Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University

Skill Development center

Paper 1 Unit 3- Parts of speech

What Is a Part of Speech?

Parts of speech are among the first grammar topics we learn when we are in school or when we
start our English language learning process. Parts of speech can be defined as words that
perform different roles in a sentence. Some parts of speech can perform the functions of other
parts of speech too.

Parts of Speech Definition

 The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines parts of speech as “one of the classes into which words are
divided according to their grammar, such as noun, verb, adjective, etc.”
 The Cambridge Dictionary also gives a similar definition – “One of the grammatical groups into
which words are divided, such as noun, verb, and adjective”.

Different Parts of Speech with Examples

Parts of speech include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions
and interjections.

8 Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples:

1. Nouns are words that are used to name people, places, animals, ideas and things. Nouns can
be classified into two main categories: Common nouns and Proper nouns. Common nouns are
generic like ball, car, stick, etc., and proper nouns are more specific like Charles, The White
House, The Sun, etc.

Examples of nouns used in sentences:


o

 She bought a pair of shoes. (thing)

 I have a pet. (animal)
  Is this your book? (object)
 Many people have a fear of darkness. (ideas/abstract nouns)
 He is my brother. (person)
 This is my school. (place)

Also, explore Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns.

2. Pronouns are words that are used to substitute a noun in a sentence. There are different types
of pronouns. Some of them are reflexive pronouns, possessive pronouns, relative
pronouns and indefinite pronouns. I, he, she, it, them, his, yours, anyone, nobody, who, etc., are
some of the pronouns.

Examples of pronouns used in sentences:

1.
1.

 I reached home at six in the evening. (1st person singular pronoun)

 Did someone see a red bag on the counter? (Indefinite pronoun)
 Is this the boy who won the first prize? (Relative pronoun)
 That is my mom. (Possessive pronoun)
 I hurt myself yesterday when we were playing cricket. (Reflexive pronoun)

3. Verbs are words that denote an action that is being performed by the noun or the subject in a
sentence. They are also called action words. Some examples of verbs are read, sit, run, pick,
garnish, come, pitch, etc.

Examples of verbs used in sentences:

1.
1.

 She plays cricket every day.

 Darshana and Arul are going to the movies.
 My friends visited me last week.
 Did you have your breakfast?
 My name is Meenakshi Kishore.

4. Adverbs are words that are used to provide more information about verbs, adjectives and
other adverbs used in a sentence. There are five main types of adverbs namely, adverbs of
manner, adverbs of degree, adverbs of frequency, adverbs of time and adverbs of place.
Some examples of adverbs are today, quickly, randomly, early, 10 a.m. etc.

Examples of adverbs used in sentences:

1.
1.

 Did you come here to buy an umbrella? (Adverb of place)

 I did not go to school yesterday as I was sick. (Adverb of time)
 Savio reads the newspaper everyday. (Adverb of frequency)
 Can you please come quickly? (Adverb of manner)
 Tony was so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open during the meeting.
(Adverb of degree)

5. Adjectives are words that are used to describe or provide more information about the noun or
the subject in a sentence. Some examples of adjectives include good, ugly, quick, beautiful, late,
etc.

Examples of adjectives used in sentences:

1.
1.

 The place we visited yesterday was serene.

 Did you see how big that dog was?
 The weather is pleasant today.
 The red dress you wore on your birthday was lovely.
 My brother had only one chapati for breakfast.

6. Prepositions are words that are used to link one part of the sentence to another. Prepositions
show the position of the object or subject in a sentence. Some examples of prepositions are in,
out, besides, in front of, below, opposite, etc.

Examples of prepositions used in sentences:

1.
1.

 The teacher asked the students to draw lines on the paper so that they could
write in straight lines.
  The child hid his birthday presents under his bed.
 Mom asked me to go to the store near my school.
 The thieves jumped over the wall and escaped before we could reach home.

7. Conjunctions are a part of speech that is used to connect two different parts of a
sentence, phrases and clauses. Some examples of conjunctions are and, or, for, yet, although,
because, not only, etc.

Examples of conjunctions used in sentences:

1.
1.

 Meera and Jasmine had come to my birthday party.

 Jane did not go to work as she was sick.
 Unless you work hard, you cannot score good marks.
 I have not finished my project, yet I went out with my friends.

8. Interjections are words that are used to convey strong emotions or feelings. Some examples
of interjections are oh, wow, alas, yippee, etc. It is always followed by an exclamation mark.

Examples of interjections used in sentences:

1.
1.

 Wow! What a wonderful work of art.

 Alas! That is really sad.
 Yippee! We won the match.

