PARTS OF SPEECH CONFUSION

Introduction

Words can function as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions or interjections. Most common errors made in PolyU students' written work involve incorrect word formation. There is often confusion between noun, adjective, adverb and verb forms and these have been categorised below.

Many English words can have several forms

e.g.   research can be either a verb or a noun, but has no adjectival or adverbial forms.

simple is an adjective. It has an adverbial form, simply, a noun form, simplicity, and a verb form, simplify.

success is a noun, but it also has adjectival, adverbial and verb forms: successful (adj), successfully (adv) and succeed (v).

regularly  is an adverb, but it also has noun, verb and adjectival forms: regulation (n), regulate (v) and regular (adj).

It is important to know the function of words in a sentence in order to use them correctly.

A good quality dictionary will clearly show the various forms of a word- and give examples.  You could use an online dictionary. Here are links to two recommended sites.

Encarta World English Dictionary (Accessed 7 February 2003)

http://www.wordsmyth.net/ (Accessed 7 February 2003)

Common confusions in parts of speech

In the sample sentences below, incorrect sentences come first with 7at the start and end of the sentence; incorrect items are in italic font.  Correct sentences come second, with correct items in bold font.

1.      Noun/verb confusion

A noun defines or names something. A verb expresses an action, something that happens or occurs, or a mode of being. Some nouns and verbs share the same form (e.g project, record) but usually they are different. Many nouns end in 'tion' or 'cion', 'ment' or 'ing'.  Verb forms vary according mainly to person, number and tense; they can also be active or passive.

 

Examples of noun/verb confusion:

The group were able to identity the most serious academic problem

(Incorrect use of noun: should be the verb form, identify)

At present, there is a lot of compete for good jobs

(Incorrect use of verb: should be the noun form, competition)

Common confusions of nouns and verbs include:

   Noun Verb
   Analysis Analyse
    Breath Breathe
   Choice Choose
    Complaint Complain
    Entry Enter
   Relaxation Relax
   Service Serve
   Success Succeed

2 .      Noun/adjective confusion

A noun defines or names something.

An adjective qualifies or tells us more about a noun or pronoun: it can be regular, comparative or superlative.

In a sentence, the qualifying adjective usually comes directly before the noun or noun phrase.

 

Examples of noun/adjective confusion:

As the members were aged from 15 to 55, it was a difficulty task to design a game to suit everyone

(Incorrect use of noun: should be the adjectival form, difficult)

The company demonstrated a great deal of successful in developing client relationships

(Incorrect use of adjective: should be the noun form, success)

The important of the case was emphasised

(Incorrect use of adjective: should be the noun form, importance)

 

3.      Adjective/adverb confusion

An adjective is a word that qualifies or tells us more about a noun or pronoun.

An adverb is a word that qualifies or tells us more about a verb (he studies diligently), or sometimes an adjective (an extremely expensive suit) or another adverb (she walked very slowly).

Many adverbs end in 'ly'.

 

Examples of adjective/adverb confusion:

A good business person should be proactively

 (Incorrect use of adverb: should be the adjectival form, proactive.)

She ready agreed to give her presentation

(Incorrect use of adjective: should be the adverbial form, readily.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.      Confusion with gerund or other noun forms

Nouns based on verbs can end in either 'ing' (the gerund) or another ending such as 'tion' or 'ment'.

If there is an object in the sentence, the gerund form is usually correct.

 

Examples of gerund and other noun form confusion.

Development a high quality product is of paramount importance .

Developing a high quality product is of paramount importance.

Manufacture  clothing in China is very cost effective.

Manufacturing clothing in China is very cost effective.

 

If there is no object in the sentence, the alternative to the gerund is usually used.

 

Developing is of paramount importance

Development is of paramount importance

 

4.      Confusion with different forms of same root noun

Nouns may have different forms, usually with slightly different meanings, which can be confusing.

 

She decided to move into a new flat to start a new living .

She decided to move into a new flat to start a new life.

(The first sentence has a gerund meaning ' means of earning' or 'way of life' instead of the correct noun form meaning 'existence'.)

 

5.      Confusion with pronoun form

A pronoun is an identifying word used instead of a noun. Personal pronouns, in English, are I, you, he/she/it, we, you (plural), and they. Possessive pronouns are my, your, his, her, its, our, their. Personal and possessive pronouns are sometimes confused. If a pronoun refers to a noun used previously, singular/plural agreement may be incorrect.

 

Examples of incorrect pronoun forms:

All employees have been notified that their are to be made redundant.

All employees have been notified that they are to be made redundant.

The MD has seen the contracts and he wants it substantially altered.

The MD has seen the contracts and he wants them substantially altered.

 

This website explains the rules of pronoun agreement and gives self check exercises.

http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/gpack/grammar/index.htm
(Accessed 7 February 2003)

6.      Confusion with adjective form

a)  adjectives ending in ED and ING

Some adjectives are actually participles (verb forms with -ing and -ed endings). They can be confusing¡Kor you can be confused.

Generally, the -ed ending means that the noun so described has a passive role:  you are confused by something (the subject matter, the way it is presented etc).  The -ed  ending modifiers are often accompanied by prepositions and often describe the human reaction to something.

The -ing ending means that the noun described has a more active role: if the help pages do not seem to clarify the point, they are confusing (to you and others).

 

e.g.   I am confused about the new fire drill arrangements.

A number of confusing messages were left by the I.T. Department.

My parents were disappointed by my poor achievement.

The rainy weather was disappointing.

That was a very satisfying meal.

The review panel were very satisfied with the new online course.

The Committee are all excited about the new project.

The new project is very exciting.

I am never bored in my free time.

My free time is never boring.

 

This website gives more information on 'ed' and 'ing' participles.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/adjectiv/xadjv6.htm
(Accessed 7 February 2003)

This website gives quizzes on 'ed' and 'ing' participles.

http://members.aol.com/adultbasicskills/eding.doc
(Accessed 7 February 2003)

b) Omission of 'd' in adjectives ending in 'ed'

Hong Kong writers sometimes have a tendency to make this mistake:

 

e.g.  Our Company uses the most advance technology.

Our Company uses the most advanced technology

Detail information is required from candidates.

Detailed information is required from candidates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Additional Links

This website allows you to check your understanding of basic sentence parts.

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/games/wrdframe.html
(Accessed 7 February 2003)

This website is a reference site and links to some games to test your knowledge and to practise sentence analysis.

http://teach.fhu.edu/technology/EDU506/WebQuests/parts/partspeech.html
(Accessed 7 February 2003)

This website gives you practice at analysing sentences.

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/bodyparts.htm
(Accessed 7 February 2003)

This website is a game in which you help the gorillas to identify parts of speech.
http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/
(Accessed 7 February 2003)