article definition part of speech examples

• Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure

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• the car down the street, the man next to you
• a book, an apple, a bottle
• the definite article the : You use it before a singular or a plural noun when you talk about one or more specific member(s) of a group (things, places or people) that is known to you: the tall man, the big house, the man next to me ;
• the indefinite articles a/an : You use them before a singular noun when you talk about any general thing : a line, a house, a kitchen, a person, an apple, an airport, an idea, an umbrella .
• You use the article a before nouns/adjectives or numbers that start with a consonant : a line, a kitchen, a person, a dog, a book, a tall man, a five-year-old boy, a job interview .
• You use the article an before nouns that start with a vowel : an apple, an idea, an umbrella, an egg, an hour, an eight-year-old girl, an interview .
• There is --- a an airport close to the city.  
• Do you have --- a an armchair in your room?  
• She has --- an a idea!  
• They have --- a an female English teacher.  
• He eats --- an a apple.  
• There is --- a an school around the corner.  
• She has --- an a new armchair.  
• We will give him --- a an book for his birthday.  
• Check  (  1  )
• Check and show solutions
• He works as pilot.  
• I need new TV.  
• He is best teacher at the school.  
• They have eight-year-old girl.  
• book she bought yesterday is not so good.  
• She is nicest girl I know.  
• She is nice girl.  
• city that she likes the most is New York City.  
• time  
• shop  
• example  
• bike  
• umbrella  
• number  
• elephant  
• opinion  
• eagle  
• table  
• door  
• week  
• adjective  
• English book  
• Michael says: "I have best friend. His name is Josh. He lives in small house outside the city. They have beautiful garden behind house. house is painted blue and there is fence around garden. I love going there. It's so nice and peaceful."  

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Understanding the 8 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples

General Education

If you’re trying to learn the grammatical rules of English, you’ve probably been asked to learn the parts of speech. But what are parts of speech and how many are there? How do you know which words are classified in each part of speech?

The answers to these questions can be a bit complicated—English is a difficult language to learn and understand. Don’t fret, though! We’re going to answer each of these questions for you with a full guide to the parts of speech that explains the following:

• What the parts of speech are, including a comprehensive parts of speech list
• Parts of speech definitions for the individual parts of speech. (If you’re looking for information on a specific part of speech, you can search for it by pressing Command + F, then typing in the part of speech you’re interested in.) 
• Parts of speech examples
• A ten question quiz covering parts of speech definitions and parts of speech examples

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s begin!

Feature Image: (Gavina S / Wikimedia Commons)

What Are Parts of Speech? 

The parts of speech definitions in English can vary, but here’s a widely accepted one: a part of speech is a category of words that serve a similar grammatical purpose in sentences.  

To make that definition even simpler, a part of speech is just a category for similar types of words . All of the types of words included under a single part of speech function in similar ways when they’re used properly in sentences.

In the English language, it’s commonly accepted that there are 8 parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections, and prepositions. Each of these categories plays a different role in communicating meaning in the English language. Each of the eight parts of speech—which we might also call the “main classes” of speech—also have subclasses. In other words, we can think of each of the eight parts of speech as being general categories for different types within their part of speech . There are different types of nouns, different types of verbs, different types of adjectives, adverbs, pronouns...you get the idea. 

And that’s an overview of what a part of speech is! Next, we’ll explain each of the 8 parts of speech—definitions and examples included for each category. 

There are tons of nouns in this picture. Can you find them all? 

Nouns are a class of words that refer, generally, to people and living creatures, objects, events, ideas, states of being, places, and actions. You’ve probably heard English nouns referred to as “persons, places, or things.” That definition is a little simplistic, though—while nouns do include people, places, and things, “things” is kind of a vague term. I t’s important to recognize that “things” can include physical things—like objects or belongings—and nonphysical, abstract things—like ideas, states of existence, and actions. 

Since there are many different types of nouns, we’ll include several examples of nouns used in a sentence while we break down the subclasses of nouns next!

Subclasses of Nouns, Including Examples

As an open class of words, the category of “nouns” has a lot of subclasses. The most common and important subclasses of nouns are common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, collective nouns, and count and mass nouns. Let’s break down each of these subclasses!

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

Common nouns are generic nouns—they don’t name specific items. They refer to people (the man, the woman), living creatures (cat, bird), objects (pen, computer, car), events (party, work), ideas (culture, freedom), states of being (beauty, integrity), and places (home, neighborhood, country) in a general way. 

Proper nouns are sort of the counterpart to common nouns. Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, events, or ideas. Names are the most obvious example of proper nouns, like in these two examples: 

Common noun: What state are you from?

Proper noun: I’m from Arizona .

Whereas “state” is a common noun, Arizona is a proper noun since it refers to a specific state. Whereas “the election” is a common noun, “Election Day” is a proper noun. Another way to pick out proper nouns: the first letter is often capitalized. If you’d capitalize the word in a sentence, it’s almost always a proper noun. 

Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns

Concrete nouns are nouns that can be identified through the five senses. Concrete nouns include people, living creatures, objects, and places, since these things can be sensed in the physical world. In contrast to concrete nouns, abstract nouns are nouns that identify ideas, qualities, concepts, experiences, or states of being. Abstract nouns cannot be detected by the five senses. Here’s an example of concrete and abstract nouns used in a sentence: 

Concrete noun: Could you please fix the weedeater and mow the lawn ?

Abstract noun: Aliyah was delighted to have the freedom to enjoy the art show in peace .

See the difference? A weedeater and the lawn are physical objects or things, and freedom and peace are not physical objects, though they’re “things” people experience! Despite those differences, they all count as nouns. 

Collective Nouns, Count Nouns, and Mass Nouns

Nouns are often categorized based on number and amount. Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a group of something—often groups of people or a type of animal. Team , crowd , and herd are all examples of collective nouns. 

Count nouns are nouns that can appear in the singular or plural form, can be modified by numbers, and can be described by quantifying determiners (e.g. many, most, more, several). For example, “bug” is a count noun. It can occur in singular form if you say, “There is a bug in the kitchen,” but it can also occur in the plural form if you say, “There are many bugs in the kitchen.” (In the case of the latter, you’d call an exterminator...which is an example of a common noun!) Any noun that can accurately occur in one of these singular or plural forms is a count noun. 

Mass nouns are another type of noun that involve numbers and amount. Mass nouns are nouns that usually can’t be pluralized, counted, or quantified and still make sense grammatically. “Charisma” is an example of a mass noun (and an abstract noun!). For example, you could say, “They’ve got charisma, ” which doesn’t imply a specific amount. You couldn’t say, “They’ve got six charismas, ” or, “They’ve got several charismas .” It just doesn’t make sense! 

Verbs are all about action...just like these runners. 

A verb is a part of speech that, when used in a sentence, communicates an action, an occurrence, or a state of being . In sentences, verbs are the most important part of the predicate, which explains or describes what the subject of the sentence is doing or how they are being. And, guess what? All sentences contain verbs!

There are many words in the English language that are classified as verbs. A few common verbs include the words run, sing, cook, talk, and clean. These words are all verbs because they communicate an action performed by a living being. We’ll look at more specific examples of verbs as we discuss the subclasses of verbs next!

Subclasses of Verbs, Including Examples

Like nouns, verbs have several subclasses. The subclasses of verbs include copular or linking verbs, intransitive verbs, transitive verbs, and ditransitive or double transitive verbs. Let’s dive into these subclasses of verbs!

Copular or Linking Verbs

Copular verbs, or linking verbs, are verbs that link a subject with its complement in a sentence. The most familiar linking verb is probably be. Here’s a list of other common copular verbs in English: act, be, become, feel, grow, seem, smell, and taste. 

So how do copular verbs work? Well, in a sentence, if we said, “Michi is ,” and left it at that, it wouldn’t make any sense. “Michi,” the subject, needs to be connected to a complement by the copular verb “is.” Instead, we could say, “Michi is leaving.” In that instance, is links the subject of the sentence to its complement. 

Transitive Verbs, Intransitive Verbs, and Ditransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that affect or act upon an object. When unattached to an object in a sentence, a transitive verb does not make sense. Here’s an example of a transitive verb attached to (and appearing before) an object in a sentence: 

Please take the clothes to the dry cleaners.

In this example, “take” is a transitive verb because it requires an object—”the clothes”—to make sense. “The clothes” are the objects being taken. “Please take” wouldn’t make sense by itself, would it? That’s because the transitive verb “take,” like all transitive verbs, transfers its action onto another being or object. 

Conversely, intransitive verbs don’t require an object to act upon in order to make sense in a sentence. These verbs make sense all on their own! For instance, “They ran ,” “We arrived ,” and, “The car stopped ” are all examples of sentences that contain intransitive verbs. 

Finally, ditransitive verbs, or double transitive verbs, are a bit more complicated. Ditransitive verbs are verbs that are followed by two objects in a sentence . One of the objects has the action of the ditransitive verb done to it, and the other object has the action of the ditransitive verb directed towards it. Here’s an example of what that means in a sentence: 

I cooked Nathan a meal.

In this example, “cooked” is a ditransitive verb because it modifies two objects: Nathan and meal . The meal has the action of “cooked” done to it, and “Nathan” has the action of the verb directed towards him. 

Adjectives are descriptors that help us better understand a sentence. A common adjective type is color.

#3: Adjectives

Here’s the simplest definition of adjectives: adjectives are words that describe other words . Specifically, adjectives modify nouns and noun phrases. In sentences, adjectives appear before nouns and pronouns (they have to appear before the words they describe!). 

Adjectives give more detail to nouns and pronouns by describing how a noun looks, smells, tastes, sounds, or feels, or its state of being or existence. . For example, you could say, “The girl rode her bike.” That sentence doesn’t have any adjectives in it, but you could add an adjective before both of the nouns in the sentence—”girl” and “bike”—to give more detail to the sentence. It might read like this: “The young girl rode her red bike.”   You can pick out adjectives in a sentence by asking the following questions: 

• Which one? 
• What kind? 
• How many? 
• Whose’s? 

We’ll look at more examples of adjectives as we explore the subclasses of adjectives next!

Subclasses of Adjectives, Including Examples

Subclasses of adjectives include adjective phrases, comparative adjectives, superlative adjectives, and determiners (which include articles, possessive adjectives, and demonstratives). 

Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase is a group of words that describe a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. Adjective phrases can appear before the noun or noun phrase in a sentence, like in this example: 

The extremely fragile vase somehow did not break during the move.

In this case, extremely fragile describes the vase. On the other hand, adjective phrases can appear after the noun or noun phrase in a sentence as well: 

The museum was somewhat boring. 

Again, the phrase somewhat boring describes the museum. The takeaway is this: adjective phrases describe the subject of a sentence with greater detail than an individual adjective. 

Comparative Adjectives and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used in sentences where two nouns are compared. They function to compare the differences between the two nouns that they modify. In sentences, comparative adjectives often appear in this pattern and typically end with -er. If we were to describe how comparative adjectives function as a formula, it might look something like this: 

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).

Here’s an example of how a comparative adjective would work in that type of sentence: 

The horse was faster than the dog.

The adjective faster compares the speed of the horse to the speed of the dog. Other common comparative adjectives include words that compare distance ( higher, lower, farther ), age ( younger, older ), size and dimensions ( bigger, smaller, wider, taller, shorter ), and quality or feeling ( better, cleaner, happier, angrier ). 

Superlative adjectives are adjectives that describe the extremes of a quality that applies to a subject being compared to a group of objects . Put more simply, superlative adjectives help show how extreme something is. In sentences, superlative adjectives usually appear in this structure and end in -est : 

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

Here’s an example of a superlative adjective that appears in that type of sentence: 

Their story was the funniest story. 

In this example, the subject— story —is being compared to a group of objects—other stories. The superlative adjective “funniest” implies that this particular story is the funniest out of all the stories ever, period. Other common superlative adjectives are best, worst, craziest, and happiest... though there are many more than that! 

It’s also important to know that you can often omit the object from the end of the sentence when using superlative adjectives, like this: “Their story was the funniest.” We still know that “their story” is being compared to other stories without the object at the end of the sentence.

Determiners

The last subclass of adjectives we want to look at are determiners. Determiners are words that determine what kind of reference a noun or noun phrase makes. These words are placed in front of nouns to make it clear what the noun is referring to. Determiners are an example of a part of speech subclass that contains a lot of subclasses of its own. Here is a list of the different types of determiners: 

• Definite article: the
• Indefinite articles : a, an 
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• Pronouns and possessive determiners: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• Quantifiers : a little, a few, many, much, most, some, any, enough
• Numbers: one, twenty, fifty
• Distributives: all, both, half, either, neither, each, every
• Difference words : other, another
• Pre-determiners: such, what, rather, quite

Here are some examples of how determiners can be used in sentences: 

Definite article: Get in the car.  

Demonstrative: Could you hand me that magazine?  

Possessive determiner: Please put away your clothes. 

Distributive: He ate all of the pie. 

Though some of the words above might not seem descriptive, they actually do describe the specificity and definiteness, relationship, and quantity or amount of a noun or noun phrase. For example, the definite article “the” (a type of determiner) indicates that a noun refers to a specific thing or entity. The indefinite article “an,” on the other hand, indicates that a noun refers to a nonspecific entity. 

One quick note, since English is always more complicated than it seems: while articles are most commonly classified as adjectives, they can also function as adverbs in specific situations, too. Not only that, some people are taught that determiners are their own part of speech...which means that some people are taught there are 9 parts of speech instead of 8! 

It can be a little confusing, which is why we have a whole article explaining how articles function as a part of speech to help clear things up . 

Adverbs can be used to answer questions like "when?" and "how long?"

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives (including determiners), clauses, prepositions, and sentences. Adverbs typically answer the questions how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent? In answering these questions, adverbs function to express frequency, degree, manner, time, place, and level of certainty . Adverbs can answer these questions in the form of single words, or in the form of adverbial phrases or adverbial clauses. 

Adverbs are commonly known for being words that end in -ly, but there’s actually a bit more to adverbs than that, which we’ll dive into while we look at the subclasses of adverbs!

Subclasses Of Adverbs, Including Examples

There are many types of adverbs, but the main subclasses we’ll look at are conjunctive adverbs, and adverbs of place, time, manner, degree, and frequency. 

Conjunctive Adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs look like coordinating conjunctions (which we’ll talk about later!), but they are actually their own category: conjunctive adverbs are words that connect independent clauses into a single sentence . These adverbs appear after a semicolon and before a comma in sentences, like in these two examples: 

She was exhausted; nevertheless , she went for a five mile run. 

They didn’t call; instead , they texted.  

Though conjunctive adverbs are frequently used to create shorter sentences using a semicolon and comma, they can also appear at the beginning of sentences, like this: 

He chopped the vegetables. Meanwhile, I boiled the pasta.  

One thing to keep in mind is that conjunctive adverbs come with a comma. When you use them, be sure to include a comma afterward! 

There are a lot of conjunctive adverbs, but some common ones include also, anyway, besides, finally, further, however, indeed, instead, meanwhile, nevertheless, next, nonetheless, now, otherwise, similarly, then, therefore, and thus.  

Adverbs of Place, Time, Manner, Degree, and Frequency

There are also adverbs of place, time, manner, degree, and frequency. Each of these types of adverbs express a different kind of meaning. 

Adverbs of place express where an action is done or where an event occurs. These are used after the verb, direct object, or at the end of a sentence. A sentence like “She walked outside to watch the sunset” uses outside as an adverb of place. 

Adverbs of time explain when something happens. These adverbs are used at the beginning or at the end of sentences. In a sentence like “The game should be over soon,” soon functions as an adverb of time. 

Adverbs of manner describe the way in which something is done or how something happens. These are the adverbs that usually end in the familiar -ly.  If we were to write “She quickly finished her homework,” quickly is an adverb of manner. 

Adverbs of degree tell us the extent to which something happens or occurs. If we were to say “The play was quite interesting,” quite tells us the extent of how interesting the play was. Thus, quite is an adverb of degree.  

Finally, adverbs of frequency express how often something happens . In a sentence like “They never know what to do with themselves,” never is an adverb of frequency. 

