Book 2 — The Parts of Speech
Reading edition
Three little words you often see
Are articles a, an, and the.
A noun's the name of anything,
As house or garden, hoop or swing.
Instead of nouns the pronouns stand—
Her head, your face, his arm, my hand.
Adjectives tell the kind of noun,
As great, small, pretty, white or brown.
Verbs tell something to be done—
To read, count, sing, laugh or run.
How things are done the adverbs tell,
As slowly, quickly, ill or well.
Conjunctions join the words together,
As men and women, wind or weather.
The preposition stands before
A noun, as in or through a door.
The interjection shows surprise,
As oh! how pretty, ah! how wise.
The whole are called nine parts of speech,
Which reading, writing, speaking teach.