Parts of Speech

EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH

Definition:

Classification of words according to their use in sentences is called parts of speech. Every word which we use is a part of speech. We use a hundred thousands of words in our daily routine in speaking and writing. We read and listen a lot many words. All these words are classified into eight parts, and these parts are known as parts of speech. A part of speech tells us its use in a sentence. The same word acts as a noun or a verb or an adjective in different sentences.

1. WHAT IS A NOUN? 
(A naming word)

A noun names a person, a place, a thing or an idea. A noun has different roles in a sentence, like; it can be a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement or an object of a preposition.   

For Instance:

City, London, girl, Sara, train, cat, love.

   

 ➱ Sara lives in London.

 ➱ The train leaves at 6:00 p.m.

                          

 Kinds of Noun:  

A noun can be classified into the following types;

                          
➱Common  Noun                     
                         
➱Proper Noun                                                          

➱Countable Noun                    
                          
➱Uncountable Noun

                         
➱Singular Noun                       
                          
➱Plural Noun

                          
➱Concrete Noun                     
                          
➱Abstract Noun

                         
➱Compound Noun                 
                          
➱Collective Nouns

2. WHAT IS A PRONOUN?  (Replaces noun)

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun, another pronoun or a noun phrase.

For Instance:

 It, our, them, his, he, she, I, we, they, you, her.

➱He goes to the gym in the evening.

➱They play cricket.         

 Kinds of Pronoun:

A pronoun has the following different kinds;

                      
➱Personal Pronoun                    
                     
➱Possessive Pronouns

                     
➱Reflexive Pronoun                  
                      
➱Interrogative Pronoun

                     
➱Indefinite Pronoun                  
                      
➱Relative Pronouns

                     
➱Demonstrative Pronoun                        
➱Intensive Pronouns

                      
➱Distributive Pronoun              
                    
➱Reciprocal Pronouns

3. WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE? (A describing word)

An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun and adds to its information. It tells the quality of a noun either good or bad. Adjectives help the reader to visualize something more clearly by modifying, identifying or quantifying a noun or a pronoun.

For Instance:

Good, pretty, red, wise, black, ugly, bad, elegant, lazy, smart.

➱The beautiful girl was wearing a red dress.
➱ A mad dog was running in the streets.

Degrees of Adjective:

    ⇛Positive degree

    ⇛Comparative degree

    ⇛ Superlative degree

Types of Adjective:

 ➱Adjectives of quality 
               
➱Adjectives of quantity

                                            
➱Adjectives of number                                                          ➱Demonstrative Adjective
 ➱Interrogative Adjectives

➱Exclamatory Adjectives 
➱Possessive Adjectives

4. WHAT IS A VERB? 
(An action word)

A verb is a word which shows some kind of action. It is considered the most essential component of a sentence. A verb shows the state of being of a noun.

For Instance: 

 Ring, dance, eat, sleep, is, has, had, clear, use.

➱The bell rings for a break at noon.
➱ The baby slept at night.
➱ Please, tidy up the room.

Kinds of Verb:

                             
➱Transitive Verbs                    
                              
➱Intransitive Verbs

                            
➱Regular Verbs                       
                              
➱Irregular Verbs

                               
➱Linking Verbs                      
                               
➱Modal Verbs

                              
➱Auxiliary Verb                     
                               
➱Action Verbs

                               
➱Finite Verbs                          
                               
➱Infinite Verbs

                              
➱Phrasal Verbs                       
                               
➱Stative Verbs

 5. WHAT IS AN ADVERB? (Describes a verb)

A word which describes or adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb is called “adverb”. It gives information related to manner, place, time, frequency, cause, circumstance and degree. An adverb answers the following questions like; how, when, where, why, what extent or how often.  An adverb usually ends at –ly.

For Instance:

Loudly, happily, there, always, well, really, very.

➱She laughed loudly
➱He is a very obedient boy.

 Kinds of Adverb:

               

                    
 ➱Adverb of Manner                   
                     
➱Adverb of Place

                     
➱Adverb of Time                        
                     
➱Adverb of Frequency

                     
➱Adverb of Degree                     
                    
➱Adverb of Reason/Purpose

                    
➱Adverbs of Evaluation            
                    
➱Adverbs of Conjunction

                    
➱Adverbs of Confirmation

6. WHAT IS A PREPOSITION?  (A linking word)

A preposition links a noun or a pronoun to some other words in a sentence. It shows time, space and role relations. A preposition comes at the beginning of a prepositional phrase (i.e. a preposition and an object).

For Instance:

In, on, for, between, over, out of, under.

➱The cat is sitting under the table.
➱The boy is standing between two cars.

Kinds of Preposition:

  Based on use in a sentence:

                     
➱Preposition of Time                                                                           
➱Preposition of Place

                     
➱Preposition of Movement                           
➱Preposition of Direction

                     
➱Preposition of Agent                                 
➱Preposition of Instrument

     Based on the construction of Prepositions:

                   
➱Simple Prepositions               
                    
➱Double Prepositions

                     
➱Compound Prepositions                           
➱Prepositional phrase  

                     
➱Participle Prepositions                           
➱Appropriate Prepositions

                  
➱Disguised Prepositions                                
➱Dangling Prepositions

7.WHAT IS A CONJUNCTION?(A joining word)

A part of speech which joins words, phrases, clauses and sentences and afterwards shows the relationship between the joined parts is called a conjunction. Conjunction makes a thought cohesive in sentences and paragraphs.

For Instance:

Or, but, because, and, since, therefore, while.

➱I like cakes and candies.
➱He was not ill but he went to complete his project.

Kinds of Conjunction:

            
➱Coordinating Conjunction               
➱Correlative Conjunction

            
➱Subordinating Conjunction           
➱Compound Conjunction

            
➱Pseudo Conjunction

8.WHAT IS AN INTERJECTION ?
(An expressive word)

A short exclamation which is added in a sentence to show sudden feelings or emotions is called Interjection. Mostly, an interjection follows a sign of exclamation.  It stands alone in a sentence.

For Instance:

Oh!  Ouch!  Ah!  Ouch! Hey!  Wow!  Yummy! Bravo!

➱Yummy! It’s so tasty.
➱Hurrah! I got a gold medal.

Kinds of Interjection:

             
➱Interjections of joy                 
             
➱Interjections of pain/dismay

             
➱Interjections of greetings      
             
➱Interjections of surprise 

             
➱Interjections of doubt              
             
➱Interjections of irritation

QUICK GRAMMAR TIP:

As mentioned in the definition of parts of speech, a single word can either act a noun, a verb or an adjective but a question pops up in mind “How to identify what job a given word performs in a sentence?” The answer is quite easy. Look for the position, meaning and use of a word in a sentence. You can also develop a habit of reading a dictionary because dictionaries not only give multiple definitions of a word but also highlight what jobs a single word can perform.

The following example will guide how many roles a single word can play in different sentences.

We take an example of the word “Read”.

i. He reads fairy tales.   

ii.I enjoy silent read in my cosy chair.

iii. Emma is a well-read girl.

                     
➱In example no. 1, read is a verb.

                      
➱In example no. 2, read is a noun.

                       
➱In example no. 3, read is an adjective.

   

               Happy Learning!!!