Parts of Speech. Which parts of speech have we learned about thus far?

Transcription

1 Parts of Speech Which parts of speech have we learned about thus far? Nombre o Sustantivo () person, place or thing Artículo (Article) identify a noun Pronombre (Pronoun) - represents a noun o () action performed by a noun Adjetivo (Adjective) modify a noun Using the Parts of Speech: The basis of a sentence incorporates an article, a noun and a verb. Syntax dictates that the article is placed before the noun, and the noun is placed before the verb. Ex. El libro es. The book is. libro book es is While this is a sentence, it is quite general and begs more information. The reason why more information is desired is because the verb SER ( to be ) represented by the conjugated verb es ( is ) is a type of verb called a linking verb and traditionally, a linking verb links additional and/or identifying information to the noun. Additional information can appear in the form of an adjective. Ex. El libro es rojo. The book is red. libro book es is Adjective rojo red If we look at our sentence now, we notice that syntax dictates that the article is placed before the noun, the noun is placed before the verb, and the adjective is place after the verb, but more importantly the adjective is placed after the noun. At this point, do you notice how a lot of the function and flow of the sentence is based on the noun? The noun is integral in how the sentence works. For example, if the noun were to change from singular to plural, how would that change the rest of the sentence? Ex. El libro es rojo. The book is red. Ex. Los libros son rojos. The books are red. libro book es is Adjective rojo red Article los the libros books son are Adjective rojos red You can see the differences more when you compare the Spanish sentences. Every word went from singular to plural.

2 Of the all the parts of speech listed above the only one that we have not yet discussed is the pronoun. In Spanish, the first pronouns we learn about refer to people. The syntax from our previous sentence still applies. Ex. A. El libro es. The book is. Ex. B. Juan es. Juan is. Ex. A Ex. B libro book Juan Juan es is es is Again, since es (is), is a linking verb, we need more information to describe Juan, in the same way we need more information to describe the libro (book). Ex. A. El libro es rojo. The book is red. Ex. B. Juan es alto. Juan is tall. Ex. A Ex. B libro book Juan Juan es is es is Adjective rojo red alto tall If context already identifies a person (in this case identified with the proper name Juan), you can use a pronoun to avoid repetition. The most effective way to identify context is to pose a question. Q: Es alto Juan? A: Sí, él es alto. Juan Juan es is Adjective alto tall ~ Pronoun él he es is Adjective alto tall So now that we have 1) an idea as to how the parts of speech function, as well as, 2) the general demands of syntax (word order), we can explore some details and also introduce some new information. The first detail is the kind of verbs we use. As I mentioned before, there are linking verbs that we use, like SER, that help link information to a noun. There is another kind of verb called an action verb. Action verbs can be described as outward, visible actions that, simply, can be acted out. The verb SER (to be) is not an action verb, however the verb LIMPIAR (to clean) is. EX. Juan limpia. Juan cleans. Juan EX. Él limpia. He cleans. Pronoun él (he) At this point there is some additional information that we can derive from these simple sentences. First of all, the action of the sentence is limpia. The verb limpia is the conjugated form of the infinitive verb LIMPIAR. Let s review the

3 definition of conjugation. Conjugation is to assign someone or something to do an action. In this case Juan is assigned to do the action of LIMPIAR, and the result, after applying agreement rules is Juan limpia. Since Juan is performing (acting out) the action of LIMPIAR, Juan is the subject of the sentence. EX. Juan limpia. Juan cleans. Likewise, if the sentence includes a pronoun, instead of the proper noun Juan, then the pronoun is more specifically identified as a subject pronoun (a pronoun that represents the person assigned to do action). To be even more specific, since él refers to a human subject, it is really a personal subject pronoun. As always we should consider and apply the elements of agreement. EX. Él limpia. He cleans. Pronoun él (he) (singular, masculine, subject pronoun assigned to perform the action) It is obvious that the sentence as it appears is very simple and inevitably more information is desirable. Let s introduce another aspect to the sentence, because logically Juan could be cleaning something. EX. Juan limpia la casa. Juan cleans the house. Juan casa Now that we have two proper nouns in the sentence, we also have the possibility of modifying the sentences with personal subject pronouns. EX. A. Juan limpia la casa. Juan cleans the house. EX. B. Él limpia la casa. He cleans the house. Since Juan has already been identified as the subject in the sentence, what importance and or function does la casa play in the sentence? It has already been established that since Juan is assigned to do the action, la casa is not eligible to be the subject, however, la casa, has a relationship with the action: la casa is the object of the action. The object of sentence receives the action of the verb. EX. Juan limpia la casa. Juan cleans the house. la casa (object receives the action) Since la casa is the only direct recipient of the action, la casa can also be identified as the direct object. la casa (direct object receives the action)

