Understand the Different Parts of Speech with Examples

What is a Part of Speech?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, parts of speech (PoS or POS) refers to the division of words based on their use in grammar. These are also known as grammatical categories or word classes. The different types of POS perform varying functions when used in a sentence. Many parts of speech definitions further define them as terms denoting action, position, or name of something. Moreover, it is also possible for a term to belong to different word classes based on its use. Hence, there are various types of parts of speech in English language that we shall explore with the help of the next segment:

8 Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples

As you are well aware, languages constitute a lot of different kinds of words. Therefore, to identify them, it is essential to organize them in categories that also define their functions. Hence, the following are the eight major types of parts of speech with examples in the English tongue:

1. Nouns

2. Verbs

3. Prepositions

4. Adjectives

5. Pronouns

6. Adverbs

7. Conjunctions

8. Interjections

Let’s take a look at all the 8 parts of speech in detail:

1. Noun

When you are referring to a place, person, thing or concept, then the words you use are called nouns. Hence, anything that denotes a name or idea is a noun. These can also function as a subject or an object in the statement. A few of the subcategories of nouns include:

• Common: planets, books, toys, etc.
• Proper: Jupiter, White House, Sam, etc.
• Collective: Team, batch, cattle, etc.
• Abstract: Happiness, beauty, sadness, etc.

2. Pronoun

Using the same nouns again and again can make language repetitive. Thus, the parts of speech in English that you can use in place of nouns are what we call pronouns. Some of the different kinds of pronouns are as follows:

• Personal: She, he, it, they
• Possessive: Mine, hers, theirs, its
• Interrogative: Who, whom, what
• Reflexive: Myself, himself, yourself, oneself, etc.

3. Verb

Verbs are words that demonstrate an action, state of being, or occurrence. Moreover, verbs show what the subject is doing, and thus, the sentence is not complete without them. In addition, these are words that change depending on the subject, mood, voice, and tenses used in the statement. The types of verbs include the following:

• Action: Dance, sit, think
• Modal: Has, may, can
• Linking: To taste, to look, be, etc.

4. Adjective

The words that describe the qualities of a person or thing are called adjectives in English. These words are usually used to modify nouns and pronouns. There are many types of describing words, some of which are as follows:

• Demonstrative: That, these, this
• Descriptive: Loud, boring, beautiful
• Quantifying: Few, several, all, etc.

5. Adverb

The English words that modify verbs or adjectives are called adverbs. These are often words that end with an– ly. However, not all adverbs follow this rule. Out of the various kinds of adverbs, a few are given below:

• Time: Rarely, today, soon
• Manner: Loudly, carefully, quickly
• Place: Here, outside, there
• Purpose: Hence, so, because, etc.

6. Preposition

Prepositions are parts of speech that indicate location, direction, place, time, and spatial relations between/of objects. A few types of prepositions are the following:

• Place: Across, between, behind
• Time: Before, during, since
• Cause: With, like, for, etc.

7. Conjunction

The terms that are used to connect two different sentences, clauses, or phrases are referred to as conjunctions. A few of the parts of speech with examples are as follows:

• Correlative: only/ but also, and/or
• Conjunctive: however, therefore
• Coordinating: but, or, etc.

8. Interjections

Interjections are terms that are used to showcase strong feelings and emotions. These words are mostly followed by an exclamation mark (!). A few of these are given below:

• Primary: Wow, alas
• Secondary: Goodness, indeed
• Volitive: Ahem, shh
• Cognitive: Well, gosh, etc.

So, these are the 8 parts of speech, along with their types and examples. Now, take a look at their use in a sentence.

Examples of Sentences Illustrating Parts of Speech

In English grammar it is not enough to know the words alone; you also need to learn how to use them while structuring your sentences. Therefore, in this section, take a look at these examples showcasing the sentence structure in English using different word classes.

How to Identify Parts of Speech in Sentences?

Since it is possible for one word to belong to different grammatical categories in the English language, here are a few tips that can be useful to identify which word class the term is representing in a statement.

• The terms that denote any place, person, or thing’s name are nouns.
• The words that describe the nouns are called adjectives.
• If the term is talking about an action and adding a ‘do’ before the term does not change the meaning, then it is a verb.
• If you can remove the word and add a noun in place of it, then it is a pronoun.
• When the term is describing the action or what is being done, then it is called an adverb.
• The words that highlight the relation between nouns and pronouns are termed prepositions.
• Words that join two sentences are conjunctions, and the ones showing strong emotions are interjections.

Next, take a look at the purpose of these word classes.

Why Understanding Parts of Speech is Important?

The various grammatical categories serve a specific function. In addition, there are some reasons that necessitate understanding these. Thus, the following are some purposes for comprehending POS.

• These are the core components for creating and understanding the different sentences.
• If you want to form meaningful and clear sentence structure in English, then you need to fathom the different word classes.
• When you are aware of the different words, it will enhance your writing skills and speaking skills.
• Knowing the categories helps improve overall language competence.

Now, take a small test to check how good you are with your parts of speech.

Worksheet

The various parts of speech exercises can be an effective way for you to analyze how thorough you are with the different types of POS. Hence, here are some sample questions for you to try:

Underline the word and identify the parts of speech from the given sentences:

1. They quickly finished their homework.

2. Help! My computer just crashed.

3. Sean is working at the computer.

4. Sam loves to read books.

5. When he was sitting on the grass, a snake bit him.

6. I will travel to France next month.

7. This is her bag.

8. He frequently goes to the beach.

9. The cat is under the table.

10. I shall not go unless you allow.

Answers

1. Quickly- adverb

2. Help- interjection

3. Sean- noun, at- preposition

4. Sam, books- noun

5. Sitting- verb

6. Travel- verb, France- noun

7. This, her- pronoun

8. Frequently- adverb

9. Under- preposition

10. Unless- conjunction

You can also practice using other parts of speech exercises to understand them better.

Conclusion

Summing up, this blog discusses the various parts of speech. It also focuses on the types of parts of speech definitions, along with their examples. These are useful components that will help you to improve your overall skills in English. In addition, to know more about other parts of speech, you can connect with our expert counselors. You can further visit our site to learn all the details about the different parts of speech.

FAQs

1. What are the ten examples of interjection?

The ten examples of interjections, based on their functions, are as follows:

Joy: nice, yay

Greetings: hi, hello

Surprise: whoa, wow

Dissatisfaction: alas, dang

Uncertainty: hmm, well

2. Why are parts of speech important?

The reason why it is important for you to know the parts of speech is because

• without them, it is not possible to structure or understand a sentence.
• They make it easier to write and communicate in the language.
• They help master the writing skills in English.

3. How do you identify parts of speech?

The following are some simple pointers that will help you in identification:

• Naming words are nouns
• Pronouns are words used in place of nouns
• Action words are verbs
• The terms that describe nouns and pronouns are adjectives.
• Words that describe adjectives and verbs are adverbs
• Words showing relation are prepositions
• Terms joining two clauses are conjunctions
• Exclamations are interjections.

4. Can a word be more than one part of speech?

Yes, it is possible for a part of speech to have more than one function, however, it all depends on the way and conditions under which it is being used in a sentence.

5. What part of speech is the word ‘like’?

The word ‘like’ can be used as five different types of word classes: noun, preposition, adjective, conjunction and verb.