Five subclasses of adverbs is a lot, so we’ve organized the words that fall under each category in a nifty table for you here: 

It’s important to know about these subclasses of adverbs because many of them don’t follow the old adage that adverbs end in -ly. 

Here's a helpful list of pronouns. (Attanata / Flickr )

#5: Pronouns

Pronouns are words that can be substituted for a noun or noun phrase in a sentence . Pronouns function to make sentences less clunky by allowing people to avoid repeating nouns over and over. For example, if you were telling someone a story about your friend Destiny, you wouldn’t keep repeating their name over and over again every time you referred to them. Instead, you’d use a pronoun—like they or them—to refer to Destiny throughout the story. 

Pronouns are typically short words, often only two or three letters long. The most familiar pronouns in the English language are they, she, and he. But these aren’t the only pronouns. There are many more pronouns in English that fall under different subclasses!

Subclasses of Pronouns, Including Examples

There are many subclasses of pronouns, but the most commonly used subclasses are personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns. 

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are probably the most familiar type of pronoun. Personal pronouns include I, me, you, she, her, him, he, we, us, they, and them. These are called personal pronouns because they refer to a person! Personal pronouns can replace specific nouns in sentences, like a person’s name, or refer to specific groups of people, like in these examples: 

Did you see Gia pole vault at the track meet? Her form was incredible!

The Cycling Club is meeting up at six. They said they would be at the park. 

In both of the examples above, a pronoun stands in for a proper noun to avoid repetitiveness. Her replaces Gia in the first example, and they replaces the Cycling Club in the second example. 

(It’s also worth noting that personal pronouns are one of the easiest ways to determine what point of view a writer is using.) 

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate that something belongs to or is the possession of someone. The possessive pronouns fall into two categories: limiting and absolute. In a sentence, absolute possessive pronouns can be substituted for the thing that belongs to a person, and limiting pronouns cannot. 

The limiting pronouns are my, your, its, his, her, our, their, and whose, and the absolute pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs . Here are examples of a limiting possessive pronoun and absolute possessive pronoun used in a sentence: 

Limiting possessive pronoun: Juan is fixing his car. 

In the example above, the car belongs to Juan, and his is the limiting possessive pronoun that shows the car belongs to Juan. Now, here’s an example of an absolute pronoun in a sentence: 

Absolute possessive pronoun: Did you buy your tickets ? We already bought ours . 

In this example, the tickets belong to whoever we is, and in the second sentence, ours is the absolute possessive pronoun standing in for the thing that “we” possess—the tickets. 

Demonstrative Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, and Indefinite Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns include the words that, this, these, and those. These pronouns stand in for a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned in a sentence or conversation. This and these are typically used to refer to objects or entities that are nearby distance-wise, and that and those usually refer to objects or entities that are farther away. Here’s an example of a demonstrative pronoun used in a sentence: 

The books are stacked up in the garage. Can you put those away? 

The books have already been mentioned, and those is the demonstrative pronoun that stands in to refer to them in the second sentence above. The use of those indicates that the books aren’t nearby—they’re out in the garage. Here’s another example: 

Do you need shoes? Here...you can borrow these. 

In this sentence, these refers to the noun shoes. Using the word these tells readers that the shoes are nearby...maybe even on the speaker’s feet! 

Indefinite pronouns are used when it isn’t necessary to identify a specific person or thing . The indefinite pronouns are one, other, none, some, anybody, everybody, and no one. Here’s one example of an indefinite pronoun used in a sentence: 

Promise you can keep a secret? 

Of course. I won’t tell anyone. 

In this example, the person speaking in the second two sentences isn’t referring to any particular people who they won’t tell the secret to. They’re saying that, in general, they won’t tell anyone . That doesn’t specify a specific number, type, or category of people who they won’t tell the secret to, which is what makes the pronoun indefinite. 

Finally, interrogative pronouns are used in questions, and these pronouns include who, what, which, and whose. These pronouns are simply used to gather information about specific nouns—persons, places, and ideas. Let’s look at two examples of interrogative pronouns used in sentences: 

Do you remember which glass was mine? 

What time are they arriving? 

In the first glass, the speaker wants to know more about which glass belongs to whom. In the second sentence, the speaker is asking for more clarity about a specific time. 

Conjunctions hook phrases and clauses together so they fit like pieces of a puzzle.

#6: Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that are used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences in the English language. This function allows conjunctions to connect actions, ideas, and thoughts as well. Conjunctions are also used to make lists within sentences. (Conjunctions are also probably the most famous part of speech, since they were immortalized in the famous “Conjunction Junction” song from Schoolhouse Rock .) 

You’re probably familiar with and, but, and or as conjunctions, but let’s look into some subclasses of conjunctions so you can learn about the array of conjunctions that are out there!

Subclasses of Conjunctions, Including Examples

Coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions are three subclasses of conjunctions. Each of these types of conjunctions functions in a different way in sentences!

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are probably the most familiar type of conjunction. These conjunctions include the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (people often recommend using the acronym FANBOYS to remember the seven coordinating conjunctions!). 

Coordinating conjunctions are responsible for connecting two independent clauses in sentences, but can also be used to connect two words in a sentence. Here are two examples of coordinating conjunctions that connect two independent clauses in a sentence: 

He wanted to go to the movies, but he couldn’t find his car keys. 

They put on sunscreen, and they went to the beach. 

Next, here are two examples of coordinating conjunctions that connect two words: 

Would you like to cook or order in for dinner? 

The storm was loud yet refreshing. 

The two examples above show that coordinating conjunctions can connect different types of words as well. In the first example, the coordinating conjunction “or” connects two verbs; in the second example, the coordinating conjunction “yet” connects two adjectives. 

But wait! Why does the first set of sentences have commas while the second set of sentences doesn’t? When using a coordinating conjunction, put a comma before the conjunction when it’s connecting two complete sentences . Otherwise, there’s no comma necessary. 

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are used to link an independent clause to a dependent clause in a sentence. This type of conjunction always appears at the beginning of a dependent clause, which means that subordinating conjunctions can appear at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of a sentence following an independent clause. (If you’re unsure about what independent and dependent clauses are, be sure to check out our guide to compound sentences.) 

Here is an example of a subordinating conjunction that appears at the beginning of a sentence: 

Because we were hungry, we ordered way too much food. 

Now, here’s an example of a subordinating conjunction that appears in the middle of a sentence, following an independent clause and a comma: 

Rakim was scared after the power went out. 

See? In the example above, the subordinating conjunction after connects the independent clause Rakim was scared to the dependent clause after the power went out. Subordinating conjunctions include (but are not limited to!) the following words: after, as, because, before, even though, one, since, unless, until, whenever, and while. 

Correlative Conjunctions

Finally, correlative conjunctions are conjunctions that come in pairs, like both/and, either/or, and neither/nor. The two correlative conjunctions that come in a pair must appear in different parts of a sentence to make sense— they correlate the meaning in one part of the sentence with the meaning in another part of the sentence . Makes sense, right? 

Here are two examples of correlative conjunctions used in a sentence: 

We’re either going to the Farmer’s Market or the Natural Grocer’s for our shopping today. 

They’re going to have to get dog treats for both Piper and Fudge. 

Other pairs of correlative conjunctions include as many/as, not/but, not only/but also, rather/than, such/that, and whether/or. 

Interjections are single words that express emotions that end in an exclamation point. Cool!

#7: Interjections 

Interjections are words that often appear at the beginning of sentences or between sentences to express emotions or sentiments such as excitement, surprise, joy, disgust, anger, or even pain. Commonly used interjections include wow!, yikes!, ouch!, or ugh! One clue that an interjection is being used is when an exclamation point appears after a single word (but interjections don’t have to be followed by an exclamation point). And, since interjections usually express emotion or feeling, they’re often referred to as being exclamatory. Wow! 

Interjections don’t come together with other parts of speech to form bigger grammatical units, like phrases or clauses. There also aren’t strict rules about where interjections should appear in relation to other sentences . While it’s common for interjections to appear before sentences that describe an action or event that the interjection helps explain, interjections can appear after sentences that contain the action they’re describing as well. 

Subclasses of Interjections, Including Examples

There are two main subclasses of interjections: primary interjections and secondary interjections. Let’s take a look at these two types of interjections!

Primary Interjections  

Primary interjections are single words, like oh!, wow!, or ouch! that don’t enter into the actual structure of a sentence but add to the meaning of a sentence. Here’s an example of how a primary interjection can be used before a sentence to add to the meaning of the sentence that follows it: 

Ouch ! I just burned myself on that pan!

While someone who hears, I just burned myself on that pan might assume that the person who said that is now in pain, the interjection Ouch! makes it clear that burning oneself on the pan definitely was painful. 

Secondary Interjections

Secondary interjections are words that have other meanings but have evolved to be used like interjections in the English language and are often exclamatory. Secondary interjections can be mixed with greetings, oaths, or swear words. In many cases, the use of secondary interjections negates the original meaning of the word that is being used as an interjection. Let’s look at a couple of examples of secondary interjections here: 

Well , look what the cat dragged in!

Heck, I’d help if I could, but I’ve got to get to work. 

You probably know that the words well and heck weren’t originally used as interjections in the English language. Well originally meant that something was done in a good or satisfactory way, or that a person was in good health. Over time and through repeated usage, it’s come to be used as a way to express emotion, such as surprise, anger, relief, or resignation, like in the example above. 

This is a handy list of common prepositional phrases. (attanatta / Flickr) 

#8: Prepositions

The last part of speech we’re going to define is the preposition. Prepositions are words that are used to connect other words in a sentence—typically nouns and verbs—and show the relationship between those words. Prepositions convey concepts such as comparison, position, place, direction, movement, time, possession, and how an action is completed. 

Subclasses of Prepositions, Including Examples

The subclasses of prepositions are simple prepositions, double prepositions, participle prepositions, and prepositional phrases. 

Simple Prepositions

Simple prepositions appear before and between nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in sentences to convey relationships between people, living creatures, things, or places . Here are a couple of examples of simple prepositions used in sentences: 

I’ll order more ink before we run out. 

Your phone was beside your wallet. 

In the first example, the preposition before appears between the noun ink and the personal pronoun we to convey a relationship. In the second example, the preposition beside appears between the verb was and the possessive pronoun your.

In both examples, though, the prepositions help us understand how elements in the sentence are related to one another. In the first sentence, we know that the speaker currently has ink but needs more before it’s gone. In the second sentence, the preposition beside helps us understand how the wallet and the phone are positioned relative to one another! 

Double Prepositions

Double prepositions are exactly what they sound like: two prepositions joined together into one unit to connect phrases, nouns, and pronouns with other words in a sentence. Common examples of double prepositions include outside of, because of, according to, next to, across from, and on top of. Here is an example of a double preposition in a sentence: 

I thought you were sitting across from me. 

You see? Across and from both function as prepositions individually. When combined together in a sentence, they create a double preposition. (Also note that the prepositions help us understand how two people— you and I— are positioned with one another through spacial relationship.)  

Prepositional Phrases

Finally, prepositional phrases are groups of words that include a preposition and a noun or pronoun. Typically, the noun or pronoun that appears after the preposition in a prepositional phrase is called the object of the preposition. The object always appears at the end of the prepositional phrase. Additionally, prepositional phrases never include a verb or a subject. Here are two examples of prepositional phrases: 

The cat sat under the chair . 

In the example above, “under” is the preposition, and “the chair” is the noun, which functions as the object of the preposition. Here’s one more example: 

We walked through the overgrown field . 

Now, this example demonstrates one more thing you need to know about prepositional phrases: they can include an adjective before the object. In this example, “through” is the preposition, and “field” is the object. “Overgrown” is an adjective that modifies “the field,” and it’s quite common for adjectives to appear in prepositional phrases like the one above. 

While that might sound confusing, don’t worry: the key is identifying the preposition in the first place! Once you can find the preposition, you can start looking at the words around it to see if it forms a compound preposition, a double preposition of a prepositional phrase. 

10 Question Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples

Since we’ve covered a lot of material about the 8 parts of speech with examples ( a lot of them!), we want to give you an opportunity to review and see what you’ve learned! While it might seem easier to just use a parts of speech finder instead of learning all this stuff, our parts of speech quiz can help you continue building your knowledge of the 8 parts of speech and master each one. 

Are you ready? Here we go:  

1) What are the 8 parts of speech? 

a) Noun, article, adverb, antecedent, verb, adjective, conjunction, interjection b) Noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, determiner, clause, adjective, preposition c) Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, interjection, preposition

2) Which parts of speech have subclasses?

a) Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs b) Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions c) All of them! There are many types of words within each part of speech.

3) What is the difference between common nouns and proper nouns?

a) Common nouns don’t refer to specific people, places, or entities, but proper nouns do refer to specific people, places, or entities.  b) Common nouns refer to regular, everyday people, places, or entities, but proper nouns refer to famous people, places, or entities.  c) Common nouns refer to physical entities, like people, places, and objects, but proper nouns refer to nonphysical entities, like feelings, ideas, and experiences.

4) In which of the following sentences is the emboldened word a verb?

a) He was frightened by the horror film .   b) He adjusted his expectations after the first plan fell through.  c) She walked briskly to get there on time.

5) Which of the following is a correct definition of adjectives, and what other part of speech do adjectives modify?

a) Adjectives are describing words, and they modify nouns and noun phrases.  b) Adjectives are describing words, and they modify verbs and adverbs.  c) Adjectives are describing words, and they modify nouns, verbs, and adverbs.

6) Which of the following describes the function of adverbs in sentences?

a) Adverbs express frequency, degree, manner, time, place, and level of certainty. b) Adverbs express an action performed by a subject.  c) Adverbs describe nouns and noun phrases.

7) Which of the following answers contains a list of personal pronouns?

a) This, that, these, those b) I, you, me, we, he, she, him, her, they, them c) Who, what, which, whose

8) Where do interjections typically appear in a sentence?

a) Interjections can appear at the beginning of or in between sentences. b) Interjections appear at the end of sentences.  c) Interjections appear in prepositional phrases.

9) Which of the following sentences contains a prepositional phrase?

a) The dog happily wagged his tail.  b) The cow jumped over the moon.  c) She glared, angry that he forgot the flowers.

10) Which of the following is an accurate definition of a “part of speech”?

a) A category of words that serve a similar grammatical purpose in sentences. b) A category of words that are of similar length and spelling. c) A category of words that mean the same thing.

So, how did you do? If you got 1C, 2C, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7B, 8A, 9B, and 10A, you came out on top! There’s a lot to remember where the parts of speech are concerned, and if you’re looking for more practice like our quiz, try looking around for parts of speech games or parts of speech worksheets online!

What’s Next?

You might be brushing up on your grammar so you can ace the verbal portions of the SAT or ACT. Be sure you check out our guides to the grammar you need to know before you tackle those tests! Here’s our expert guide to the grammar rules you need to know for the SAT , and this article teaches you the 14 grammar rules you’ll definitely see on the ACT.

When you have a good handle on parts of speech, it can make writing essays tons easier. Learn how knowing parts of speech can help you get a perfect 12 on the ACT Essay (or an 8/8/8 on the SAT Essay ).

While we’re on the topic of grammar: keep in mind that knowing grammar rules is only part of the battle when it comes to the verbal and written portions of the SAT and ACT. Having a good vocabulary is also important to making the perfect score ! Here are 262 vocabulary words you need to know before you tackle your standardized tests.

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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• Knowledge Base
• Parts of speech
• Definite and Indefinite Articles | When to Use “The”, “A” or “An”

Definite and Indefinite Articles | When to Use "The", "A" or "An"

Published on February 11, 2016 by Sarah Vinz . Revised on November 16, 2022.

English has two types of articles to precede nouns : definite (the) and indefinite (a/an). You can improve the articles that appear in your dissertation by:

• not using unnecessary articles with plural nouns,
• not using “a” or “an” with uncountable nouns,
• using articles with singular countable nouns,
• correctly choosing “a” or “an” in front of an acronym,
• correctly deciding if an acronym for an entity needs “the,”
• correctly identifying if a country name needs “the.”

Table of contents

Avoid using unnecessary articles with plural nouns, don’t use “a” or “an” with uncountable nouns, use an article (or other determiner) with a singular countable noun, correctly choose “a” or “an” in front of an acronym, correctly decide if an acronym for an entity needs “the”, correctly identify if a country name needs “the”, other interesting language articles.

