There are nine parts of speech A noun is a word used to name something: a person/animal, a place, a thing, or an idea. For example, all of the following are nouns. Leah, Ignacio, Lan, Marek Japan, Venezuela, Atlanta, Kroger, the Gap pencil, store, music, air biology, theory of Relativity, Pythagorean theory Hint: They are sometimes preceded by noun markers. Noun markers are also called determiners and quantifiers. They are words like a, an, the, this, that, these, those, each, some, any, every, no, numbers (1,2,3,etc.), several, many, a lot, few, possessive pronouns (his, her, etc). See determiners for more information. &Nouns are classified in several waysï¿½ Nouns can be singular or plural. Singular nouns name only one person, place, thing or idea. One apple, a pencil, the book Plural nouns name two or more persons, places, things or ideas. Most singular nouns (Not ALL) are made plural by adding ï¿½s. For example, (pencil is a singular noun.

The word pencils is a plural noun.) Exception #1: If a noun ends with the ï¿½s, sh, ch, or x like the words, kiss, church, ash or box, then they are made plural by adding ï¿½es (kisses, churches, ashes, and boxes). Exception #2:There are also irregular nouns that do not follow any rules. For example, the plural form of the word child is children. Nouns can be Proper Nouns or Common Nouns A. Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, things and ideas. A person's name (Leah Graham) is a proper noun, for example. Other examples are names of places (Atlanta, Georgia) and names of things (the Navy). They are always capitalized! Peopleï¿½s names and titles- King Henry, Mrs. Smith Names for deity, religions, religious followers, and sacred books- God, Allah, Buddha, Islam, Catholicism, Christians Races, nationalities, tribes, and languages- African American, Polish-American, Black, Chinese, Russian Specific Places like countries, cities, bodies of water, streets, buildings, and parks Specific organizations- Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), ï¿½.

Days of the week, months, and holidays, Brand names of products Historical periods, well-known events, and documents- Middle ages, Boston Tea Party, Magna Carta Titles of publications and written documents b. Common nouns are all other nouns. For example: cat, pencil, paper, etc. They are not capitalized unless they are the first word in the sentence. Nouns can also be collective. Collective nouns are nouns that are grammatically considered singular, but include more than one person, place, thing, or idea in its meaning. Words like team, group, jury, committee, audience, crowd, class, troop, family, team, couple, band, herd, quartet, and society. Generally, collective nouns are treated as singular because they emphasize the group as one unit. The committee is going to make a decision. Nouns can also be either count or non-count. Nouns that are non-count cannot be counted. For example, one cannot go outside to have two fresh airs. One goes outside for fresh air. 5. Nouns can be Abstract or concrete Concrete nouns are nouns that you can touch. They are people, places, and some things.

Words like person, court, Georgia, pencil, hand, paper, car, and door are all examples of concrete nouns. Abstract nouns are nouns that cannot be physically held. For example, things like air, justice, safety, Democracy, faith, religion, etc. 6. Nouns can be Gerunds A gerund is the ï¿½ing form of the verb and is used as a noun. For example, Running is good for you. Running is the noun/gerund and is is the verb. My crying upset him. Crying is the subject and upset is the verb Note: A noun can fit into more than one of these categories. For example, the noun Angela is a singular, concrete, count, proper noun. A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. They eliminate the need for repetition. For Example: Instead of Emma talked to Emma's child, you might say Emma talked to her child. Her is the pronoun. It renames the antecedent, Emma. & There are several types of pronouns. Personal Pronouns refer to specific persons or things. Personal pronouns can act as subjects, objects, or possessives.

Singular: I, me, you, she, her, he, him, it Plural: we, us, you, they, them I, you, she, he, it, we, and they are used as subjects of sentences. For example, She knew the grammar rules very well. The personal pronouns that can be used as objects are: Me, you, him, her, it, them For Example: The teacher gave all of them good grades. Tommy gave his poetry book to her. Then, Azra gave it to me. Them, her and me are personal pronouns used as objects. They are NEVER the subjects of the sentences. Possessive Pronouns indicate ownership or possession. Singular: my, mine, your, yours, hers, his, its Plural: yours, ours, theirs, For Example: She returned my pencil to me because it was mine. 3. Reflexive Pronouns name a receiver of an action who is identical to the doer of the action. Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves For example: Manuela congratulated herself on her good grades.

Here, Manuela is both the doer and the receiver of the action. Q: So, who did Manuela congratulate? A: Herself. 4. Intensive Pronouns emphasize a noun or another pronoun. Singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself Plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves For Example: I saw Brad Pitt himself at the mall. Here, himself emphasizes the antecedent, Bradd Pitt. 5. Reciprocal Pronouns express shared actions or feelings. They are: Each other One another Yan Ko and Tai help each other with their homework. Leon and his girlfriend dance with one another when they go clubbing. 6. Indefinite Pronouns refer to non-specific persons and things. All, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, both, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, few, many, neither, nobody, none, no one, nothing, one, several, some, somebody, someone, something For Example: Many believe that UFOï¿½s exist, but nobody can prove it. No one can be sure if aliens really exist, but only few wonder if Elvis is still alive. The underlined indefinite pronouns do not refer to any one person.

