Correct Writing

lesson 1 - The Parts of Speech

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lesson 1

The Parts of Speech

1 Nouns

2 Pronouns

3 Adjectives

4 Verbs

5 Adverbs

6 Prepositions

7 Conjunctions

8 Absolute Expressions

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NOUNS

The sentence is the basic unit of discourse - either written or

spoken. Sentences are made up of words, and words have dif￾ferent functions to perform. And on the basis of the different

functions to perform, words are grouped into different parts of

speech. In other words, words in a sentence do not come

together in a haphazard way or manner, in fact, they are

arranged together according to certain syntactic rules. It then

follows that a good knowledge of different parts of speech and

different functions they perform will help us to produce correct

sentences, either written or spoken.

On the basis of the various functions they perform, words are

separated into 8 parts of speech as follows:

(1) nouns

(2) pronouns

(3) adjectives

(4) verbs

(5) adverbs

(6) prepositions

(7) conjunctions

(8) absolute expressions

I. NOUNS

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

A. COMMON NOUNS AND PROPER NOUNS

Nouns generally fall into two general classifications: common

nouns and proper nouns

A common noun names any one of a class of people, things or

place.

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NOUNS

A doctor

A house

A park

A proper noun (always capitalized) names a particular person,

thing or place.

Washington DC * United Kingdom * J.F. Kennedy

B. CONCRETE NOUNS AND ABSTRACT NOUNS

Nouns are further divided into concrete nouns and abstract

nouns. A concrete noun names an object normally found in nat￾ural world.

The jar of fruits and vegetables are stored in the cupboard.

An abstract noun names an idea, a quality or an action.

Happiness, democracy, loneliness, heaven, hell, patience, kind￾ness, skiing, learning English etc.

Tư do va cöng băng la nhưng cơ sơ₫ï̉ xêy dưng nï̀n dên chu.

X Freedom and equality are the bases on which a democracy is

built.

Tònh ban cua chung töi băt ₫ều tư thơi trung hoc.

X Our friendship began in high school.

Tiḯng chim hot lam töi thưc giếc.

X The singing of a bird in the garden woke me up.

C. COLLECTIVE NOUNS

A collective noun names a group of collection of people or

things regarded as a single unit.

Family / committee / team / jury / crowd / assembly / meeting /

crew / faculty etc.

Gia ₫ònh chung töi dư ₫ịnh don ₫i Đa lat.

X Our family is planning to move to Dalat.

Uy ban hop măt ba lền möt tuền.

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NOUNS

X The district committee meets three times a week.

Đöi banh cua chung ta tö́i nay bay vï̀ nươc.

X Our team is flying home tonight.

Bö̀i thểm ₫oan cho răng bị cao co töi.

X The jury has declared/found the defendant guilty.

NOTE

D. SINGULAR NOUNS AND PLURAL NOUNS

Nouns may be singular or plural in number

Cat - cats

Man - men

Child - Children

Woman - women

E. NOMINATIVE - OBJECTIVE - POSSESSIVE CASE

Nouns may be in nominative case, objective case or possessive

case.

Her mother's worries

The mother's worries

The child's mother

The children' mother(s)

Mary and John's car (Marry and John share the same car)

Mary's and John's car

When refer to a group as a single unit, verbs used with them

must be singular in number.

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PRONOUNS

II. PRONOUNS

WHAT IS A PRONOUN?

Pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun. The noun for

which a pronoun is used is called the antecedent of the pronoun.

X In the winter of wet years, the streams ran full-freshet, and they

swelled the river until sometimes it raged and boiled... (John

Steinbeck, East of Eden)

X The Salinas Valley is in South California. It is a long narrow

swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Salinas River

winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into Monterey

Bay.

On the basis of the forms and functions, pronouns are classified

as:

(1) Personal Pronoun

(2) Relative Pronoun

(3) Interrogative Pronoun

(4) Demonstrative Pronoun

(5) Emphasizing Pronoun

(6) Reflexive Pronoun

(7) Reciprocal Pronoun

(8) Indefinite Pronoun

A. PERSONAL PRONOUNS

A personal pronoun is a direct substitute for a noun. It usually

indicates a person, a thing, or a place.

PERSON NOMINATIVE

CASE

POSSESSIVE

CASE

OBJECTIVE

CASE

1st I My Me

SINGULAR 2nd You Yours You

3rd He/She/It His/Hers/Its Him/Her/It

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PRONOUNS

Giưa töi va cö ta khöng con gò nưa.

X There is nothing left between her and me.

B. RELATIVE PRONOUNS

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a dependent

clause which normally functions as an adjective. The most com￾mon relative pronouns are: WHO, WHOM, WHICH and

THAT.

