PARTS OF SPEECH

What are Parts of Speech?

Nouns

Interjections Verbs

Parts
Conjunctions of Adjectives

Speech

Prepositions Adverbs

Articles Pronouns

Every word in English can be categorised according to its function and meaning. These categories are
known as parts of speech. A word can be a noun, an adjective or a pronoun depending on the role it
plays in a sentence.

There are nine parts of speech:

 Nouns
 Verbs
 Adjectives
 Adverbs
 Pronouns
 Articles
 Prepositions
 Conjunctions
 Interjections
Nouns
A noun is a word which is used to name a person, a thing, a place or an idea.

Radhika is on a vacation.
Mushrooms grow wild in the fields.
I do not wish to live in fear.
Richard Dawkins writes extensively about atheism.

 Proper Noun: Proper nouns are specific names given to a person, place or thing. The first letter of
each proper noun is capitalised.

Krishna is one of the most trustworthy employees.

Fredrick lives in Kolkata.
The Koh-i-noor is a diamond which was originally mined from Kollur Mine in Andhra Pradesh.

 Common Noun: Common nouns are names which are generic names. They are the opposites of
proper nouns.

The tree grew tall and strong.

The lady bid farewell to her sons.
The city was under siege.

 Abstract Noun: Abstract nouns are names given to entities which have no physical form but exist
as ideas.

The new leader was a staunch proponent of democracy.

Stress and worry cause health problems.
One should seek happiness and contentment within oneself.

 Collective Nouns: Collective nouns are names given to groups or collections.

A congregation of worshippers thronged the temple.

A pack of dogs growled viciously at the young couple.
The farmer transported the bale of hay to the cowshed.
  Material Nouns: Material nouns are names given to materials or substances through which other
things can be made.

These cups and plates are made of plastic.

Cotton is used to make saris and kurtas.
My earrings are made of silver.

 Countable Nouns: Countable nouns are nouns which can be counted.

Five birds are perched on a branch.

She gave me a few pieces to try.
Lata is mother to three children.

 Uncountable Nouns: Uncountable nouns are nouns which cannot be counted. These nouns are
measured using various systems of measurement.

Meena served water to the weary traveller.

A boxful of sugar was added to the cake batter.
The air which we breathe is polluted.

Verbs
Verbs are words which represent actions or express the state of being. They form the main part of the
predicate. Without verbs, the sentence will make little or no sense.

The children are walking to school.

Manik lives with his mother and two siblings.
India will embark on a new journey under the new leadership.

 Transitive Verbs: Verbs which can take one or more objects are known as transitive verbs.

Ramesh packed his bags.

Kushal wrote a poem for his friend.
Grandma cooked a hearty meal for all of us.
  Intransitive Verbs: Verbs which cannot take objects are known as intransitive verbs.

Mr Gupta sneezed loudly.

The kitten slept peacefully.
The train arrived ten minutes late.

 Finite Verbs: A finite verb is that which has a subject and shows the tense in a sentence.

Harish has been working here for five years. (Harish – Subject; Tense – Present Perfect Continuous)
Karim is my dearest friend. (Karim – Subject; Tense – Simple Present Tense)
We lay on the grass and watched the clouds. (We – Subject; Tense – Simple Past Tense)

 Nonfinite Verbs: A nonfinite verb is that which neither has a subject nor exhibits tenses in a
sentence.

I wish to buy a house in Mumbai.

They found him sleeping soundly on his bed.
Knitting is what she likes doing the most.

 Main Verbs: A main verb is the primary verb of the sentence. It carries the meaning in the verb
phrase of which it is the main part.
 Helping or Auxiliary Verbs: A helping or auxiliary verb is not the primary verb. It expresses ideas
such as tense, mood and nature of the main verb. It is always used before the main verb.

Jayesh is taking care of the tickets as we speak.

Mithun has been working with this company for the last two years.
Dr Herman would be available only after 4 pm.

 The verbs which are in italics are main verbs.

 The verbs which are underlined are helping or auxiliary verbs.

Adjectives
Adjectives are words which are used to describe nouns or pronouns. They can be used to describe the
quality, quantity, size, age and function of the words they qualify.
The house is palatial.
She is upset.
Christine was a persistent old woman.

 Adjectives of Quality: Adjectives of quality show the kind or quality of the noun or the pronoun.

The tangerine was very huge.

Madhukar is a helpful neighbour.
The grieving man wished to stay back home.

 Adjective of Quantity: Adjectives of quantity show the amount of the noun or the pronoun.

The entire cake was decorated with rosettes.

Smitha has little patience with her pet.
He has enough money to buy another car.

 Adjective of Number: Adjectives of number show the number of the noun.

There were three birds in the cage.

Stephen had no pictures of his family in his wallet.
I have a few friends in the cricket club.

 Distributive Numeral Adjective: Distributive numeral adjectives are used to refer to members of
a group individually.

