Parts of Speech in English with Examples


Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech

In grammar, a part of speech (also called lexical categories, grammatical categories, or word classes) is a linguistic category of words. In English, there are eight parts of speech:

  • Verbs.
  • Nouns.
  • Adjectives.
  • Adverbs.
  • Pronouns.
  •  Interjection.
  •  Conjunction.
  • Prepositions.

These parts of speech allow us to structure a grammatically correct sentence. Each part of speech has a different function within a sentence.

A list of parts of speech

Here is a list of parts of speech in English grammar:

1. Verbs

A verb is used to show an action or a state of being. Examples: go, write, exist, be

She loves him.

2. Nouns

A noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events, ideas, and feelings. A noun functions as a subject or object of a verb and can be modified by an adjective. Examples: John, lion, table, freedom, love...

John lives in London.

3. Adjective

Adjectives are used to describe or specify a noun or pronoun

good, beautiful, nice, my ...

4. Adverbs

An adverb is used to describe a verb, adjective, and other adverbs. Examples: completely, never, there...

She speaks slowly

5. Pronouns

A pronoun is used in the place of a noun or phrase. Examples: I, you, he, she, it ...

He likes her.

There are different types of pronouns.

6. Preposition

Prepositions are used before nouns to form a phrase that shows where or when something is in relation to something else. Prepositions are also used to show directions or to introduce an object. Examples; in, above, to, for, at ...

The cat is under the table.

Shops close on Sundays.

She went to Paris.

7. Conjunctions

Conjunctions join clauses or sentences or words. Examples: and, but, as soon as...

There are three types of conjunctions:

  • Coordinating Conjunctions such as and, but, and or.
  • Correlative Conjunctions such as not only but also, either or.
  • Subordinating Conjunctions such as although, because, since, as soon as.

She is rich and intelligent.

He’s not only intelligent but also funny.

Although he is rich, he doesn’t have got a car.

Because she is still young, she can’t watch this movie.

8. Interjections

Interjections are used to show surprise or emotion.

oh!, Good Lord

Examples of parts of speech

Here are some examples of parts of speech:

  • My (adjective) friend (noun) speaks (verb) English (noun) fluently (adverb).
  • Oh! (interjection) I ( pronoun) went (verb) to (preposition) school (noun) and (conjunction) I ( pronoun) met (verb) Fred (noun).

Related pages