4 And if Juan is a subject and él is a subject pronoun, then la casa is an object; the pronoun that would take the place of la casa, is la, which is also known as the object pronoun. Since la casa is the only direct recipient of the action and la casa can also be identified as the direct object, then la would be the direct object pronoun*. EX. C. Juan limpia la casa. Juan cleans the house. EX. D. Él la limpia. He cleans it. *The Direct Object Pronouns in Spanish: me, te, lo/la, nos, os, los/las. Say, we want to add more information to the sentence? EX. Juan limpia la casa para Ana. Juan cleans the house for Ana. la casa (direct object receives the action) para Ana (for Ana) Since la casa is the only direct recipient of the action, la casa is identified as the direct object. What relationship does Ana have with the action? Does Juan clean Ana? Or, does Juan clean for Ana? Juan is cleaning for Ana, or on Ana s behalf, so Ana receives the action by way of the house, la casa; Ana is the indirect object of Juan s action. The use of object pronouns is only relevant if context allows and/or dictates that you should use a pronoun to avoid repetition or redundancy. The best way to establish context is through question and answer. Q: Juan limpia la casa para Ana? Does Juan clean the house for Ana? A: Sí, Juan la limpia para ella. Yes, Juan cleans it for her. The answer can be simplified even more if we employ a subject pronoun for Juan in the answer. A: Sí, él la limpia para ella. Yes, he cleans it for her. There is much more to learn when it comes to parts of speech, but this is just a preliminary lesson. Nevertheless, with the information in this presentation we can recognize some fundamental truths. Fundamental Truths 1. Sometimes nouns can be subjects. 2. Sometimes nouns can be objects. 3. Sometimes pronouns can be object pronouns. 4. Sometime pronouns can be subject pronouns. 5. Agreement is always a factor to consider when dealing with parts of speech.

5 The following is a summary of the general and important characteristics of the Parts of Speech we should know. 1. Nombre o Sustantivo () person, place or thing a. s can be singular or plural, masculine or feminine. 2. Artículo (Article) identify a noun a. There are definite articles and indefinite articles. b. Articles agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. c. Articles are placed in front of the noun they modify. 3. Pronombre (Pronoun) - represents a noun a. There are different types of pronouns i. Personal Subject Pronouns ii. Possesive Pronouns iii. Direct Object Pronouns iv. Indirect Object Pronouns v. Demonstrative Pronouns b. Placement of pronouns is usually right in front of the verb. 4. o () action performed by a noun 5. Adjetivo (Adjective) modify a noun a. There are different types of adjectives. i. *Descriptive quality, size, identifying- agree in gender /number with the noun/s they modify; descriptive adjectives are placed after the noun they modify. 1. Los coches son rojos. ii. Numerical quantity agree in gender and number with the noun/s they modify; numerical adjectives are placed before the noun they modify. 1. Hay doscientos coches rojos en el garaje. iii. Possessive ownership - agree in gender and number with the noun/s they modify; numerical adjectives are placed before the noun they modify. 1. Mis coches son rojos. iv. Demonstrative - agree in gender and number with the noun/s they modify; numerical adjectives are placed before the noun they modify. 1. Estos coches son rojos.