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Parts Of Speech (Basics Of Grammar)

What is a part of speech?

A part of speech shows us what a word does in a sentence. It shows us the function of the word in a sentence. Sometimes one word can have several different functions or uses.

Examples:

He speaks English. (English is a noun in this sentence. It’s a thing. It’s a language.)

He is English. (English is an adjective in this sentence. English is describing him.)

In English, there are eight parts of speech.

1. Nouns

A noun is a thing. It is a person, place, thing or idea. There are many different types of nouns in English such as proper nouns, collective nouns and common nouns.

Examples:

That person is from America.

Have you ever eaten pizza?

He has a lot of anger.

2. Pronouns

A pronoun is a word we can use instead of a noun. Some common pronouns are: he, she, it and we.

Examples:

John is my friend. He is very nice. (We did not say John in the second sentence. We said he. The word ‘he’ is used instead of saying ‘John’ again.)

I got a new phone. It cost me $1,000! (We did not say a new phone in the second sentence. We just said ‘it.’)

3. Verbs

A verb shows us an action or being. It shows us what is happening in a sentence. In English, verbs must agree with the subject. For example, singular subjects must be used with singular verb forms. Verbs can also change when talking about different tenses (past, present and future).

Examples:

I like pizza. (‘Like’ is showing a state of being.)

He runs every morning. (‘Runs’ is showing us what action he likes to do.)

She enjoyed the movie. (‘Enjoyed’ tells us about her state of being at that time in the past.),

4. Adjectives

An adjective is a word which is used to describe nouns and pronouns. Adjectives give us more information about nouns and pronouns.

Examples:

He is happy.

That car is big.

Those people like big bikes.

5. Adverbs

An adverb is used to give us information about a verb. It can also be used to describe adjectives and other adverbs.

Examples:

He walks very quickly.

That is a very long snake!

They speak English well.

6. Prepositions

A preposition is used to show us the relationship between two things. Prepositions are used to connect one word to another word.

Examples:

I am going to the shop. (‘To’ shows where I am going.)

He is under the table. (‘Under’ shows us where he is.)

They waited for a long time. (‘For’ shows us how long they waited for.)

7. Conjunctions

A conjunction is used to join two or more phrases/words together.

Examples:

I like playing sport and I like going to the gym.

I don’t drink coffee but I drink tea.

Can I have a sandwich and a juice please?

8. Interjections

An interjection is used to show emotion such as happiness, excitement or anger.

Examples:

Oops. (Can be used to apologise or to show that a mistake was made.)

Yippee. (Can be used to show excitement.)

Ew. (Can be used to show a feeling of disgust.)

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