Parts of Speech

The parts of speech are the basic categories of words that are used to classify and describe the functions of words in a sentence. Are you struggling to identify the parts of speech in a sentence? This article will help you understand the nine parts of speech in English grammar and their functions. With clear examples and easy-to-follow explanations, you’ll gain the knowledge and confidence to improve your writing skills.

Basically, there are eight parts of speech in the English language. Although, some consider determiners as adjectives, they have a significant importance in a sentence. Therefore, determiners are also considered as a separate part of speech in modern grammar, making it nine parts of speech.

First, let’s briefly revise the definitions of the above nine parts of speech.

Nouns

Nouns are ‘naming words’. A noun is a term that refers to someone (a person), somewhere (a place), or something (a thing). So, a noun is a term that describes whatever we can see or talk about. Nouns can be singular or plural, and also many types such as common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, compound nouns, collective nouns, countable nouns and uncountable nouns. (Read the lesson Types of nouns)

Examples:

• She is a pretty girl.
• This baby is cute.
• Peter is growing flowers.
• Melbourne is a beautiful city.
• I cleaned my bathroom last Friday.

Pronouns

A pronoun replaces a noun in a sentence. So, a pronoun is a term that is used in place of a noun.

Examples:

Jake is a kind boy. He likes to help everyone.

In the above example both sentences talk about one person, ‘Jake’. Therefore, ‘he’ is used instead of using ‘Jake’ again. So, ‘He’ in the second sentence refers to ‘Jake’ and it is the pronoun.

• Rebecca’s parents are rich. They have a family business..
• Susi likes fishing. She goes fishing every weekend.
• This house is not just mine. It’s ours.
• Eddie is very generous. He never thinks only about himself.

Verbs

Verbs are ‘doing words’. A verb describes an action or a state of being. A verb typically describes what the subject of a sentence is doing. So, verbs are also called ‘action words’.

Action words – type, read, drink, watch, dance, walk, talk, become

State of being verbs – am, are, is, was, were, be, being, been

Examples:

• Paul dances well.
• Sheila is typing a letter.
• She will become an artist one day.
• Isla and Tom are good musicians.
• He was taken to the hospital.

Adverbs

An adverb describes how an action is done. Adverbs usually modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, clauses or sentences. Many adverbs end in –ly.

Examples:

• He agreed quickly with the point I made.
• Carmen gently touched her baby’s hand.
• Johnathan swims fast.
• I waited patiently until she arrived.
• Jerome works hard to get good grades.

Adjectives

An adjective is a term that describes a noun. It adds additional information to the noun that is being described.

Examples:

• I live in a beautiful house.
• There is a South African boy in my class.
• Viola bought a new leather handbag.
• Your table is smaller than mine.
• She is very clever.

Prepositions

Prepositions are used before nouns, pronouns or phrases. It shows the relationship between the other words in a sentence such as time, place, direction etc.

Examples:

• Jack was reading under a pear tree.
• The cat slept on the cushion.
• Keep the plant by the window.
• Sam hid behind his mother.
• We can’t go across the river.

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a grammatical term used to describe a word or phrase that links together two clauses in a sentence. Conjunctions serve to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences and indicate the relationship between the ideas being expressed. Conjunctions are classified into several types such as coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions.

Examples:

• She was sleepy, but she wanted to finish the assignment. (coordinating conjunction)
• Although it was a hot day, he decided to wear a hoodie. (subordinating conjunction)
• Both the dog and the cat slept on the bed. (correlative conjunction)
• I will study for the exam tomorrow, or I will fail. (coordinating conjunction)
• Because she was tired, she bought take away food. (subordinating conjunction)

Interjections

Interjection is a type of word or phrase used to express strong feelings, emotions or reactions in speech or writing. It is typically an exclamation that does not fit into the normal structure of a sentence and is often used to express surprise, excitement, joy, anger, frustration, or any other strong emotion.

Examples:

• Wow! That’s amazing!
• Oh no! I forgot my keys at home.
• Hurrah! We won the game!
• Yikes! That was close.
• Oops! I spilled my drink all over my shirt.

Determiners

A determiner is a word used before a noun to indicate the reference of the noun in a sentence. It serves to limit, identify or specify the noun. Some common determiners include articles (a, an, the), possessive nouns, quantifiers (some, many, few, several), and numbers.

Examples:

• The cat slept on the bed.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
• Several books are on the shelf.
• My sister‘s car is red.
• Ten dogs were barking in the park.

Now, let’s look at the following sentence and try to name all the parts of speech in it.

“The old lady gave us a very beautiful teapot from an Egyptian traveler that she met many years ago, and then she softly said, “Aw, the most amazing gift that I ever had!”.

Now let’s get each word of the above sentence and see which part of speech that it belongs to.

Now try all Parts of Speech worksheets and Quizzes!