I am embarrassed by my ignorance here, but I still need help. If I see an interesting word and learn that it is an adjective, adverb, or nown, for example, how do I use it in a sentence? Also, when I do see a word, how do I know what part of speech it is in order to use it correctly? Is there an easy way to tell? Thank you.

Hello, daurelie, welcome to the source of great wisdom that is this board - although not emanating from me, I hasten to add; I am one of the clowns.

I don't think there is an easy answer to your first questions. I used to teach basic literacy and always found it difficult to deal with similar queries from those I was working with.
The second part of your question is a little easier, perhaps. All good dictionaries include information as to the part of speech of each word, with examples where there are several possibilities. Reading, marking, learning and inwardly digesting will give you a good idea over time - but it isn't going to be a fast-track.

To find out about correct usage, I don't think you can beat an evening class on English Grammar, if you can find one, and afford both the time and the money for it. There are "Teach Yourself" books out there, but I cannot offer an opinion on them as I have never looked at one.

Reading books by reputable authors is also a way of increasing your word-knowledge. Try Winston Churchill's History of the English speaking People. The historical content is contentious, but the story-telling is great, and Churchill's use of language is exemplary.
But there are plenty of other author's who are lighter in style whilst still using very good English - Stephen King is a good example, so is Dick Francis.

Of course, you could just keep reading and contributing to AWAD Talk !

Hi, daurelie, and welcome. Interesting screen name you've got there!

I'll give this a shot,
though a teacher I be not. (sorry, folks)

A noun is a person, place, or thing. Some examples are:
table, desk, highway, Jennifer (names are "proper nouns"),
fish, bicycle, car.

Adjectives modify nouns. Modify is the
"official" word that your teachers use. What it means is
'describe'. Some examples: red, heavy, noisy, dim, mystical, puzzling.

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They frequently end in --ly, but not always. Frequently is an
adverb. In the sentence "The disabled car could barely move", car is the noun (also the subject of the sentence),
disabled is the adjective, and barely is the adverb.

I think, that without realizing it, I have given you about the best clues I can think of to answer your last two questions. If you "learn" what part of speech it is, I gather that means you've seen it in a dictionary. If the word has an 'n.' after it, that means it is a noun (person,
place, or thing). If the word has 'adj.' or adv.' after it, that means it is one of these two. If you just see a
word in a sentence and get the meaning from the context (that is, you don't look it up in a dictionary), just figure out what word it modifies. If it modifies a noun, it is an adjective, etc. Good luck!

Bonjour daurelie

Just wanted to welcome you to the pond (adverb, verb, preposition, verb, pronoun, adverb, definite article, noun)

Nothing beats a good dictionary!

I agree with Rhu though. Read, read, read. Not just one type of book but many. Each author has his own style and it is interesting to see the differences.

In reply to:

---

Just wanted to welcome you to the pond (adverb, verb, preposition, verb, pronoun, adverb no this one is not an error, definite article, noun)

---

Mm, bel I think you've got the two examples of "to" mixed up. Unless of course you can explain your analysis.


Bingley

Hi daurelie

I would heartily recommend a dictionary called "The Plain English Dictionary" - I only have a UK edition http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0003750566/026-1053936-5664451 but you may be able to find an equivalent.

A friend bought it for my 10 year old and I think its brilliant! It skips all the clever etymology stuff (you can find that elsewhere) and goes straight for a really clear definition and a sentence showing how the word is used.

There is a thread somewhere in this lot with on-line dictionaries which may be useful. Other than that just keep trying things out, you may be no less wrong than anyone else!

Dear daurelie

I noticed from your profile that you hung around a few days before your first posting. Am assuming, therefore, that you had a great deal of trepidation to get over. The wonderful thing about this place is that nobody here can reach through the ether into your life and mock you for anything you say or do. Which means this is a good place in which to take chances and experiment a little. Ask as many questions as you want, expect a few dismissive or smart-arse responses, and wait for the flood of truly sympathetic, substantive replies that the members of this board usually provide.

With regard to your initial question, I see two ways of interpeting your request: either you want to be able to use words appropriately, and stylishly, and damn the grammar; or you are interested in being able to talk about the technical parts of language. If the second is your intention, you are probably best off getting hold of a combination of books - Fowler, Pinker's The Language Instinct and so on.

If the first - if it's words in use that interest you - then things can be remarkably easy. As many other have suggested, reading is brilliant practice - not only do you get the joy of reading, but you constantly come across new words, or old words in interesting contexts. If you are not frightfully confident, read with a dictionary by your side, and look up the trickier words. But remember - your brain is probably a vastly more powerful tool than you give it credit for. You learnt very few, of the thousands of words you already know, from a dictionary, or from being told the meaning. Most meanings you picked up from context - someone says 'horizon' and refers to the place where the sky meets the sea. Soon you learn to generalise and treat horizon with confidence. You may never have looked up the word in a dictionary, but 'instinctually' you know that it is a noun (a 'thing' word), and you know where and when to use it. Confidence in the use of words will usually come from lots of reading - so that you can see your interesting words in different contexts, and allow your own special language organ to frame that word successfully in your memory.