If you are using a plural noun (such as students, criteria, or theses), you usually don’t need to use “the.”

The exception is if you want to distinguish that you are talking about a particular group of people or things.

Check for common mistakes

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As the term implies, an uncountable noun (mass noun) is something that normally cannot be counted (such as air, anger, information, knowledge, research, rice, and training).

Uncountable nouns cannot be accompanied by “a” or “an,” as it’s impossible to have one of these things. If you really want to talk about one of something, the easiest option is to replace the uncountable noun with one that is countable. Another option is to add a countable noun after the uncountable noun.

Singular countable nouns (such as formula, participant, and professor) generally cannot stand on their own. If you are not using a possessive (e.g., my, your, her) or a demonstrative (e.g., this, that), you should use an article or other determiner .

Most writers know that words starting with a consonant sound need “a” (e.g., a study, a participant, a European), while words starting with a vowel sound need “an” (e.g., an observation, an interview, an Ethiopian).

The same is true with acronyms (or initialisms), which are formed using the first letter of a series of words (such as SWOT for s trengths, w eaknesses, o pportunities, and t hreats). When deciding whether “a” or “an” is appropriate, focus on how the acronym would be pronounced. For instance, at first glance it might seem like “a HR manager” is right; however, given the way it is read, “an HR manager” is the correct choice.

Examples acronyms with a/an

Many employees earned an MBA or a PhD from an EU-accredited program.

After it creates an R&D department, the agency plans to apply for an FAO grant.

Having an HQ abroad can be difficult for a company with a HEPNET project.

Acronyms that relate to organizations and countries have their own special guidelines when it comes to “the.”

The general test is whether an acronym would be read letter by letter (as in ADB) or pronounced as a word (as in NATO). Acronyms that are read letter by letter usually need “the”:

Examples acronyms with “the”

The headquarters of the UN are in the US .

Several delegations from the EU have visited the UAE .

In contrast, acronyms that are read as words normally do not need “the”:

Examples acronyms without “the”

The secretary-general of OPEC used to work at UNESCO .

Officials from FIFA are currently under scrutiny.

Most country names do not need an article. For instance, we say “The researcher traveled to Zimbabwe” or “The study was conducted in Thailand.” However, “the” is needed in the following circumstances:

Note that when it comes before a country name, “the” does not need to be capitalized.

If you want to know more about nouns , pronouns , verbs , and other parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations and examples.

Nouns & pronouns

• Common nouns
• Proper nouns
• Collective nouns
• Personal pronouns
• Uncountable and countable nouns
• Verb tenses
• Phrasal verbs
• Types of verbs
• Active vs passive voice
• Subject-verb agreement
• Conjunctions
• Interjections
• Determiners
• Prepositions

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Vinz, S. (2022, November 16). Definite and Indefinite Articles | When to Use "The", "A" or "An". Scribbr. Retrieved August 21, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/parts-of-speech/articles/

Aarts, B. (2011).  Oxford modern English grammar . Oxford University Press.

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015).  Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage  (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016).  Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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Sarah's academic background includes a Master of Arts in English, a Master of International Affairs degree, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She loves the challenge of finding the perfect formulation or wording and derives much satisfaction from helping students take their academic writing up a notch.

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Understanding Parts of Speech (9 Types With Examples)

What are parts of speech? In the American English language, parts-of-speech is a category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions. They exist under the verb , noun, pronoun, interjection , adjective , conjunction, adverb, and preposition forms.

Learn more about parts of the speech in this comprehensive worksheet…

What are parts of speech?

“Parts of speech” refers to the essential words used in sentence formation in the English language.

Every word used in a sentence structure plays an important role in defining the sentence’s meaning. These words use and placement give proper intentions in sentence structures.

Parts of speech are the basic grammar lessons taught during the primary phases of learning English.

Any word used in sentence formation falls into one of these categories for proper sentence structure.

Some of those words can be a part of one or more parts of speech. This topic further explores the essential parts of speech used in the English language.

Watch this as a video lesson

In total, there are nine categories of parts of speech

These nine parts of speech are namely: Verbs, Nouns , Adjectives, Determiners, Adverbs , Pronouns, Prepositions , Conjunctions, and Interjections.

Another additional classification is used as a part of speech, i.e. , Articles, a subprogram of determiners.

To comprehend the meaning and use of each word in the English language, it is essential to clearly understand the various parts of speech and select the right parts of speech form at the appropriate place in the sentence.

What are the 9 parts of speech with their functions?

Here are the nine parts of speech and how they impact the English language.

‘Verbs’ are the words used in a sentence to define the action/state of action being performed. Most of the sentences in sentence formation require the inclusion of verbs.

Some examples of verbs used in the English language are Love, Break, Fall , and Cry . These are the basic forms of verbs and are known as infinitives .

Most of the verbs used have two other major forms called participles . The use of these participles is for the formation of various verb-tense combinations.

These participles define the forms of verbs concerning the time of action/performance. These verb-tense combinations can be used in two types: Active voice and passive voice .

A ‘noun’ are words used in a sentence to give recognition or the name of an object, individual, or animal.

Nouns can be sub-classified into two major categories: Common nouns , which give generic descriptor names to things, and common items, such as a bat, a bicycle , etc. The other category of nouns is Proper nouns , which have specific descriptor names to refer to a specialized object, place, or individual, such as Charley, The Empire State Building, The Telegraph , etc.

Additionally, nouns can be classified as singular nouns and plural nouns based on the number of individuals/objects.

Singular Nouns

The definition of a Singular Noun is the same as that of a noun when used commonly. It carries the same definition as the noun: “A word referring towards an individual/object/event/material/place.”

Plural Nouns

The word plural relates to “more than one in certain languages or more than two in certain languages.”

Thus singular nouns can be converted to their plural noun format when there is an implication of more than one or two objects/individuals/places.

A general Singular/Common Noun can be turned into the appropriate form of a Plural Noun by adding a ‘s’/’es’/’ ies’/’ves.’ It is also initiated by changing ‘us’ to ‘i’, ‘is’ to ‘es’ , or ‘on’ to ‘a’ .

Some common nouns do not change when interchanged between their singular and plural noun forms. Some other common nouns do not fall under plural nouns and are called irregular nouns, which are made plural by changing the spelling or adding a suffix to the word.

‘Adjectives’ are words that give a description or modify the scope of nouns/pronouns by being specific. For example, adjectives used to define a noun can be red, small, hot, common, etc.

An adjective is usually placed before a noun or after the verb that it modifies. Three forms of adjectives are used to compare similar characteristics of different individuals/objects. These three degrees of comparison are:

• Positive/Absolute form

This comparison of adjectives defines the original form of the adjective as stated in English. For example, “this candy is tasty .” This degree of comparison states that no relative subject is available for comparison.

• Comparative form

This form of the adjective gives a relative comparison between two objects performing similar actions with identical characteristics. For example, “the candy we had today is tastier than the one we received yesterday.”

• Superlative form

This form of the adjective gives the superiority declaration of one object over similar objects possessing similar characteristics. For example, “this candy is the tastiest I have ever had in the last two years .”

Adjectives can be sub-classified based on their function in sentence formation. This sub-classification is:

• Possessive Adjectives

These adjectives show/represent the possessiveness of an object. For example, mine, my, his/her, their, its, etc.

• Interrogative Adjectives

These adjectives modify the noun/pronoun by interrogation. Only a select few adjectives are available in this form. For example, whose, which, what, and where.

• Demonstrative Adjectives

These adjectives describe the current state/position of the noun/pronoun concerning space/time. For example, this, these, those, that.

• Compound Adjectives

These adjectives are a result of the combination of two or more adjectives. The resulting adjective modifies the subject in the sentence. For example, hand-dried, heavy-weighted, spike-haired, etc.

‘Determiners’ are the words placed before a noun/pronoun group terms to refer to a single/multiple things. Some commonly used determiners in English are ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘some’, ‘any’, and ‘this.’ Determiners are generally placed before descriptive adjectives . It tells the reader more about the description of the noun being referred to.

Determiners are classified into sub-categories, articles, and demonstratives.

An ‘Article’ can be either definite or indefinite. An article modifies a noun/pronoun without specifying any description of the object. In English, an example of a ‘definite article’ is the , whereas examples of two ‘indefinite articles’ are a and an .

Here, the refers to specific things or things that are identified beforehand. A or a refer to non-specific things that have not been identified beforehand.

Demonstratives

A ‘Demonstrative’ is defined as a demonstrative adjective/pronoun based on its usage in the sentence. Some examples of demonstratives are ‘this’, ‘that’, and ‘those’ .

A determiner has the same rules of use as in the case of adjectives in sentence formation. Thus, confusion takes place when carefully choosing the type of parts of speech to assign when given a choice of either a determiner or adjective.

An ‘Adverb’ defines essential information about the verb, similar to what an adjective is to a noun. It provides a descriptor for a verb used in a sentence and some cases, can also describe an adjective or another adverb.

Some adverbs used in sentences with verbs are ‘slowly’, ‘hastily’, ‘unfortunately’, and ‘angrily’.

Adverbs are further sub-classified into various types based on their application in a sentence.

• Adverbs of Time (to inform about the occurrence of a verb), For example, ‘now’, ‘tomorrow’, and ‘soon’.
• Adverbs of Manner (to describe the action of a verb), For example, ‘hastily’, ‘slowly’, and ‘minutely’.
• Adverbs of Place (to indicate the place of action of the verb),
• Adverbs of Frequency (to describe the frequency of a verb action),
• Adverbs of Degree (to describe the intensity of an action),
• Conjunctive Adverbs (are used to link/act as a conjunction to two sentences).

A ‘Pronoun’ is a word used in specifically providing an alternate name for a non/noun phrase. They are alternate words for referring to an object/individual when the requirement of a noun is unnecessary, as the noun has been mentioned previously in some parts of the sentence.

Some examples of pronouns are ‘it’, ‘he/she’, and ‘himself/herself’.

Pronouns are sub-classified into different categories based on their use in the sentence.

Some of these sub-categories are:

• Relative Pronouns (to relate a part of a sentence with the other)
• Possessive Pronouns (to show possessiveness)
• Reflexive Pronouns (to refer back to the subject of discussion)
• Demonstrative Pronouns (to refer to specific objects/individuals)
• Interrogative Pronouns (to ask questions)
• Indefinite Pronouns (to avoid reference to any specific object/individual/place)
• Personal Pronouns (to use as substitutes for proper names)
• Subject Pronouns (to assign acting on an object)
• Object Pronouns (to assign receiving action towards an object)
• Reciprocal Pronouns (to express two-way/mutual relationship)
• Preposition

A ‘Preposition’ is a word used as a connective between a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun with another word.

Prepositions are used in sentence formations to convey these meanings:

• To show the direction towards/of something/someone
• To refer to the period of an action taking place
• To specify the location/position of an object
• To present the space and time relationship between objects

Based on their use and function, prepositions are classified into four subtypes:

• Prepositions of Time (to indicate the happening of an action/event)
• Preposition of Place (to indicate the location of an object)
• Preposition of Direction (to indicate the direction/orientation of an object)
• Prepositions of Spatial Relationship (to indicate an object moving away/towards a source)
• Conjunction

A ‘Conjunction’ is a word that combines two/more objects and behaves as connectives in a sentence. These can appear in the beginning/middle/end of the sentence following the location of the objects.

There are three types of conjunctions used in sentence formation:

• Coordinate conjunction (to combine two independent clauses )
• Subordinate conjunction (to combine an independent with a dependent clause)
• Correlation conjunction (to combine two phrases having equal weightage)

Interjection

An ‘Interjection’ is a word to convey the expression of a variety of emotions/feelings. As such, there is no specific rule for the use of interjection and where it is to be placed.

However, in most cases, it is placed at the beginning of the sentence. For example, some of the most commonly used interjections are ‘ouch’, ‘phew’, and ‘well’.

Parts of speech examples

Here are some examples of the parts of speech used in sentences. Note the placement and its relation with other parts of speech present in the sentence format.

• John is  cutting  a pipe.
• John intends to  come  to the office this Monday .
• Jogging  regularly is good for health.
• Drinking  and  driving  put other motorists in danger.
• Would you want to wear  a suit?
• I love  to sing  in between classes.

See another example in the image below.

• Juno  ran towards the classroom.
• The janitor  requested the students to clear their lockers.
• The monkey  was caged after being sedated.
• I gifted my brother a  phone .
• Why did you purchase the  book ?
• I misplaced the  manuscript .
• Do you want to eat some  ice cream ?
• Mum loved my new car .
• Daniel gifted  his brother  a Porsche.

• I purchased a blue suit for the reception.
• Mary purchased two oranges from the fruit seller.
• The curry is tasty .
• Juno’s brother is arrogant .
• The documentary that premiered on television was fascinating .
• Giovanni Giorgio is a great music composer.

• My house is currently under lease.
• This novel is lengthy.
• I purchased some fruits and vegetables.
• She sent me an expensive watch.
• Velma loved  the  dress gifted by her parents.
• Joyce and Jill watched  a  movie together.
• Grandma gave us materials to prepare  the   dessert.

• Typically , we visit Mom on Mondays.
• Don’t you taste the coffee to be  too  bitter?
• Do not be nervous. You will  eventually get the hang of it.
• The movie I watched was  very  scientific.
• It is  scorching hot inside the workshop.
• Can I visit the office  today ?

• His aunt will be staying at the apartment for a while .
• He is the man I was referring to.
• I found my missing luggage outside the airport.

• I won’t be coming  to  the office  in  the afternoon.
• He arranged the cutlery  on  the table.
• Bhaskar made the dog hide  under  its bed.
• I enjoy strolling by the lake in the mornings.

• James  and  I trekked to the hilltop today.
• I stayed back home  because  I felt uneasy.
• He did not enjoy the yogurt ,  yet  he finished it.

• Interjection
• Hurray!  We got the funding.
• Ouch!  That wound looks severe.
• Wow!  You look great in the wedding gown.
• Oh my God !  I hope he is safe.

See an example in the image below.

Words with more than one job

Many parts of speech can have more than one function/job in the sentence. This improves the versatility of the words being used and makes the use more situational in its placement and conveyance of meaning.

• Myers can shift for herself (Preposition)
• Give prayers to the Almighty; for He is the one above all (Conjunction)
• We require more women to have the same vigor. (Adjective)
• More of the women died in the operating room than in the cabin. (Pronoun)
• Agatha needs to shut the gossiping and work more (Adverb)

To see how all the objects work together, see the table below.

Here is a chart showing the parts of speech:

How to identify parts of speech

In sentence formation, it often becomes difficult to ascertain the parts of speech represented by each word. To help out and to make the process of identification easier, follow these steps:

• Identify any word which names an object/individual/place in a generalized form as a noun .
• To identify a specific noun, use pronouns .
• Any words which describe/identify actions/performance are verbs .
• Any word that modifies or gives a greater definition to nouns is an adjective.
• Any word that modifies or gives meaning to the actions of verbs, are adverbs.
• It is easy to pick out prepositions as they describe relationships between a noun/pronoun with other nouns/pronouns.
• Any joiner used to join two clauses is a conjunction .
• Exclamations generally follow any interjections in the text.