They are referring to people in general. 7. Demonstrative Pronouns are also considered noun markers. They "point" towards nouns. this, that, these those That woman attends Gainesville College. That points out which woman. The woman attends Gainesville College. Q: Which woman? A: That woman. 8. Interrogative Pronouns introduce questions. Who, Whom, Whose, Which, What For Example: Who is going on vacation? To whom will the teacher give an "A"? What are you doing? 9. Relative Pronouns introduce dependent clauses and refers to a person or thing already mentioned in the sentence (i.e. the antecedent). Who, whoever, whom, whomever, whose, which, that For Example: The English that we learn in class will help us pass English 1101. that we learn in class is the adjective clause that describes English. And, that is the relative pronoun. Q: Which English? A: The English that we learn in classï¿½as opposed to the English we learn around our friends. Note: Adjectives clauses modify nouns or pronouns, and usually answer one of the following questions: Which one? What kind of?

They begin with a relative pronoun or a relative adverb (when or where). An adjective modifies (describes) a noun or pronoun. Normally in English, the adjective comes before the noun. For example: The smart student earned an "A". They also come after linking verbs. For example: I feel happy. Adjectives can be used to make comparisons. For most adjectives of one or two syllables, you can add ï¿½er. For example, greater, faster, stronger. For adjectives longer than two syllables, you should use the word more. For example, He was more intelligent than his sister was. Adjectives can also be used as superlatives. This is usually done by adding ï¿½est to the end of an adjective that is one or two syllables. For example, the loudest, the coolest, the smartest. If an adjective is three syllables or longer, you must use the words the most. For example: Katsu is the most intelligent person in the world! WARNING- Never use both an ï¿½er ending and the word more or an ï¿½est ending and the word most. For example, I am the most happiest when my students learn.

Instead, it should be: I am the happiest when my students learn. There are some irregular adjective and adverb forms. For example: Adjective Parts of Speech | English Club Table | Examples | Jobs | Quiz Parts of Speech There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For example, some words express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join" one word to another word. These are the "building blocks" of the language. Think of them like the parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the foundations or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the windows, and door frames to make the doorways. And we use cement to join them all together. Each part of the house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type of word has its own job. We can categorize English words into 9 basic types or classes. These classes are called "parts of speech". Some grammar books traditionally categorize English into 8 parts of speech.

At EnglishClub, we use the more recent categorization of 9 parts of speech (see parts of speech table for more details). It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences. In this lesson, we have an overview of the nine parts of speech, followed by a quiz to check your understanding: What part of speech is “there” when used in “There is (blah blah)”? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange What part of speech is “there” when used in “There is (blah blah)”? 2 What part of speech is there in the sentence “There is a book on the table?” Also, while typing it out, another question pops up vis-à-vis punctuation. In my complete first sentence above, I ended it with a question mark since my main sentence is a question. The quote is not a question, but it looks like it because of the question mark. Is this the right way to punctuate? This is the wrong question. To do anything useful with it, one has to begin by erasing the presuppositions and starting over. And that will certainly not answer the question as posed. Is this the alternative to closing duplicates?

– John Lawler Aug 6 '14 at 19:57 1 As I thought, this is the "there" used in existential sentences: "The word there is used as a pronoun in some sentences, playing the role of a dummy subject, normally of an intransitive verb. The "logical subject" of the verb then appears as a complement after the verb. This use of there occurs most commonly with forms of the verb be in existential clauses, to refer to the presence or existence of something. For example: There is a heaven; There are two cups on the table; There have been a lot of problems lately." Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_is#There_as_pronoun – Jasper Locke Aug 6 '14 at 21:35 And the reason that it is a pronoun (instead of a noun, for instance, or something else) is ...? – John Lawler Aug 7 '14 at 2:14 I believe with context there shouldn't be any confusion with putting the question mark within the quotations, which, as several users have pointed out, is the standard way of writing English. Do you have the context where this quoted sentence appeared?

– user3898238 Aug 7 '14 at 8:39 1 Possible Duplicate of english.stackexchange.com/questions/138413/… (I realize it's not answered there, either). grammar.about.com/od/e/g/existentialthereterm.htm – SrJoven Aug 10 '14 at 22:19 up vote 0 down vote accepted The phrase "there is" indicates the presence of the object of the sentence, without making the object the subject. The similar sentence "A book is on the table" would mean the same thing but restructures the statement to have a subject. Usually, when using the indefinite article "a", the statement will more often use "there is" to emphasize the presence of the book over the book itself. The construct comes from the French term "il y a", literally translated as "that there has" but thought of by native French speakers as identical to "there is" (except conjugated using "avoir" instead of "etre"). As this shows, "there" basically replaces "il y" ("that there") from the French and so takes the place of the pronoun.

As for punctuation at the end of a sentence containing a quote, there are a lot of conflicting rules regarding punctuation in quotes. In American English, the rules are as follows: if the quote is not a complete, structured sentence, the punctuation should always be placed outside of the quote. (The defendant said that his actions were "lawful and appropriate".) if the quote and statement both end in a "forceful" punctuation (? or !), the punctuation should be placed outside the quote. (Why did the defendant say "Why are you questioning me"?) - this is the correct use of punctuation for your specific case. If the quote ends in "forceful" punctuation but the statement does not, use both punctuation marks, and place them inside and outside the quotes as appropriate. (When asked about his involvement, the defendant cried "I will not be interrogated by you!".) If neither the quote nor the statement are "forceful" (they'd both end in periods), and the quotation is a complete, properly structured statement, the punctuation goes inside the quotation marks in American English. In British English, traditionally the punctuation still goes outside, but American influence in English writing currently makes it about 50-50.

