Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your NMAT exam.

Parts of Speech — Key Facts

The 8 Parts of Speech

Part	Function	Examples
Noun	Names a person, place, thing, idea	book, Manila, freedom
Pronoun	Replaces a noun	he, she, they, it
Verb	Expresses action or state	run, think, is
Adjective	Describes a noun	beautiful, tall, Filipino
Adverb	Modifies verb, adjective, or another adverb	quickly, very, always
Preposition	Shows relationship between noun and other words	in, on, at, through
Conjunction	Connects words or clauses	and, but, because
Interjection	Expresses emotion	Wow!, Ouch!, Ay!

Sentence Types

• Simple: One independent clause
• Compound: Two or more independent clauses (joined by conjunction)
• Complex: One independent + one or more dependent clauses
• Compound-Complex: Two or more independent + one or more dependent clauses

⚡ NMAT High-Yield: Identify the 8 parts of speech quickly. Focus on distinguishing verbs from nouns, and adjectives from adverbs.

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Chapter: Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure

1.1 Nouns

Types of Nouns

1. Common Noun: General name (city, student)
2. Proper Noun: Specific name (Manila, Juan)
3. Concrete Noun: Can be perceived by senses (table, music)
4. Abstract Noun: Cannot be perceived (love, justice)
5. Countable Noun: Can be counted (apple, ideas)
6. Uncountable Noun: Cannot be counted (water, information)
7. Collective Noun: Group (team, class, faculty)

Noun Rules for NMAT

• Countable nouns can have singular/plural forms
• Uncountable nouns take singular verbs
• Collective nouns: American English (team IS); British English (team ARE)

1.2 Pronouns

Types

1. Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
2. Possessive: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, its, our, their
3. Reflexive: myself, yourself, themselves
4. Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
5. Interrogative: who, whom, whose, which, what
6. Relative: who, whom, whose, which, that
7. Indefinite: someone, anyone, everyone, no one

Common Errors

• Its vs It’s: Its (possessive) vs It’s (it is/it has)
• Their vs There vs They’re: Their (possessive), There (place), They’re (they are)
• Who vs Whom: Who (subject), Whom (object)

1.3 Verbs

Types

1. Action verbs: Physical or mental action (run, think)
2. Linking verbs: Connect subject to complement (be, seem, become)
3. Helping/Auxiliary verbs: Help main verb (have, will, can)

Verb Tenses

Tense	Simple	Continuous	Perfect	Perfect Continuous
Present	works	is working	has worked	has been working
Past	worked	was working	had worked	had been working
Future	will work	will be working	will have worked	will have been working

Important Distinctions

• Lie vs Lay: Lie (recline — no object), Lay (place — takes object)
• Sit vs Set: Sit (no object), Set (object)
• Rise vs Raise: Rise (no object), Raise (object)
• Teach vs Learn: Teacher teaches; student learns

1.4 Adjectives

Types

1. Descriptive: big, beautiful, kind
2. Quantitative: one, few, many
3. Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
4. Possessive: my, his, their
5. Interrogative: which, what
6. Proper: Filipino, Christian, Asian

Order of Adjectives (Royal Order)

When multiple adjectives modify a noun, the order is:

1. Opinion/evaluation
2. Size
3. Age
4. Shape
5. Color
6. Origin
7. Material
8. Purpose

Example: “A beautiful small old round brown Filipino woven table mat”

Comparison

• Positive: tall
• Comparative: taller (than)
• Superlative: tallest (the)
• Irregular: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, many/more/most

1.5 Adverbs

Types

1. Manner: quickly, slowly, well
2. Time: yesterday, tomorrow, now
3. Place: here, there, everywhere
4. Frequency: always, often, never
5. Degree: very, quite, too, almost
6. Reason: therefore, consequently

Key Distinction: Adjective vs Adverb

• Adjective modifies NOUN: “She is beautiful”
• Adverb modifies VERB/ADJECTIVE/ADVERB: “She sings beautifully”

Common confusion:

• “Good” (adj) vs “Well” (adv): “She is good at English” vs “She speaks well”
• “Hard” can be both: “She works hard” (adv) vs “That is hard work” (adj)

1.6 Prepositions

Common Prepositions

• Place: in, on, at, by, between, among, under, over, above, below, inside, outside
• Time: in (month/year), on (day), at (time)
• Movement: to, from, through, across, along, into, out of
• Other: with, without, about, for, against, despite

Prepositional Expressions

• In spite of / Despite: + noun/gerund (despite the rain)
• Because of / Due to: + noun (due to illness)
• In order to / So as to: + verb (in order to succeed)

1.7 Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS)

For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So

• Join independent clauses: “She studied and she passed.”

Subordinating Conjunctions

• Time: when, while, before, after, since, until
• Cause/Effect: because, since, as, so that
• Condition: if, unless, provided that
• Contrast: although, though, even though, whereas, while

Correlative Conjunctions

• Both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also

1.8 Sentence Structure

Independent vs Dependent Clauses

• Independent clause: Can stand alone as sentence
• Dependent clause: Cannot stand alone (needs independent clause)

Simple Sentence

“One independent clause”

• “The NMAT measures academic aptitude.”

Compound Sentence

“Two or more independent clauses joined by conjunction or semicolon”

• “The NMAT is challenging, but it is passable.”

Complex Sentence

“One independent + one or more dependent clauses”

• “Because the NMAT is challenging, students should prepare thoroughly.”

Compound-Complex Sentence

“Two or more independent + one or more dependent clauses”

• “Students prepare because the NMAT is important, and they want to enter medical school.”

1.9 NMAT Grammar Tips

1. Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular subject → singular verb
2. Parallel Structure: In lists, all items should be grammatically parallel
   • “She likes reading, writing, and to revise” ✗ → “reading, writing, and revising” ✓
3. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement: Pronoun must match its noun in number and gender
4. Tense Consistency: Don’t shift tenses unnecessarily within a paragraph

1.10 NMAT High-Yield Points

⚡ Commonly Asked:

1. 8 Parts of Speech: Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection
2. Adjective vs Adverb: Adjective modifies noun; adverb modifies verb/adjective/adverb
3. Its vs It’s: Its (possessive), It’s (it is/it has)
4. Who vs Whom: Who (subject), Whom (object)
5. Sit vs Set: Sit (no object), Set (takes object)
6. Lie vs Lay: Lie (recline), Lay (place something)
7. Parallel structure: All items in list must be grammatically parallel
8. Adjective order: Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin
9. Compound sentence: FANBOYS conjunctions
10. Complex sentence: Independent + dependent clause