’ include the parts of speech that all members belonging to them are known or can be known i.e. they are exhaustible. They include: The Articles (a/an & the), Demonstratives[this/these & that/those], Pronouns(I, You, We, They, He, She, It etc.), Prepositions[in, on, of, at etc.], Conjunctions (and, or, but, yet, though etc.), Interjections[ah, ugh, phew, wow, oh, ouch etc.], Primary & Modal auxiliary verbs(may, do, have, be, etc.).

·         Another name for ‘Open Class Items’ is called LEXICAL WORDS simply because they can be found in the English Lexicon, while ‘Closed System Items’ are also known as STRUCTURE WORDS because their functions are primarily in the structuring of sentences.

·         A word is said to be NOMINAL if it can perform the function of a noun or behaves like a noun in a sentence.

·         A word is said to be VERBAL if it can perform the function of a verb or possess verb-like behavior.

·         The above also applies to ADJECTIVALS and ADVERBIALS.