(When asked about his actions, the defendant said, "what I did was lawful and appropriate to the situation.") 6 This is completely wrong. There does not "indicate the presence" of anything. There is no "object of the sentence"; it is intransitive. And it does have a subject; the subject is there. There is a syntactic rule involved, and the category of there is Dummy. – John Lawler Aug 6 '14 at 13:59 4 @JohnLawler The worldwide market is craving Syntactic Rules for Dummies, J.M. Lawler, Wiley 2015. Imagine billions and billions served. – tchrist♦ Aug 6 '14 at 19:15 1 Also, it definitely doesn't come from French, and that's not what "il y a" means in French. There are such constructs in many languages. – Georges Pompidou Aug 6 '14 at 19:19 3 @John It may make someone think twice before interpreting an accepted answer which is made up nonsense as truth.

– Georges Pompidou Aug 6 '14 at 19:53 2 @Araucaria: Sure. For instance, English is lousy with dummy prepositions, like the at of look at or the to of listen to, that pop up like moles whenever one uses some intransitive verbs with objects. They don't mean anything, they just hold a space open, like there in There's a man here to see you, or it in It's raining or I hate it when that happens. For the last time, by the way, there are far more than 8 parts of speech in English. Just like there are far more than 5 vowels. Next year, long division. – John Lawler Aug 9 '14 at 14:45 | show 9 more comments Did you find this question interesting? Try our newsletter Sign up for our newsletter and get our top new questions delivered to your inbox ( see an example ). Subscribed! up vote 16 down vote +300 It depends who you want to satisfy with your classification.

If you must classify into the traditional eight parts of speech, there is considered a pronoun (Dictionary.com - see below), specifically a dummy subject (Wikipedia), usually termed "existential there" 1 , 2 , 3 - search term in Google Books . there pronoun 7. (used to introduce a sentence or clause in which the verb comes before its subject or has no complement): There is no hope. In the phrase "there is" there is grammatically unnecessary, but it has two uses. One, not to end an existential sentence with a being verb . For instance, see this dissertation , page 63 (though read Chapter IV, pp. 53-115 if you're really interested): For example, King Alfred could write “swae feawa hiora waeron” (so few of them were), but to translate this into more modern English, we need to supply a subject slot filler as in “so few of them there were” or more naturally “there were so few of them.” The other use, as in your example, is to emphasize the existence of the subject.

So "A book is on the table" is perfectly fine, but the existence of the book is underlined in the sentence "There is a book on the table." (That's why "there" is termed existential - it's only used in existential clauses.) However, classifying "there" as a pronoun is controversial since a pronoun is defined as a substitute for a noun. There is not a substitute for a more specific noun. Along these lines, in the 8-part scheme, you should logically call it a noun. I haven't found a source to back this up, though, except for the definition of a noun . But since even a noun must refer to an entity, and there does not, existential there is not either a noun or a pronoun. If you're still interested, you probably don't mind transcending the artificial part-of-speech system . In fact, the reason I can't find a direct refutation of there as pronoun is that every scholarly work I've come across does not refer to eight-parts-of-speech period. So, after getting rid of the clutter, there doesn't have to be classified with either nouns or pronouns. It's existential there. It's a dummy subject.

But it's not a pronoun. Because really, you can't group it with any other word and call it a homogeneous category. It even presents differences from the dummy it . As to the punctuation problem, put the question mark outside of the quotes, and you'll be fine: What part of speech is there in the sentence "There is a book on the table"? up vote 1 down vote The way you punctuated your question is the way that most English teachers and grammarians prefer. As you noticed, this results in inaccurate quotations. As a computer programmer, I find it essential to maintain the accuracy of quotations. Thus, like many other computer programmers, I studiously avoid unlabelled changes to the contents of quotations. So I would have asked your question like this: What part of speech is there in the sentence “There is a book on the table”? or What part of speech is there in the sentence “There is a book on the table.”? My preference would be for the first of these two options. This is because I avoid putting an extra period outside the quotation if the quotation ends with a period.

For example, I might write this: Akin's example was "There is a book on the table." I am willing to put labelled changes in a quotation. Corrections can be labelled with square brackets ([]). [Sic] marks are self-labelling. Generalized places to put substitutions can be labelled with angle brackets (<>). For example: A generalized example is "There is <an object> on the table[.]" There is an expletive . An expletive is: a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy (as in a sentence or a metrical line) without adding to the sense. This coincides with the use of dummy or existential, but more appropriately is simply a placeholder word that makes the sentence work. There is a book on the table. can be rewritten as: A book is on the table. The meaning doesn't change, but if the sentence began with is, immediately it is assumed to be a question. To make it not a question, There is added. While it may be seen as an attempt to be humorous, it still makes some sense if the following is considered: expletive deleted is a book on the table.