• Parts of speech

More parts of speech:

• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
• Possessive nouns
• Irregular plural nouns
• Proper nouns
• Concrete nouns
• Collective nouns
• Possessive and plural nouns
• Verbs: The Definitive Guide
• Nouns | Explore Definition, Examples & Types with Examples
• What Are Pronouns? Definitions and Examples
• What Are Adverbs? (with Examples)
• Interjections – Explore Meaning, Definition, Usage and Examples
• What Is A Conjunction? Types & Examples
• The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples
• What Is a Determiner?
• The 8 Parts of Speech: Examples and Rules
• Adverbs – What is It? Explore the Meaning, Definition, Types, Usage and Examples

Inside this article

Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

Core lessons

• Abstract Noun
• Accusative Case
• Active Sentence
• Alliteration
• Adjective Clause
• Adjective Phrase
• Adverbial Clause
• Appositive Phrase
• Body Paragraph
• Compound Adjective
• Complex Sentence
• Compound Words
• Compound Predicate
• Common Noun
• Comparative Adjective
• Comparative and Superlative
• Compound Noun
• Compound Subject
• Compound Sentence
• Copular Verb
• Collective Noun
• Colloquialism
• Conciseness
• Conditional
• Concrete Noun
• Conjugation
• Conditional Sentence
• Comma Splice
• Correlative Conjunction
• Coordinating Conjunction
• Coordinate Adjective
• Cumulative Adjective
• Dative Case
• Declarative Statement
• Direct Object Pronoun
• Direct Object
• Dangling Modifier
• Demonstrative Pronoun
• Demonstrative Adjective
• Direct Characterization
• Definite Article
• Doublespeak
• Equivocation Fallacy
• Future Perfect Progressive
• Future Simple
• Future Perfect Continuous
• Future Perfect
• First Conditional
• Gerund Phrase
• Genitive Case
• Helping Verb
• Irregular Adjective
• Irregular Verb
• Imperative Sentence
• Indefinite Article
• Intransitive Verb
• Introductory Phrase
• Indefinite Pronoun
• Indirect Characterization
• Interrogative Sentence
• Intensive Pronoun
• Inanimate Object
• Indefinite Tense
• Infinitive Phrase
• Intensifier
• Indicative Mood
• Juxtaposition
• Linking Verb
• Misplaced Modifier
• Nominative Case
• Noun Adjective
• Object Pronoun
• Object Complement
• Order of Adjectives
• Parallelism
• Prepositional Phrase
• Past Simple Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Progressive Tense
• Present Simple Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Personal Pronoun
• Personification
• Persuasive Writing
• Parallel Structure
• Phrasal Verb
• Predicate Adjective
• Predicate Nominative
• Phonetic Language
• Plural Noun
• Punctuation
• Punctuation Marks
• Preposition of Place
• Parts of Speech
• Possessive Adjective
• Possessive Determiner
• Possessive Case
• Possessive Noun
• Proper Adjective
• Proper Noun
• Present Participle
• Quotation Marks
• Relative Pronoun
• Reflexive Pronoun
• Reciprocal Pronoun
• Subordinating Conjunction
• Simple Future Tense
• Stative Verb
• Subjunctive
• Subject Complement
• Subject of a Sentence
• Sentence Variety
• Second Conditional
• Superlative Adjective
• Slash Symbol
• Topic Sentence
• Types of Nouns
• Types of Sentences
• Uncountable Noun
• Vowels and Consonants

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The 8 Parts of Speech | Definition & Examples

A part of speech (also called a word class ) is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence. Understanding the different parts of speech can help you analyse how words function in a sentence and improve your writing.

The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives , adverbs , prepositions , conjunctions , and interjections . Some modern grammars add others, such as determiners and articles .

Many words can function as different parts of speech depending on how they are used. For example, ‘laugh’ can be a noun (e.g., ‘I like your laugh’) or a verb (e.g., ‘don’t laugh’).

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Table of contents

Prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, other parts of speech, frequently asked questions.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, concept, place, or thing. Nouns can act as the subject of a sentence (i.e., the person or thing performing the action) or as the object of a verb (i.e., the person or thing affected by the action).

There are numerous types of nouns, including common nouns (used to refer to nonspecific people, concepts, places, or things), proper nouns (used to refer to specific people, concepts, places, or things), and collective nouns (used to refer to a group of people or things).

Ella lives in France .

Other types of nouns include countable and uncountable nouns , concrete nouns , abstract nouns , and gerunds .

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A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns typically refer back to an antecedent (a previously mentioned noun) and must demonstrate correct pronoun-antecedent agreement . Like nouns, pronouns can refer to people, places, concepts, and things.

There are numerous types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (used in place of the proper name of a person), demonstrative pronouns (used to refer to specific things and indicate their relative position), and interrogative pronouns (used to introduce questions about things, people, and ownership).

That is a horrible painting!

A verb is a word that describes an action (e.g., ‘jump’), occurrence (e.g., ‘become’), or state of being (e.g., ‘exist’). Verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing. Every complete sentence must contain at least one verb.

Verbs can change form depending on subject (e.g., first person singular), tense (e.g., past simple ), mood (e.g., interrogative), and voice (e.g., passive voice ).

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding’-ed’ to the end of the word (or ‘-d’ if the word already ends in ‘e’). Irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed in some other way.

‘I’ve already checked twice’.

‘I heard that you used to sing ‘.

Other types of verbs include auxiliary verbs , linking verbs , modal verbs , and phrasal verbs .

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be attributive , appearing before a noun (e.g., ‘a red hat’), or predicative , appearing after a noun with the use of a linking verb like ‘to be’ (e.g., ‘the hat is red ‘).

Adjectives can also have a comparative function. Comparative adjectives compare two or more things. Superlative adjectives describe something as having the most or least of a specific characteristic.

Other types of adjectives include coordinate adjectives , participial adjectives , and denominal adjectives .

An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or sentence. Adverbs are often formed by adding ‘-ly’ to the end of an adjective (e.g., ‘slow’ becomes ‘slowly’), although not all adverbs have this ending, and not all words with this ending are adverbs.

There are numerous types of adverbs, including adverbs of manner (used to describe how something occurs), adverbs of degree (used to indicate extent or degree), and adverbs of place (used to describe the location of an action or event).

Talia writes quite quickly.

Other types of adverbs include adverbs of frequency , adverbs of purpose , focusing adverbs , and adverbial phrases .

A preposition is a word (e.g., ‘at’) or phrase (e.g., ‘on top of’) used to show the relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used to indicate aspects such as time , place , and direction .

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

A conjunction is a word used to connect different parts of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, or clauses).

The main types of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions (used to connect items that are grammatically equal), subordinating conjunctions (used to introduce a dependent clause), and correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join grammatically equal parts of a sentence).

You can choose what movie we watch because I chose the last time.

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express a feeling, give a command, or greet someone. Interjections are a grammatically independent part of speech, so they can often be excluded from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

Types of interjections include volitive interjections (used to make a demand or request), emotive interjections (used to express a feeling or reaction), cognitive interjections (used to indicate thoughts), and greetings and parting words (used at the beginning and end of a conversation).

Ouch ! I hurt my arm.

I’m, um , not sure.

The traditional classification of English words into eight parts of speech is by no means the only one or the objective truth. Grammarians have often divided them into more or fewer classes. Other commonly mentioned parts of speech include determiners and articles.

Determiners

A determiner is a word that describes a noun by indicating quantity, possession, or relative position.

Common types of determiners include demonstrative determiners (used to indicate the relative position of a noun), possessive determiners (used to describe ownership), and quantifiers (used to indicate the quantity of a noun).

My brother is selling his old car.

Other types of determiners include distributive determiners , determiners of difference , and numbers .

An article is a word that modifies a noun by indicating whether it is specific or general.

• The definite article the is used to refer to a specific version of a noun. The can be used with all countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., ‘the door’, ‘the energy’, ‘the mountains’).
• The indefinite articles a and an refer to general or unspecific nouns. The indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns (e.g., ‘a poster’, ‘an engine’).

There’s a concert this weekend.

A is an indefinite article (along with an ). While articles can be classed as their own part of speech, they’re also considered a type of determiner .

The indefinite articles are used to introduce nonspecific countable nouns (e.g., ‘a dog’, ‘an island’).

In is primarily classed as a preposition, but it can be classed as various other parts of speech, depending on how it is used:

• Preposition (e.g., ‘ in the field’)
• Noun (e.g., ‘I have an in with that company’)
• Adjective (e.g., ‘Tim is part of the in crowd’)
• Adverb (e.g., ‘Will you be in this evening?’)

As a part of speech, and is classed as a conjunction . Specifically, it’s a coordinating conjunction .

And can be used to connect grammatically equal parts of a sentence, such as two nouns (e.g., ‘a cup and plate’), or two adjectives (e.g., ‘strong and smart’). And can also be used to connect phrases and clauses.

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The Parts of Speech – Definitions and Examples

The different parts of speech are the breakdown and classification of words in English that show their unique functions and properties. In core language, a single word can function as two or more parts of speech.

Differentiating between the 9 parts of speech is the first step to building your grammar skills and writing tools. Keep reading to learn the definitions and examples of each category!

What are the 9 Basic Parts of Speech?

A noun is any place, person, idea, or thing. Some examples of nouns include:

There are various classifications of nouns you can use in your writing. Proper nouns are specific names for places, persons, ideas, or things. Meanwhile, common nouns are generic class nouns. A possessive noun is another type of noun that demonstrates belonging. 

We can also classify this part of speech as an abstract noun, concrete noun, count noun, and uncountable noun.

The placement of the noun in a sentence also determines its function. A noun can be in the nominative or objective case. The nominative functions include subject and subject complement. And the types of objects are direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition.

A quick introduction to pronouns shows they are classes of words that take the place of nouns. Some examples of pronouns include he, that, whoever, myself.

This quick guide to pronouns shows they can be classified as: 

• Personal pronoun (I, he, she, you, etc.)
• Demonstrative pronouns (that, those, these, this, etc.).
• Interrogative pronouns (what, when, why, how, etc.).
• Relative pronouns (who/whom, whose, which, etc.).
• Indefinite pronouns (anybody, everybody, somebody, everything, etc.).
• Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, herself, etc.).
• Intensive pronouns (myself, yourself, herself, etc.).

Pronouns can further be divided into first-person pronoun, second-person pronoun, and third-person pronoun.

A verb is a word that conveys time while showing a condition, an action, or the fact that something exists. All complete sentences should contain at least one verb unless using an interjection.

Verbs can be treated as either lexical verbs/action verbs (study, love, drink) or auxiliary verbs (seem, is, have). 

A verb phrase combines verbs with linking verbs and lexical categories of verbs. Some examples include:

• Has become.

Phrasal verbs are forms of verbs that consist of two or more words. Here are some examples:

• Put up with.

When you add “up with” after the simple verb “put,” you create a brand-new verb with a new meaning. Therefore, phrasal verbs should be treated as complete verbs because of their unique definitions.

Some verbs are reflexive. A reflexive verb is where the subject and object are one since the sentence uses reflexive pronouns like “himself” or “itself.”

Whether you’re using a lexical or auxiliary verb, this part of the speech always expresses time through the different tenses. For instance, the verb “eats” is a present-tense verb, and its past form is “ate.”

4. Adjective

Another part of speech is the adjective , which modifies or describes a noun or a pronoun. It typically answers the questions “what kind,” “which one,” or “how much.” For example:

The articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are sometimes categorized as adjectives. “The” is a definite article, and “a” and “an” are indefinite articles.

Adjective classes include:

• Absolute adjectives.
• Appositive adjectives.
• Attributive adjectives.
• Predicative adjectives.
• Compound adjectives.
• Qualitative adjectives.
• Denomial adjectives.
• Participial adjectives.
• Demonstrative adjectives.

Adverbs are a word class that modifies adjectives, verbs, and fellow adverbs. One frequent adverb marker is the suffix -ly, such as “healthily,” “badly,” and “swiftly.”

But the discussion of adverbs goes beyond words that describe actions. There are also adverbs of degree, place, time, and frequency. The English language also considers “most days,” “to visit my friend,” “very loudly,” and other adverbial phrases as adverbs.

Adverbial phrases are under the phrasal categories, including verb phrases, adjective phrases, etc.

6. Conjunction

A conjunction is a word that binds words, clauses, and phrases. “And,” “but,” “because,” and “consequently” are some examples of conjunctions.

Conjunctions make it easy to construct more complex sentences because you can easily add new clauses. The category distinctions of this part of speech are:

• Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, etc.)
• Subordinating conjunctions (after, although, unless, since, if, etc.)
• Correlative conjunctions (not only… but also, either… or, etc.)

7. Preposition

Prepositions show relations of space, time, and role between nouns, pronouns, and other words. They are at the start of prepositional phrases. Here are some examples of prepositions:

• Apart from.

8. Determiner

A determiner is like an adjective because it also modifies nouns. However, these words are essential for proper syntax as opposed to adjectives. They can be classified as indefinite and definite. New grammar rules now treat articles as determiners. Examples of determiners include:

• Which. 

9. Interjection

The last part of speech is the interjection which may have standalone functions in sentences. “Whoops,” “ouch,” “ah,” and “hooray” can be an entire sentence on their own.

Parts of Speech Chart

Analyzing the parts of speech is different for every individual language. Here’s an overview of the different categories in English.

When A Word is Also Two Different Kinds of Speech

Sometimes, words have more than one role in the English language. For example, some nouns can also act as adjectives called adjectival nouns. In the phrase “race car,” “race” modifies “car,” so its usage is as an adjective instead of a noun.

A noun can be used in verbal senses. Consider the word “work” in these sentences.

• My new work is more promising than the old one. (noun)
• Shew works in a new industry. (verb)

Open and Closed Word Classes

The two classifications of the parts of speech include open and closed classes. The open classes can be changed and added as the language changes. 

• Adjectives.

Meanwhile, closed classes are parts of speech that do not change. These include:

• Prepositions.
• Conjunctions.
• Articles and determiners.
• Interjections.

In some languages, verbs and adjectives form closed classes. This closedness of verbs is common in Basque and Persian verbs .

Linguistics , or the study of language, does not recommend the label “part of speech” anymore. Instead, the discipline favors “syntactic category” or “word class.”

What Part of Speech is With?

In the stricter sense, the only use of “with” is as a preposition. You can find it before a noun or a pronoun to form prepositional phrases. Use it to show togetherness, associations, and connections between people and objects.

What Part of Speech is And?

The conjunction “and” connects words, clauses, and phrases. It can also combine sentences that need to be presented at once.

What Part of Speech is My?

“My” is a possessive pronoun that can also act as an adjective, determiner, or interjection.

Are You Using the Parts of Speech the Right Way?

This guide has shown you the nine parts of speech and their grammatical functions. By now, you should already be able to give definitions and examples of each category, so they make sense. 

To correctly use the parts of speech, ask yourself, “what is the function of this word in the sentence?” Keep practicing until you master the traditional grammar rules of English!

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The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples

• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A part of speech is a term used in traditional grammar for one of the nine main categories into which words are classified according to their functions in sentences, such as nouns or verbs. Also known as word classes, these are the building blocks of grammar.

Every sentence you write or speak in English includes words that fall into some of the nine parts of speech. These include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections. (Some sources include only eight parts of speech and leave interjections in their own category.)

Parts of Speech

• Word types can be divided into nine parts of speech:
• prepositions
• conjunctions
• articles/determiners
• interjections
• Some words can be considered more than one part of speech, depending on context and usage.
• Interjections can form complete sentences on their own.

Learning the names of the parts of speech probably won't make you witty, healthy, wealthy, or wise. In fact, learning just the names of the parts of speech won't even make you a better writer. However, you will gain a basic understanding of sentence structure  and the  English language by familiarizing yourself with these labels.

Open and Closed Word Classes

The parts of speech are commonly divided into  open classes  (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and  closed classes  (pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections). Open classes can be altered and added to as language develops, and closed classes are pretty much set in stone. For example, new nouns are created every day, but conjunctions never change.

In contemporary linguistics , parts of speech are generally referred to as word classes or syntactic categories. The main difference is that word classes are classified according to more strict linguistic criteria. Within word classes, there is the lexical, or open class, and the function, or closed class.

The 9 Parts of Speech

Read about each part of speech below, and practice identifying each.

Nouns are a person, place, thing, or idea. They can take on a myriad of roles in a sentence, from the subject of it all to the object of an action. They are capitalized when they're the official name of something or someone, and they're called proper nouns in these cases. Examples: pirate, Caribbean, ship, freedom, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Pronouns stand in for nouns in a sentence . They are more generic versions of nouns that refer only to people. Examples:​  I, you, he, she, it, ours, them, who, which, anybody, ourselves.

Verbs are action words that tell what happens in a sentence. They can also show a sentence subject's state of being ( is , was ). Verbs change form based on tense (present, past) and count distinction (singular or plural). Examples:  sing, dance, believes, seemed, finish, eat, drink, be, became.

