Grammar Rules: Parts of Speech

Words are classed into eight categories according to their uses in a sentence.

1. Noun
Name for a person, animal, thing, place, idea, activity.
John, cat, box, desert, liberty, golf

2. Pronoun
Alternate name for a noun.
he, she, it

3. Adjective
Modifies a noun or pronoun.
big, good, full

4. Verb
Expresses action or existence.
went, purred, is

5. Adverb
Modifies a verb, adverb, or adjective.

Amazingly, only eight

parts of speech are
used to classify
hundreds of thousands
of words. The
challenge is that many
words can be used for
more than one part of
speech.
Select yes on the
ballot. (noun)

quickly, loudly, here

Cast a yes vote.

(adjective)

6. Conjunction

He voted yes.
(adverb)

Connects words, phrases, or clauses.

and, or, but

Yes! (Interjection)

7. Preposition

Additionally, phrases
and clauses can act as
nouns, adjectives, or
adverbs.

Precedes phrase that acts as a modifier or noun.

with, for, at

8. Interjection
Expresses emotion.
Gosh! Wow! Super!

Thats my Pa!

BrainAid

N PA VAC PI
Noun-Pronoun-Adjective
Verb-Adverb-Conjunction
Preposition-Interjection

To memorize the 8 parts

of speech, imagine that
Ns PA VACuums PIe!

Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 1 of 7

1. Noun = Name
My nounname is John.

My nounname is cat.

My nounname is liberty.

liberty
John
Proper noun

cat
common noun

liberty
abstract noun

Compound Noun: Made of two or more words: ice water, notebook, brother-in-law
Appositive: Noun or noun phrase that identifies a nearby noun or pronoun. My son Bill is happy.

2. Pronoun = Pro-Name
Professional or alternate names used by nouns to enhance their careers.
One of my
pro-names is
he.

One of my
pro-names is
she.

One of my
pro-names is
it.

liberty
he

she

it

Types of Pronouns

Pro
means
for.
Pronoun
means
for a noun.

Personal: I, me, mine, my / you, your / he, him, his / she, her / we, our, us / they, them, their / it...
Indefinite (not specific): all, any, anyone, both, each, either, everyone, few, many...
Interrogative (ask questions): what?, which?, who?, whom?, whose?...
Demonstrative (point out): this, that, these, those...
Reflexive (reflect back): myself, yourself, himself, herself, themselves...
Relative (link dependent clauses): that, which, who, whoever, whom, whose...

When used to
show
possession,
pronouns
behave like
adjectives and
are called
determiners.

their car.
Antecedent: The noun or noun phrase a pronoun refers to. John made his bed.
Ante means before. Cede means to go. An antecedent in a sense goes before or existed
before the pronoun, although it can occur afterwards in a sentence. It was Johns bed.

Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 2 of 7

3. Adjective Advertises
Advertises details about a noun or pronoun
by telling what kind, which one, how many....
Im tall!
I behave!

Im total!

liberty
Big John

good cat

full liberty

Articles (the, a, an) are also adjectives.

Proper Adjectives are Proper Nouns used as adjectives: Boston bank, French fries.

4. Verb = moVement or being

Describes a nouns movement (action) or being (existence).
Im going.
Purr!

I exist!

liberty
Big John
went

good cat
purred

full liberty
is

Phrasal Verbs generally consist of a verb plus a preposition: Turn up the music.

5. Adverb Adds to verb

Adds to the meaning of a verb (or an adjective or another adverb)
by telling what, when, where, why, how....
Im fast!

Purr!

Ive arrived!

liberty
Big John
went quickly

good cat
purred loudly

Only an adverb
can modify an
adjective
(very good)
or another
adverb
(very loudly).

full liberty
is here

Adverbial Conjunctives connect independent clauses in a compound sentence:

consequently, hence, however, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, therefore...
Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 3 of 7

6. Conjunction Conjoins
Connects words, phrases, or clauses at the hip like conjoined twins.

and
aare

or

In addition to
conjunctions,
relative pronouns,
adverbial conjunctives,
and prepositions are
called connectives.

liberty

John and cat or liberty

Coordinating (equal rank items): for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

fanboys
Subordinating (dependent clauses): after, although, as, as if, because, before, if,
once, since, so that, than, that, unless, until, when, where, while
Correlative (item pairs): both-and, either-or, neither-nor

7. Preposition Positions
Precedes a phrase that acts as a modifier or noun by indicating
a position in time, location, or manner.
Lets run.

Its about time!

Purr!

liberty
Big John went quickly
with his friend

good cat purred loudly

for several minutes

full liberty is here

at last

Prepositional
phrases can
be used as
nouns,
adjectives,
or adverbs.

The noun or
pronoun at
the
end of the
Time: before/after, during, past, until
phrase is the
Location: above/below, across, along, around, behind, beside, between, object of the
in/out, into, near/far, on/off, over/under, through, up/down, within
preposition.