What you might deem to fill in might or might not fit, but here, there, and it are valid entries to the above. In answer to " Expletive is not a part of speech! ": It is a rhetorical device that is not really a part of speech because it carries no meaning itself. The expletives there and it are used with a form of the verb be to postpone the subject until after the verb; ... up vote 0 down vote What part of speech is there in the sentence: “There is a book on the table.” This is a tricky question, but it's relatively simple. There in this particular sentence is acting as a demonstrative determiner pointing out the place in which something is. We use there to say in that place which is far from us, and this to indicate a place which is near to us. Technically the part of speech is an adjective in which the substansive determiner or adjective is standing in place of an entire noun phrase. If you look at the structure of the sentence it follows the classic paradigm of an adjective phrase standing in for a noun phrase joined by a linking verb to another noun or adjective phrase followed by a prepositional compliment that tells us precisely where the book is.

Thus we get: There [ajective phrase meaning in that place] is [verb phrase (form of the verb to be called a linking verb in traditional grammar)] a book [noun phrase (together they function as the determiner a is the indefinite article meaning one of; book is the singular count noun)] on the table [prepositional compliment that completes the sentence and tells us where the book is] I wish I could diagram this for you. Someone else will have to to it, but in short there is a demonstrative adjective standing in for the noun phrase in that place. The Eight Parts of Speech - TIP Sheets - Butte College The Eight Parts of Speech TIP Sheet THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary. 1.

NOUN A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea. man... Butte College... house... happiness A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article (the, a, an), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by adding 's. Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition. The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Nouns" for further information. 2. PRONOUN A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. She... we... they... it A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the pronoun she is the girl.

Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns. The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Pronouns" for further information. 3. VERB A verb expresses action or being. jump... is... write... become The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. ("She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different forms to express tense. The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Verbs" for more information. 4. ADJECTIVE An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. pretty... old... blue...

smart An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.) The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Adjectives" for more information. 5. ADVERB An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. gently... extremely... carefully... well An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly. The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Adverbs" for more information. 6. PREPOSITION A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. by... with.... about...

until (by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow) A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The following list includes the most common prepositions: The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Prepositions" for more information. 7. CONJUNCTION A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses. and... but... or... while... because A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well. The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Conjunctions" for more information.

8. INTERJECTION An interjection is a word used to express emotion. Oh!... Wow!... Oops! An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point. The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my! See the TIP Sheet on "Interjections" for more information. What Are the Parts of Speech in English? By Richard Nordquist Updated February 26, 2016. One way to begin studying basic sentence structures in English is to identify the traditional parts of speech (also known as word classes ). These have been called the "building blocks" of grammar . Here you'll learn the names and basic functions of these eight sentence parts. Learning the names of the parts of speech probably won't make you witty, wealthy, or wise. In fact, learning just the names of the parts of speech won't even make you a better writer. But you will gain a basic understanding of the English language , which should help you follow the other lessons here at About.com Grammar and Composition. And those lessons will help you to improve your writing.

As you study the table at the bottom of the page, keep in mind that only interjections ("Hooray!") have a habit of standing alone (or alongside complete sentences). The other parts of speech-- nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives adverbs , prepositions , and conjunctions --come in many varieties and may appear just about anywhere in a sentence. continue reading below our video Quick Tip: What is an Adverb? To know for sure what part of speech a word is, we need to look not only at the word itself but also at its meaning, position, and use in a sentence. For example, in the first sentence below, work functions as a noun; in the second sentence, a verb; and in the third sentence, an adjective: Bosco showed up for work two hours late. [The noun work is the thing Bosco shows up for.] He will have to work until midnight. [The verb work is the action he must perform.] His work permit expires next month. [The attributive noun (or converted adjective) work modifies the noun permit.] Don't let this variety of meanings and uses discourage or confuse you.

Keep in mind that learning the names of the basic parts of speech is just one way to understand how sentences are put together. Now review the parts of speech listed below, and for each one see if you can provide examples of your own. (Click on the term for more detailed explanations and additional examples.) You'll grow more familiar with the parts of speech as you practice using them in other lessons on this site, such as Grammar Basics: Sentence Parts and Sentence Structures . NOTE: Though some traditional grammars have treated articles (the, a[n]) as a distinct part of speech, contemporary grammars more often include articles in the category of determiners . Parts of Speech Parts of Speech Table | English Club Table | Examples | Jobs | Quiz Parts of Speech Table This is a summary of the 9 parts of speech *. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech. You can also see these parts of speech examples part of speech (to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must EnglishClub is a web site. I like EnglishClub. pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.

good, big, red, well, interesting My dogs are big. I like big dogs. limits or "determines" a noun a/an, the, 2, some, many I have two dogs and some rabbits. describes a verb, adjective or adverb quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly. I, you, he, she, some Tara is Indian. She is beautiful. links a noun to another word to, at, after, on, but We went to school on Monday. joins clauses or sentences or words and, but, when I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats. short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence oh!, ouch!, hi!, well Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don't know. * Some grammar sources traditionally categorize English into 8 parts of speech. Other say 10. At EnglishClub, we use the more recent categorization of 9 parts of speech.

