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This page was composed by a credentialed teacher in California who loves Jesus. "The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." 1 Timothy 1:14

Directions: Move the arrow over or touch each highlighted word or segment and look for a definition or explanation in the box.
Click on footnote numbers for further discussions.
Bible quotes are in blue.
Quotes with Jesus speaking are referenced in red.

Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs

Nouns

A noun is used to name persons, things, animals, places, or ideas.
Nouns may name something that can't be touched (examples: hope, mercy, and grace).

... Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...
1 Timothy 1:15. [1]

Pronouns

A basic pronoun replaces a noun. The name of a person is replaced by the pronoun "He or She." Pronouns may represent people, places, or things.
Other examples of pronouns are: I, it, and they.

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 5:24

Verbs

Verbs usually describe the actions, of people, animals, places, or things.

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18.

Other verbs don't describe actions but link together parts of sentences. These verbs link subjects to additional information about the person or thing.

The Lord is my light and my salvation... Psalms 27:1 [2]
A linking verb links the subject of a sentence to its complement (a word or a group of words that identifies the subject and either renames it or modifies it).
Linking verbs include all forms of the verb "to be": "I am a student." "She is a student." "He was a student." They were students."

Other verbs that do not indicate physical actions are Stative verbs.
A good way to decide if a verb is stative or not is to see if it describes a state of feeling something, thinking about something, or having an opinion.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.

Adjectives

Adjectives modify nouns, pronouns, and other adjectives.
Adjectives modify nouns by adding information; they tell you more about nouns. Adjectives may precede nouns, or they may appear after a form of the verb to be (am, is, are, was, were).

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17.

The LORD is gracious and righteous ; our God is full of compassion. Psalm 116:5.
An adjective may be a number or a word expressing a sense of quantity.

"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36 [3]

Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Adverbs mostly tell more about verbs, but they may add information to adjectives or even other adverbs in a sentence. Adverbs are commonly formed from adjectives by adding ly to the end.

Some adverbs tell how something is done or was done.

Jesus willingly gave up his life for us all. [4]

Sometimes adverbs tell when something is done.

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13: 6-7.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions, such as and, but, and for, connect or join words, phrases, or clauses.

After His death, Mary looked and saw Jesus outside His tomb. John 19:14

Prepositions

Prepositions are mostly little words that are followed by nouns. Prepositions link phrases and add information in a sentence.

For there is one God and the mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. 1 Timothy 2:5-6.

A list of common prepositions:
above, across, after * , against, among, around, at, before * , behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, on, out, outside, over, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under, until * , up, upon, with, without.
* Sometimes these are at the beginning of dependent clauses which are joined to independent clauses.

Some prepositional phrases:
according to, because of, by way of, in addition to, in front of, in place of, in regard to, in spite of, instead of, on account of, out of.

Practice:

First, read the definitions below and recall the names of the parts of speech.
Then, move the mouse over each definition to see if you are correct.

Definitions:

1. first word of a prepositional phrase

2. modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb

3. joins words, phrases, or clauses

4. describes a noun or pronoun

5. substitutes for a noun

6. names a person, place, thing, or idea

7. expresses action or state of being

Footnotes:
[1] Jesus tells us in Mark 2: 17: "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." His apostle Paul considered himself a sinner and an example of one who needed to be saved.
[2] The fundamental principles in the Bible light the way for us to eternal life.
[3] Whatever pleasures or money or possessions we acquire on Earth are temporary.
[4] It was the will of God that His Son would die for us. Jesus acted in accordance with the will of God.





Bible Verse of the Day

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