Parts of speech are the basic types of words that English has.

Most grammar books say that there are eight

parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions and interjections. We
will add one more type: articles.
It is important to be able to recognize and identify the different types of words in English, so that you can
understand grammar explanations and use the right word form in the right place. Here is a brief explanation of
what the parts of speech are:

A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing, idea, living creature, quality,
Noun

or action.
Examples: cowboy, theatre, box, thought, tree, kindness, arrival
A verb is a word which describes an action (doing something) or a state (being

Verb

something).
Examples: walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want

Adjective

An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It tells you something about the noun.
Examples: big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick, important
An adverb is a word which usually describes a verb. It tells you how something is

Adverb

done. It may also tell you when or where something happened.

Examples: slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow, here, everywhere

Pronoun

Conjunctio
n

A pronoun is used instead of a noun, to avoid repeating the noun.

Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they

A conjunction joins two words, phrases or sentences together.

Examples: but, so, and, because, or
A preposition usually comes before a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. It joins the noun

Preposition

to some other part of the sentence.

Examples: on, in, by, with, under, through, at

Interjectio
n

An interjection is an unusual kind of word, because it often stands alone. Interjections

are words which express emotion or surprise, and they are usually followed by

exclamation marks.
Examples: Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha!

1. Verb A verb is used to show an action or a state of being eg go, write, exist, be
2. NounA noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events, ideas and
feelings. A noun functions as a subject or object of a verb and can be modified by an adjective. John, lion,
table, freedom, love ...
3. Adjective Adjectives are used to describe or specify a noun or pronoun good, beautiful, nice, my ...
4. Adverb An adverb is used to modify a verb, adjective and other adverbs. completely, never, there ...
5. Pronoun A pronoun is used in the place of a noun or phrase. I, you, he, she, it ...
6. Preposition Prepositions are used before nouns to form a phrase that shows where, when, how and why in,
above, to, for, at ...
7. Conjunction Conjunctions join clauses or sentences or words and, but, when ...
8. Interjection Interjections are used to show surprise or emotion. oh!, Good Lord
Types of verbs
Action VerbsAction verbs express specific actions, and are used any time you want to show action or discuss
someone doing something.
Transitive VerbsTransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities. These verbs always
have direct objects, meaning someone or something receives the action of the verb.
Intransitive VerbsIntransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities. No direct object
follows an intransitive verb.
Auxiliary VerbsAuxiliary verbs are also known as helping verbs, and are used together with a main verb to
show the verbs tense or to form a question or negative.
Stative VerbsStative verbs can be recognized because they express a state rather than an action. They
typically relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, states of being, and measurements.

Modal VerbsModal verbs are auxiliary verbs that are used to express abilities, possibilities, permissions, and
obligations.
Phrasal VerbsPhrasal verbs arent single words; instead, they are combinations of words that are used
together to take on a different meaning to that of the original verb.
Irregular VerbsIrregular verbs are those that dont take on the regular spelling patterns of past simple and
past participle verbs.
Types of conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions Also known as subordinators, these conjunctions join dependent

clauses to independent clauses.

Coordinating conjunction Also known as coordinators, these conjunctions coordinate or join two or
more sentences, main clauses, words, or other parts of speech which are of the same syntactic importance.

Correlative conjunction These conjunctions correlate, working in pairs to join phrases or words that
carry equal importance within a sentence.

Conjunctive adverbs While some instructors do not teach conjunctive adverbs alongside
conjunctions, these important parts of speech are worth a mention here. These adverbs always connect one
clause to another, and are used to show sequence, contrast, cause and effect, and other relationships

Types of pronouns

Indefinite pronouns thosereferring to one or more unspecified objects, beings, or places

Personal pronouns those associated with a grammatical person

Reflexive pronouns those preceded by the adverb, adjective, pronoun, or noun to which they refer

Demonstrative pronouns those used to point to something specific within a sentence

Possessive pronouns those designating possession

Relative pronouns those which refer to nouns mentioned previously

ADVERB
An adverb is a word that is used to change or qualify the meaning of an adjective, a verb, a clause, another
adverb, or any other type of word or phrase with the exception of determiners and adjectives that directly
modify nouns.
Traditionally considered to be a single part of speech, adverbs perform a wide variety of functions, which
makes it difficult to treat them as a single, unified category. Adverbs normally carry out these functions by
answering questions such as:

When? She always arrives early.