Examples of other categorizations are: Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech: lexical Verbs (work, like, run) auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must) Determiners may be treated as adjectives, instead of being a separate part of speech. The parts of speech | The Writing Centre | University of Ottawa The parts of speech Terms of Use for the HyperGrammar Web Content The parts of speech Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb, the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and the interjection. Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In fact, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next. The next few examples show how a word's part of speech can change from one sentence to the next, and following them is a series of sections on the individual parts of speech, followed by an exercise. Books are made of ink, paper, and glue. In this sentence, "books" is a noun, the subject of the sentence. Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the tickets.

Here "books" is a verb, and its subject is "Bridget." We walk down the street. In this sentence, "walk" is a verb, and its subject is the pronoun "we." The mail carrier stood on the walk. In this example, "walk" is a noun, which is part of a prepositional phrase describing where the mail carrier stood. The town decided to build a new jail. Here "jail" is a noun, which is the object of the infinitive phrase "to build." The sheriff told us that if we did not leave town immediately he would jail us. Here "jail" is part of the compound verb "would jail." They heard high pitched cries in the middle of the night. In this sentence, "cries" is a noun acting as the direct object of the verb "heard." The baby cries all night long and all day long. But here "cries" is a verb that describes the actions of the subject of the sentence, the baby. The next few sections explain each of the parts of speech in detail. When you have finished, you might want to test yourself by trying the exercise. Written by Heather MacFadyen What is a verb?

The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verbor compound verb asserts something about the subject of the sentence and express actions, events, or states of being. The verb or compound verb is the critical element of the predicate of a sentence. In each of the following sentences, the verb or compound verb ishighlighted: Dracula bites his victims on the neck. The verb "bites" describes the action Dracula takes. In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip bulbs. Here the compound verb "will plant" describes an action that will take place in the future. My first teacher was Miss Crawford, but I remember the janitor Mr. Weatherbee more vividly. In this sentence, the verb "was" (the simple past tense tense of "is") identifies a particular person and the verb "remember" describes a mental action. Karl Creelman bicycled around the world in 1899, but his diaries and his bicycle were destroyed. In this sentence, the compound verb "were destroyed" describes an action which took place in the past. Written by Heather MacFadyen What is a noun?

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea. Nouns are usually the first words which small children learn. The highlighted words in the following sentences are all nouns: Late last year our neighbours bought a goat. Portia White was an opera singer. The bus inspector looked at all the passengers' passes. According to Plutarch, the library at Alexandria was destroyed in 48 B.C. Philosophy is of little comfort to the starving. A noun can function in a sentence as a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, a subject complement, an object complement, an appositive, an adjective or an adverb. Noun Gender Many common nouns, like "engineer" or "teacher," can refer to men or women. Once, many English nouns would change form depending on their gender -- for example, a man was called an "author" while a woman was called an "authoress" -- but this use of gender-specific nouns is very rare today. Those that are still used occasionally tend to refer to occupational categories, as in the following sentences. David Garrick was a very prominent eighteenth-century actor.

Sarah Siddons was at the height of her career as an actress in the 1780s. The manager was trying to write a want ad, but he couldn't decide whether he was advertising for a "waiter" or a "waitress" Noun Plurals Most nouns change their form to indicate number by adding "-s" or "-es", as illustrated in the following pairs of sentences: When Matthew was small he rarely told the truth if he thought he was going to be punished. Many people do not believe that truths are self-evident. As they walked through the silent house, they were startled by an unexpected echo. I like to shout into the quarry and listen to the echoes that return. He tripped over a box left carelessly in the hallway. Since we are moving, we will need many boxes. There are other nouns which form the plural by changing the last letter before adding "s". Some words ending in "f" form the plural by deleting "f" and adding "ves," and words ending in "y" form the plural by deleting the "y" and adding "ies," as in the following pairs of sentences: The harbour at Marble Mountain has one wharf.

There are several wharves in Halifax Harbour. Warsaw is their favourite city because it reminds them of their courtship. The vacation my grandparents won includes trips to twelve European cities. The children circled around the headmaster and shouted, "Are you a mouse or a man?" The audience was shocked when all five men admitted that they were afraid of mice. Other nouns form the plural irregularly. If English is your first language, you probably know most of these already: when in doubt, consult a good dictionary. Possessive Nouns In the possessive case, a noun or pronoun changes its form to show that it owns or is closely related to something else. Usually, nouns become possessive by adding a combination of an apostrophe and the letter "s." You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following sentences: The red suitcase is Cassandra's. The only luggage that was lost was the prime minister's. The exhausted recruits were woken before dawn by the drill sergeant's screams. The miner's face was covered in coal dust.

You can form the possessive case of a singular noun that ends in "s" by adding an apostrophe alone or by adding an apostrophe and "s," as in the following examples: The bus's seats are very uncomfortable. The bus' seats are very uncomfortable. The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs. The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus' eggs. Felicia Hemans's poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's. Felicia Hemans' poetry was once more popular than Lord Byron's. You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does not end in "s" by adding an apostrophe and a "s," as in the following examples: The children's mittens were scattered on the floor of the porch. The sheep's pen was mucked out every day. Since we have a complex appeal process, a jury's verdict is not always final. The men's hockey team will be playing as soon as the women's team is finished. The hunter followed the moose's trail all morning but lost it in the afternoon.

