The Eight Parts of Speech in English (PDF) (2024)

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In this article we will give you a brief introduction to the eight parts of speech. These are noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

A part of speech is simply the name given to a word based on the function it performs in a sentence. Learning parts of speech is necessary to understand the correct definition of a word and to speed up your study of English grammar.

You can think of parts of speech like job titles. Just as a person can be a soldier, a teacher or a baker, a word can be a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction or interjection, depending on what it does in a sentence. You can download a PDF of the parts of speech with examples at the end of this article.

Parts of Speech Grammar Table

Parts of Speech	Definition	Examples
Noun	A word used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things, or to name a particular one of these	dog, city, love
Pronoun	A word that is used in place of a noun	I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Verb	A word used to describe an action, occurrence, or state of being	run, be, have, do, take
Adjective	A word that describes a noun or pronoun	blue, happy, tall, friendly
Adverb	A word used to describe a verb, adjective, or other adverb	quickly, well, very, here
Conjunction	A word used to connect clauses or sentences or to coordinate words in the same clause	and, but, or, yet, so
Preposition	A word used to show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence	in, on, at, with, by
Interjection	A word or phrase used to express strong emotion	oh, wow, ouch, hurray

The Eight Parts of Speech in English (PDF) (1)

1. NOUN

noun is a word (other than a pronoun) used to identify any of a class of people, animals, places, things, ideas.

Nouns are separated into common nouns and proper nouns.

What is a common noun?

Common nouns are used for people, animals, places, or things.

Example: granny, mother, river, mountain, hotel, taxi, fox, camel.

He is an artist.
Tom hates bananas.
I love my mother.
Her father is a doctor.

What is a proper noun?

Proper nouns are names for particular people, places or things. They always begin with a capital letter.

Example: Ali Baba, Harry Potter, Beethoven, Turkish, British, Malay, Hong Kong, India, The United Kingdom,the Pacific Ocean, the Eiffel Tower, Father’s Day, Ramadan, Halloween.

☛The days of the week and months of the year are also proper nouns.

December is the last month of the year.
Sunday is the last day of the week.

What is singular and plural noun?

When you are talking about one person, animal, place, or thing, use a singular noun.

Example: a ship, a teacher, a river, an apple, an umbrella.

When you are talking about two or more people, animals, places, or things, use plural nouns. Most nouns are made plural by adding -s at the end.

What is concrete and abstract noun?

Concrete nouns are things you can experience (see, hear, smell, touch, or taste) with your senses. Here are some examples: tree, music, flowers, and chocolate.

Abstract nouns represent ideas, qualities, or states that cannot be perceived through the senses. Examples include love, honesty, joy, and freedom.

Here’s a table with examples of different types of nouns in English:

Noun Type	Examples
Common Nouns	book, table, city, person
Proper Nouns	Muhammad, London, Mary, Toyota, Amazon
Concrete Nouns	tree, music, flowers, chocolate
Abstract Nouns	love, honesty, joy, freedom
Collective Nouns	team, family, herd, flock
Countable Nouns	cat, dog, chair, student
Uncountable Nouns	water, air, happiness, information
Compound Nouns	toothbrush, software, basketball
Possessive Nouns	John’s, cat’s, company’s, children’s
Plural Nouns	books, tables, cities, people
Gerunds	swimming, reading, writing

Check Also:
Common and Proper Nouns Explained (Exercise and Examples)
Masculine and Feminine Nouns in English
100 Most Common English Nouns A-Z List (PDF)

2. PRONOUN

A pronoun is a word that can replace a noun in a sentence.

Personal Pronouns: The words I, you, he, she, it, we and they are called personal pronouns.
He is a nice guy.
You are welcome.

Possessive Pronouns: There words mine, yours, hers, his, its, theirs, ours, yours, theirs are called possessive pronouns.
This car is mine.
Time is yours.

Reflexive Pronouns: The words myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are called reflexive pronouns.
Maryam has hurt herself.
Don’t cut yourself.

Demonstrative Pronouns: The words this, these, that and those are called demonstrative pronouns.
This is my car.
These are my flowers.

Interrogative Pronouns: The words who, whom, whose, what and which are called interrogative pronouns. We ask questions by using these pronouns.
Who is she talking to?
Which do you prefer?

Here’s a table with examples of different types of pronouns in English:

Pronoun Type	Examples
Personal Pronouns	I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Possessive Pronouns	mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs
Reflexive Pronouns	myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Demonstrative Pronouns	this, that, these, those
Interrogative Pronouns	who, whom, whose, which, what
Relative Pronouns	who, whom, whose, which, that
Indefinite Pronouns	all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, other, several, some, somebody, someone, something, both, few, many, several
Reciprocal Pronouns	each other, one another

Check Also:

Difference Between Who and Whom

3. VERB

A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence, such as hear, become, happen, run, eat.

