What are parts of speech?
Parts of speech is a phrase that refers to the grammatical categories words belong to in English. When we speak or write, every word we use has a specific job, and understanding these roles is the key to clear communication.
Paris is a beautiful city.
The tall building reached the sky.
france is a beautiful Country.
The tallness building reached the sky.
The parts of speech make up our language. Understanding them, their grammatical roles, and which group a word belongs to, is the ticket to clear writing. There are eight main parts of speech, and each one has a different role in language:
| Part of speech | Examples |
|---|---|
| 1. nouns | Henry VIII, a dog, mountains, Paris, sand, mathematics, a cabin |
| 2. verbs | is, be, become, listening, catch, have, could, should, move out |
| 3. adjectives | beautiful, new, blue, ancient, helpful, tall, important |
| 4. adverbs | quickly, very, happily, carefully, often, almost, there |
| 5. pronouns | I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them |
| 6. prepositions | in, on, at, under, over, with, for, from, about, by |
| 7. conjunctions | and, but, or, so, because, although, while, if, since |
| 8. interjections | hurray!, yikes, ouch, wow!, ew, ugh, whoops |
Nouns
Nouns name places, people, things, or ideas.
| Sentences with nouns |
|---|
|
Henry VII was considered an accomplished king. This is my dog, Bruno. |
Adjectives
Adjectives tell us about nouns. They are describing words that modify nouns by giving us more information.
| Adjective | Example Sentence |
|---|---|
| clever | Beth is a clever girl. |
| delicious | The steak looks delicious. |
| smarter | Jane is smarter than her brother. |
Pronouns
Pronouns are words that stand in the place of names. The Latin root of pronoun, pronomen, directly translates to “stand in the place of nouns.”
| Sentences with pronouns |
|---|
|
Sam isn’t at school today because he is sick. You do not need to shout. I will have to be at work late tonight. |
Verbs
Verbs are action words, and can express a state of being.
| Types of verbs | Examples |
|---|---|
| 1. active | kick, eat, jump, work, sleep, ride, talk, laugh |
| 2. stative | agree, believe, doubt, look, see, seem |
| 3. transitive | rides, kicks, buy, lay |
| 4. intransitive | sleep, laugh, think, fall |
| 5. copulas/linking verbs | forms of ‘to be’ |
| 6. auxiliaries | was, is, are, am, has, had, have |
Worksheet: Identifying the parts of speech
Identify the nouns in the sentence: I bought a beautiful dress at the mall.
Identify the preposition: I left my shoes under the kitchen table.
Identify the pronoun: That motorcycle is hers.
Identify the adjectives: The snake is long and green.
Which part of speech is ‘extremely’ in the sentence: The painting is extremely old.
FAQs
What are parts of speech?
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What is a noun?
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What is an adjective?
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Yash, D. "How to Use the 8 Parts of Speech (Definitions and Examples)." Grammarflex, Aug 24, 2025, https://grammarflex.com/parts-of-speech/.
