Title: Parts of Speech - Columns

Parts of Speech

Parts of speech refer to the different types of words and phrases we use. We also use the term word classes to talk about the same thing.

Correct use of parts of speech in English is very important. Each part of speech identifies how a word is used in a sentence. Can you name all the different parts of speech? Do you know how to use them correctly?

Explore the drop down menus below to see a description and examples of each part of speech:

Noun

Function: Names something.

Examples:  cat, motorcycle, imagination, physics

Adjective

Function: Describes a noun.

Examples:  black, quick, outrageous, crepuscular

Verb

Function: Describes an action or the state of something - changes form depending on time, context and perspective.

Examples:  run, was walking, stopped, starts, go, has been, smile, were laughing, is crying, screamed, was calculated, exists, learn

Adverb

Function: Describes how, when, where, to what extent an action is done.

Examples: well, quickly, often, rarely, never, carefully, emotionally, mostly, quite, halfheartedly, upstairs, underground

Pronoun

Function: Replaces a noun.

Examples: Objective/subjective personal pronouns: I/me, we/us, he/him, she/her, it, they/them

Possessive: my/mine, your/yours, her/hers, his, its, etc

Reflexive: myself, themselves, itself, herself, himself, etc.

Reciprocal: each other, one another

Demonstrative: This, these, those, that

Relative: which, that, when, where, who, whom, etc.

Indefinite: anybody, nobody, someone, everything, nothing, etc.

Interrogative: who, what, why, how, whatever, etc.

Preposition

Function: Connects a noun to another word or part of a sentence - can express a relationship of space, time, direction, composition, etc. They nearly always come before a noun or noun phrase.

Example:  to, on, at, under, above, before, during, in front of, with, etc.

Conjunction

Function: Connects words or phrases.

Example:  and, or, but, although, so, etc.

Determiner

Function: Limits, clarifies, or determines a noun.

Example: Some, many, most, one, two, three-hundred and seven, all, etc.

Articles: a, an, and the (defines nouns as specific or unspecific, definite or indefinite)

Possessive and demonstrative pronouns are also a kind of determiner: my dog, your chicken, that guy, these fabulous earrings, etc.

Interjection

Function: A short exclamation, often interrupts, precedes or is a response to a sentence - not generally used in academic writing. Often stands alone, not as part of a sentence at all. Mostly used in informal speech.

Example:  Oh!, Wow!, Ummm...., Hi!,   Well...,  Oh dear!, Holy flying can openers batman!, etc.

- Put each word into the correct category:
- analyse
- economy
- significant
- concept
- consistently
- theory
- source
- indicate
- legal
- similar
- involve
- convenience
- creatively
- functionally
- very
- maintain
- select
- appropriate
Q: Nouns
A: economy; concept; theory; source; convenience
Q: Adjectives
A: significant; legal; similar; appropriate
Q: Verbs
A: analyse; indicate; involve; maintain; select
Q: Adverbs
A: consistently; creatively; functionally; very

- Label each word in the following sentence with the correct part of speech:
- Parts of Speech
- They
- promote
- a
- higher
- level
- of
- concentration
- and
- interaction
- in
- class.
- actively
- pronoun
- adverb
- noun
- preposition
- preposition
- verb
- adjective
- noun
- noun
- noun
- determiner
- conjunction
Q: They
A: pronoun
Q: actively
A: adverb
Q: promote
A: verb
Q: a
A: determiner
Q: adjective
A: adjective
Q: level
A: noun; noun; noun; noun
Q: of
A: preposition; preposition
Q: concentration
A: noun; noun; noun; noun
Q: and
A: conjunction
Q: interaction
A: noun; noun; noun; noun
Q: in
A: preposition; preposition
Q: class.
A: noun; noun; noun; noun

- Parts of speech shift depending on their functions and meanings.
- A word is often part of a word family with different forms for different parts of speech, but some words keep the same form but function as different parts of speech.

For example:
- Alex made her ideas concrete.
- Alex's job is to concrete driveways.
- - concrete functions as an adjective.
- - concrete functions as a verb.
- She pours concrete from her truck.
- - concrete functions as a noun.

- Can you identify the function of the blue word in each sentence?
- I hurt my back in the accident.
- You need to back the car into the parking spot.
- There's a cat at the back door.
- verb
- adjective
- noun
Q: noun
A: noun
Q: verb
A: verb
Q: adjective
A: adjective

- Same word, different class
- Notice how the words studied, exam and hard have changed their functions in the sentences below:
- Claudia  studied  hard  for  her  next  exam.
- verb
- adverb
- noun
- It was a hard exam because the most studied topics were not on the exam paper.
- adjective
- adjective
- superlative adjective

- Identify how the different words in blue are used:
- First, we group the students into teams. Then group members work together to build a well.

If a team can communicate and work together well, they will be successful.

The winning group is often so proud that tears well up in their eyes when receiving their prize.
- verb
- verb
- noun
- noun
- adverb
- adjective
Q: verb
A: verb; verb
Q: adjective
A: adjective
Q: noun
A: noun; noun
Q: adverb
A: adverb
Q: noun
A: noun; noun
Q: verb
A: verb; verb

- Word families
- Parts of speech can be categorised into word families so remember to check the function of your chosen word in a sentence.

