Part of Speech

PART OF SPEECH
What is part of speech?

Part of speech is the common name for a word class--a category into which words are placed
according to the work they do in a sentence.
Here we are going to learn about four parts of speech, namely : noun, verbs, adjective and adverbs.
1. Nouns
A noun is a word that denotes a person, place, or thing. In a sentence, nouns answer the questions
who and what.
Example: The dog ran after the ball.
In the sentence above, there are two nouns, dog and ball. A noun may be concrete (something you
can touch, see, etc.), like the nouns in the example above, or a noun may be abstract, as in the
sentences below.
Example 1: She possesses integrity.
Example 2: He was searching for love.
The abstract concepts of integrity and love in the sentences above are both nouns. Nouns may also
be proper.
Example 1: She visited Chicago every year.
Example 2: Thanksgiving is in November.
Chicago, Thanksgiving, and November are all proper nouns, and they should be capitalized.
2. Verbs
A verb is a word that denotes action, or a state of being, in a sentence.
Example 1: Beth rides the bus every day.
Example 2: Paul was an avid reader.
In example 1, rides is the verb; it describes what the subject, Beth, does. In example 2, was
describes Paul’s state of being and is therefore the verb.
There may be multiple verbs in a sentence, or there may be a verb phrase consisting of a verb plus a
helping verb.
Example 1: She turned the key and opened the door.
Example 2: Jackson was studying when I saw him last.
In example 1, the subject she performs two actions in the sentence, turned and opened. In example
2, the verb phrase is was studying.
3. Adjectives
An adjective is a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may precede
nouns, or they may appear after a form of the reflexive verb to be (am, are, is, was, etc.).
Example 1: We live in the red brick house.
Example 2: She is tall for her age.
In example 1, two consecutive adjectives, red and brick, both describe the noun house. In example
2, the adjective tall appears after the reflexive verb is and describes the subject, she.
4. Adverbs
Just as adjectives modify nouns, adverbs modify, or further describe, verbs. Adverbs may also
modify adjectives. An adverb is a word that tells "how," "when," "where," or "how much". Advebs
for “when”: today, in the morning, in the afternoon, tomorrow
Adverbs for where: at school, at campus, in the classroom
(Many, though not all, adverbs end in -ly.)
Example 1: He waved wildly to get her attention.

Example 2: The shirt he wore to the party was extremely bright.
In the first example, the adverb wildly modifies the verb waved. In the second example, the adverb
extremely modifies the adjective bright, which describes the noun shirt. While nouns answer the
questions who and what, adverbs answer the questions how, when, why, and where.
Parts of speech exercise
What part of speech are the underlined words? 9. It is my doll.

A. 10. The sun gives us heat and light.
1. She thought of a wise plan. 11. Do it quickly.
2. I want to go now. 12. She went to the market to buy some
3. What do you learn? vegetables.
4. That was a amazing evening. 13. I helped him because I liked him.
5. My father works in a factory. 14. Jasmines are white in color.
6. She must be a stupid. 15. The cat is under the bed.
7. Selena is my best friend.
8. The dress was expensive; still I bought it.
B.
1. English is my second language. 6. I like hockey, but my brother likes
2. My father lives in Scarborough, Ontario. basketball.
3. After I got home yesterday, I took my dog 7. Toronto is the largest city in Ontario.
for a walk. 8. This is the ugliest fish in the lake!
4. The other day I saw a bear. 9. My sister is a silly yet beautiful
5. Although I am quite brave, that movie woman.
scared me. 10. I love my pet.
Here are the other four parts of speech:
• Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence.
Example: She decided to go to a movie.
In the sentence above, she is the pronoun. Like nouns, pronouns may be used either as
subjects or as objects in a sentence.
Example: She planned to ask him for an interview.
In the example above, both she and him are pronouns; she is the subject of the sentence

while him is the object. Every subject pronoun has a corresponding object form, as shown in the
table below.
Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns
I Me
We Us
You You
She Her
He Him
It It
They Them
Task:
Find the pronoun!
• Articles
Articles include a, an, and the. They precede a noun or a noun phrase in a sentence.
Example 1: They wanted a house with a big porch.

Example 2: He bought the blue sweater on sale.
In example 1, the article a precedes the noun house, and a also precedes the noun phrase big
porch, which consists of an adjective (big) and the noun it describes (porch). In example 2,
the article the precedes the noun phrase blue sweater, in which sweater is the noun and
blue the adjective.
Task: a or an?
• mistake • honor
• uniform • hill
• hour • interesting dream
• abbreviation • urgent message
• union • handsome man
• hole in the ground • empty box
• dream • universal problem
• untrue story • honest man
• box
• unhappy child
 Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that joins two independent clauses, or sentences, together.
Example 1: Ellen wanted to take a drive into the city, but the cost of gasoline was too high.
Example 2: Richard planned to study abroad in Japan, so he decided to learn the language.
In the examples above, both but and so are conjunctions. They join two complete sentences
with the help of a comma. And, but, for, or, nor, so, and yet can all act as conjunctions.
• Prepositions
Prepositions work in combination with a noun or pronoun to create phrases that modify verbs,
nouns/pronouns, or adjectives. Prepositional phrases convey a spatial, temporal, or directional
meaning.
Example 1 : She always sits beside me.

Example 2: My boarding house is near the campus.
The prepositions in the examples above are beside and near.
Below is a list of prepositions in the English language:
Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, around, at, before, behind,
below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during, except, for, from, in, into, like,
near, of, off, on, onto, out, over, past, since, through, throughout, to, toward, under,
underneath, until, unto, up, upon, with, within, without.

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PART OF SPEECH

What is part of speech?

Example 1: He waved wildly to get her attention.

Parts of speech exercise

What part of speech are the underlined words? 9. It is my doll.

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence.

Example: She planned to ask him for an interview.

In the example above, both she and him are pronouns; she is the subject of the sentence

Subject and Object Pronouns

Example 1: They wanted a house with a big porch.

A conjunction is a word that joins two independent clauses, or sentences, together.

Example 1 : She always sits beside me.

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