Parts of Speech

Words are divided into different kinds or classes, called parts of speech, according to their use; that is, according to the work they do in a sentence.                        -Wren and Martin.

Words used in a sentence are called ‘Parts of Speech’.

• • • They finished the work in time. (Pronoun)
    • Hira helps me in times of danger. (Noun)
    • Government is of the people, by the people and for the people. (Preposition)

Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection.

However, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next. Look carefully at the following examples.

• • • The book is in the box. (Preposition)
    • Sarah came in. (Adverb)
    • Kendra booked the air ticket. (Verb)
    • We found the book interesting. (Noun)

1. Nouns: A noun is a naming word. It is used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. The underlined words in the following sentences are all nouns:

• • • The moon moves round the earth.
    • Munira dreams of a new world.
    • According to Plutarch, the library at Alexandria was destroyed in 48 B.C
    • Philosophy is of little comfort to the starving.

There are FOUR types of Nouns: the concrete noun, the abstract noun, the countable noun(also called the count noun), and the uncountable noun(also called the mass noun).

Learn More about Nouns!

2. Pronouns: A pronoun is a word that replaces or substitutes a noun or another pronoun, that is to say, a pronoun is a substitutive word.

You use pronouns like “he,” “which,” “none,” and “you” to make your sentences less cumbersome and less repetitive.

Grammarians classify pronouns into several types, including the personal pronoun, the demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative pronoun, the indefinite pronoun, the relative pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the intensive pronoun.

Learn More about Pronouns!

3. Adjectives: An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.

In the following examples, the underlined words are adjectives:

• • • The truck-shaped balloon floated over the treetops.
    • Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with hideous wallpaper.
    • The small boat foundered on the wine  dark sea.
    • The coal mines are dark and dank.
    • Many stores have already begun to play irritating Christmas music.
    • A battered music box sat on the mahogany sideboard.
    • The back room was filled with large, yellow rain boots.

An adjective can be modified by an adverb, or by a phrase or clause functioning as an adverb. In the sentence

• • • My husband knits intricately patterned mittens.

for example, the adverb “intricately” modifies the adjective “patterned.”

Some nouns, many pronouns, and many participle phrases can also act as adjectives. In the sentence

• • • Eleanor listened to the muffled sounds of the radio hidden under her pillow.

for example, both underlined adjectives are past participles.

Grammarians also consider articles (“the,” “a,” “an”) to be adjectives.

Kinds of Adjectives:

Adjectives are classified into EIGHT types: the proper adjective, adjectives of quality, adjectives of quantity, adjectives of number, the possessive adjective, the demonstrative adjective, the indefinite adjective, and the interrogative adjective.

Learn More about Adjectives!

4. Verbs: A verb is a word that asserts something about the subject of the sentence and expresses actions, events, or states of being.

A verb is a word that expresses:

• • A physical action (e.g., “to swim,” “to write,” “to climb”).
  • A mental action (e.g., “to think,” “to guess,” “to consider”).
  • A state of being (e.g., “to be,” “to exist,” “to appear”).

You might find it useful to think of verbs as “doing” words.

Look at the diagram below to understand the classification of verbs.

Learn More about Verbs!

5. Adverbs: An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as “how,” “when,” “where,” “how much”.

While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic “ly” suffix, most of them must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the sentence or clause as a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various places within the sentence.

In the following examples, each of underlined words is an adverb:

• • • The girl is very beautiful (modifies an adjective)
    • He walks slowly (modifies a verb)
    • He walks very slowly. (modifies  an adverb)
    • I went there only to meet her. (modifies an adverb)
    • This is an alternative only to success. (modifies a preposition)
    • You can remain safe only by doing the work. (modifies a preposition)
    • Unfortunately, the bank closed at three. (modifies the entire sentence)

 Adverbs are classified into three types. Look at the diagram below:

	Adverb
Simple Adverb	Relative Adv./ Conju. Adv.	Interrogative Adv.

Learn More about Adverbs!

6. Prepositions: A preposition is a word that sits before a noun or a pronoun and relates it with other parts of speech.

The underlined words in the following sentences are all prepositions:

• • • He looked at me.
    • The cat fell into the well.
    • We should side with justice.
    • Do not hanker after wealth.
    • It is about 3:40 P.M.

Types of Preposition

Most of the prepositions have many uses. There are some prepositions that are common in every type of preposition as they function in a versatile way.

• • • Prepositions of Time
    • Prepositions of Place and Direction
    • Prepositions of Agents or Things
    • Phrasal Prepositions

Learn More about Prepositions!

7. Conjunctions: A conjunction is a part of speech that is used to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.

The underlined words in the following examples are all conjunctions:

• • • Nila and Sheela went to New Market.
    • He felt disheartened and left the place.
    • The man is intelligent but aggressive.
    • Sanjoy or Ram will attend the ceremony.
    • Either you or your brother has done the work.
    • Neither he nor you came yesterday.
    • Both Prome and Pushon did the work.

Conjunctions are classified into two types: the coordinating conjunction and the subordinating conjunction.

 Learn More about Conjunctions!

8.Interjections: An interjection is a word added to a sentence to convey emotion. It is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

You usually follow an interjection with an exclamation mark. Interjections are uncommon in formal academic prose, except in direct quotations.

The underlined words in the following examples are all interjections:

• • • Hurrah! We have won the match.
    • Hush ! Our principal is coming.
    • Alas! We are ruined.

Learn More about Interjections!

9. Determiners: A determiner is a word or a group of words that specifies, identifies, or quantifies the noun or a noun phrase that follows it. It is also known as a prenominal modifier.

Determiners include articles (a, an, the), cardinal numbers (one, two, three…) and ordinal numbers (first, second, third…), demonstratives (this, that, these, those), partitives (some of, piece of, and others), quantifiers (most, all, and others), difference words (other, another), and possessive determiners (my, your, his, her, its, our, their).

Learn More about Determiners!

Parts of Speech at a Glance

Part of speech	Function or “job”	Example words	Example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	musitrature.com is a website. I like the website.
Noun	thing or person	pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John	This is my pen. He lives in our house. We live in Ottawa.
Adjective	describes a noun	good, big, red, small, interesting	My dogs are big. I like big dogs.
Determiner	limits or “determines” a noun	a/an, the, two, some, many	I have two cats and some rabbits.
Adverb	describes a verb, adjective or adverb	quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really	My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to mosque on Friday.
Conjunction	joins clauses or sentences or words	and, but, when	I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs, but I don’t like cats.
Interjection	short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence	oh!, ouch!, hi!, well	Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don’t know.