You can form the possessive case of a plural noun that does end in "s" by adding an apostrophe: The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling. The janitors' room is downstairs and to the left. My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest. The archivist quickly finished repairing the diaries' bindings. Religion is usually the subject of the roommates' many late night debates. Using Possessive Nouns When you read the following sentences, you will notice that a noun in the possessive case frequently functions as an adjective modifying another noun: The miner's face was covered in coal dust. Here the possessive noun "miner's" is used to modify the noun "face" and together with the article "the," they make up the noun phrase that is the sentence's subject. The concert was interrupted by the dogs' barking, the ducks' quacking, and the babies' squalling. In this sentence, each possessive noun modifies a gerund.

The possessive noun "dogs"' modifies "barking," "ducks"' modifies "quacking," and "babies"' modifies "squalling." The film crew accidentally crushed the platypus's eggs. In this example the possessive noun "platypus's" modifies the noun "eggs" and the noun phrase "the platypus's eggs" is the direct object of the verb "crushed." My uncle spent many hours trying to locate the squirrels' nest. In this sentence the possessive noun "squirrels"' is used to modify the noun "nest" and the noun phrase "the squirrels' nest" is the object of the infinitive phrase "to locate." Types Of Nouns There are many different types of nouns. As you know, you capitalise some nouns, such as "Canada" or "Louise," and do not capitalise others, such as "badger" or "tree" (unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence).

In fact, grammarians have developed a whole series of noun types, including the proper noun, the common noun, the concrete noun, the abstract noun, the countable noun (also called the count noun), the non-countable noun (also called the mass noun), and the collective noun. You should note that a noun will belong to more than one type: it will be proper or common, abstract or concrete, and countable or non-countable or collective. If you are interested in the details of these different types, you can read about them in the following sections. Proper Nouns You always write a proper noun with a capital letter, since the noun represents the name of a specific person, place, or thing. The names of days of the week, months, historical documents, institutions, organisations, religions, their holy texts and their adherents are proper nouns. A proper noun is the opposite of a common noun In each of the following sentences, the proper nouns are highlighted: The Marroons were transported from Jamaica and forced to build the fortifications in Halifax. Many people dread Monday mornings. Beltane is celebrated on the first of May. Abraham appears in the Talmud and in the Koran.

Last year, I had a Baptist, a Buddhist, and a Gardnerian Witch as roommates. Common Nouns A common noun is a noun referring to a person, place, or thing in a general sense -- usually, you should write it with a capital letter only when it begins a sentence. A common noun is the opposite of a proper noun. In each of the following sentences, the common nouns are highlighted: According to the sign, the nearest town is 60 miles away. All the gardens in the neighbourhood were invaded by beetles this summer. I don't understand why some people insist on having six different kinds of mustard in their cupboards. The road crew was startled by the sight of three large moose crossing the road. Many child-care workers are underpaid. Sometimes you will make proper nouns out of common nouns, as in the following examples: The tenants in the Garnet Apartments are appealing the large and sudden increase in their rent. The meals in the Bouncing Bean Restaurant are less expensive than meals in ordinary restaurants. Many witches refer to the Renaissance as the Burning Times. The Diary of Anne Frank is often a child's first introduction to the history of the Holocaust.

Concrete Nouns A concrete noun is a noun which names anything (or anyone) that you can perceive through your physical senses: touch, sight, taste, hearing, or smell. A concrete noun is the opposite of a abstract noun. The highlighted words in the following sentences are all concrete nouns: The judge handed the files to the clerk. Whenever they take the dog to the beach, it spends hours chasing waves. The real estate agent urged the couple to buy the second house because it had new shingles. As the car drove past the park, the thump of a disco tune overwhelmed the string quartet's rendition of a minuet. The book binder replaced the flimsy paper cover with a sturdy, cloth-covered board. Abstract Nouns An abstract noun is a noun which names anything which you can not perceive through your five physical senses, and is the opposite of a concrete noun. The highlighted words in the following sentences are all abstract nouns: Buying the fire extinguisher was an afterthought. Tillie is amused by people who are nostalgic about childhood. Justice often seems to slip out of our grasp. Some scientists believe that schizophrenia is transmitted genetically.

Countable Nouns A countable noun (or count noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you can count. You can make a countable noun plural and attach it to a plural verb in a sentence. Countable nouns are the opposite of non-countable nouns and collective nouns. In each of the following sentences, the highlighted words are countable nouns: We painted the table red and the chairs blue. Since he inherited his aunt's library, Jerome spends every weekend indexing his books. Miriam found six silver dollars in the toe of a sock. The oak tree lost three branches in the hurricane. Over the course of twenty-seven years, Martha Ballad delivered just over eight hundred babies. Non-Countable Nouns A non-countable noun (or mass noun) is a noun which does not have a plural form, and which refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count. A non-countable noun always takes a singular verb in a sentence. Non-countable nouns are similar to collective nouns, and are the opposite of countable nouns. The highlighted words in the following sentences are non-countable nouns: Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.

Written by Heather MacFadyen What is a pronoun? A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun. You use pronouns like "he," "which," "none," and "you" to make your sentences less cumbersome and less repetitive. Grammarians classify pronouns into several types, including the personal pronoun, the demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative pronoun, the indefinite pronoun, the relative pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the intensive pronoun. Personal Pronouns A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to indicate person, number, gender, and case. Subjective Personal Pronouns A subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are "I," "you," "she," "he," "it," "we," "you," "they." In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is a subjective personal pronoun and acts as the subject of the sentence: I was glad to find the bus pass in the bottom of the green knapsack. You are surely the strangest child I have ever met. He stole the selkie's skin and forced her to live with him.

