Unit 2

UNIT 2 WORKSHEET

Task 1 - Write 5 examples of each of the following:

 Countable noun: bird, school, pillow, shirt, computer

Uncountable noun: freedom, air, knowledge, hatred, hunger

Adjective: big, hurtful, red, sick, hot

Adverb: quickly, lastly, never, wistfully, well

Preposition: on, at, under, over, through

Verb: dive, contemplate, analyze, submerge, divide

Pronoun: I, we, her, its, them

Infinitive: to sing, to wish, to stop, to collect, to pack

Gerund: climbing, biking, planning, cleaning, smoking

Comparative adjective: slower, colder, greater, thinner, darker

Superlative adjective: smartest, closest, warmest, sharpest, widest

Article (3 only): the, an, a

Conjunction: and, but, yet, so, or

Task 2 – Identify the parts of speech in the following sentence:

I usually go swimming with my best friend and his rather unusual girlfriend.

a)        I- personal pronoun

b)       usually- adverb (frequency)

c)        go- action verb

d)       swimming- gerund

e)        with- preposition

f)        my- possessive adjective

g)       best- adjective

h)       friend- common noun

i)        and- conjunction

j)        his- possessive adjective

k)       rather- adverb

l)        unusual- adjective

m)      girlfriend- common noun

Task 3 – State the differences between the following, and give an example of each:

a)               Adjectives and adverbs

`         Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adjectives describe the appearance of the noun/pronoun, and adverbs describe the manner and quality of an action. Adjectives are simply descriptions of an object. Adverbs are used to describe the manner in which the action was done.

Example: The happy man sang a song. Happy is an adjective because it describes the man.

       The man sang a song happily. Happily is an adverb because it describes the way he sang the song.

b)               Nouns and pronouns              

A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea while a pronoun is a word that replaces that same noun. Pronouns are used to refer to specific nouns in a more general sense. Pronouns help reduce redundancy in speech.

Example: John left to go meet Anna. John and Anna are common nouns that refer to 2 specific people.

      He met her at the store. He and her are pronouns because the sentence doesn’t specifically mention John or Anna but the reader knows who he and her refer to.

Task 4 – Explain the following parts of speech as you would to a student. An example sentence would help to clarify your explanation:

a)               Conjunctions – Conjunctions can combine sentence clauses to make a one sentence or join words of the same parts of speech (verbs with verbs, nouns with nouns). Its function is to connect things so that the sentences flow smoothly.

Example: I like pizza. I like ice cream. à I like pizza and ice cream. “And” combined two similar sentences into one sentence by joining the two nouns together.

b)               Gerunds – When you use a verb as a noun by adding –ing to the end of the verb, that is called a gerund. It is different from the present participle because it becomes a noun and is no longer a verb. Its function is to transform a verb into a noun.

Example: She is running everyday. Running in this sentence is a verb because it is an action, something she does.

Running everyday is good for your health. This sentence uses running as the topic of focus, therefore a noun.

c)               Verbs – Verbs are words that depict actions/states of being. Anything that you do physically/mentally is a verb.

Example: I can jump, swim, and run all day. All of these words are something you can physically do and see other people do.

d)              Comparative adjectives – Adjectives that compare one specific quality between two nouns are called comparative adjectives. They usually are denoted either with –er or the word “more.”

Example: Jean is wiser than Carl. The Siamese cat is more beautiful than tabby cat.

e)               Prepositions – Prepositions are words that are placed in front of nouns/pronouns to relate those nouns to another part of the sentence. Its function is to form a relationship between the noun and another part of speech group. Basically, think of a rabbit and a fence. Anything the rabbit can go with the fence is a preposition.

Example: The rabbit ran over the fence.

The rabbit ran through the fence.

The rabbit ran by the fence.

The rabbit ran under the fence.

The rabbit ran near the fence.

f)                Superlative adjectives – Adjectives that compare one specific quality between three or more nouns are called superlative adjectives. The difference between superlative and comparative is the context in which the sentence is used. Superlative adjectives do comparisons between more nouns than comparative. They usually are denoted with either –est or the word “most.”

Example: Out of the whole class, Sam is the tallest. Peppers are the spiciest food in the world. Elizabeth is the most intelligent among all the daughters.

Task 5 – What do articles do in a sentence? Give examples of your own.

Articles are placed in front of nouns to indicate the type of reference of the noun that is used in the sentence.  Its function is to specify which noun is being referred to. There are two types of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a, an).

Example: Joe has a football. The “a” article in this sentence refers to no specific football. It could be any football and doesn’t specify which football exactly.

The football Joe has is expensive. The article in this sentence refers specifically to Joe’s football and no other football.