Click on each word below to see what part of speech it is and an example sentence:

to adopt

Part of speech: verb (infinitive form)

Example: They decided to adopt a new strategy to teach maths in their school.

adoption

Part of speech: noun

Example: There are many kittens available for adoption.

adopted

Part of speech: adjective

Example: Their adopted kitten was cute.

adoptive

Part of speech: adjective

Example: Her adoptive parents changed her life for the better.

adopting

Part of speech: verb in a gerund form ( -ing form that acts as a noun)

Example: They considered adopting a healthier lifestyle.

adoptable

Part of speech: adjective

Example: Older cats are less adoptable than kittens.

- Organise the word families into the correct categories:
- analysis
- analyse
- analytical
- analytically
- analyst
- analytic
- conceive
- conception
- conceptual
- conceivable
- concept
- conceivably
- economically
- economics
- economic
- economy
- economise
- economical
- significant
- insignificant
- signify
- significance
- significantly
- signified
Q: Nouns
A: analysis; analyst; conception; concept; economics; economy; significance
Q: Verbs
A: analyse; conceive; economise; signify; signified
Q: Adjectives
A: analytical; analytic; conceptual; conceivable; economic; economical; significant; insignificant; signified
Q: Adverbs
A: analytically; conceivably; economically; significantly

- Important rules to remember
- Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs describe verbs.
- He made a quick decision.
- He made a decision quickly.
- An adjective answers the question "What sort of? and is usually used before a noun or after a 'be' verb.
- An adverb answers the questions "How/when/where/etc?", "In what manner?", "To what extent?"

Put the adverb and adjective into the correct sentence:

Q: This was a [...] moment in history.

This event could [...] affect the economy.
A: significant; significantly

Now put adverb, adjective and noun in the correct position:

Q: The library is [...] located in the centre of the campus.

People often choose [...] over quality when making decisions.

Online shopping is a [...] option for people with busy lives.
A: conveniently; convenience; convenient

- Please note there are some verbs that can be followed by adjectives instead of adverbs. Sometimes the verb can only be used with an adjective after it when it's used with a particular meaning:
- His parents grew old.
- Some crops grow quickly.
- The adjective old describes 'his parents'. In this case, grew = became.
- The adverb quickly describes the verb 'grow'. In this case, grow ≠ become.
- Other verbs that can be followed by adjectives: appear, be, become, feel, look (='appear', not 'use your eyes'), seem, smell, sound, taste, turn (='become', not 'move around'), grow (='become', not 'get bigger'/'develop'), remain, stay.

Q: Choose the correct sentence:
- If you want to become successful, you will need to work hard. (correct)
- If you want to become successfully, you will need to work hard.

Q: Choose the correct sentence:
- He looked sadly at the screen. (correct)
- He looked sad at the screen.

Q: Choose the correct sentence:
- He looked stylish in his new suit. (correct)
- He looked stylishly in his new suit.

Q: Choose the correct sentence:
- He remained quiet during the presentation. (correct)
- He remained quietly during the presentation.

- Phrases
- We can often identify a group of words or phrase as functioning like one part of speech, even though the different words might be other parts of speech. For example "bigger than an elephant" is a phrase that works as an adjective, because all together it describes a noun.

Keep in mind that one type of phrase or word may be part of a larger or different type of phrase.
- Noun phrase: "a cup of tea", "a big, hairy dog", "the rapid growth of neoliberalism in the 1980s".
- Verb phrase: "might go", "has been living", "is trying to help", "was invented".
- Adjectival phrase: "not too bad", "older than me", "covered in mud", "quite in love with her".
- Adverbial phrase: "like a fish in the desert", "at 3 o'clock", "during difficult times", "with a flourish".

- What type of phrase is each bolded part in these sentences? (from student exams)
- Technology has been rapidly evolving in recent years.
- An example of how technology benefits education is its ability to improve a student’s vocabulary.
- Convenient and readily accessible technology can be quite useful in educational contexts.
- Technology being brought to class must be used with the purpose of being an educational tool.
- noun phrase
- verb phrase
- adjective phrase
- adverbial phrase
Q: verb phrase
A: verb phrase
Q: adjectival phrase
A: adjective phrase
Q: noun phrase
A: noun phrase
Q: adverbial phrase
A: adverbial phrase

- Quick tips
- Focus on the function of each word and phrase when forming sentences.
- Look at examples in a dictionary or thesaurus to ensure you have chosen the correct part of speech.
- Ensure you are using the correct form of the required part of speech, eg., correct tense choice for verbs or plural/singular forms for nouns.

Fill the spaces with the correct form of the word in brackets:

Q: The proposal must be [...] viable to achieve support from the university. (economy)

It should also illustrate the [...] of the research to a broader context. (significantly)

It is important to establish a [...] framework for the study. (concept)

The next step in the research is to [...] the data that has been collected. (analysis)
A: economically; significance; conceptual; analyse/analyze