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They specify which one, how much, what kind, and more. Adjectives allow readers and listeners to use their senses to imagine something more clearly. Examples:  hot, lazy, funny, unique, bright, beautiful, poor, smooth.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. They specify when, where, how, and why something happened and to what extent or how often. Many adjectives can be turned into adjectives by adding the suffix - ly . Examples:  softly, quickly, lazily, often, only, hopefully, sometimes.

Preposition

Prepositions  show spatial, temporal, and role relations between a noun or pronoun and the other words in a sentence. They come at the start of a prepositional phrase , which contains a preposition and its object. Examples:  up, over, against, by, for, into, close to, out of, apart from.

Conjunction

Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. There are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions. Examples:  and, but, or, so, yet.

Articles and Determiners

Articles and determiners function like adjectives by modifying nouns, but they are different than adjectives in that they are necessary for a sentence to have proper syntax. Articles and determiners specify and identify nouns, and there are indefinite and definite articles. Examples of articles:  a, an, the ; examples of determiners:  these, that, those, enough, much, few, which, what.

Some traditional grammars have treated articles  as a distinct part of speech. Modern grammars, however, more often include articles in the category of determiners , which identify or quantify a noun. Even though they modify nouns like adjectives, articles are different in that they are essential to the proper syntax of a sentence, just as determiners are necessary to convey the meaning of a sentence, while adjectives are optional.

Interjection

Interjections are expressions that can stand on their own or be contained within sentences. These words and phrases often carry strong emotions and convey reactions. Examples:  ah, whoops, ouch, yabba dabba do!

How to Determine the Part of Speech

Only interjections ( Hooray! ) have a habit of standing alone; every other part of speech must be contained within a sentence and some are even required in sentences (nouns and verbs). Other parts of speech come in many varieties and may appear just about anywhere in a sentence.

To know for sure what part of speech a word falls into, look not only at the word itself but also at its meaning, position, and use in a sentence.

For example, in the first sentence below,  work  functions as a noun; in the second sentence, a verb; and in the third sentence, an adjective:

• Bosco showed up for  work  two hours late.
• The noun  work  is the thing Bosco shows up for.
• He will have to  work  until midnight.
• The verb  work  is the action he must perform.
• His  work  permit expires next month.
• The  attributive noun  (or converted adjective) work  modifies the noun  permit .

Learning the names and uses of the basic parts of speech is just one way to understand how sentences are constructed.

Dissecting Basic Sentences

To form a basic complete sentence, you only need two elements: a noun (or pronoun standing in for a noun) and a verb. The noun acts as a subject, and the verb, by telling what action the subject is taking, acts as the predicate. 

In the short sentence above,  birds  is the noun and  fly  is the verb. The sentence makes sense and gets the point across.

You can have a sentence with just one word without breaking any sentence formation rules. The short sentence below is complete because it's a verb command with an understood "you" noun.

Here, the pronoun, standing in for a noun, is implied and acts as the subject. The sentence is really saying, "(You) go!"

Constructing More Complex Sentences

Use more parts of speech to add additional information about what's happening in a sentence to make it more complex. Take the first sentence from above, for example, and incorporate more information about how and why birds fly.

• Birds fly when migrating before winter.

Birds and fly remain the noun and the verb, but now there is more description. 

When  is an adverb that modifies the verb fly.  The word before  is a little tricky because it can be either a conjunction, preposition, or adverb depending on the context. In this case, it's a preposition because it's followed by a noun. This preposition begins an adverbial phrase of time ( before winter ) that answers the question of when the birds migrate . Before is not a conjunction because it does not connect two clauses.

• What Are Word Blends?
• Figure of Speech: Definition and Examples
• Definition and Examples of Adjectives
• Subjects, Verbs, and Objects
• What Is a Rhetorical Device? Definition, List, Examples
• What Is The Speech Act Theory: Definition and Examples
• A List of Exclamations and Interjections in English
• What Is Nonverbal Communication?
• Examples and Usage of Conjunctions in English Grammar
• Linguistic Variation
• Definition and Examples of Interjections in English
• Definition and Examples of Jargon
• Understanding the Types of Verbs in English Grammar
• Complementary vs. Complimentary: How to Choose the Right Word
• Basic Grammar: What Is a Diphthong?
• Subordinating Conjunctions

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Understanding the Parts of Speech in English

Yes, the parts of speech in English are extensive and complex. But we’ve made it easy for you to start learning them by gathering the most basic and essential information in this easy-to-follow and comprehensive guide.

Parts of Speech: Quick Summary

Parts of speech assign words to different categories. There are eight different types in English. Keep in mind that a word can belong to more than one part of speech.

Learn About:

• Parts of Speech
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Using the Parts of Speech Correctly In Your Writing

Knowing the parts of speech is vital when learning a new language.

When it comes to learning a new language, there are several components you should understand to truly get a grasp of the language and speak it fluently.

It’s not enough to become an expert in just one area. For instance, you can learn and memorize all the intricate grammar rules, but if you don’t practice speaking or writing colloquially, you will find it challenging to use that language in real time.

Conversely, if you don’t spend time trying to learn the rules and technicalities of a language, you’ll also find yourself struggling to use it correctly.

Think of it this way: Language is a tasty, colorful, and nutritious salad. If you fill your bowl with nothing but lettuce, your fluency will be bland, boring, and tasteless. But if you spend time cultivating other ingredients for your salad—like style, word choice, and vocabulary— then it will become a wholesome meal you can share with others.

In this blog post, we’re going to cover one of the many ingredients you’ll need to build a nourishing salad of the English language—the parts of speech.

Let’s get choppin’!

What Are the Parts of Speech in English?

The parts of speech refer to categories to which a word belongs. In English, there are eight of them : verbs , nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

Many English words fall into more than one part of speech category. Take the word light as an example. It can function as a verb, noun, or adjective.

Verb: Can you please light the candles?

Noun: The room was filled with a dim, warm light .

Adjective: She wore a light jacket in the cool weather.

The parts of speech in English are extensive. There’s a lot to cover in each category—much more than we can in this blog post. The information below is simply a brief overview of the basics of the parts of speech. Nevertheless, the concise explanations and accompanying example sentences will help you gain an understanding of how to use them correctly.

What Are Verbs?

Verbs are the most essential parts of speech because they move the meaning of sentences along.

A verb can show actions of the body and mind ( jump and think ), occurrences ( happen or occur ), and states of being ( be and exist ). Put differently, verbs breathe life into sentences by describing actions or indicating existence. These parts of speech can also change form to express time , person , number , voice , and mood .

There are several verb categories. A few of them are:

• Regular and irregular verbs
• Transitive and intransitive verbs
• Auxiliary verbs

A few examples of verbs include sing (an irregular action verb), have (which can be a main verb or auxiliary verb), be , which is a state of being verb, and would (another auxiliary verb).

My little sister loves to sing .

I have a dog and her name is Sweet Pea.

I will be there at 5 P.M.

I would like to travel the world someday.

Again, these are just the very basics of English verbs. There’s a lot more that you should learn to be well-versed in this part of speech, but the information above is a good place to start.

What Are Nouns?

Nouns refer to people ( John and child ), places ( store and Italy ), things ( firetruck and pen ), and ideas or concepts ( love and balance ). There are also many categories within nouns. For example, proper nouns name a specific person, place, thing, or idea. These types of nouns are always capitalized.

Olivia is turning five in a few days.

My dream is to visit Tokyo .

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.

Some argue that Buddhism is a way of life, not a religion.

On the other hand, common nouns are not specific to any particular entity and are used to refer to any member of a general category.

My teacher is the smartest, most caring person I know!

I love roaming around a city I’ve never been to before.

This is my favorite book , which was recommended to me by my father.

There’s nothing more important to me than love .

Nouns can be either singular or plural. Singular nouns refer to a single entity, while plural nouns refer to multiple entities.

Can you move that chair out of the way, please? (Singular)

Can you move those chairs out of the way, please? (Plural)

While many plural nouns are formed by adding an “–s” or “–es,” others have irregular plural forms, meaning they don’t follow the typical pattern.

There was one woman waiting in line.

There were several women waiting in line.

Nouns can also be countable or uncountable . Those that are countable refer to nouns that can be counted as individual units. For example, there can be one book, two books, three books, or more. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted as individual units. Take the word water as an example. You could say I drank some water, but it would be incorrect to say I drank waters. Instead, you would say something like I drank several bottles of water.

What Are Pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of other nouns or noun phrases. Pronouns serve the purpose of referring to nouns without having to repeat the word each time. A word (or group of words) that a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent .

Jessica went to the store, and she bought some blueberries.

In the sentence above, Jessica is the antecedent, and she is the referring pronoun. Here’s the same sentence without the proper use of a pronoun:

Jessica went to the store, and Jessica bought some blueberries.

Do you see how the use of a pronoun improves the sentence by avoiding repetitiveness?

Like all the other parts of speech we have covered, pronouns also have various categories.

Personal pronouns replace specific people or things: I, me, you, he, she, him, her, it, we, us, they, them.

When I saw them at the airport, I waved my hands up in the air so they could see me .

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership : mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, whose.

I think that phone is hers .

Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject of a sentence or clause. They are used when the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same person or thing: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

The iguanas sunned themselves on the roof of my car.

Intensive pronouns have the same form as reflexive pronouns and are used to emphasize or intensify the subject of a sentence.

I will take care of this situation myself .

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific individuals or objects but rather to a general or unspecified person, thing, or group. Some examples include someone, everybody, anything, nobody, each, something, and all.

Everybody enjoyed the party. Someone even said it was the best party they had ever attended.

Demonstrative pronouns are used to identify or point to specific pronouns: this, that, these, those.

Can you pick up those pens off the floor?

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions and seek information: who, whom, whose, which, what.

Who can help move these heavy boxes?

Relative pronouns connect a clause or a phrase to a noun or pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, that, what, whoever, whichever, whatever.

Christina, who is the hiring manager, is the person whom you should get in touch with.

Reciprocal pronouns are used to refer to individual parts of a plural antecedent. They indicate a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more people or things: each other or one another.

The cousins always giggle and share secrets with one another .  

What Are Adjectives?

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns, usually by describing, identifying, or quantifying them. They play a vital role in adding detail, precision, and imagery to English, allowing us to depict and differentiate the qualities of people, objects, places, and ideas.

The blue house sticks out compared to the other neutral-colored ones. (Describes)

That house is pretty, but I don’t like the color. (Identifies)

There were several houses I liked, but the blue one was unique. (Quantifies)

We should note that identifying or quantifying adjectives are also referred to as determiners. Additionally, articles ( a, an, the ) and numerals ( four or third ) are also used to quantify and identify adjectives.

Descriptive adjectives have other forms (known as comparative and superlative adjectives ) that allow for comparisons. For example, the comparative of the word small is smaller, while the superlative is smallest.

Proper adjectives (which are derived from proper nouns) describe specific nouns. They usually retain the same spelling or are slightly modified, but they’re always capitalized. For example, the proper noun France can be turned into the proper adjective French.

What Are Adverbs?

Adverbs are words that modify or describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses. Although many adverbs end in “–ly,” not all of them do. Also, some words that end in “–ly” are adjectives, not adverbs ( lovely ).

She dances beautifully .

In the sentence above, beautifully modifies the verb dances.

We visited an extremely tall building.

Here, the adverb extremely modifies the adjective tall.

He had to run very quickly to not miss the train.

The adverb very modifies the adverb quickly.

Interestingly , the experiment yielded unexpected results that left us baffled.

In this example, the word interestingly modifies the independent clause that comprises the rest of the sentence (which is why they’re called sentence adverbs ).

Like adjectives, adverbs can also have other forms when making comparisons. For example:

strongly, more strongly, most strongly, less strongly, least strongly

What Are Prepositions?

Prepositions provide context and establish relationships between nouns, pronouns, and other words in a sentence. They indicate time, location, direction, manner, and other vital information. Prepositions can fall into several subcategories. For instance, on can indicate physical location, but it can also be used to express time.

Place the bouquet of roses on the table.

We will meet on Monday.

There are many prepositions. A few examples include: about, above, across, after, before, behind, beneath, beside, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, onto, past, regarding, since, through, toward, under, until, with, without.

Prepositions can contain more than one word, like according to and with regard to.

What Are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions are words that join words, phrases, or clauses together within a sentence and provide information about the relationship between those words. There are different types of conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance: and, but, for, not, or, so, yet.

I like to sing, and she likes to dance.

Correlative conjunctions come in pairs and join balanced elements of a sentence: both…and, just as…so, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, whether…or.

You can either come with us and have fun, or stay at home and be bored.

Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent clauses to independent clauses. A few examples include: after, although, even though, since, unless, until, when , and while.

They had a great time on their stroll, even though it started raining and they got soaked.

Conjunctive adverbs are adverbs that function as conjunctions, connecting independent clauses or sentences. Examples of conjunctive adverbs are also, anyway, besides, however, meanwhile, nevertheless, otherwise, similarly, and therefore .

I really wanted to go to the party. However , I was feeling sick and decided to stay in.

I really wanted to go to the party; however , I was feeling sick and decided to stay in.

What Are Interjections?

Interjections are words that express strong emotions, sudden reactions, or exclamations. This part of speech is usually a standalone word or phrase, but even when it is  part of a sentence, it does not relate grammatically to the rest of .

There are several interjections. Examples include: ahh, alas, bravo, eww, hello, please, thanks, and oops.

Ahh ! I couldn’t believe what was happening.

When it comes to improving your writing skills, understanding the parts of speech is as important as adding other ingredients besides lettuce to a salad.

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Parts of Speech

What are the parts of speech, a formal definition.

Table of Contents

The Part of Speech Is Determined by the Word's Function

Are there 8 or 9 parts of speech, the nine parts of speech, (1) adjective, (3) conjunction, (4) determiner, (5) interjection, (7) preposition, (8) pronoun, why the parts of speech are important, video lesson.

• You need to dig a well . (noun)
• You look well . (adjective)
• You dance well . (adverb)
• Well , I agree. (interjection)
• My eyes will well up. (verb)
• red, happy, enormous
• Ask the boy in the red jumper.
• I live in a happy place.
• I caught a fish this morning! I mean an enormous one.
• happily, loosely, often
• They skipped happily to the counter.
• Tie the knot loosely so they can escape.
• I often walk to work.
• It is an intriguingly magic setting.
• He plays the piano extremely well.
• and, or, but
• it is a large and important city.
• Shall we run to the hills or hide in the bushes?
• I know you are lying, but I cannot prove it.
• my, those, two, many
• My dog is fine with those cats.
• There are two dogs but many cats.
• ouch, oops, eek
• Ouch , that hurt.
• Oops , it's broken.
• Eek! A mouse just ran past my foot!
• leader, town, apple
• Take me to your leader .
• I will see you in town later.
• An apple fell on his head .
• in, near, on, with
• Sarah is hiding in the box.
• I live near the train station.
• Put your hands on your head.
• She yelled with enthusiasm.
• she, we, they, that
• Joanne is smart. She is also funny.
• Our team has studied the evidence. We know the truth.
• Jack and Jill went up the hill, but they never returned.
• That is clever!
• work, be, write, exist
• Tony works down the pit now. He was unemployed.
• I will write a song for you.
• I think aliens exist .

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos .

Video for Each Part of Speech

The Most Important Writing Issues

The top issue related to adjectives.

The Top Issue Related to Adverbs

• Extremely annoyed, she stared menacingly at her rival.
• Infuriated, she glared at her rival.

The Top Issue Related to Conjunctions

• Burger, Fries, and a shake
• Fish, chips and peas

The Top Issue Related to Determiners

The Top Issue Related to Interjections

The top issue related to nouns, the top issue related to prepositions, the top issue related to pronouns, the top issue related to verbs.

• Crack the parts of speech to help with learning a foreign language or to take your writing to the next level.

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

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Parts Of Speech: Breaking Them Down With Examples

Author: sarah perowne, more content, why understanding parts of speech is important , the 8 parts of speech: definitions, examples, and rules, 2. pronouns, 3. adjectives, 6. prepositions, 7. conjunctions, 8. articles, takeaways - tips.

Parts of speech are like Legos. Instead of being made into houses or spaceships, they’re the building blocks we use to form written and spoken language.