Sentence Examples for the 8 Parts of Speech

1.
1.
1. Noun – Tom lives in New York.
2. Pronoun – Did she find the book she was looking for?
3. Verb – I reached home.
4. Adverb – The tea is too hot.
5. Adjective – The movie was amazing.
6. Preposition – The candle was kept under the table.
 7. Conjunction – I was at home all day, but I am feeling very tired.
8. Interjection – Oh! I forgot to turn off the stove.

A Small Exercise to Check Your Understanding of Parts

of Speech
Let us find out if you have understood the different parts of speech and their functions. Try
identifying which part of speech the highlighted words belong to.

1.
1. My brother came home late.
2. I am a good girl.
3. This is the book I was looking for.
4. Whoa! This is amazing.
5. The climate in Kodaikanal is very pleasant.
6. Can you please pick up Dan and me on your way home?

Now, let us see if you got it right. Check your answers.

1.
1. My – Pronoun, Home – Noun, Late – Adverb
2. Am – Verb, Good – Adjective
3. I – Pronoun, Was looking – Verb
4. Whoa – Interjection, Amazing – Adjective
5. Climate – Noun, In – Preposition, Kodaikanal – Noun, Very – Adverb
6. And – Conjunction, On – Preposition, Your – Pronoun

Exercise 1 – Identify the Adverb

Go through the given sentences and identify the adverb.

1. We have seen this before.

2. The postman comes to her daily.
3. The man repeated the same thing thrice.
4. Your friend called again.
5. Please walk forward.
6. The horse ran away.
7. My brother writes clearly.
8. The army fought bravely.
 9. The mangoes are almost ripe.
10. Are you keeping well?

Answers
1. Before
2. Daily
3. Thrice
4. Again
5. Forward
6. Away
7. Clearly
8. Bravely
9. Almost
10. Well

Exercise 2 – Use the Appropriate Pronoun

Fill the blanks with correct pronouns.

1. Shyam is my brother. ___ study in the same class

2. Between Ritu and me, __ am the younger one.
3. Do you see this book with my name on it? It is ___.
4. Miss Gwen is our new class teacher. ___ is very sweet.
5. While cutting vegetables, Mitu cut ___.
6. The jury got divided among ___.
7. I’m coming too. Please wait for __.
8. Nobody but ___ was present.
9. ___ book is better than the other.
10. Is the mug ___? It was on your table.

Answers
1. We
2. I
3. Mine
4. She
5. Herself
6. Themselves
 7. Me
8. He/She
9. This
10. Yours

Exercise 3 – Underline the Preposition

Identify the prepositions in the following passage.

Goldilocks used to live with her parents in a cabin near the forest. One day, she decided to go
for a walk. She strolled down the lane that led to the forest and came across a cottage. Feeling
intrigued, she decided to check whose house it was. She knocked on the door, but no one
answered. Then she decided to go in and check. Once she came into the cottage, she saw three
soup bowls kept on the table. Feeling hungry, she drank the soup out of the smallest bowl. She
saw a flight of stairs that led to a room above. She decided to go and see the rooms. On reaching
the rooms, she saw there were three beds. Feeling sleepy with all the walking and hot soup, she
decided to take a nap and slept on the smallest bed. When she woke up, she saw three bears
standing in front of her, and the smallest bear among them crying loudly. Terrified, she started
screaming and ran past the bear family to reach her home.

Answers
Goldilocks used to live with her parents in a cabin near the forest. One day, she decided to
go for a walk. She strolled down the lane that led to the forest and came across a cottage.
Feeling intrigued, she decided to check whose house it was. She knocked on the door, but no
one answered. Then she decided to go in and check. Once she came into the cottage, she saw
three soup bowls kept on the table. Feeling hungry, she drank the soup out of the smallest bowl.
She saw a flight of stairs that led to a room above. She decided to go and see the rooms. On
reaching the rooms, she saw there were three beds. Feeling sleepy with all the walking and hot
soup, she decided to take a nap and slept on the smallest bed. When she woke up, she saw three
bears standing in front of her, and the smallest bear among them crying loudly. Terrified, she
started screaming and ran past the bear family to reach her home.

Exercise 4 – Identify the Part of Speech

Go through the following sentences and identify the part of speech of the underlined words.
 1. Namitha is not coming today.
2. My mom will be leaving to Bangalore tomorrow.
3. The teacher asked the students to stand.
4. He is my brother.
5. There is a cat under the table.
6. The clothes did not dry as it was raining all night.
7. Sheena and her sister dance well.
8. I am wearing a green dress for the party.
9. Oh! That is really sad.
10. She is coming with me.

Answers
1. Noun
2. Verb, adverb
3. Noun
4. Pronoun
5. Preposition
6. Conjunction
7. Conjunction, adverb
8. Adjective
9. Interjection
10. Preposition