Multipurpose: about, against, as, at, by, of, for, from, to, with, without

8. Interjection Ignites!
Ignites the message with an exclamation of emotion!

Yes!
Oops!

Super!

liberty

Interjections
can stand
alone or be
part of a
sentence.
Yes! Its me.
Oh, is it?

Expletives are interjectory words or expressions. There is no one here! Darn it!
Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 4 of 7

Parts-of-Speech Puzzles
Although there are only eight parts of speech, it can be difficult to classify some words.
Some words are easy to classify: Is it a person, place, or thing? (noun); Does it modify
a noun? (adjective), etc. But many words are less obvious and can be different parts of
speech depending on how they are used.
What part of
speech is the
word when?

When in doubt, the best option is to consult a

dictionary, which lists the various parts of speech
for a word in the order of most common usage
along with definitions and examples.

when

But even a dictionary may not make classifying easy when a words
shades of meaning and usage are nearly identical.
For example, looking up when in the Random House Websters College Dictionary
1996 yielded four parts of speech and ten alternate definitions. Heres a sampling:
Part of Speech
Adverb
Conjunction
Pronoun
Noun

First Definition
at what time or period?
at what time
what time
the time of anything

First Example
When are they to arrive?
to know when to be silent.
Till when is the store open?
the when and the where of an act.

The following table lists a dozen words (in alphabetical order) that can be difficult to classify. The parts
of speech are ranked (1, 2, 3...) in the order they are listed in Websters dictionary.

Parts-of-Speech Puzzles Chart

Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Conjunction, Preposition, Interjection
1. how
2. not
3. now
4. than
5. that
6. then
7. what
8. when
9. where
10. which
11. who
12. why

Noun
3

Pron

4
1

3
2
4
4

Adj

1
3
3
1
1

2
2
3

Verb

Adv
1
1
1
3
1
4
1
1

Conj
2

Prep

2
2
1
4

6
2
2

2
1

Of the 12 words listed in the Chart:

Int

Adverbs have the most #1 rankings (7).

Pronouns have the 2nd most #1 rankings (4).
What can be six parts of speech!
Who can be only one part of speech.
Only than can be used as a preposition.
No words can be verbs.

Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 5 of 7

Your Turn!
To Do

Draw a line from the item to the best matching example.

peach
glory
attorney general
Sparky, the dog, barked
she was happy
the ones who were left behind
it was the best book
an apple
Georgia peach
blow out the candle
however, I did not go
cats and dogs
because he left town
under the bench
Oh my!
Georgia

Proper Noun
Common Noun
Abstract Noun
Compound Noun
Appositive
Personal Pronoun
Relative Pronoun
Antecedent
Article
Proper Adjective
Phrasal Verb
Adverbial Conjunctive
Coordinating Conjunction
Subordinating Conjunction
Preposition
Interjection

Following the example, mark parts of speech above each word of the sentences that follow.
Consult your dictionary as needed.
Int

Pron

Verb

Adj

Adj

Conj

Adj

Noun

Adv

Prep

Adj Noun

Wow! He kicked the red and white ball high into the air.
Sally slowly digested her food.
Mike rudely chewed and talked with his mouth open.
Hey! Do you think we can get some service at this restaurant?
Finally! They had been waiting forever for good food and drink.
What! Why did you not ask when the kids who went into that house returned?
Why? How was I to know more about where they were then than I do now?
[ Answers follow ]
Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 6 of 7

Answers
Proper Noun
Common Noun
Abstract Noun
Compound Noun
Appositive
Personal Pronoun
Relative Pronoun
Antecedent
Article
Proper Adjective
Phrasal Verb
Adverbial Conjunctive
Coordinating Conjunction
Subordinating Conjunction
Preposition
Interjection

peach
glory
attorney general
Sparky, the dog, barked
she was happy
the ones who were left behind
it was the best book
an apple
Georgia peach
blow out the candle
however, I did not go
cats and dogs
because he left town
under the bench
Oh my!
Georgia

Noun

Adv

Verb

Pron

Noun

Sally slowly digested her food.

Noun

Adv

Verb

Conj

Verb

Prep

Pro

Noun

Adj

Mike rudely chewed and talked with his mouth open.

Int

Verb

Pro

Verb

Pro Verb Verb

Adj

Noun

Prep Adj

Noun

Hey! Do you think we can get some service at this restaurant?

Int

Pro

Verb

Verb

Verb

Adv

Prep

Adj

Noun

Conj

Noun

Finally! They had been waiting forever for good food and drink.

Int

Adv

Verb Pron

Adv Verb

Conj

Adj

Noun

Pron

Verb

Prep

Adj

Noun

Verb

What! Why did you not ask when the kids who went into that house returned?

Int

Adv

Verb PronPrep Verb

Adv

Prep

Adv

Pron

Verb

Adv

Conj PronVerb Adv

Why? How was I to know more about where they were then than I do now?
Grammar Rules * MaxLearning.Net 2008 * Parts of Speech p. 7 of 7