Every word you speak or write is a part of speech. In the English language, there are 8 parts of speech: nouns , pronouns , adjectives , verbs , adverbs , prepositions , conjunctions , and articles (determiners). These parts of speech represent categories of words according to their grammatical function.

Having a basic understanding of the parts of speech in the English language gives you a specific terminology and classification system to talk about language. It can help you correctly punctuate a sentence, capitalize the right words, and even understand how to form a complete sentence to avoid grammatical errors.

Still with us? Now, we will break down each of these English grammar categories and give some examples.

Nouns are words that name a person, place, thing, or idea. They can be further classified into different types of nouns .

Proper Nouns Vs. Common Nouns

There are some nouns we can count and others we cannot. Take a look at this table.

Concrete Nouns Vs. Abstract Nouns

Singular Nouns Vs. Plural Nouns

Exceptions To The Rule

Some nouns are irregular, and it’s a case of learning their plural form as they don’t always follow specific rules. Here are some examples:

Countable Vs. Uncountable Nouns

Other Types of Nouns

Possessive nouns.

Possessive nouns possess something and usually have ‘s or simply ‘ at the end. When the noun is singular, we add an ‘s. When the noun is plural, we add an apostrophe.

Here are examples of possessive nouns :

• David’s sister has a dog.
• His sister’s dog is named Max.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns refer to a group or collection of things, people, or animals. Such as,

• Choir of singers
• Herd of sheep

Noun Phrases

A noun phrase is two or more words that function as a noun in a sentence. It also includes modifiers that can come before or after the noun.

Here are examples of noun phrases:

• The little brown dog is mine.
• The market down the street has the best prices.

If you want to know where to find nouns in a sentence, look for the subject or a direct object, and they will stand right out. For example:

• Mary ate chocolate cake and ice cream .

(Mary = Subject) (Chocolate cake, and ice cream = direct objects)

This is an easy way to identify nouns in a sentence.

Pronouns are words used in the place of a noun or noun phrase. They can be further classified into different types of pronouns , such as personal, reflexive, and possessive.

Personal Pronouns

Reflexive Pronouns

Some examples of reflexive pronouns are myself, yourself, herself, and itself.

Here are examples of reflexive pronouns in sentences:

• I helped myself to an extra serving of gravy.
• She didn’t do the cooking herself.
• The word itself is pretty easy to spell but hard to pronounce.

Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis, as in this sentence:

• Joe himself baked the cake.

Possessive Pronouns

Some examples of possessive pronouns are my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs. We use these words when we want to express possession. Such as,

• Is this your car?
• No, it’s his .
• It’s not mine .

Mine, yours, and his are examples of the independent form of possessive pronouns , and when showing possession, these pronouns never need an apostrophe.

Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. They make the meaning more definite. When we want to talk about what kind of a house we have, we can use adjectives to describe it, such as big, red, or lovely.

We can use adjectives to precede the word it modifies, like this;

• She wore a beautiful , blue dress.

Or we can use adjectives following the word they modify, like this;

• The athlete, tall and thin , was ready to win the race.

There are many types of adjectives, one being possessive . The seven possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. These words modify a noun or pronoun and show possession. Such as,

• Their dog is brown.
• How old is your brother?
• That was my idea.

Verbs are words that express an action or a state of being. All verbs help to make a complete statement. Action verbs express a physical action, for example:

Other verbs express a mental action, for example:

These can also be called lexical verbs .

Lexical Verbs and Auxiliary Verbs

Sometimes lexical verbs need the help of another type of verb . That’s where helping verbs , or auxiliary verbs , come into action; they help to make a statement or express action.

Examples of auxiliary verbs are am, are, is, has, can, may, will be, and might have.

When we use more than one verb when writing or speaking to express an action or state of being, it’s a verbal phrase consisting of the main verb, lexical verb, and one or more auxiliary verbs.

Some examples of verbal phrases:

• Should have done
• Must have been broken
• Will be following

Here are examples of verbal phrases used in a sentence.

• You should have gone to the concert last night. It was amazing!
• I may go to the concert next time if I have the money for a ticket.
• I might have missed out this time, but I certainly won’t next time.

Adverbs are used to describe an adjective, verb, or even another adverb . They can express how something is done, as in splendidly or poorly .

Here are some examples of adverbs in use:

• She was running extremely fast during that race .

The adverb extremely modifies the adjective fast , expressing just how rapid the runner was.

• I can hardly see it in the distance.

The adverb hardly modifies the verb see , expressing how much is visible, which in this case is not much at all.

• It’s been surprisingly poorly cleaned.

The adverb surprisingly modifies the adverb poorly, expressing the surprise at how badly the car has been cleaned.

They are used to show relationships between words, such as nouns or pronouns, with other words in the sentence. They can indicate spatial or time relationships. Some common prepositions are about, at, before, behind, but, in, off, on, to, and with.

Here are some examples of common prepositions in sentences:

• She sat behind me in class.
• Her mother was from Vietnam.
• The two of us worked together on the project.

Prepositions are followed by objects of prepositions, a noun, or a noun phrase that follows to give it meaning.

• Julie goes to school with Mark . (With whom? Mark.)

Groups of words can also act as prepositions together, such as in spite of .

• In spite of all the traffic, we arrived just on time.

Conjunctions link words or groups of words together. We often use them to create complex sentences. There are three types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions , correlative conjunctions , and subordinating conjunctions.  

Coordinating Conjunctions

Examples of coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet. Such as:

• He wanted apple pie and ice cream.
• She offered him fruit or cookies.
• He ate the fruit but still wanted apple pie.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs. Some examples are;

• and neither/ nor.

Here is an example of the conjunctions above in use:

• He wanted neither fruit nor cookies for dessert.

Subordinating Conjunctions

We use subordinating conjunctions to begin subordinate clauses or sentences.

Some examples of common subordinating conjunctions are after, before, then, when, provided, unless, so that, and while. Such as,

• He left the house before it turned dark.
• He realized he had forgotten a gift when he arrived at the party.
• The party was better than he had imagined.

There are three articles in the English language: a, an, and the. Articles can indicate whether a specific identity is known or not.

A and an are called indefinite articles and refer to a general group. Such as,

• A woman is at the front door.
• She stood there for a minute.
• She had a book in her hand.

The is a definite article and refers to a specific thing or person. Such as,

• The woman at the door is my friend Tracy.
• She’s returning the book she borrowed last week.

Getting these right to know if we’re talking about a specific item, person, or thing, in general, is important.

How many parts of speech are there in the English language? Are there 8, 9, or 10?

Many words can also be used as more than one part of speech..

Once you get the hang of it, identifying the various parts of speech in a sentence will be second nature, like riding a bike. And just think, it can help you craft stronger sentences!

More Parts of Speech Topics:

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• Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech - Definition, 8 Types and Examples

In the English language , every word is called a part of speech. The role a word plays in a sentence denotes what part of speech it belongs to. Explore the definition of parts of speech, the different parts of speech and examples in this article.

Table of Contents

Parts of speech definition, different parts of speech with examples.

• Sentences Examples for the 8 Parts of Speech

A Small Exercise to Check Your Understanding of Parts of Speech

Frequently asked questions on parts of speech, what is a part of speech.

Parts of speech are among the first grammar topics we learn when we are in school or when we start our English language learning process. Parts of speech can be defined as words that perform different roles in a sentence. Some parts of speech can perform the functions of other parts of speech too.

• The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines parts of speech as “one of the classes into which words are divided according to their grammar, such as noun, verb, adjective, etc.”
• The Cambridge Dictionary also gives a similar definition – “One of the grammatical groups into which words are divided, such as noun, verb, and adjective”.

Parts of speech include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.

8 Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples:

1. Nouns are words that are used to name people, places, animals, ideas and things. Nouns can be classified into two main categories: Common nouns and Proper nouns . Common nouns are generic like ball, car, stick, etc., and proper nouns are more specific like Charles, The White House, The Sun, etc.

Examples of nouns used in sentences:

• She bought a pair of shoes . (thing)
• I have a pet. (animal)
• Is this your book ? (object)
• Many people have a fear of darkness . (ideas/abstract nouns)
• He is my brother . (person)
• This is my school . (place)

Also, explore Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns .

2. Pronouns are words that are used to substitute a noun in a sentence. There are different types of pronouns. Some of them are reflexive pronouns, possessive pronouns , relative pronouns and indefinite pronouns . I, he, she, it, them, his, yours, anyone, nobody, who, etc., are some of the pronouns.

Examples of pronouns used in sentences:

• I reached home at six in the evening. (1st person singular pronoun)
• Did someone see a red bag on the counter? (Indefinite pronoun)
• Is this the boy who won the first prize? (Relative pronoun)
• That is my mom. (Possessive pronoun)
• I hurt myself yesterday when we were playing cricket. (Reflexive pronoun)

3. Verbs are words that denote an action that is being performed by the noun or the subject in a sentence. They are also called action words. Some examples of verbs are read, sit, run, pick, garnish, come, pitch, etc.

Examples of verbs used in sentences:

• She plays cricket every day.
• Darshana and Arul are going to the movies.
• My friends visited me last week.
• Did you have your breakfast?
• My name is Meenakshi Kishore.

4. Adverbs are words that are used to provide more information about verbs, adjectives and other adverbs used in a sentence. There are five main types of adverbs namely, adverbs of manner , adverbs of degree , adverbs of frequency , adverbs of time and adverbs of place . Some examples of adverbs are today, quickly, randomly, early, 10 a.m. etc.

Examples of adverbs used in sentences:

• Did you come here to buy an umbrella? (Adverb of place)
• I did not go to school yesterday as I was sick. (Adverb of time)
• Savio reads the newspaper everyday . (Adverb of frequency)
• Can you please come quickly ? (Adverb of manner)
• Tony was so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open during the meeting. (Adverb of degree)

5. Adjectives are words that are used to describe or provide more information about the noun or the subject in a sentence. Some examples of adjectives include good, ugly, quick, beautiful, late, etc.

Examples of adjectives used in sentences:

• The place we visited yesterday was serene .
• Did you see how big that dog was?
• The weather is pleasant today.
• The red dress you wore on your birthday was lovely.
• My brother had only one chapati for breakfast.

6. Prepositions are words that are used to link one part of the sentence to another. Prepositions show the position of the object or subject in a sentence. Some examples of prepositions are in, out, besides, in front of, below, opposite, etc.

Examples of prepositions used in sentences:

• The teacher asked the students to draw lines on the paper so that they could write in straight lines.
• The child hid his birthday presents under his bed.
• Mom asked me to go to the store near my school.
• The thieves jumped over the wall and escaped before we could reach home.

7. Conjunctions are a part of speech that is used to connect two different parts of a sentence, phrases and clauses . Some examples of conjunctions are and, or, for, yet, although, because, not only, etc.

Examples of conjunctions used in sentences:

• Meera and Jasmine had come to my birthday party.
• Jane did not go to work as she was sick.
• Unless you work hard, you cannot score good marks.
• I have not finished my project,  yet I went out with my friends.

8. Interjections are words that are used to convey strong emotions or feelings. Some examples of interjections are oh, wow, alas, yippee, etc. It is always followed by an exclamation mark.

Examples of interjections used in sentences:

• Wow ! What a wonderful work of art.
• Alas ! That is really sad.
• Yippee ! We won the match.

Sentence Examples for the 8 Parts of Speech

• Noun – Tom lives in New York .
• Pronoun – Did she find the book she was looking for?
• Verb – I reached home.
• Adverb – The tea is too hot.
• Adjective – The movie was amazing .
• Preposition – The candle was kept under the table.
• Conjunction – I was at home all day, but I am feeling very tired.
• Interjection – Oh ! I forgot to turn off the stove.

Let us find out if you have understood the different parts of speech and their functions. Try identifying which part of speech the highlighted words belong to.

• My brother came home  late .
• I am a good girl.
• This is the book I  was looking for.
• Whoa ! This is amazing .
• The climate  in  Kodaikanal is very pleasant.
• Can you please pick up Dan and me on  your way home?

Now, let us see if you got it right. Check your answers.

• My – Pronoun, Home – Noun, Late – Adverb
• Am – Verb, Good – Adjective
• I – Pronoun, Was looking – Verb
• Whoa – Interjection, Amazing – Adjective
• Climate – Noun, In – Preposition, Kodaikanal – Noun, Very – Adverb
• And – Conjunction, On – Preposition, Your – Pronoun

What are parts of speech?

The term ‘parts of speech’ refers to words that perform different functions in a sentence  in order to give the sentence a proper meaning and structure.

How many parts of speech are there?

There are 8 parts of speech in total.

What are the 8 parts of speech?

Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections are the 8 parts of speech.

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The 8 Parts Of Speech In English

There are eight major  parts of speech .

• Nouns  name persons, places, things, ideas, or qualities, e.g., Franklin, boy, Yangtze River, shoreline, Bible, desk, fear, happiness.
• Pronouns  usually substitute for nouns and function as nouns, e.g., I, you, he, she, it, we, they, myself, this, that, who, which, everyone.
• Verbs  express actions, occurrences, or states of being, e.g., be, become, bunt, inflate, run.
• Adjectives  describe or modify nouns or pronouns, e.g., gentle, helpful, small.
• Adverbs  describe or modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, e.g., almost, gently, helpfully, someday.
• Prepositions  relate nouns or pronouns to other words in a sentence, e.g., about, at, down, for, of, with.
• Conjunctions  link words, clauses, and phrases. There are coordinating conjunctions that link words, clauses, or phrases of equal importance, and there are subordinating conjunctions that introduce subordinate clauses and link them to main clauses.
• Interjections  express feeling or command attention, either alone or in a sentence, e.g., darn, hey, oh, wow.

Some words ( adjectives ,  adverbs ,  interjections ,  nouns ,  verbs ) are productive classes allowing new members; others, with functional rather than lexical meaning ( articles ,  conjunctions ,  prepositions ) are nonproductive and have a limited number of members.

Some grammarians consider  articles ,  quantifiers , and  numerals  to also be parts of speech.

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8 Parts of Speech

The 8 parts of speech in English are: Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Verbs, Prepositions, Pronouns, Conjunctions, and Interjections.

A part of speech is a category of words that have similar grammatical functions or properties. In other words, they play similar roles in a sentence. For instance, a verb shows the action of a subject or the subject's state of being. 

We'll now look in more detail at the function of each of these parts of speech. 

Understanding the 8 Parts of Speech

Nouns are words used to talk about people, places, things, or ideas/concepts. Here are some examples:

• Person: The President
• Place: London
• Thing: Table
• Idea/concept: Neo-liberalism

So it may be naming something we can touch ( e.g. table; book; car ) or something we cannot touch ( e.g. Neo-liberalism; happiness; wish ).

There are both common nouns, used for classes of   people, places, things, or ideas/concepts,  and proper nouns, which is their given name, always with a capital letter.

Common Nouns

• political party

Proper Nouns

• Chester Avenue

Learn more about the various types of noun >>

Another of the 8 parts of speech are adjectives. They describe nouns or pronouns. They can come before or after the noun/pronoun they describe:

Absolute Adjectives

• The  large  shopping complex
• The  excited  child
• She is  happy
• It was a  shocking  film
• Her dress was  lovely
• He's a  good-looking  man

These are  absolute adjectives , but they can also be  comparative  (comparing two or more things) or  superlative  (showing degree or quality):

Comparative Adjectives

• She's  fitter than the others
• Their house is bigger
• I ran faster  than you
• Cats are more agile than dogs
• Sue's  more tired than Tim

Superlative Adjectives

• She's the fittest
• Their house is the biggest
• I ran the fastest
• Cats are the most agile
• Sue's the most tired

There are various other types of adjective. Learn more about the different types of adjectives >>

Adverbs modify verbs, other adverbs, and adjectives. There are adverbs of manner, time, place and degree . Here are examples of each being modified in relation to verbs, adverbs, and adjectives (the word being modified is underlined):

Adverbs Modifying Verbs

• He runs fast
• Ian quickly left the room
• She spoke slowly

Adverbs Modifying Other Adverbs

• He runs exceptionally  fast
• Ian very  quickly left the room
• She spoke extremely  slowly

Adverbs Modifying Adjectives

• She's really excited
• He's happily married
• The elegantly designed dress is mine

Verbs form part of the predicate of a sentence.

