Parts of Speech
The parts of speech are the classes in which words are divided on the basis of their meaning, form or syntactic function. The traditionally recognized 8 parts of speech in English are noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. Below are definitions and practical examples of all 8 parts of speech.
Nouns
Parts of Speech - 1
Nouns are namers. They name people, places, things, ideas, qualities, or actions. There are singular, plural, common, proper, concrete, abstract, collective, compound, and possessive nouns.
Singular nouns name one person, place, thing, or idea.
uncle river lamp friendship
Plural nouns name more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
uncles rivers lamps friendships
Common nouns name a general class of people, places, things, or ideas.
soldier town holiday art
Proper nouns name a particular person, place, thing, event, or idea.
General Taylor Los Angeles Halloween The Mona Lisa
Concrete nouns name an object that occupies space or that can be recognized by any of the senses.
dirt tune house odor
Abstract nouns name an idea, quality, or characteristic.
integrity dishonesty fairness democracy
Collective nouns name a group. When a collective noun refers to the group as a whole, it is singular. When it refers to the individual group members, the collective noun is plural.
The team practices after school on wednesday.(singular)
The board vote as they please on all matters.(plural)
Compound nouns are made up of two or more words used together as a single noun.
backpack Yellowstone National Park mother-in-law
Possessive nouns show possession, ownership, or the relationship between two nouns.
Mom's dress the cat's paw the town's police chief
Pronouns
Parts of Speech - 2
Pronouns are substitutes for nouns and noun phrases and have a very general reference, as I, you, he, this, who, what. Personal pronouns refer to specific people or things. In common usage, pronouns are used after the noun they refer to has been introduced or implied.
Sarah and Tom drove to Atlanta. Since it was such a long distance, they took turns driving. She drove for the first 200 miles, then he drove the remainder of the way.
Verbs
Parts of Speech - 3
Verbs describe an action or a state of being. There are action, linking, helping, transitive and intransitive verbs.
swim ponder believe want
Water seeps into our basement every time it rains.
Grandma enjoyed the piano recital.
Your taste in clothes is atrocious.
Jennifer can balance an egg on her nose while singing the national anthem.
Dad left his golf shoes in the trunk of the car.
Zena stretched before the marathon.
Adverbs
Parts of Speech - 4
Adverbs are describers. They modify verbs, telling how, when, where, how much, or to what extent. They can also modify adjectives and other adverbs. Many adverbs end in ly, (i.e., quickly, briefly, faithfully).
The horses ambled slowly down the hill.
The violinist rarely missed a performance during his long career.
Rosemary stepped backward when the cat hissed.
Toby was almost late to her own wedding.
Adjectives
Parts of Speech - 5
Adjectives modify or describe nouns, pronouns, and other adjectives by providing more information or giving a specific detail.
Your soft mattress lulled me to sleep in a matter of minutes.
The rugged terrain slowed our progress considerably.
A feisty red rooster suddenly caught my attention.
I think I'll take the chocolate one.
Prepositions
Parts of Speech - 6
Prepositions show the relationships of a noun or pronoun to some other word. They can show time or position. They can also compare or connect.
My cat jumped through the open window when the fireworks started.
I placed the suitcase under my seat.
That movie about scuba diving was very interesting.
Hang your jacket on the hook behind the cabinet.
Conjunctions
Parts of Speech - 7
Conjunctions join single words or groups of words together. Some conjunctions come in pairs: either/or; neither/nor; both/and; not only/but also; whether/or not.
I turned on the switch, but the light did not come on.
Thomas listened carefully to the caller and wrote down the message.
My little brother is terrible at grammar, so he sometimes pretends to be sick on days when his English class is taking a test.
Interjections
Parts of Speech - 8
Interjections express emotion or surprise. Punctuation marks usually follow interjections. Use a comma after mild interjections—well, gosh—. For strong interjections—help! fire!—, use an exclamation point and capitalize the next word, unless the interjection is part of a quotation.
Ouch! That really hurt.
Oh, maybe I should wait.
Language Arts Series - Parts of Speech
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