' Table of contents

The 8 Parts of Speech |

Chart, Definition &
Examples
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”).

You can check whether you’re using each of the

parts of speech correctly using our grammar
checker.

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 sentence

I’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.

Note

Proper 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 sentence

I 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 sentence

The 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 sentence

Ray 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 sentence

Hasan is coming for dinner at 6 p.m.

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

Carey walked to the shop.

Note

A 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.
Try our paraphrasing tool to explore
different ways to use prepositions to better
express your meaning.

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 sentence

Daria 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 sentence

Psst. 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 sentence

This 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

sentence

I live just outside of the town.

There’s a concert this weekend.

Karl made an offensive gesture.

Note

While 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 agreement

Other

Conjunctions
Interjections
Adjectives
Determiners
Prepositions

Frequently asked questions

What part of speech is “a”? !

What part of speech is “in”? !

What part of speech is “and”? !

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What Is a Collective Noun? |

Examples & Definition
A collective noun is a noun that refers to a group (of people,

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What Is an Adjective? | Definition,

Types & Examples
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or

pronoun (e.g., "small"). They can be used to describe the

qualities of someone or somethin…

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Using Conjunctions | Definition,

Rules & Examples
Conjunctions can connect words, phrases and clauses. The

three main types of conjunction are coordinating,

subordinating and correlative.

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More interesting articles

1 Definite and Indefinite Articles |

When to Use "The", "A" or "An"

2 Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

| Examples & Tips

3 Using Conjunctions | Definition, Rules

& Examples

4 What Are Prepositions? | List,

Examples & How to Use

5 What Is a Determiner? | Definition,

Types & Examples

6 What Is an Adjective? | Definition,

Types & Examples

7 What Is an Adverb? Definition, Types

& Examples

8 What Is an Interjection? | Examples,

Definition & Types

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