Understanding Parts of Speech: A Comprehensive Guide
What Information Do All of These Parts of Speech Give?
The parts of speech are the primary categories of words according to their function in a sentence.
What Jobs Can All of These Parts of Speech Do?
Part Two will build on what you learn in Part One. In many chapters, Part Two explains the jobs that different parts of speech perform in a sentence, as well as the relationships between different words within a sentence. A thorough understanding of the concepts covered in Part One will make Part Two seem much easier!
All the words in English language are divided into nine great classes. These classes are called parts of speech. They are
- Articles
- Noun
- Adjective
- Pronoun
- Verb
- Adverb
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Interjection
Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used, In fact, the same word can be noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next.
|
Parts of sentence |
Description |
|
Adjective |
Describes things or people. |
|
Adverb |
Alters the meaning of the verb slightly. |
|
Article |
a, an – indefinite articles the – definite articles |
|
Conjunction |
Joins words or sentences together. |
|
Interjection |
A short word showing emotion or feeling |
|
Noun |
Names things |
|
Preposition |
Relates one thing to another |
|
Pronoun |
Used instead of a noun to avoid repetitions |
|
Proper noun(subject) |
The actual names of people or places |
|
Verb |
Actions or doing word |
Learn parts of speech with a childhood poem
I discovered this childhood poem that I hadn’t read before.
Every name is called a noun as field and fountain, street and town.
In place of a noun the pronoun stands as he and she clap their hands.
The adjective describes a thing, as magic wand or bridal ring.
The verb means action, something done, to read and write to jump and run.
How things are done the adverbs tells us as quickly, slowly, badly or well.
Preposition shows relation as in the street or at the station.
Conjunction joins in many ways, sentences, words or phrase and phrase.
The interjection cries out hark! I need an exclamation mark!
There are other variations of this childhood poem on the internet. Pity it doesn’t include determiners.
It’s a bit like my childhood version of parts of speech:
- Nouns are naming words
- Verbs are doing words
- Adjectives are describing words
- Adverbs tell you how and when
- Conjunctions are joining words
- Prepositions are usually little words that tell you where
- Pronouns replace nouns
This doesn’t include determiners either.
Determiners are words that identify or quantify the nouns that follow. The articles the, a and an are the most common determiners.