📘 Parts of Speech in English

The parts of speech are the categories that words fall into based on their function in a sentence. There are 8 traditional parts of speech (sometimes expanded to 9 or 10). Let’s go through each in detail.

1. Noun

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, idea, or quality.

Types of Nouns

  1. Proper Nouns – Specific names (e.g., Ali, London, Monday). Always capitalized.
  2. Common Nouns – General names (e.g., city, teacher, book).
  3. Concrete Nouns – Things you can perceive with senses (apple, car, perfume).
  4. Abstract Nouns – Ideas or qualities (happiness, freedom, anger).
  5. Countable Nouns – Can be counted (chairs, pens, dogs).
  6. Uncountable Nouns – Cannot be counted (milk, information, money).
  7. Collective Nouns – Names of groups (team, flock, audience).
  8. Compound Nouns – Two or more words joined (toothpaste, mother-in-law, football).

Examples in sentences:

  • Ali (proper) is a good student (common).
  • I love music (uncountable).
  • The team (collective) won the match.

2. Pronoun

A pronoun replaces a noun to avoid repetition.

Types of Pronouns

  1. Personal Pronouns – (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
    • Subjective: She is kind.
    • Objective: I saw her.
  2. Possessive Pronouns – (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs).
  3. Reflexive Pronouns – (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves).
  4. Demonstrative Pronouns – (this, that, these, those).
  5. Interrogative Pronouns – (who, whom, whose, which, what).
  6. Relative Pronouns – (who, whom, whose, which, that).
  7. Indefinite Pronouns – (someone, anyone, everybody, each, few, many, none).
  8. Reciprocal Pronouns – (each other, one another).

Examples:

  • She is my friend.
  • This is mine.
  • Who is calling?
  • They love each other.

3. Verb

A verb expresses an action, state, or occurrence.

Types of Verbs

  1. Action Verbs – run, eat, write.
    • Transitive (needs object): She reads a book.
    • Intransitive (no object): He sleeps.
  2. Linking Verbs – Connect subject to information (is, seem, become).
    • She is happy.
  3. Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs – be, do, have, will, shall, can, may, must, etc.
    • She is reading.
  4. Modal Verbs – Express ability, possibility, necessity (can, could, may, might, must, should, would, shall, will).
    • You should study.
  5. Phrasal Verbs – Verb + particle (look after, give up, run into).
    • He gave up smoking.

Examples:

  • They play football.
  • She is becoming a doctor.
  • You must finish your work.

4. Adjective

An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

Types of Adjectives

  1. Descriptive – beautiful, tall, old.
  2. Quantitative – some, much, little, ten.
  3. Demonstrative – this, that, these, those.
  4. Possessive – my, your, his, her.
  5. Interrogative – which, what, whose.
  6. Distributive – each, every, either, neither.
  7. Comparative & Superlative Forms –
    • Positive: tall
    • Comparative: taller
    • Superlative: tallest

Examples:

  • She is a kind teacher.
  • I have three pens.
  • That book is interesting.

5. Adverb

An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Types of Adverbs

  1. Manner – quickly, slowly, carefully.
  2. Time – yesterday, soon, later.
  3. Place – here, there, nearby.
  4. Frequency – always, often, never, rarely.
  5. Degree/Extent – very, quite, too, almost.
  6. Interrogative Adverbs – when, where, why, how.

Examples:

  • She runs quickly.
  • They will come tomorrow.
  • I never lie.
  • He is very tall.

6. Preposition

A preposition shows the relationship of a noun/pronoun to another word.

Types of Prepositions

  1. Place/Position – on, in, at, under, over, between.
  2. Time – at, on, in, since, for, during, by.
  3. Direction/Movement – to, into, onto, towards.
  4. Cause/Reason/Purpose – because of, due to, for.
  5. Instrument/Agent – by, with.
  6. Phrasal Prepositions – according to, in spite of, because of, out of.

Examples:

  • The book is on the table.
  • He was born in June.
  • She is waiting for you.

7. Conjunction

A conjunction connects words, phrases, or clauses.

Types of Conjunctions

  1. Coordinating Conjunctions – for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS).
    • I like tea and coffee.
  2. Subordinating Conjunctions – because, although, since, unless, while, if.
    • I stayed home because it rained.
  3. Correlative Conjunctions – either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, both…and.
    • She is both smart and kind.

8. Interjection

An interjection is a word/phrase that expresses sudden feeling or emotion.

Examples:

  • Wow! That’s amazing.
  • Oh no! I forgot my keys.
  • Hurray! We won.