Verbs fall into two major categories: main verbs and auxiliary/helping verbs.

An action verb is a main verb that shows action. An action verb usually tells what the subject of a clause is doing, will do, or did. An action verb may include one or more helping verbs in addition to the main verb. Helping verbs are ……

An auxiliary verb, or helping verb, works with a main verb. Auxiliary verbs serve a variety of purposes. Some auxiliary verbs, such as ……

A linking verb does not show action. It connects the subject of a sentence to a word or words in the predicate that describe or rename the subject. Linking verbs are usually forms of be. Some common linking verbs are ……

Examples of verbs

A common noun is a word that names any person, place, thing, or idea.

Examples of singular and plural common nouns

Proper nouns are words that name particular persons, places, things, or ideas. All proper nouns begin with a capital letter. A proper noun that is made up of two or more words such as William Faulkner or Spring Hill School is considered one proper noun. If a proper noun is more than one word, each important word must begin with a capital letter.

Examples of singular and plural common nouns

Adjectives are words that describe nouns and pronouns. Some adjectives, like adorable, eventful, and hopeless, describe or tell what kind. Others, like many and seven, tell how many.

Examples of adjectives

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, and adjective, or another adverb. Some adverbs tell how, and others tell when and where. Most adverbs that tell how end with -ly.

Adverbs such as ……

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of a noun. Based on different form and function in the sentence, pronouns fall into several major categories such as personal pronouns, compound personal pronouns (reflexive), possessive pronouns, relative and interrogative pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, and indefinite pronouns.

Personal pronouns include I, me, you, we, us, he, she, it, they, and them. Personal pronouns can be used to stand for the person speaking, the person spoken to, or the person spoken about.

Possessive pronouns show ownership.

The possessive pronouns my, your, his, her, its, their, and our replace possessive nouns.

A compound personal pronoun contains the word self or selves. Compound personal pronouns include myself, herself, himself, itself, yourself, ourselves, and themselves.

Indefinite pronouns refer to persons or things that are not identified as individuals. These pronouns include all, anybody, both, anything, few, most, no one, either, nothing, everyone, one, several, none, everybody, nobody, someone, everything, something, anyone, and somebody.

When the pronouns who, whom, whose, which, and that are used to introduce an adjective clause, they are called relative pronouns. A relative pronoun always follows the noun it refers to.

Examples

When the pronouns who, whom, which, and what are used to begin a question, they are called interrogative pronouns.

Examples

This, that, these, and those can be used as demonstrative pronouns.

This and these are used when talking about one or more things that are nearby.

Examples