When she was a young woman, she earned her living as a coal miner. After many years, they returned to their homeland. We will meet at the library at 3:30 p.m. It is on the counter. Are you the delegates from Malagawatch? Objective Personal Pronouns An objective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as an object of a verb, compound verb, preposition, or infinitive phrase. The objective personal pronouns are: "me," "you," "her," "him," "it," "us," "you," and "them." In the following sentences, each of the highlighted words is an objective personal pronoun: Seamus stole the selkie's skin and forced her to live with him. The objective personal pronoun "her" is the direct object of the verb "forced" and the objective personal pronoun "him" is the object of the preposition "with." After reading the pamphlet, Judy threw it into the garbage can.

The pronoun "it" is the direct object of the verb "threw." The agitated assistant stood up and faced the angry delegates and said, "Our leader will address you in five minutes." In this sentence, the pronoun "you" is the direct object of the verb "address." Deborah and Roberta will meet us at the newest café in the market. Here the objective personal pronoun "us" is the direct object of the compound verb "will meet." Give the list to me. Here the objective personal pronoun "me" is the object of the preposition "to." I'm not sure that my contact will talk to you. Similarly in this example, the objective personal pronoun "you" is the object of the preposition "to." Christopher was surprised to see her at the drag races. Here the objective personal pronoun "her" is the object of the infinitive phrase "to see." Possessive Personal Pronouns A possessive pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as a marker of possession and defines who owns a particular object or person.

The possessive personal pronouns are "mine," "yours," "hers," "his," "its," "ours," and "theirs." Note that possessive personal pronouns are very similar to possessive adjectives like "my," "her," and "their." In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a possessive personal pronoun: The smallest gift is mine. Here the possessive pronoun "mine" functions as a subject complement. This is yours. Written by Heather MacFadyen What is an adjective? An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. In the following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives: The truck-shaped balloon floated over the treetops. Mrs. Morrison papered her kitchen walls with hideous wall paper. The small boat foundered on the wine dark sea. The coal mines are dark and dank. Many stores have already begun to play irritating Christmasmusic. A battered music box sat on the mahogany sideboard. The back room was filled with large, yellow rain boots.

An adjective can be modified by an adverb, or by a phrase or clausefunctioning as an adverb. In the sentence My husband knits intricately patterned mittens. for example, the adverb "intricately" modifies the adjective "patterned." Some nouns, many pronouns, and many participle phrases can also act as adjectives. In the sentence Eleanor listened to the muffled sounds of the radio hiddenunder her pillow. for example, both highlighted adjectives are past participles. Grammarians also consider articles ("the," "a," "an") to be adjectives. Possessive Adjectives A possessive adjective ("my," "your," "his," "her," "its," "our," "their") is similar or identical to a possessive pronoun; however, it is used as an adjective and modifies a noun or a noun phrase, as in the following sentences: I can't complete my assignment because I don't have the textbook. In this sentence, the possessive adjective "my" modifies "assignment" and the noun phrase "my assignment" functions as an object. Note that the possessive pronoun form "mine" is not used to modify a noun or noun phrase.

What is your phone number. Here the possessive adjective "your" is used to modify the noun phrase "phone number"; the entire noun phrase "your phone number" is a subject complement. Note that the possessive pronoun form "yours" is not used to modify a noun or a noun phrase. The bakery sold his favourite type of bread. In this example, the possessive adjective "his" modifies the noun phrase "favourite type of bread" and the entire noun phrase "his favourite type of bread" is the direct object of the verb "sold." After many years, she returned to her homeland. Here the possessive adjective "her" modifies the noun "homeland" and the noun phrase "her homeland" is the object of the preposition"to." Note also that the form "hers" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases. We have lost our way in this wood. In this sentence, the possessive adjective "our" modifies "way" and the noun phrase "our way" is the direct object of the compound verb"have lost". Note that the possessive pronoun form "ours" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases. In many fairy tales, children are neglected by their parents.

Here the possessive adjective "their" modifies "parents" and the noun phrase "their parents" is the object of the preposition "by." Note that the possessive pronoun form "theirs" is not used to modify nouns or noun phrases. The cat chased its ball down the stairs and into the backyard. In this sentence, the possessive adjective "its" modifies "ball" and the noun phrase "its ball" is the object of the verb "chased." Note that "its" is the possessive adjective and "it's" is a contraction for "it is." Demonstrative Adjectives The demonstrative adjectives "this," "these," "that," "those," and "what" are identical to the demonstrative pronouns, but are used as adjectives to modify nouns or noun phrases, as in the following sentences: When the librarian tripped over that cord, she dropped a pile of books. In this sentence, the demonstrative adjective "that" modifies the noun "cord" and the noun phrase "that cord" is the object of the preposition "over." This apartment needs to be fumigated.

