A part of speech (also called a word class) is a category that describes the role a

word plays in a sentence. Understanding the different parts of speech can help
you analyze how words function in a sentence and improve your writing.

The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most
traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in
English: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions,
and interjections. Some modern grammars add others, such
as determiners and articles.

Many words can function as different parts of speech depending on how they are
used. For example, “laugh” can be a noun (e.g., “I like your laugh”) or a verb (e.g.,
“don’t laugh”).

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Nouns
A noun is a word that refers to a person, concept, place, or thing. Nouns can act
as the subject of a sentence (i.e., the person or thing performing the action) or as
the object of a verb (i.e., the person or thing affected by the action).

There are numerous types of nouns, including common nouns (used to refer to
nonspecific people, concepts, places, or things), proper nouns (used to refer to
specific people, concepts, places, or things), and collective nouns (used to refer to
a group of people or things).

Examples: Nouns in a sentenceI’ve never read that book.

Ella lives in France.

The band played only new songs.

Other types of nouns include countable and uncountable nouns, concrete

nouns, abstract nouns, and gerunds.

NoteProper nouns (e.g., “New York”) are always capitalized. Common

nouns (e.g., “city”) are only capitalized when they’re used at the start of a
sentence.

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Pronouns

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns typically refer back to an

antecedent (a previously mentioned noun) and must demonstrate
correct pronoun-antecedent agreement. Like nouns, pronouns can refer to
people, places, concepts, and things.

There are numerous types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (used in

place of the proper name of a person), demonstrative pronouns (used to refer to
specific things and indicate their relative position), and interrogative
pronouns (used to introduce questions about things, people, and ownership).

Examples: Pronouns in a sentenceI don’t really know her.

That is a horrible painting!

Who owns the nice car?

Verbs

A verb is a word that describes an action (e.g., “jump”), occurrence (e.g.,

“become”), or state of being (e.g., “exist”). Verbs indicate what the subject of a
sentence is doing. Every complete sentence must contain at least one verb.

Verbs can change form depending on subject (e.g., first

person singular), tense (e.g., simple past), mood (e.g., interrogative),
and voice (e.g., passive voice).

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by
adding“-ed” to the end of the word (or “-d” if the word already ends in
“e”). Irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed
in some other way.

Examples: Regular and irregular verbs“Will you check if this book is in stock?”

“I’ve already checked twice.”

“I heard that you used to sing.”

“Yes! I sang in a choir for 10 years.”

Other types of verbs include auxiliary verbs, linking verbs, modal verbs,
and phrasal verbs.

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can

be attributive, appearing before a noun (e.g., “a red hat”), or predicative,
appearing after a noun with the use of a linking verb like “to be” (e.g., “the hat is
red”).

Adjectives can also have a comparative function. Comparative

adjectives compare two or more things. Superlative adjectives describe
something as having the most or least of a specific characteristic.

Examples: Adjectives in a sentenceThe dog is bigger than the cat.

He is the laziest person I know

Other types of adjectives include coordinate adjectives, participial adjectives,

and denominal adjectives.

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Adverbs

An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or sentence.

Adverbs are often formed by adding “-ly” to the end of an adjective (e.g., “slow”
becomes “slowly”), although not all adverbs have this ending, and not all words
with this ending are adverbs.

There are numerous types of adverbs, including adverbs of manner (used to

describe how something occurs), adverbs of degree (used to indicate extent or
degree), and adverbs of place (used to describe the location of an action or
event).

Examples: Adverbs in a sentenceRay acted rudely.

Talia writes quite quickly.

Let’s go outside!

Other types of adverbs include adverbs of frequency, adverbs of

purpose, focusing adverbs, and adverbial phrases.

Prepositions
A preposition is a word (e.g., “at”) or phrase (e.g., “on top of”) used to show the
relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used
to indicate aspects such as time, place, and direction.

Examples: Prepositions in a sentenceHasan is coming for dinner at 6 p.m.

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

Carey walked to the shop.

NoteA single preposition can often describe many different relationships,

depending upon how it’s used. For example, “in” can indicate time (“in January”),
location (“in the garage”), purpose (“in reply”), and so on.

Conjunctions

A conjunction is a word used to connect different parts of a sentence (e.g., words,

phrases, or clauses).

The main types of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions (used to connect

items that are grammatically equal), subordinating conjunctions (used to
introduce a dependent clause), and correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join
grammatically equal parts of a sentence).

Examples: Conjunctions in a sentenceDaria likes swimming and hiking.

You can choose what movie we watch because I chose the last time.

We can either go out for dinner or go to the theater.

Interjections

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express a feeling, give a command, or

greet someone. Interjections are a grammatically independent part of speech, so
they can often be excluded from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

Types of interjections include volitive interjections (used to make a demand or

request), emotive interjections (used to express a feeling or reaction), cognitive
interjections (used to indicate thoughts), and greetings and parting words (used
at the beginning and end of a conversation).

Examples: Interjections in a sentencePsst. What time is it?

Ouch! I hurt my arm.

I’m, um, not sure.

Hey! How are you doing?

Other parts of speech

The traditional classification of English words into eight parts of speech is by no

means the only one or the objective truth. Grammarians have often divided them
into more or fewer classes. Other commonly mentioned parts of speech include
determiners and articles.

Determiners

A determiner is a word that describes a noun by indicating quantity, possession,

or relative position.

Common types of determiners include demonstrative determiners (used to

indicate the relative position of a noun), possessive determiners (used to
describe ownership), and quantifiers (used to indicate the quantity of a noun).

Examples: Determiners in a sentenceThis chair is more comfortable

than that one.

My brother is selling his old car.

Many friends of mine have part-time jobs.

Other types of determiners include distributive determiners, determiners of

difference, and numbers.

NoteIn the traditional eight parts of speech, these words are usually classed as
adjectives, or in some cases as pronouns.
Articles

An article is a word that modifies a noun by indicating whether it is specific or

general.

 The definite article the is used to refer to a specific version of a

noun. The can be used with all countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., “the
door,” “the energy,” “the mountains”).

 The indefinite articles a and an refer to general or unspecific nouns. The

indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns (e.g., “a
poster,” “an engine”).

Examples: Definite and indefinite articles in a sentenceI live just outside

of the town.

There’s a concert this weekend.

Karl made an offensive gesture.

NoteWhile articles are often considered their own part of speech, they are also
frequently classed as a type of determiner (or, in some grammars, as a type of
adjective).

Interesting language articles

If you want to know more about nouns, pronouns, verbs, and other parts of
speech, make sure to check out some of our language articles with explanations
and examples.

Nouns & pronouns

 Common nouns

 Proper nouns

 Collective nouns

 Personal pronouns
  Uncountable and countable nouns

Verbs

 Verb tenses

 Phrasal verbs

 Types of verbs

 Active vs passive voice

 Subject-verb agre