Parts of Speech with an Explanation

Every word we use in English is a part of speech. It plays a particular part in a sentence. Know more about the parts of speech in this lesson.

What are the parts of speech?

Table of Contents

Parts of speech are a categorization of words used in a sentence. That is, while speaking or writing, we use words in sentences to make sense for expressing something, and according to the work of words in sentences, those are divided into eight parts, called parts of speech.

There are so many words in English, but they don’t do the same job.

Every word does its particular job in the sentence.

Definition of parts of speech

We can define parts of speech in simple words as –

A part of speech is a categorization of words playing a special role in the sentence.

Eight parts of speech with their work

We use words in the sentence, and every word in that sentence has its special work. Those are divided into eight parts. We shall see which the eight parts are.

In brief, we can say-

Noun– the name of a thing or person
Pronoun– a word used instead of a noun
Adjective– gives more information about a noun
Verb– an action word
Adverb– provides more details about verb, adjective or adverb
Preposition– shows the relation to a noun
Conjunction– joins words, clauses or sentences
Interjection– word for short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence

8 parts of speech with definitions and examples

1. Noun: definition and examples

A Noun is a word that indicates the name of a person, place, animal, thing, or idea. Nouns are categorized into common nouns and proper nouns.

Examples of nouns used in sentences

In the examples given below, nouns are in bold letters.

Pradnya started to sing a song.
Sam is a genius boy.
The squirrel has a bushy tail.
That parrot is my pet.
A baby is drinking milk.
Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra.
The lion is a strong animal.
Take a rest in the room.
She is my sister.
He bought a mattress for his brother.

2. Pronoun: definition and examples

A pronoun is a word we use instead of a noun or noun phrase to avoid the repetition of a noun. There are different types of pronouns. Some of those are personal, possessive, reflexive, emphatic, relative, interrogative, demonstrative, indefinite, and distributive.

Examples of pronouns used in sentences

Sunidhi was not playing. She was sick.
Anjana had lost her pen drive, but she got it today.
Wilson has a cat. It is white in colour.
Robert likes farming. He started horticulture recently.
When I reached home, my sister called me.
A person was standing outside the door who had a green bag

3. Adjective: definition and examples

An Adjective is a describing word. It provides more information about the subject or noun in the sentence. Adjectives of quantity, adjectives of quality, adjectives of number, definite numeral adjectives, indefinite numeral adjectives, interrogative adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, Exclamatory Adjectives, and Emphasizing Adjectives are the types of adjectives.

Examples of adjectives used in sentences

He took a black puppy with him.
The children were in dirty dresses.
It’s twenty minutes to nine.
Some mattresses were red.
She liked those shoes very much.

4 Verb: definition and examples

The verb is a word that denotes the action that is performed by a subject in a sentence. We can use the forms of verbs in sentences.

Examples of verbs used in sentences

We visited the beautiful temple last week.
She has taught that lesson.
Did she complete her office work?
They play football on that ground every weekend.
The police ran after the thief.

5 Adverb: definition and examples

An adverb is a describing word. It gives more information about a verb, an adjective, a clause, and another adverb.

Examples of adverbs used in sentences

He answered the question on the environment quickly.
That plan that you exhibited is really nice.
I often walk through the roads.
She painted a wall extremely well.
Can you come quickly?

6 Preposition: definition and examples

A preposition is a word that shows the relationship with other words. We use it before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.

Examples of prepositions used in sentences

I put the garbage in a dustbin.
She lives near the western train station.
Keep all these accessories on the table.
My sister is coming for lunch at 2 pm.
She screamed with joy.

7 Conjunction: definition and examples

A conjunction is a joining word that joins two words, two phrases, or two clauses. It connects different parts of a sentence.

Examples of conjunctions used in sentences

I like teaching and learning.
You can either go for a walk or shopping.
She ran fast but missed the bus.
Ch tan didn’t go to the gym as he was sick.
He joined the class because it was difficult to learn.

8. Interjection: definition and examples

An interjection is a word that expresses an emotion or sudden feeling.

Examples of interjections used in sentences

Ouch! She pinched me!
Hey! Stop torturing him!
Wow! I created a website on my own.
Alas! he was stuck in traffic.
Oops! glass is broken.

Frequently asked questions: parts of speech

What are parts of speech?