In relation to the subject, they are used to express a physical action (e.g. walk; speak; show) or a mental action (e.g. think; feel; want). They can also express a state of being , mainly with the verb 'to be' but also some others.

Here are some examples:

Physical Action

• He ran home
• They chose the blue one

Mental Activity

• I am thinking about it
• Ian guessed the answer
• She believes in ghosts

State of Being

• She is a police woman
• They seem worried

These though are main verbs. They have many other uses in a sentence so you should read about all the types of verbs further. 

Prepositions

Another of the 8 parts of speech are prepositions. These show the relationship between two words or phrases in a sentence. They precede a noun or pronoun.

Commons examples of prepositions are  above,  up, upon,  at, before, behind,  since, to, through, under, until, with, within,  about, against, along, around,  beside, between,  down, during,  below, by,  except, for, from, in, into, like, near, of, off, on,  toward.

In these example sentences with prepositions, the two words whose relationship is being expressed are underlined and the prepositions are in bold:

• The book is on the table
• He is the leader of the conservative party
• The boy picked up the toy under the sofa
• This is a present for your mother

Pronouns replace nouns and they prevent us from repeating the noun in a sentence. These are the types of pronouns with some examples:

• Personal e.g. I; you; they; she
• Possessive e.g. mine; yours; his; theirs
• Relative e.g. who; which; that; whom
• Demonstrative e.g. this; these; those
• Reciprocal e.g. one another; each other
• Emphatic / Reflexive e.g. myself; herself; itself; ourselves
• Interrogative e.g. what; which; whom; whose

Here are some examples of these words used in sentences:

• Martha decided she would leave
• Why don't you use his  car instead of mine
• Mick is a person who learns quickly
• Shall we buy some of these ?
• They began to argue with each other
• Jenny is pleased with  herself
• What time is he coming?

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are the of the 8 parts of speech responsible for joining together words, phrases, or clauses. There are three types:

• Coordinating: and; or; but; so; yet; for; nor
• Correlative: neither/nor; either/or; not only/but also
• Subordinating: e.g. although; because; while; which; where; until

Coordinating Conjunctions

Used to connect like for like words (e.g. noun+noun):

• I like apples and oranges ( 2 nouns )
• His speech was slow but effective ( 2 adjectives )
• Shall I say it loudly or quietly? ( 2 adverbs )

Or simple sentences (independent clauses):

• I find the music annoying but she finds It pleasant
• She came to the lecture late so she missed everything important
• She took her umbrella for it was raining hard

Correlative Conjunctions

Used to join alternative or equal elements:

• He felt neither happy nor sad about it
• Sue had to decide to either quit or carry on
• I went not only to Australia but also to New Zealand

Subordinating Conjunctions

Used to join subordinate clauses to main clauses:

• The government won't vote on the bill until both parties agree
• I'm still not tired although it is late
• I'll eat the dish which you don't like

Interjections

Interjections are words used to express an emotion or a sentiment such as surprise, joy, disgust, fear, excitement, pain, or enthusiasm.

They usually appear at the start of a sentence and are not connected to it grammatically. Here are some examples of interjections in sentences:

• Wow , that's an amazing score!
• Oh , I didn't know you failed the exam
• Well , we better not leave too late
• Ow , that really hurt!
• Ah , I understand now
• Oops , I've forgotten to bring the sandwiches

Learn more about interjections >>

Are there only 8 Parts of Speech?

Sometimes rather than 8 parts of speech, you may see 9 or 10 listed. This is because some people treat articles and determiners  as separate categories. 

However, when there are only 8 parts of speech considered (as above), this is because as these two types of word modify nouns, they are classified under adjectives. 

Now practice what you have learned in our identifying parts of speech quiz

More on Sentence Structure:

Parts of a Sentence: Subject, Verbs, Objects, Predicates, Complements

The main parts of a sentence are subjects, verbs, objects, predicates, and subject complements. All of these have a specific purpose within the structure of a sentence.

Using Object Complements in a Sentence

Using object complements in a sentence enhances your ability to convey specific information about actions and their outcomes.

Types of Clauses in English Grammar - Independent and Dependent Clause

The two types of clauses in English grammar are the independent and dependent clause. Both have a subject and verb which makes them clauses, but while independent clauses express a complete thought, dependent clauses do not. This is the main distinction.

Nominalisation in English Grammar: High Level Writing Tips

Nominalisation is an important aspect of academic writing. This lesson teachers you what this is and how you can use it effectively in your writing.

Subject Complements: Predicate Adjectives and Predicate Nominatives

Here we demystify subject complements, predicate adjectives, and predicate nominatives with simple explanations and examples.

Phrases and Clauses - Building good sentences

Phrases and clauses are the key building blocks of sentences. A clause contains a subject and a verb and can express a complete thought. A phrase does not contain a subject or verb.

How to Use Either and Neither with Examples

Advice on how to use either and neither in English grammar. They can be adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and conjunctions.

Direct and Indirect Objects: The Differences

Direct and indirect objects are key parts of most sentences. A direct object is the receiver of action while indirect object identifies to or for whom or what the action of the verb is performed.

Examples of Parallelism in English Grammar

View examples of parallelism in English grammar that show you correct and incorrect parallel sentences.

Parallelism Grammar Rules (Parallel Structure)

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Your Guide to the 9 Parts of Speech

Grammarians categorize English words into groups, which we call Parts of Speech. Most guides will tell you that there are eight or nine parts of speech, depending on a few factors, like whether they include interjections. Each part of speech serves a particular function, which I will describe below.

The parts of speech we will cover are:

• noun, 
• pronoun, 
• verb, 
• adjective, 
• adverb, 
• preposition, 
• conjunction, 
• determiner, and 
• interjection.

I’ve also put together a table with all the parts of speech and examples of their use in sentences. Below the table, you’ll find a breakdown of each part of speech with further examples.

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Parts of Speech Cheat Sheet

Nouns are things. Stuff. People. Places. Ideas. (Yeah, things, stuff, people, places, and ideas are all nouns.) 

Common and Proper Nouns

Nouns can be common, like city, park, and building , or proper, like New York City, Central Park, and The Chrysler Building. Proper nouns are names. Michael and Mr. Blackwood , for example, are proper nouns.

Singular or Plural Nouns

Nouns can be singular or plural. A singular noun is when there’s only one. One man , one dog, one person . Plural nouns occur when there’s more than one. Two men , ten dogs , a million people .

Possessive Nouns

Nouns can also be possessive, which means a noun “owns,” belongs to, or is otherwise attached to another noun. In English, we use the apostrophe to denote possession. In the phrase “the man’s dog,” for example, man’s is possessive. Man owns (or belongs to) dog .

Pronouns substitute for nouns. Pronouns include he, she, they, you, it, and many more.

Plural, Possessive, and Plural–Possessive, Oh My

Pronouns can be possessive, like my, your, his, and her . Pronouns can also be plural like we and they. And pronouns can be plural and possessive, like our and their .

Words like that and which do double (or triple!) duty. That can be a determiner (see below), as in the phrase “ I ate that apple,” but can also become a pronoun, as in the phrase, “I ate that ” — where that substitutes for a noun, like apple.

To be or not to be, that is the…ultimate verb. Verbs show actions and states of being. This includes to be and its derivatives: is, are, were, will be, have been, etc. Verbs show all the things you can do . Crawl. Walk. Run. Sit, watch, enjoy, laugh, cry, and eat.

Verb Tense & Aspect

Verbs have a tense , which refers to when the thing is being done. There are three main tenses: Past, present, and future . In the past tense, I wrote. In the present tense, I write. In the future, I will write (which enlists the help of the “helping verb” will ) .

Furthermore, the tenses all have an aspect , which demonstrates further details, like whether an action is ongoing. The aspects are simple, perfect, continuous , and perfect continuous . So you can have any combination of aspects with tense; for example, simple past or perfect continuous future .

The subject of tenses and aspects is pretty complicated — it deserves its own article. But for now, here’s a simple chart that breaks down the tenses and aspects with examples.

Verb Tense and Aspect Chart

This information is pretty esoteric, so don’t get too distracted by it. The main thing to remember is that verbs show action and states of being.

Adjectives describe nouns. 

When you’re telling someone about your favorite English language blog, you would use adjectives to describe it. Smart, witty, clever, helpful, accessible, and concise are all adjectives. 

And were you to describe the writer of that blog you would continue to use adjectives. Smart, witty, clever, helpful, handsome, kind, approachable, and single are also adjectives.

Adverbs are like adjectives, except that they don’t describe nouns, they describe other parts of speech: verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs often end in -ly , but not always. They can come before verbs, as in, “she quickly ran,” or after, as in “she ran quickly. ” 

Here are some examples of adverbs in a sentence:

Modifying a verb : He quietly tip-toed through the dark hallway. 

( Quietly modifies the verb tip-toed. )

Modifying an adjective : He quietly tip-toed through the eerily dark hallway. 

( Eerily modifies the adjective dark. )

Modifying another adverb : He totally quietly tip-toed through the eerily dark hallway.

( Totally modifies the other adverb quietly. )

Prepositions

Prepositions link nouns to other words, showing us the relationship between them. They show location or time. For example, “We will meet on the bridge during sunset.”

Prepositions can also be used to show purpose, as in, “I am walking for my heart.”

Prepositions include in, on, toward, with, through, at, upon, toward, via, and many more.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses together , so we can create complex sentences and express multiple ideas at once.  

Conjunctions include and, but, or, yet, although, because, and others. 

In this sentence, the conjunction joins two clauses: “I don’t like apples but I do like oranges.” And in this sentence, the conjunction joins just two words: “I like apples and oranges.”

One group of conjunctions (called correlative conjunctions) comes in pairs, like either/or, if/then, not only/but also . Here’s an example:

“ Either you will peel the oranges for me, or I won’t eat them.”

Determiners (Includes Articles)

Back in the day, your English teacher, like mine, may have taught you about articles: the , a , and an . 

Grammarians more and more frequently include these in a group of words called determiners , words that limit or “determine” nouns, which, in addition to articles include that, this, these, those , and others  — showing exactly which noun or nouns are being talked about. This includes possessive pronouns like my, your, their, her, and his.

Think of it this way: determiners often answer the questions What?, Which?, or Whose? For example, “Which article?” “ This article.” “Whose blog?” “ Our blog.” 

Interjections (!)

Consult more than one English grammar guide, and you’re likely to see that there are eight or nine parts of speech. Why the difference? Well, some sources don’t include the interjection as its own part of speech. But some sources do, so you ought to know about it.

Interjections can be, um, tricky to define. They are spontaneous, sometimes emotional, and they come before or between complete thoughts . Sometimes they interrupt a sentence right in its tracks. They include exclamations like Wow!, Yikes!, and Oh! They also include curses ( damn! ), greetings (like hi ) , and filler words (like um ).

Some examples of interjections:

• Wow! Look at that sunset.
• Let’s go to the, um, store.
• I don’t understand why you would— oh! Now I get it.

Sometimes, other parts of speech can be interjections. 

• Fantastic ! Let’s do it! (Here the adjective fantastic serves as an interjection.)
• I’m just going to open the blinds and— snow! It’s snowing now! (The noun snow serves as an interjection.)

The Parts of Speech in Sum

There you have it — the nine parts of speech. Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, determiner, and interjection. 

Got an exam coming up? Working on your writing? Consult this guide anytime you need a refresher.

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What Are The 8 Parts of Speech? Definitions and Examples

Speaking and writing in any language involves using different parts of speech. Understanding what these parts are and how to use them correctly is important for effective communication. In English, there are 8 parts of speech, which include nouns, pronouns , verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. In this article, we will explore each of these parts of speech in detail, along with their definitions and examples. By the end of this article, you will have a better understanding of the role and importance of the 8 parts of speech in English.

Content Guide

What Are Parts of Speech?

Parts of speech, also known as word classes, are categories that describe the role a word plays in a sentence. These categories help us understand how words work within sentences and how they relate to one another. In essence, parts of speech are a set of general rules that help us to form sentences that are clear, logical, and expressive. There are a total of 8 parts of speech in the English language, and each has its own set of rules. 

The 8 Parts of Speech

The 8 parts of speech are:

Prepositions

• Conjunctions
• Interjections 

Parts of Speech Chart

The following chart lists the 8 parts of speech—along with brief descriptions and examples.

It’s time to explore them in detail. So, let’s go ahead and learn the 8 parts of speech with definitions and examples.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, animal, place, idea, or thing. For example, John, cat, dog, table, house, office, etc. In English, nouns come in many different forms, including proper nouns, which are names that refer to people or places; descriptive nouns, which describe things; and common nouns, which are words that are used to refer to a wide range of things.

Common nouns are often used to refer to everyday objects, such as “chair,” “table,” and “door.” Other common nouns are used to refer to abstract concepts, such as “love,” “hate,” and “peace.” Nouns can also be singular, plural, and neuter. A singular noun refers to one person or thing, while a plural noun refers to more than one person or thing. A neuter noun is used to refer to something that isn’t either a person or a thing.

Let’s see some examples of nouns in sentences:

Person- Her name is Amy . Place – This park is so crowded. Thing- You never sit on this chair . Animal – They have a dog .

Pronouns are words we use to replace nouns in sentences that refer to people, animals, objects, or places. Pronouns help us avoid repeating nouns while we speak or write.  Words such as he, she, it, I, you, we, they, them, etc. are pronouns.

Let’s consider this paragraph without using pronouns:

Amy always wakes up early in the morning. Amy goes to the office and comes back in the afternoon. In the evening, Amy cooks dinner. After having dinner Amy goes to bed. This is Amy’s daily routine.

Did you find it a bit repetitive?

Now, when we replace the noun with pronouns, the paragraph becomes more engaging:

Amy always wakes up early in the morning. She goes to the office and comes back in the afternoon. She cooks dinner in the evening. And, after dinner, she goes to bed. This is her routine.

In this case, ‘She’ and ‘her’ are the pronouns we used instead of repeatedly mentioning Amy’s name.

Adjectives are words used to describe the person, place, or thing a noun refers to. Adjectives are often used to add extra information about a noun. It can be used to describe a person’s age, gender, or personality. Adjectives are also used to describe the quality of a noun, such as its size, shape, or color. Some examples of adjectives are tall, short, good, bad, beautiful, large, funny, sad, etc.

Let’s see some examples of adjectives in sentences:

You look beautiful in this dress. It’s pleasant weather today. He is a kind person. She looks sad today. The movie we watched yesterday was engaging .

A verb is a word that describes specific actions, or an action that is being performed. They are also called action verbs. However, not all verbs are action verbs. There are also non-action verbs that denote feelings or state of being. So, a verb can be either an action verb or a state verb. Action verbs are words such as “walk,” “run,” and “jump.” State verbs are words such as “be,” “look,” “love,” and “feel.”

Examples of verbs in sentences:

We play video games every day. They run very fast. I love pizza. He jumped off the bridge. She hates horror movies.

Adverbs describe or provide more information about verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They are often used to describe the way something is done, how something is done, or how something feels. Moreover, adverbs can highlight distinctions between things or actions. For instance, we use words such as “slowly” or “carefully” to describe the way something is done. We often use words such as “well” or “badly” to describe how something is done.

Some examples of adverbs are always, quickly, badly, quietly, early, slowly, etc.

He runs faster than me. Can you finish your work early ? She was badly injured while playing. Can you do it silently ?  She was walking slowly towards me.

Prepositions are words that connect words in a sentence. Prepositions can be used to describe the location of something, as well as the time and manner in which something is done. The most common prepositions are: at, on, by, under, over, beside, before, after, behind, above, below, in, out, with, and without. Prepositions can also be used to indicate the relationship between two things (for example, beside means “next to”).

Prepositions are one of the most important parts of speech that you must learn to use correctly. They can make your writing clear and make your sentences more interesting.

Examples of prepositions in sentences:

My books are on the table.  He leaves for home at 8 p.m. You can sit beside me. They came here after me. I travel by public transport.