Each boy went home with a gift.

Neither book is recommended.
Every day is a blessing.

 Demonstrative Adjectives: They point towards the nouns they qualify.

That house is beautiful.

This girl is the culprit.
  Interrogative Adjectives: They are used with nouns to ask questions.

Which biscuit do you want?

What time are you expected at?
Whose car was Seema seen in?

Adverbs
An adverb is a word which qualifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb.

Birds sing sweetly in spring.

I am very anxious to know the results.
The train moved quite slowly.

 Adverbs of Manner: They describe the manner of the action.

He moved fast.
Ranjini danced gracefully.
She spoke softly.

 Adverbs of Time: They describe when the action took place.

Trains were slow yesterday.

Come here now!
I met her today.

 Adverbs of Place: They describe where the action took place.

Stand there.
Air is everywhere.
She will meet us at the park.

 Adverbs of Frequency: They describe how often the actions take place.

Naresh often visits his grandparents.

Phillip has never lied to his wife.
Maneka is usually in good spirits.
  Adverbs of Degree or Quantity: They show how much or to what extent.

Gajendra is too tired to walk.

Priti is very annoyed at you.
This soup is rather cold.

 Adverbs of Affirmation or Negation: They express certainty and uncertainty; surety and
unlikelihood; affirmation or negation.

Lionel will surely call you tonight.

We will certainly go.
No. We will not agree to this.

 Adverbs of Reason: They express the reason or purpose of an action.

Tom is hence the only suspect in this crime.

Escape was therefore the only option left to us.
He thus sold his house in the village.

Pronouns
Pronouns are words used in place of a noun or a noun phrase.

 Personal Pronouns: They are pronouns which represent ‘persons’ in the grammatical sense.

1st Person: I, me, mine, myself, we, us, ours, ourselves

2nd Person: You, yours, yourself
3rd Person: He, she, it, his, hers, its

 Reflexive Pronouns: We use a reflexive pronoun when the actions by the subject affect itself.

Varun hurt himself.

Krishna taught himself how to play a violin.
Rachna hates herself for letting go of a golden opportunity.

 Emphatic Pronouns: These pronouns may look like reflexive pronouns, but they have a
completely different function. They are used solely for the purpose of emphasis.
The principal herself will speak to you.
Norman himself was present at the function.
The course itself will not promise you a job.

 Demonstrative Pronouns: They are used to refer to or point at objects they refer to.

This is the best day of my life.

That is the job I like the most.
These are words of wisdom.

 Indefinite Pronoun: They are used to refer to persons or things in the general sense.

All are invited.

Some are not worthy of your friendship.
Many of the manuscripts were destroyed in the fire.

 Distributive Pronoun: They are used to refer to people or things one at a time.

Each of the servants was thoroughly checked.

Neither of the men was qualified for the job.
Either of the methods can be employed.

 Relative Pronoun: They are used to connect clauses or phrases to a noun or a pronoun.

This is house that I bought.

This is the uncle whose house I live in.
The guests whom we invited enjoyed the party.
Articles
Articles are words which accompany nouns. They are adjectives which provide a definition to the nouns.

 Definite Articles: They introduce nouns or noun phrases which have already been mentioned
before. They refer to nouns which are definite or specific.

The wind in the willows

The old man and the sea
The woman is at the door.

 Indefinite Articles: They introduce nouns which have not been mentioned before. They refer to
nouns which are neither definite nor specific.

A boy is asking for his mother.

Only an idiot would doubt your intentions.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words used to join sentences, phrases or clauses.

 Co-ordinating Conjunctions: They are used to connect sentences, phrases or clauses of equal
rank.

Sanjay went to the police station and lodged a complaint.

I wrote to him, but there was no reply.
Tina did not prepare for the exam, yet she passed with flying colours.

 Subordinate Conjunctions: They are used to connect clauses which are not of equal rank. One
clause depends on the other for completing its meaning.

After the guests left, Ritu rushed to open her presents.

When we were young, we used to relish these fruits.
I thought I was the only one who loved comic books, until I met you.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words which establish relationship between two things in a sentence.

The fly sat on his nose.

(The preposition ‘on’ expresses the relationship between the phrases ‘sat’ and ‘his nose’.)

Ramesh is fond of his niece.

(The preposition ‘of’ expresses the relationship between the phrases ‘fond’ and ‘his niece’.)

The food is in the refrigerator.

(The preposition ‘in’ expresses the relationship between the phrases ‘The food’ and ‘the refrigerator’.)

Interjections
Interjections are words used to express emotions such as happiness, sadness, surprise or disgust.

Oh! That is indeed a surprise.

Alas! It is indeed a big loss.
Dear me! What a ghastly sight!

Every word in English can be categorised into one of these groups. When two or more words have similar
grammatical qualities, they are said to belong to the same part of speech.