We need to learn also the emphatic form: WHOEVER,

WHOMEVER, WHICHEVER, and WHATEVER.

Ngươi yïu töi bêy giơ cach xa ngan dăm.

X The woman/man (whom) I love is now a thousand miles away.

X The man who loves me is now a thousand miles away.

Ba töi, ngươi töi ₫a thương yïu va kñnh phuc suö́t ₫ơi, nay ₫a gền 60

tuö̉i.

X My father, whom I have loved and admired all my life, is now

almost 60.

Bết cư ₫öi nao bị ₫a bai trong bết cư vong nao trư vong chung kḯt

phai vï̀ nươc trong vong 24 giơ.

X Any team which is defeated in any round except the finals is to

leave for home in 24 hours.

NOTE

PLURAL 1st We Our Us

2nd You Yours You

3rd They Their Them

* When a clause functions as an adjective, it may be

defining or non-defining.

* THAT is used to refer to both people and thing and

is never used in non-defining clause.

* WHOM, WHICH and THAT can be omitted when

they functions as object in defining clause only.

* WHICH is usually used to stand for a collective

noun.

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PRONOUNS

C. INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

An interrogative pronoun is used to introduce a question or a

dependent clause. The most common interrogative pronouns are

WHO, WHOM, WHAT and WHICH. The emphatic forms are

WHOEVER, WHATEVER and WHICHEVER.

Who was the first to explore the Lang Biang highlands?

X Doctor Yersin was.

Who was the first to set foot on the moon?

X Louis Armstrong was.

What are you going to do after leaving college?

X I will start my own business.

Whom should I marry?

X Marry which of them who loves you the most.

What did you do it with?

X I did it with a knife.

What time is it?

X It’s half past nine.

What is there in your hand?

X My future.

D. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

A demonstrative pronoun points out or identifies a place, a per￾son or a thing. The common demonstrative pronouns are THIS,

THAT, THESE and THOSE.

Đêy la nhưng ngươi hang xom cua töi.

X These are our neighbors.

Đêy chñnh la cai töi muö́n.

X This is exactly what I need/want/wish for.

Đêy chñnh la vến ₫ï̀ kho khăn cua töi hiïn nay.

X That is my problem at present.

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PRONOUNS

NOTE

Nhưng ngươi nay vưa mơi don ₫ḯn.

X These people have just moved in.

Töi muö́n cai nay.

X I want this one.

Chung ta nïn cö́ găng giai quyḯt vến ₫ï̀ ₫o.

X We should try to solve that problem

Khi co thơi gian, töi se ban vơi anh vï̀ vến ₫ï̀ nay.

X When there is time, then I will discuss this issue with you.

E. EMPHASIZING (INTENSIVE) PRONOUNS

An emphasizing pronoun is used to give emphasis to a noun or

another pronoun.

NOTE

Myself / Himself / Herself / Itself / Yourself / Ourselves / Them￾selves / Yourselves

Chñnh töi ₫a viḯt thư nay cho cö ta.

X I myself wrote her this letter.

Chñnh öng thềy ₫ang trach trong viïc nay.

X The teacher himself is to blame in this case.

Chñnh hăn ta quyḯt ₫ịnh khöng lếy cö ta.

X He himself has decided not to marry her.

F. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

A reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence in

which it appears: MYSELF ; YOURSELF ; HIMSELF ; HER-

* When they modify nouns, they become adjectives called

demonstrative adjectives.

* These pronouns should be placed right after the noun

or pronoun they emphasize and may be omitted.

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PRONOUNS

SELF ; ITSELF ; OURSELVES; YOURSELVES ; THEM￾SELVES

Em chăng yïu anh ty nao; em chỉ yïu em ma thöi.

X You don't love me at all; you love yourself only.

Chung ta phai yïu chñnh chung ta ₫ï̉ co thï̉ thưc sư yïu thương

ngươi khac.

X We must learn to be kind to ourselves to be really kind to oth￾ers.

Cö ta nhòn mònh trong gương va mĩm cươi.

X She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

Dong söng tan pha₫ết ₫ai cua cac nöng trai ven bơ, cươp ₫i ca hecta

₫ết; giêt nga nha cưa, chuö̀ng trai rö̀i cuö́n chung ₫i, nhếp nhö xa tñt

...

X The river tore the edges of the farm lands and washed whole

acres down; it toppled barns and houses into itself, to go float￾ing and bobbing away. (John Steinbeck, East of Eden)

Hăn thò thềm vơi chñnh mònh băng möt giong khan khan...

X He whispered hoarsely to himself...