Conjunction

A conjunction is a word or phrase that connects two ideas or clauses. For example, consider these sentences: “I like sports. I like music.” These are two separate sentences, but you can connect them using the conjunction “and” to say, “ I like sports and music. ” Conjunctions help make our sentences flow smoothly by joining related thoughts or actions.

There are many different types of conjunctions. Some examples of common conjunctions are: and, but, when, unless, or, nor, for, yet, although, but not, because, not only, etc.

Examples of conjunction in sentences:

I cannot go to work today because my mother is sick. My dad used to ride horses when he was young. You are likely to fail unless you work hard.

Interjection

Interjections are words that show sudden feelings or emotions such as joy, surprise, or shock. We usually use the exclamation mark (!) with interjection words.  

Some examples of interjections are:

Oh! Wow! Hello! Ouch! Bravo!

Examples of interjections in sentences:

Oh! I forgot the keys. Wow! It looks great. Hello! Is anybody there?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about “Parts of Speech”

1. what are the parts of speech in english.

English has eight primary parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.

2. Why is it important to understand parts of speech?

Understanding parts of speech is crucial for effective communication and writing. It helps you structure sentences correctly, convey your thoughts clearly, and avoid grammatical errors.

3. How can I identify the parts of speech in a sentence?

You can identify parts of speech by understanding their functions and looking for clues within the sentence. Nouns name things, verbs show actions, adjectives describe nouns, and so on. Context and practice are essential tools for identification.

4. Can words change their part of speech in different sentences?

Yes, some words can function as different parts of speech depending on their usage and context. For example, “work” can be a noun (“I have a lot of work to do”) or a verb (“I need to work hard”).

5. What’s the difference between adjectives and adverbs?

Adjectives describe nouns and answer questions like “What kind?” or “Which one?” (e.g., “red car”). Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, addressing questions like “How?” “When?” “Where?” or “To what extent?” (e.g., “She sings beautifully”).

6. How do conjunctions function in sentences?

Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses to form more complex sentences. Common conjunctions are “and,” “but,” “or,” “so,” and “because.”

7. What’s the role of prepositions in sentences?

Prepositions establish connections between nouns or pronouns and other words in a sentence, indicating aspects like location, direction, time, or manner. Examples of prepositions include “in,” “on,” “under,” “with,” and “between.”

8. When should interjections be used in communication?

Interjections are used to express strong emotions or sudden exclamations. They add emotional depth to your speech or writing. For instance, “Wow, that’s amazing!” or “Ouch, that hurts!”

9. Are there any online tools to help identify parts of speech in sentences?

Yes, there are many online grammar-checking tools and apps that can analyze and label the parts of speech in a sentence. They can be useful for practice and verification.

10. How can I improve my understanding of parts of speech?

Improving your understanding of parts of speech requires practice. Analyze sentences from books, articles, or conversations. Engage in grammar exercises and quizzes. Reading widely and regularly can also help reinforce your knowledge.

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Basic English Grammar

Helping People Understand the Eight Parts of Speech!

8 Parts of Speech Definitions With Examples

The 8 parts of speech definitions with examples include nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.

By using proper grammar in your writing and speaking, you will communicate clearly and effectively with your subject or audience! Moreover, by learning and understanding the 8 parts of speech, you will be able to master proper grammar in your writing and speaking. Below are the 8 parts of speech definitions with examples!

TOC – 8 Parts of Speech Definitions With Examples

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Definition of Parts of Speech: A part of speech is a category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions.

To put it very simply, a part of speech identifies a word in accordance with its function in a sentence such as: a noun, a verb, an adjective, a pronoun, an adverb, a preposition, a conjunction and an interjection.

Some Examples of Parts of Speech:

• The driver died in the car accident. (Noun)
• The prisoner escaped from the moving van. (Verb)
• The violent criminal changed his ways in prison. (Adjective)
• The students were late so they ran to class. (Pronoun)
• The bus will leave soon. (Adverb)
• He left his computer in the house. (Preposition)
• David and Jonathan fished all day with no success. (Conjunction)
• Wow! What a magnificent photograph! (Interjection)

Definition of Nouns: Nouns are naming words and they name persons, places, things, animals, qualities, feelings, actions or ideas.

Examples of Nouns:

• Jonathan and Rachel are excellent workers (Naming a Person).
• Australia and New Zealand are island continents in the South Pacific (Naming a Place).
• The boat sank in the river (Naming a Thing).
• The dog jumped the fence (Naming an Animal).
• Courage and bravery are two heroic qualities (Naming a Quality).
• Candice experienced both happiness and sadness at her mother’s funeral (Naming a Feeling).
• He demanded justice for all (Naming an Idea).

Examples of Types of Nouns:

• Jennifer is my best friend (Proper Noun).
• I read several books a week (Common Noun).
• Emma parked her vehicle in the driveway (Concrete Noun).
• His joy overwhelmed the crowd (Abstract Noun).
• I gave my brother a pack of cards for his birthday (Collective Noun).
• My mother-in-law drives a new car (Compound Noun).
• The photographer took a variety of photographs at the school picnic (Countable Noun).
• The jogger brought his water with him (Non-Countable Noun).
• Jonathan’s pickup is being repaired (Possessive Noun).
• His return was a complete surprise (Verbal Noun).

You can learn more about the types of nouns in English grammar by checking out 10 Types of Nouns With Examples. You will find each type of noun explained with several examples so that your skill levels to recognize nouns will increase.

Examples of Functions of Nouns:

• David arrived late to the party (Noun Functions as Subject).
• Rebekah washed the dishes before she went to school (Noun Functions as Direct Object).
• Jonathan taught the students public speaking in class (Noun Functions as Indirect Object).
• Scott is the minister of the local church (Noun Functions as Predicate Nominative).
• The traffic stopped at the lights (Noun Functions as Object of Preposition).
• My assistant, Brad, shared the message on Sunday (Noun Functions as an Appositive).
• Rebekah named her dog Bailey (Noun Functions as Objective Complement).
• Class, it is time for fire drill (Noun Functions as Noun of Direct Address).

You can learn more about the functions of Nouns in English grammar by clicking on The 8 Noun Functions With Examples. You will find each function explained with examples to help you develop your skills in recognizing the different ways nouns function.

Definition of Verbs: Verbs show action or state-of-being.

Examples of Verb Types:

• The dog jumped the fence (Action Verb).
• Rachel is beautiful (State-of-Being Verb).
• Brad hits the ball over the fence (Action Verb).
• The song sounds awful (State-of-Being).
• Emma walked the dog in the park (Action Verb).

Examples of Verb Functions:

• Candice writes a letter to her friend (Transitive Verb).
• Candice writes beautifully (Intransitive Verb).
• David walked the dog in the park (Transitive Verb).
• David walked in the park in the rain (Intransitive Verb).
• Emma became an apprentice hairdresser (Intransitive Verb).

Examples of Verb Voices:

• John rode the bike to school (Active Voice).
• The bike was ridden by John (Passive Voice).
• Jennifer led the worship service (Active Voice).
• The worship service was led by Jennifer (Passive Voice).
• The criminal was punished by the courts (Passive Voice).

You can learn more about how to identify types, functions and voices of verbs by clicking on How To Identify Verbs With Examples. This will help you develop your writing and speaking gifts.

3. Adjectives

Definition of Adjectives: Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words in a sentence thus making your writing and speaking more specific and interesting.

Examples of Several Types Adjectives:

• English grammar will help you develop your writing and speaking skills (Proper Adjective).
• Rachel had beautiful hair (Descriptive Adjective).
• My son bought an expensive car (Qualitative Adjective).
• The black cat ran in front of the car (Attributive Adjective).
• The cat is black (Predicative Adjective).
• My husband has a single focus for life (Quantitative Adjective).
• I can get twenty-four hours of service in our location (Numeral Adjective).
• I want those people charged for robbery (Demonstrative Adjective).
• David wants every person evacuated safely (Distributive Adjective).
• What time will you arrived home from the game (Interrogative Adjective)?
• The students will submit their assignments on time (Possessive Adjective).
• It is a long, narrow, winding road to the mountain top (Sequence Adjectives).
• Emma is a happy and lively person (Coordinate Adjectives).
• That was one nasty old man who drove the school bus this morning (Cumulative Adjectives).
• The murderer is a cold-blooded person (Compound Adjective).
• The builder bought a house in the country (Article Adjectives).
• Jonathan wants a few minutes of your time (Indefinite Adjective).
• The first person in the line collapsed onto the floor (Ordinal Adjective).
• The two men were jailed for life (Cardinal Adjective).

Learning to recognize the different types of adjectives will help you develop your speaking and writing skills so that you can be more specific, interesting and colorful in the way you express yourself.

4. Pronouns

Definition of Pronouns: Pronouns are words that replace nouns in sentence in order to avoid repeating the same noun over and over again.

Examples of Several Types of Pronouns :

• Dad, will you help me with my assignment (Personal Pronoun)?
• These books are mine (Possessive Pronoun).
• Give me that (Demonstrative Pronoun)!
• Some made thousands from the market collapse (Indefinite Pronoun).
• The player who was warmed about his behavior lost his spot on the team (Relative Pronoun).
• Candice saw herself in the mirror (Reflective Pronoun).
• David repairs the car himself (Emphatic Pronoun).

You can learn more about the different types of pronouns in English grammar with examples by clicking on Types of Pronouns With Examples. You will find a brief explanation of each type of pronoun with some examples. This will help you understand how pronouns work in English sentences.

Definition of Adverbs: Adverbs are words or a group of words that modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They usually tell when, where, how or to what extent an action is performed or it may indicate the quality or degree of the action.

Examples of Different Types of Adverbs:

• She worked slowly and carefully on the building site (Adverb of Manner).
• David will be home soon (Adverb of Time).
• Candice put her book there (Adverb of Place).
• We are extremely hungry (Adverb of Degree).
• She never cleans her room (Adverb of Frequency).
• He gave little to charity (Adverb of Quantity).
• He fell forward on the parade ground (Adverb of Direction).
• Hopefully, I will be able to attend class today (Adverb of Uncertainty).
• Rachel went shopping; however, she didn’t buy anything (Conjunctive Adverb).
• Yes, I will be coming to the game tomorrow (Adverb of Affirmation).

You can learn more about adverbs and how they are used in English sentences by clicking on What is an Adverb? Adverb can be confusing at times because they perform differently roles and they can be inserted at different place in English sentences. By learning to recognize the types of adverbs and how they function in sentences, you will certainly increase your ability to write and speak with interesting to your audiences.

6. Prepositions

Definition of Prepositions: Prepositions consist of words or groups of words that show the relationship between nouns or pronouns with other words in sentences.

Examples of Several Types of Prepositions:

• Emma arrived on Saturday afternoon (Preposition of Time).
• The book is on the table (Preposition of Place).
• David will ride his bike to the game on Saturday (Preposition of Movement).
• Rebekah goes to work by bus (Preposition of Manner).
• Jonathan is sawing the timber with his new saw (Preposition of Agent).
• The hardware store sells electrical cord by the meter (Preposition of Measure).
• Candace received her weekly wage from her workplace (Preposition of Source).
• This is the property of my late wife (Preposition of Possession).

You can learn more about the 8 types of prepositions with examples by clicking on 8 types of prepositions with examples. Once you identify the 8 types of preposition and how they function in sentence, you will become more creative in your writing and speaking skills.

7. Conjunctions

Definition of Conjunctions: Conjunctions are words or groups of words that show how ideas are related to each other in English sentences.

Examples of Several Types of Conjunctions:

• Rachel and Darcy traveled to the zoo during the holidays (Coordinating Conjunction).
• Unless the drought breaks soon, many farmers will find it very difficult to continue farming (Subordinating Conjunction).
• David is both discreet and considerate (Correlative Conjunctions).
• We have been good friends; however, I think at times you take me for granted (Conjunctive Adverb).
• The stray dog not only destroyed the chicken pen but also killed the chickens (Correlative Conjunctions).

You can learn more about the 4 types of conjunctions with examples by clicking on 4 Types of Conjunctions With Examples. By learning these 4 types of conjunctions with examples, you will be able to identify how words, phrases and clauses relate to each other in English sentences.

8. Interjections

Definition of Interjections: Interjections are used to express feelings and emotions in English sentences.

Examples of Interjections:

• Oh, you can’t be serious!
• Wow! That’s was excellent.
• Ah, I needed that cuppa!
• I won the lottery, wahoo!
• It stinks, hey, I will never do that again!

You can learn more about interjections by clicking on What is an Interjection?

The more you understand the 8 parts of speech in English grammar with examples, the better you will be able to write and speak to your designated audience. Enjoy!

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Home » 8 Parts of Speech with Types, Definitions and their Examples

8 Parts of Speech with Types, Definitions and their Examples

Are you curious to Speak or Learn the English Language? well, Every word in the English language is referred to as a component of speech. The 8 parts of speech are Nouns , Pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. we will go over the Common Eight parts of speech in this tutorial, along with their definitions, types, and Examples. This is the article on the different 8 parts of speech and Their examples and definitions as well as Example Sentences.

The 8 parts of speech are the regular grammar categories to which words are allocated based on their functions of syntax, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and so on. Stated differently, they talk about the varied roles that words might play in a sentence and the connections that words have to one another as defined by syntax and grammar .

Every single English word can be classified into one of the eight components of speech. A word’s part of speech is the purpose it fulfills in a sentence. These jobs were also designed to work as a team, much like any workplace or ensemble cast television series.

Also Check:

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• Masculine and feminine Jenders
• Vegetables vocabulary words
• Kitchen vocabulary words
• Household items vocabulary words

Table of Contents

What Is a Part of Speech?

Before delving into the specifics, let’s clarify what we mean by a “Part of speech.” In English grammar, a part of speech is a category of main and a lot of words. These types of categories help us to understand how the words we use and Speak within the daily life Conversation.

8 Parts of Speech Are:

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Names of 8 Parts of speech

 The 8 parts of speech:

Noun: the foundation of sentences.

• Types: Common, proper, abstract, concrete, and countable nouns. See more…
• Definition: A noun is a word that tells of a person, place, thing, or idea.
• Example: cat , London , happiness ,
• Nouns Example Sentences: She has an Adorable Cat . They are going to London. may god give you happiness.

Pronoun: Substitutes for Nouns

• Types: Personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns. See More…
• Definition: A pronoun is a word that represents a noun to avoid repetition.
• Example: he , she , it , they He is a good boy. she is studying. it is an amazing sight. they live in New York.

Verb: The Action Words

• Types: Action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs. See More….
• Definition: in the English Language, A verb explains an action, occurrence, or state of being.
• Example: Runs, smell, Going, playing,  He runs every morning. The flowers smell delicious. I am going with my Friends. they are Playing Football.

Adjective: Describing Words

• Types: Descriptive adjectives, limiting adjectives. See More… 
• Definition: An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
• Example: blue , tall , delicious today the sky is blue. He is a tall man. She makes delicious food.

Adverb: Modifiers of Verbs

• Types: Adverbs of manner, place, time, degree. See More…
• Definition: An adverb tells about the verb, adjective, or another adverb
• Example: quickly,   beautifully, Loudly This boy runs quickly. She sings beautifully . He Speaks Loudly .

Preposition: Indicators of Position or Relationship

• Types: Simple prepositions, compound prepositions. See More…
• Definition: A preposition describes the relationship between its object and another word in the sentence.
• Example: on, in, at, across The book is on the table. I am in the car. He is at the bus stand. She walked across the bridge.

Conjunction: Joining Words

• Types: Coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions. See more…
• Definition: A conjunction connects words, phrases, or clauses.
• Examples: And, Because, that,  She likes tea and coffee. He went to the store because he needed groceries. this is the pen, that writes very well.

Interjection: Expressions of Emotion

• Types: Expressive interjections, introductory interjections. See More…. 
• Definition: An interjection Describe strong emotions or sudden bursts of feelings.
• Example: wow! ouch! Ouwww! Wow! That was amazing! Ouch! That hurt. Ouwww! That’s amazing.

Eight parts of Speech and their Types, Definition and Examples

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About the author.

mrmrsenglish.com

The Author is a Certified TEFL Trainer from Arizona State University having experience of 7 years in teaching English worldwide to the students with diverse culture. He is a passionate English language trainer by both profession and passion.

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