Didactic mode off. Sorry about the lengthy sermon, but as you have probably realised, most of us here are very fond of the language - missionaries for English, you might say...

all the best in your linguistic safaris.

the sunshine warrior

shanks, I love you!

Hi daurelie,

I just want to second what shanks said, really (nice one, s!). But let me add that I am myself pretty uncomfortable with the fine detail of grammar, and the technicalities of how to write. It's all too easy for these to be treated as rules that have to be followed rather than just a high level model of how we tend to use the English language.

In other words, experience and example come first (reading and writing), rules come afterwards and are built on that foundation. What's more, the foundation changes with experience - it is alive. It occasionally takes time for the rules to catch up.

As an example, Email and Boards such as this one have created a new style of writing that hovers between formal writing and telephone conversation. The rules, or perhaps better, "protocols", are still evolving. You can see some of them evolve right here!

I'm not saying that knowing whether a word is a noun or adjective or adverb or verb is useless, but it is useless without seeing the word used in an appropriate context. Sounds like jmh's dictionary reference would be a good one on that count.

Quite useful to have an online dictionary to (virtual) hand if you're exploring words online. I'm currently using the Merriam Webster: http://www.webster.com but there are probably other recommendations around on AWAD.

Have fun!
Fisk

I bet you say that to all the boys!

Bingley,

Moitié moitié (half & half)

The first <to> is used for expressing an aim/intention to “welcome”. My aim is to welcome daurelie so I am using it as preposition.

Well caught on the second, it is a preposition. That’ll teach me to be talking grammar at 10:42 p.m. (our time) when I got up at 5:00 in the a.m.

In "wanted to welcome" I would have said "to" was part of the infinitive rather than a preposition, since prepositions are followed by noun phrases, pronouns, or -ing forms.

One of the problems in analysing English is that the same form of a word can function as different parts of speech: welcome is a prime example, acting as a noun (a welcome) or a verb (they welcome). To check whether it's acting as noun or verb substitute a word which has different forms, such as strengthen (verb) and strength (noun). We'd say wanted to strengthen rather than *wanted to strength .

Bingley

>welcome is a prime example, acting as a noun (a welcome) or a verb (they welcome)<

Or an adjective - the hot bath I had at the end of a long day today was most definitely welcome!

A noun is a Naming word
A verb is a Doing word
An adjective is a describing word (tells us about the noun)
An adverb describes a doing word (tells us about the verb)

The way we were taught it all is (to me) the best way, sometimes, to teach others.

Cathryn, welcome aBoard. I like that; thank you.

I think that one of the best ways to become more familiar with your mother tongue in a structured grammatical way is to learn a foreign language - preferably Latin (!!!!!!!!), but more practically, one like German whiich has quite a few formal rules.

The way we were taught it all is (to me) the best way, sometimes, to teach others.

I tend to agree.

Welcome back.

Well, daurelie, I said this board was the fount of all wisdom, didn't I?

You have a fair sample, here, of everything from Bingley's erudition and vast knowledge of the language, to Cathryns really useful rules of thumb, via shanks' and Fisk's interestingly discursive expositions.
The only thing that hasn't happened yet is a descent to the gutter - but there's plenty of time for that to happen - just watch this space

Yo Rhuby Tuesday!

Was it you sent daurelie here? Why hasn't she posted any more?

cheer

the sunshine warrior

Note to self: Read thread before posting.

Repeat one hundred times.


Daily.

Repeat one hundred times.

Daily


The only known way of overtaking shona

The only known way of overtaking shona.

I can't agree. I think these would work well:

A stick in the spokes
Fish oil on the road
Tell him the pub's at the other end of the road
...

tsk, tsk, tsk fellows. Play nice. Shona is our friend (what about a bucket of bait). You can`t try to stall him in his tracks like that (maybe one of those Daredevil lures) just because he multi-posts (ooo, worms, fish stop for worms all the time) especially since he does bring up a point (I've heard you can get 'm with a net) in every post.

bel, was that... like... um... subliminal posting?

Was it you sent daurelie here? Why hasn't she posted any more?

I sent her a private message, telling her she had some nice responses to her question. I did that because I've heard from someone who made one post, then couldn't find it again. I hoped a private message would encourage her to check, or at least ask for help if she needs it. We'll see.

(I've heard you can get 'm with a net)

To be sure, the only way to be sure is to use th'old dynamite, at all. 'Tis the way we kept Salmon on our plate during the bad ol' days.


N.B. - I have found that dynamited fish has a bad taste - almost as bad taste as this posting My apologies to you, Fisk, mien kaere venn.