“Ta co cai gò trong tui vêy?” Bilbo buöt miïng thö́t lïn. Thêt ra, hăn

₫ang noi vơi chñnh hăn, nhưng Gollum lai cho ₫o la möt cêu ₫ö́ ..

X ‘What I have in my pocket?’ Bilbo said aloud. He was talking to

himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle...

(Tolkien, The Hobbit)

NOTE

G. 1

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

An indefinite pronoun refers to a person, a place or a thing gen￾erally rather than specifically.

ANYTHING, ANYONE, ANYBODY, ANY PLACE, EVERY

THING, EVERY ONE, EVERYBODY, EVERY PLACE,

* Reflexive pronouns are used as the object of a verb

or the object of a preposition and can not be omitted

1. INDEFINITE /in&defInBt/

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ADJECTIVE

SOMETHING, SOMEONE, SOMEBODY, SOME PLACE,

NOBODY, NOTHING, ALL, MANY, FEW, SEVERAL,

BOTH, EACH, EITHER, NEITHER

Ca hai ưng viïn ₫ï̉u ₫u tiïu chuển.

X Either of the applicants is qualified for the job.

Ca hai ưng viïn ₫ï̀u khöng ₫u tiïu chuển.

X Neither of the applicants is qualified for the job.

Ca hai giai phap ₫ï̀u tö́t.

X Either of the solutions is satisfactory.

Ca hai giai phap ₫ï̀u khöng tö́t.

X Neither of the solutions is satisfactory.

As demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns can be used as

adjectives which modify nouns.

Chuyḯn ₫i co thï̉ mết tư 5-7 ngay.

X The trip may take several days.

H. 1

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS

In formal writing EACH OTHER refers to two persons, and

ONE ANOTHER refers to more than two persons. But there is a

tendency in modern English to use EACH OTHER for both

cases.

Töi va Marry biḯt nhau suö́t ₫ơi.

X Mary and I have known each other all our lives.

Cac con a, cö́ găng yïu thương va săn soc lễn nhau sau khi bö́ chḯt

₫i.

X Children, try to love and take care of one another after I die.

III. ADJECTIVE

An adjective is a word that modifies or adds to the meaning of a

noun or pronoun.

1. RECIPROCAL /rI&sIprBkl/

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ADJECTIVE

A. COMMON - PROPER ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are commonly categorized as common adjectives

and proper adjectives. A common adjective modifies or adds to

the meaning of common noun. A proper adjective modifies or

adds to the meaning of proper noun.

America - American

Vietnam - Vietnamese

B. DESCRIPTIVE - LIMITING ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are also classified as descriptive adjectives and lim￾iting adjectives. A descriptive adjective describes a person, a

place or a thing.

Clean / sad / cheerful / mean / lazy /large/small

A limiting adjective points out or specifies a person, a place or a

thing.

(1) a, an, the

(2) my / yours (possessive adjective)

(3) John's mother / my mother's (noun possessive case)

(4) cardinal number: 1,2,3…

(5) ordinal number: first, second, third…

Gia sinh hoat hiïn thơi cao hơn khoang 2% so vơi 6 thang ₫ều năm.

X The cost of living is about 2% higher at present than in the first

six months of the years.

Trong hai thêp niïn ₫ều cua thḯ ky...

X During / In the first 2 decades of the century…

Hai vến ₫ï̀ ₫ều tiïn quan trong cua töi la ...

X My first two important problems are…

Trong 10 cêu hoi sau ₫êy ...…

X In the 10 following questions…

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ADJECTIVE

C. ATTRIBUTIVE - APPOSITIVE - PREDICATIVE

On the basis of their functions, adjectives are classified as

attributive (defining) adjectives, appositive (non-defining)

adjectives and predicative adjectives.

1. ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES

An attributive adjective represents an attribute (that is special

quality or a typical quality) of a noun or pronoun. In other

words, an attributive adjective limits or restricts the meaning of

noun or pronoun and is therefore not set off.

An honest father

An honest and hard-working father

CONDITION 1 A: There was some people who want to see you this morning.

B: Anybody special?

A: No, sir. Nobody special sir.

Tö́i nay TV co gò hay khöng?

X Is there anything interesting on TV tonight?

Töi co ₫iï̀u mơi cho anh ₫êy.

X I’ve got something new for you.

Anh co chuyïn vêy?

X Is there anything wrong with you?

X No, nothing wrong.

* Attributive adjectives normally precede the nouns or

pronouns they modify.