Most verbs are action words. Verbs shows you what people, animals or things are doing.

Verb Type	Examples
Action Verbs	run, jump, eat, write, sing
Linking Verbs	am, is, are, was, were, appear, seem, become, feel, look, sound, taste, smell
Helping Verbs	can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, have, has, had, do, does, did
Modal Verbs	can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must
Transitive Verbs	carry, build, eat, write, teach
Intransitive Verbs	arrive, exist, sleep, laugh
Regular Verbs	walk, talk, play, watch
Irregular Verbs	go, have, be, see, swim, eat
Phrasal Verbs	look up, give in, turn off
Infinitive Verbs	to run, to eat, to study
Gerunds	running, eating, studying

4. ADJECTIVE

An adjective is a describing word. Adjective describes a noun or a pronoun.

The red carpet.
Deep thoughts.
A busy street.
She is beautiful today.

Here’s a table with examples of different types of adjectives in English:

Adjective Type	Examples
Descriptive Adjectives	tall, blue, happy, delicious
Quantitative Adjectives	many, few, some, several, all
Demonstrative Adjectives	this, that, these, those
Possessive Adjectives	my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Interrogative Adjectives	which, what, whose
Indefinite Adjectives	some, any, many, few, several, all
Comparative Adjectives	taller, bluer, happier, more delicious
Superlative Adjectives	tallest, bluest, happiest, most delicious

Check Also:
List of Opposite Adjectives in English (PDF)
Positive Adjectives to Describe a Person (PDF)
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives List + PDF

5. ADVERB

A word that describes a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a sentence. It tells you about an action, or the way something is done.

☛A lot of adverbs end in -ly.

We are happily married.
Tom calls me regularly.
Suddenly, she knows. It’s love!

Here’s a table with examples of different types of adverbs in English:

Adverb Type	Examples
Adverbs of Manner	quickly, slowly, happily, carefully
Adverbs of Place	here, there, everywhere, nowhere
Adverbs of Time	now, later, yesterday, soon
Adverbs of Frequency	always, often, sometimes, rarely, never
Adverbs of Degree	very, too, quite, almost, absolutely
Interrogative Adverbs	how, when, where, why
Relative Adverbs	when, where, why
Conjunctive Adverbs	however, therefore, meanwhile

☛Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective. Example: Great – greatly. See more examples down below:

Check Also:

6. PREPOSITION

A preposition is a word that connects one thing with another, showing how they are related.

Prepositions tell us about time, position or place.

Some examples of prepositions are words like ‘in,’ ‘at,’ ‘on,’ ‘of,’ ‘to,’ ‘from.’

She is in love.
Book was on the table.
I am from France.
He is calling to you.
Where are you at?

Here’s a table categorizing types of prepositions with examples:

Type	Examples
Prepositions of Place	above, across, against, along, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, in, into, near, on, over, through, under, with
Prepositions of Time	after, before, during, for, from, in, on, over, through, to, until, with
Prepositions of Direction	across, along, around, behind, beyond, into, through, to
Prepositions of Agent/Instrument	by, with
Prepositions of Manner	like, unlike, after, as
Prepositions of Purpose	for, to, in order to
Prepositions of Source/Origin	from, out of

Check Also:
Complete List of English Prepositions A-Z (Free PDF)
Commonly Used Prepositions Lists in English
Common Collocations in English With Prepositions (PDF)

7. CONJUNCTION

A conjunction is a linking word that used to connect clauses or sentences. For example and, or, but, as, if.

Conjunctions are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses together.

a teacher and students.
a male or female?

☛Words such as before, after, as, when, while, until, since, are conjunctions of time.
Maryam could play guitar before she was four.
She always brush her teeth after eating her meal.

There are four categories of conjunctions:

Type	Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions	for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
Correlative Conjunctions	both/and, either/or, neither/nor, not only/but, whether/or
Subordinating Conjunctions	after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though, because, before, by the time, even if, even though, if, in order that, in case, in the event that, now that, once, only, only if, provided that, since, so, supposing, that, than, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whereas, wherever, whether or not, while
Conjunctive Adverbs	however, therefore

8.INTERJECTION

An interjection is a word that expresses an emotion, sudden, strong feeling such as surprise, pain, or pleasure.

☛It is often followed by an exclamation point.

Expression	Example
Cheers!	Cheers to a great day!
Ouch!	Ouch! That hurt.
Oh my God!	Oh my God! Is that true?
Oh dear!	Oh dear! What happened?
Good luck!	Good luck on your exam!
Help!	Help! I need assistance.
Gosh!	Gosh! That’s amazing.
Hey!	Hey! How are you?
Look out!	Look out! There’s a car coming!

Check Also:

1000+ Common Daily English Phrases for Beginners (PDF)

The Eight Parts of Speech in English (PDF) (11)

Parts of Speech PDF

Here you can download parts of speech PDF with examples.

Parts of Speech in English PDF

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