Parts of Speech

In English grammar, a word class is a set of
words that display the same formal properties,

especially their inflections and distribution. The
term "word class" is similar to the more
traditional term, part of speech. It is also
variously called grammatical category, lexical
category, and syntactic category (although
these terms are not wholly or universally
synonymous).
OPEN CLOSED
FORM CLASSES STRUCTURE CLASSES
NOUNS PREPOSITIONS
VERBS PRONOUNS
ADVERBS DETERMINERS
ADJECTIVES CONJUNCTIONS
INTERJECTIONS
These are the words that carry the content or meaning These structure words generally accompany specific
of a sentence. form classes.
• "When linguists began to look closely at English
grammatical structure in the 1940s and 1950s, they
encountered so many problems of identification
and definition that the term part of speech soon
fell out of favor, word class being introduced
instead. Word classes are equivalent to parts of
speech, but defined according to strict linguistic
criteria."(David Crystal, The Cambridge
Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed.
Cambridge University Press, 2003)
"There is no single correct way of analyzing words
into word classes...Grammarians disagree about the
boundaries between the word classes, and it is not
always clear whether to lump subcategories
together or to split them. For example, in some
grammars...pronouns are classed as nouns,
whereas in other frameworks...they are treated as a
separate word class."(Bas Aarts, Sylvia Chalker,
Edmund Weiner, The Oxford Dictionary of English
Grammar, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2014)
Form Classes and Structure Classes
“The distinction between lexical and grammatical
meaning determines the first division in our
classification: form-class words and structure-
class words. In general, the form classes provide
the primary lexical content; the structure classes
explain the grammatical or structural relationship.
Think of the form-class words as the bricks of the
language and the structure words as the mortar
that holds them together."
OPEN CLASS WORDS
• In English grammar, open class refers to the
category of content words—that is, parts of
speech (or word classes) that readily accept
new members, as contrasted with closed class,
which do not. The open classes in English are
nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Research supports the view that open-class
words and closed-class words play different
roles in sentence processing.
IMPORTANCE
• Open-class words comprise a large portion of any
language. Unlike closed-class words, which are
finite, the possibility of creating and adding new
words to an open word-class is practically
infinite. Nouns, verbs, adverbs, and descriptive
adjectives are, as he puts it, "exactly those parts of
speech that remain open to new additions."
The form classes also known as content
words or open classes include:
•Nouns
•Verbs
•Adjectives
•Adverbs
CLOSED CLASS WORDS
In English grammar, closed class refers to
the category of function words—that is, parts of
speech (or word classes)—that don't readily accept
new members. The closed classes in English
include pronouns, determiners, conjunctions,
and prepositions. In contrast open class words
include nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives,
and adverbs.
IMPORTANCE
"Closed-class words or 'function words' are limited in
number and act as markers or guides to the structure of a
sentence. The role of articles is to signal nouns. Prepositions
mark special relationships between persons, objects, and
locations. Conjunctions are connectors that link actors or
objects, and specify relationships between clauses in the
sentence. Open- and closed-class words occupy certain
slots in sentences and set up a frame for interpreting the
interrelationships between actors, actions, and objects."
—Diane McGuinness, Language Development and Learning to
Read. MIT, 2005
The structure classes, also known as function
words or closed classes, include:
•Determiners
•Pronouns
•Conjunctions
•Prepositions
•Interjection
OPEN CLASS CLOSED CLASS
Thousands of words Limited number of words
Can add new words Cannot add new words
Can use two words together Mutually exclusive
Infinite Finite
"Probably the most striking difference between
the form classes and the structure classes is
characterized by their numbers. Of the half million
or more words in our language, the structure
words—with some notable exceptions—can be
counted in the hundreds. The form classes,
however, are large, open classes; new nouns and
verbs and adjectives and adverbs regularly enter
the language as new technology and new ideas
require them."
1. Get your paper and make two columns, Group A
and Group B.
2. Using the list of words, try to place the different
words that you think belong together in the
different columns.
3. As you group these list of words, consider
whether any of the words can belong to more than
one group. Try to explain why or why not.
harm remind cancer cup
scream date struggle queen
poison announce style write
•While you may recognize that a word
can fit into more than one group, you
may not be able to do so without
thinking of a sentence or context for
that particular word. In English, the
group or class to which a word
belongs is not always obvious
without context.
•Unlike many other languages, English
does not always rely on word endings
or word forms to determine part of
speech. The form of a word in English
does not necessarily tell us the function
of that word. However, context and
sentence position are key to clarifying
the function of a word or phrase in
English because word order is highly
fixed.
(1) She made a wish on a star.
(2) They wish to learn more

about effective research
practices
(a) I practice my talk every
morning.
(b) I talk every morning

before the practice
(c) I present many
speeches.
(d) I gave her a nice
present.
(e) The students are all
present
•Creative children
often dream in class.
•Ostriches cannot fly.

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Parts of Speech

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In English grammar, a word class is a set of

words that display the same formal properties,

Can add new words Cannot add new words

Can use two words together Mutually exclusive

(2) They wish to learn more

(b) I talk every morning

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