An attributive adjective may follows the word it modi￾fies with a few conditions:

1. The word it modifies is an indefinite pronoun.

2. It is modified by an adverbial expression, which is nor￾mally a phrase.

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ADJECTIVE

CONDITION 2 A life

An empty life

Möt cuöc sö́ng trö́ng rö̃ng khöng muc ₫ñch thò khöng ₫ang sö́ng.

X A life empty of a purpose is not worth living.

Möt ngươi hăm hơ lam vưa long ngươi khac thò khöng ₫ang tin cêy.

X A person anxious to please others is untrustworthy.

Möt ngươi dï̃ hai long thò dï̃ băt chuyïn.

X A person easy to please is easy to talk to.

Möt trai tim trö́ng văng sư hiï̉u biḯt, thöng cam va tha thư thò chỉ la

möt căn nguc tu tö́i tăm.

X A heart void/vacant of understanding, sympathy and forgive￾ness is only a dark prison cell.

Möt ngươi kho tñnh thò kho cam thếy sung sương.

A person hard to please is unlikely to feel happy.

2. APPOSITIVE ADJECTIVES

An appositive adjective represents only an appositive idea; that

is to say, it represents only an after thought or something added.

In other words, an appositive adjective only gives more infor￾mation to the noun or pronoun it refers to; it doesn't narrow or

restrict the meaning of the noun at all. Appositive adjectives are

normally set off when they follows a noun or pronoun they refer

to.

Qua tim cua cö ta, trö́ng văng sư hiï̉u biḯt va thöng cam, chỉ la möt

căn nguc tu tö́i tăm.

X Her heart, void of understanding and sympathy, is only a dark,

prison cell.

* An appositive adjective must be modified by an adverbial

expression when it follows the noun it modifies.

N , Appositive Adjective + Adverbial Expression ,

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ADJECTIVE

Bö́ töi, rết dï̃ băt chuyïn, co nhiï̀u ban tö́t.

X My father, easy to talk to, has many good friends.

Bilbo, nong long thoat hiï̉m, chếp nhên lơi ₫ï̀ nghị ngay lêp tưc.

X Bilbo, anxious to escape, accepted the suggestion at once.

NOTE

Ba töi, thanh thêt va tö́t bung, co nhiï̀u ban tö́t trong ₫ơi.

X My father, honest and kind-hearted, has many good friends in his

life.

Nhưng sinh viïn ₫ang lam viïc vơi töi, thöng minh va chăm chỉ, se

₫êu ky thi nay.

X The students working with me, intelligent and hard working, are

certain to pass the exam.

Nhưng ₫ưa tre, nghịch ngơm va ö̀n ao, ua ra.

X The children, boisterous and noisy, rushed out.

Roland thếy sư khön ngoan cua lơi khuyïn nïn ₫a₫ö̀ng y ma khöng

bao giơ biḯt ₫ươc răng Flag, quy quyït va ₫öc ac, hiï̉u qua ro bñ mêt

thềm kñn cua öng.

X Roland saw the wisdom of the advice and agreed, never know￾ing that Flag, cunning and wicked, understood his deepest

secret. (Stephen King, The Eyes of the Dragon)

No nhòn thếy bong mònh trong gương, mơi ₫ều xanh xao va hoang

hö́t. Nhưng tñch tăc sau cai bong mĩm cươi vơi no.

X He saw his reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a

moment later the reflection smiled at him. (J.K Rowling, The

Socerer’s Stone)

* If an appositive adjective is not modified by an adverbial

expression, it must be coordinated with another adjec￾tive.

N , , Appositive ADJ1 + Appositive ADJ2

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ADJECTIVE

NOTE

My father, happy with his active years, is now living his old age in

Dalat.

X Happy with his active years, my father is now living his old age

in Dalat.

The young Queen, beautiful and gracious, was loved by her subjects.

X Beautiful and gracious, the young Queen was loved by her sub￾jects.

3. PREDICATE ADJECTIVE

A predicate adjective modifies a subject or an object. When it

modifies a subject, it is called SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT;

when it modifies an object it is called OBJECTIVE COMPLE￾MENT. And it is more often than not, predicative adjectives are

used after linking verb.

Adjectives may be natural; it means that, these adjectives have

existed in English since the beginning of the language.

sad / happy / dark / beautiful / ugly / gracious / young

Adjectives may be derived:

(a) from Present Participles and Past Participles

(b) through suffixes and prefixes

Interest > Interesting / Interesed (a)

Delight > Delighting / Delighted (a)

Love (v) > Lovable / Loved (a)

* An appositive adjective with a modifier or a co￾ordinated adjective may follow or precede the sub￾ject of a sentence when the subject is a noun.

S, Appositive Adj,

Appositive Adj, S

S=N