How? He drives carefully.

Where? They go everywhere together.

In what way? She eats slowly.

To what extent? It is terribly hot.

A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence.
Prepositions are usually short words, and they are normally placed directly in front of nouns. In some cases,
youll find prepositions in front of gerund verbs.
Types of Prepositions
There are three types of prepositions, including time prepositions, place prepositions, and direction
prepositions. Time prepositions are those such as before, after, during, and until; place prepositions are those
indicating position, such as around, between, and against; and direction prepositions are those indicative of
direction, such as across, up, and down. Each type of preposition is important.
Types of noun
Abstract Nouns Abstract nouns are those referring to ideas, concepts, emotions, and
other things you cant physically interact with. You cant see, taste, touch, smell, or
hear something named with an abstract noun. Some abstract noun examples are
included in the following sentences.

Success seems to come easily to certain people. .. His hatred of people smoking indoors is
legendaryShe has an incredible love for natureThis is of great importanceHe received an
award for his bravery.
Collective Nouns When talking about types of noun, its important to remember collective nouns. A
collective noun is a word that refers to a group. It can be either singular or plural, but is usually used in
the singular. Some collective noun examples are included in the following sentences.

Our team is enjoying an unbroken winning streakTheres a pack of hyenas outside..Watch out for
that swarm of beesYou havent lived until youve seen a herd of wild horsesOur class graduates two
years from now.
Common Nouns Common nouns are used to refer to general things rather than specific
examples. Common nouns are not normally capitalized unless they are used as part of
a proper name or are placed at the beginning of a sentence. Some common noun
examples are included in the following sentences.
Be sure to pick a top universityStack those boxes carefullyWould you like a cookie with
your coffee?..People are strangeMy dog wont stop barking.
Concrete Nouns Concrete nouns are words used for actual things you can touch, see,
taste, feel, and hear things you interact with every day. Notice that concrete nouns
can also be countable, uncountable, common, proper, and collective nouns. Some
concrete noun examples are included in the following sentences.
Please remember to buy orangesHave a seat in that chair.

Adjectives of Quality - These adjectives are used to describe the nature of a noun. They give an idea
about the characteristics of the noun by answering the question what kind.

- Honest, Kind, Large, Bulky, Beautiful, Ugly etc.

- New Delhi is a large city with many historical monuments.
- Sheila is a beautiful woman.

Adjectives of Quantity - These adjectives help to show the amount or the approximate amount of the
noun or pronoun. These adjectives do not provide exact numbers; rather they tell us the amount of the
noun in relative or whole terms.
All, Half, Many, Few, Little, No, Enough, Great etc.
- They have finished most of the rice.
- Many people came to visit the fair.

Adjectives of Number - These adjectives are used to show the number of nouns and their place in an
order. There are three different sections within adjectives of number; they are Definite Numeral Adjective - Those which clearly denote an exact number of nouns or the order
of the noun.
One, Two, Twenty, Thirty-Three etc. also known as Cardinals.
First, Second, Third, Seventh etc. also known as Ordinals.
Indefinite Numeral Adjective - Those adjectives that do not give an exact numerical amount but
just give a general idea of the amount.
Some, Many, Few, Any, Several, All etc.
E.g.: There were many people present at the meeting.
Distributive Numeral Adjective -Those adjectives that are used to refer to individual nouns
within the whole amount.
Either, Neither, Each, Another, Other etc.
E.g: Taxes have to be paid by every employed citizen.

Demonstrative Adjectives - These adjectives are used to point out or indicate a particular noun or
pronoun using the adjectives - This, That,These and Those.
- That bag belongs to Neil.
- Try using this paintbrush in art class.
- I really like those shoes.
- These flowers are lovely.

Interrogative Adjectives - These adjectives are used to ask questions about nouns or in relation to
nouns, they are - Where, What, Which and Whose.
Where did he say he was going?
- What assignment did I miss out on?
- Which is your favorite author?
- Whose pen is this?

An Interjection is a word put into a sentence to show some sudden feeling or

e m o t i o n . I n t e r j e c t i o n s d o n o t r e f e r t o a n yt h i n g , b u t s i m p l y e x p r e s s t h e s p e a k e r s
emotion or wish. In grammatical terms, they occur in isolation as an exclamation, or
are loosely added on to a sentence