Chapter 1: The Building Blocks – Parts of Speech & Sentence Structure

Chapter 1: The Building Blocks – Parts of Speech & Sentence Structure

Every language has fundamental components. In English, understanding the different roles words play (Parts of Speech) and how they combine to form sentences is the first step to mastering grammar.

1.1 Why Start Here?

Imagine trying to build a house without knowing the difference between a brick, a window, and a door. Similarly, you can’t construct correct English sentences without understanding the basic word types. Identifying parts of speech helps you:

• Choose the correct word form in TOEIC Part 5 (e.g., economy, economic, economical, economize).

• Understand the relationships between words in a sentence.

• Build your own grammatically sound sentences.

1.2 The Main Parts of Speech

Let’s explore the essential word categories you’ll encounter constantly.

A. Nouns (คำนาม)

Nouns name people, places, things, or ideas. They are fundamental and often act as the subject or object in a sentence.

• People: manager, employee, client, customer, colleague, supervisor, Mr. Jones, accountant

• Places: office, factory, warehouse, meeting room, headquarters, city, country, department

• Things: report, computer, email, product, machine, telephone, contract, invoice, presentation

• Ideas/Concepts: information, quality, efficiency, deadline, policy, proposal, success, communication, management

• Countable vs. Uncountable: Some nouns can be counted (one report, two reports), while others usually cannot (information, advice, equipment, furniture). This affects article usage (a/an, the) and verb agreement, which we’ll cover later.

• TOEIC Context:

• “The meeting will begin at 10 AM.”

• “Please submit your expense reports by Friday.”

• “Ms. Chen requested the sales figures.”

• “Customer satisfaction is our top priority.”

B. Pronouns (คำสรรพนาม)

Pronouns replace nouns to avoid awkward repetition.

• Subject Pronouns: (Perform the action) I, you, he, she, it, we, they

• “She manages the marketing team.” (She = the manager)

• Object Pronouns: (Receive the action) me, you, him, her, it, us, them

• “The director gave him the instructions.” (him = the employee)

• Possessive Adjectives: (Show ownership, used before a noun) my, your, his, her, its, our, their

• “Our quarterly results are positive.”

• Possessive Pronouns: (Show ownership, stand alone) mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs

• “This report is mine. Where is yours?”

• Reflexive Pronouns: (Refer back to the subject) myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

• “He prepared the presentation himself.”

• TOEIC Context:

• “They need to confirm their attendance.”

• “Please send the document to us.”

• “It needs to be repaired immediately.”

C. Verbs (คำกริยา)

Verbs express actions or states of being. They are the core of the sentence.

• Action Verbs: Describe an action.

• Physical: run, walk, type, send, carry, deliver, manufacture

• Mental: think, know, understand, believe, analyze, plan, decide

• State of Being Verbs (Linking Verbs): Connect the subject to information about it. The most common is be (am, is, are, was, were, been, being). Others include seem, appear, become, feel, look, sound.

• “The report is comprehensive.” (Connects ‘report’ to ‘comprehensive’)

• “She seems qualified for the position.”

• TOEIC Context:

• “The company develops innovative software.”

• “All employees must attend the safety training.”

• “The new policy will be effective next month.”

• “He became the regional manager last year.”

D. Adjectives (คำคุณศัพท์)

Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns, providing more detail. They answer questions like: What kind? Which one? How many?

• Examples: efficient, new, important, urgent, final, annual, monthly, large, available, responsible, successful, international

• Placement: Usually before the noun (“an urgent message”) or after a linking verb (“The message is urgent.”).

• TOEIC Context:

• “We need a reliable supplier.”

• “The financial report is ready.”

• “This is the most suitable option.”

• “The updated schedule is posted online.”

E. Adverbs (คำกริยาวิเศษณ์)

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They often tell how, when, where, why, or how often something happens. Many (but not all) end in -ly.

• Modify Verbs: “She works efficiently.” (How does she work?)

• Modify Adjectives: “The report is extremely detailed.” (How detailed?)

• Modify Other Adverbs: “He finished very quickly.” (How quickly?)

• Types & Examples:

• Manner: carefully, quickly, well, efficiently, properly

• Time: soon, tomorrow, yesterday, now, already, recently

• Place: here, there, everywhere, upstairs, locally

• Frequency: often, usually, sometimes, always, never, annually

• Degree: very, extremely, quite, too, enough, highly

• TOEIC Context:

• “Please complete the form accurately.”

• “The shipment arrived yesterday.”

• “We regularly update our software.”

• “The presentation was remarkably successful.”

1.3 Basic Sentence Structure

The most common sentence pattern in English is Subject-Verb-Object (S-V-O).

• Subject (S): The noun or pronoun performing the action.

• Verb (V): The action or state of being.

• Object (O): The noun or pronoun receiving the action (if applicable).

Examples:

| Subject (Who/What?) | Verb (Action/State) | Object/Complement/Adverbial (What/Whom/Other Info?) |

| The manager | approved | the budget. (O) |

| We | will discuss | the proposal. (O) |

| Shipments | arrive | daily. (Adverbial – when?) |

| The system | is | offline. (Complement – describes subject) |

| He | works | in the finance department. (Adverbial – where?) |

• Key: Identifying the Subject and main Verb is crucial for understanding any sentence. Modifiers (adjectives, adverbs) and prepositional phrases add detail but aren’t the core structure.

1.4 Practice Exercises

Exercise 1.1: Identifying Parts of Speech

Identify the part of speech for each underlined word (Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb).

1. The company launched a new product successfully. (Noun, Adjective, Adverb)

2. She carefully reviewed the financial documents. (Pronoun, Adverb, Adjective)

3. They will meet tomorrow to discuss the details. (Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Noun)

4. The updated software is very user-friendly. (Adjective, Adverb, Adjective)

5. Please send me the final report immediately. (Pronoun, Adjective, Adverb)

Exercise 1.2: Identifying Sentence Components

Identify the Subject (S), Verb (V), and Object (O) or Complement (C) in the following sentences.

1. The marketing team created an effective advertising campaign. (S=marketing team, V=created, O=advertising campaign)

2. Mr. Harrison manages the international sales division. (S=Mr. Harrison, V=manages, O=sales division)

3. The deadline is next Tuesday. (S=deadline, V=is, C=next Tuesday)

4. We received your inquiry yesterday. (S=We, V=received, O=inquiry)

5. The new office building looks impressive. (S=office building, V=looks, C=impressive)

Exercise 1.3: Choosing the Correct Word Form (TOEIC Part 5 Style)

Choose the best word to complete the sentence.

1. The company reported a ______ increase in profits last quarter.
   (A) signify
   (B) significant
   (C) significantly
   (D) significance
   Answer: (B) significant (adjective modifying ‘increase’)

2. All employees must complete the safety training ______.
   (A) annual
   (B) annually
   (C) annul
   (D) annuity
   Answer: (B) annually (adverb modifying ‘complete’)

3. Ms. Cho is responsible for the ______ of the project.
   (A) manage
   (B) manageable
   (C) management
   (D) manager
   Answer: (C) management (noun following ‘the’)