Here "this" modifies "apartment" and the noun phrase "this apartment" is the subject of the sentence. Even though my friend preferred those plates, I bought these. In the subordinate clause, "those" modifies "plates" and the noun phrase "those plates" is the object of the verb "preferred." In the independent clause, "these" is the direct object of the verb "bought." Note that the relationship between a demonstrative adjective and a demonstrative pronoun is similar to the relationship between a possessive adjective and a possessive pronoun, or to that between a interrogative adjective and an interrogative pronoun. Interrogative Adjectives An interrogative adjective ("which" or "what") is like an interrogative pronoun, except that it modifies a noun or noun phrase rather than standing on its own (see also demonstrative adjectives and possessive adjectives): Which plants should be watered twice a week? Like other adjectives, "which" can be used to modify a noun or a noun phrase. In this example, "which" modifies "plants" and the noun phrase "which plants" is the subject of the compound verb "should be watered": What book are you reading?

In this sentence, "what" modifies "book" and the noun phrase "what book" is the direct object of the compound verb "are reading." Indefinite Adjectives An indefinite adjective is similar to an indefinite pronoun, except that it modifies a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase, as in the following sentences: Many people believe that corporations are under-taxed. The indefinite adjective "many" modifies the noun "people" and the noun phrase "many people" is the subject of the sentence. I will send you any mail that arrives after you have moved to Sudbury. The indefinite adjective "any" modifies the noun "mail" and the noun phrase "any mail" is the direct object of the compound verb "will send." They found a few goldfish floating belly up in the swan pound. In this example the indefinite adjective modifies the noun "goldfish" and the noun phrase is the direct object of the verb "found": The title of Kelly's favourite game is "All dogs go to heaven." Here the indefinite pronoun "all" modifies "dogs" and the full title is a subject complement. Written by Heather MacFadyen What is an adverb?

An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as "how," "when," "where," "how much". While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic "ly" suffix, most of them must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the sentence or clause as a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various places within the sentence. In the following examples, each of the highlighted words is an adverb: The seamstress quickly made the mourning clothes. In this sentence, the adverb "quickly" modifies the verb "made" and indicates in what manner (or how fast) the clothing was constructed. The midwives waited patiently through a long labour. Similarly in this sentence, the adverb "patiently" modifies the verb "waited" and describes the manner in which the midwives waited. The boldly spoken words would return to haunt the rebel. In this sentence the adverb "boldly" modifies the adjective "spoken." We urged him to dial the number more expeditiously.

Here the adverb "more" modifies the adverb "expeditiously." Unfortunately, the bank closed at three today. In this example, the adverb "unfortunately" modifies the entire sentence. Conjunctive Adverbs You can use a conjunctive adverb to join two clauses together. Some of the most common conjunctive adverbs are "also," "consequently," "finally," "furthermore," "hence," "however," "incidentally," "indeed," "instead," "likewise," "meanwhile," "nevertheless," "next," "nonetheless," "otherwise," "still," "then," "therefore," and "thus." A conjunctive adverb is not strong enough to join two independent clauses without the aid of a semicolon. The highlighted words in the following sentences are conjunctive adverbs: The government has cut university budgets; consequently, class sizes have been increased. He did not have all the ingredients the recipe called for;therefore, he decided to make something else. The report recommended several changes to the ways the corporation accounted for donations; furthermore, it suggested that a new auditor be appointed immediately.

The crowd waited patiently for three hours; finally, the doors to the stadium were opened. Batman and Robin fruitlessly searched the building; indeed, the Joker had escaped through a secret door in the basement. Written by Heather MacFadyen What is a preposition? A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples: The book is on the table. The book is beneath the table. The book is leaning against the table. The book is beside the table. She held the book over the table. She read the book during class. In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time. A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.

The most common prepositions are "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without." Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a preposition: The children climbed the mountain without fear. In this sentence, the preposition "without" introduces the noun "fear." The prepositional phrase "without fear" functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed. There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated.

Here, the preposition "throughout" introduces the noun phrase "the land." The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing. The spider crawled slowly along the banister. The preposition "along" introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the prepositional phrase "along the banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled. The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes. Here the preposition "under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the porch," which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb "is hiding." The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office. Similarly in this sentence, the preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in his office," which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers. Written by Heather MacFadyen What is a conjunction? How Many Parts of Speech Are There? – gwillim gwillim Leave a comment In school, we learn that there are eight parts of speech: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.

Modern grammarians recognise a couple of others: determiners and particles. Phrasal verbs are idioms combining a verb and a particle. Some examples are “slow down,” “stand up,” “turn over.” Those particles (down, up, over) all look like prepositions, but that’s not how they function. In “Jack and Jill went up the hill,” “hill” is the object of “up”. In “Stand up when a lady enters the room,” there is no object of “up.” Determiner is a useful basket category that includes articles, and many types of adjectives, such as demonstratives (this, that, these, those), and quantifiers (some, many, all). The reason for making them a separate category is to simplify the statement of some grammar rules. In my computational linguist job, I found that I could get more precise and significant parses of sentences by using those parts of speech. The determiners that you can use with mass nouns (such as milk, patience, and time, are not always the same ones you can use with count nouns (such as book, event, and second). For us, part of speech was just a convenient arbitrary label, to be used in whatever way improved the analysis.

Question: How many parts of speech are there?
Answer: EIGHT