Parts of Speech

Plot
Eric and David explain four important parts of speech.

Transcript
(Brian and David are sitting on a hill, tossing rocks into a lake)

Caption: Today's Lesson: Parts of Speech.

Narrator: Today, Brian and David are going to explain four important parts of speech.

Brian: Well, I don't know if we can cover all the parts of speech in one video, but I think we can at least explain the basics.

David: Words can help us talk about the world, and we divide them into categories based on what they do. Let's start with nouns.

Brian: A noun describes a person, place, thing, or idea. For example, we're sitting on a hill. A hill's a place, and also a thing. Either way, the word "hill" is a noun.

(A mockingbird lands on David's shoulder)

David: Oh, look, a mockingbird!

Brian: "Mockingbird" describes a noun, since it describes a thing.

David: I'm a boy. "Boy" is a noun, describing a person. Me.

Brian: Let's move on to verbs. A verb describes an action.

(The mockingbird flies away)

Brian: "Fly" is a verb.

(David picks up a stone and throws it)

Brian: "David throws a rock into the lake". "Throw" is a verb.

(The rock sinks to the bottom of the lake)

David: The rock sinks to the bottom. "Sink" is also a verb.

Brian: Let's move on to adjectives. Adjectives describe or modify nouns. For example, "striped" would be an adjective to describe the shirt that David is wearing. David wears a striped shirt.

David: This lake is big. "Big" is an adjective that describes the lake.

Brian: Now, let's talk about adverbs. Adverbs describe or modify verbs, and sometimes adjectives or other adverbs.

(Suddenly, they hear a splash. David stands up and sees something come out of th water)

Brian: David stands up quickly. "Quickly" is the adverb here, telling us how fast David stood up.

(An enormous entity shadows Brian and David. Brian is unaware of it, but David is frightened)

David: Aaaeeeee!

Brian: David cries very loudly. Here, the adverb "loudly" tells us how David cries, and the adverb "very" modifies loudly, intensifying the effect. Hey, David, what are you so frightened of?

David: Look! Look! A giant, scary monster just came out of the water!

Brian: What monster?

(Brian looks up and sees a giant monster. The monster roars at Brian and David)

Brian: Oh. Here's a sentence that uses nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Seeing the giant, hungry monster, Brian and Eric quickly ran home. Guess we should actually do that.

David: Let's get outta here!

(Brian and David run away)

Quiz

 * Question 1: Which of the following words is a noun?
 * Homework
 * Puzzled
 * Wrote
 * Difficult
 * Question 2: An "action word" is another term for:
 * Noun
 * Verb
 * Adjective
 * Adverb
 * Question 3: In the sentence, "Brian's teacher assigned ten math problems for homework", what is the verb?
 * Teacher
 * Assigned
 * Math
 * Problems
 * Question 4: What is the relationship between nouns and adjectives?
 * Adjectives describe the actions that nouns take
 * Adjectives have nothing to do with nouns
 * Adjectives come before nouns in sentences
 * Adjectives describe the different qualities of nouns
 * Question 5: In the sentence, "The red car sped quickly down the street", what is the adjective?
 * Red
 * Car
 * Quickly
 * Sped
 * Question 6: In which of the following sentences is the word "skis" used as a verb?
 * Eric needs a new pair of skis
 * Karen's skis are blue
 * David skis down the mountain
 * We attached the skis to the roof of the car
 * Question 7: In the sentence, "Paul strolls slowly down Main Street", what part of speech is the word "slowly"?
 * Noun
 * Verb
 * Adjective
 * Adverb
 * Question 8: What might happen if you removed the adjectives from the sentence, "The large red dog slobbered all over Mike's baseball cards"?
 * You wouldn't know whose baseball cards they were
 * You wouldn't know the size or color of the dog
 * You wouldn't know what the dog did
 * You wouldn't know that it was a dog doing the slobbering
 * Question 9: How many nouns are there in the sentence, "Kayla and Kate went shopping at the mall, and bought two new sweaters"?
 * One
 * Two
 * Three
 * Four
 * Question 10: What is the adverb in the sentence, "The ghoulish zombies looked hungrily at the elementary school students"?
 * Hungrily
 * Ghoulish
 * Elementary
 * Zombies