Parts of Speech
Every English sentence is built from eight kinds of words, and these eight kinds are called the parts of speech. The parts of speech are not eight groups into which words are locked for ever; the same word can play different roles in different sentences, and it is the work the word does in a particular sentence that decides its part of speech. In the ADRE Grade IV General English paper this topic appears through identification questions, fill-in-the-blanks and error detection, and it forms the base on which the whole grammar section stands. The method followed in the Master Book approach is to ask, of every word, what work it is doing: is it naming something, replacing a name, showing action, describing, qualifying, joining or expressing sudden feeling. Once the candidate can answer this question for each word, the rest of English grammar becomes far easier.
Basic Terms
- Noun: a word that names a person, place, thing, idea or quality.
- Pronoun: a word used in place of a noun.
- Verb: a word that shows an action or a state of being.
- Adjective: a word that describes or limits a noun.
- Adverb: a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
- Preposition: a word that shows the relation of a noun to another word.
- Conjunction: a word that joins words, phrases or clauses.
- Interjection: a word that expresses a sudden feeling.
The first five parts, noun, pronoun, verb, adjective and adverb, carry most of the meaning of a sentence. The last three, preposition, conjunction and interjection, hold the sentence together or add feeling to it.
Nouns and Their Kinds
Nouns are proper, common, collective, material and abstract. A proper noun names one particular person or place and begins with a capital letter. A common noun names a whole class. A collective noun names a group, such as a team or a crowd. A material noun names a substance, such as gold or wood. An abstract noun names a quality, action or state, such as honesty, laughter or childhood. Recognising the kind of noun helps in the choice of article and verb.
Pronouns and Their Kinds
Pronouns are personal, possessive, reflexive, demonstrative, relative, interrogative and indefinite. Personal pronouns change form as subject and object, as in he and him. Reflexive pronouns end in self or selves and point back to the subject. Relative pronouns such as who, which and that join a clause to the noun it describes. The correct pronoun depends on its work in the sentence and on the noun it replaces.
Verbs
A verb may be transitive or intransitive, main or helping, regular or irregular. A transitive verb needs an object, while an intransitive verb does not. Helping verbs such as is, has and will form tenses and voices with the main verb. The verb agrees with its subject in number and person, and it is this agreement that many questions test.
Adjectives and Adverbs
An adjective describes a noun and answers which, what kind or how many. An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb and answers how, when, where or how often. Many adverbs are formed by adding ly to an adjective, as in quick and quickly. The same word can be an adjective in one sentence and an adverb in another, so the candidate must look at the word being described.
Prepositions, Conjunctions and Interjections
A preposition shows the relation of a noun to another word, as in on the table or under the tree. A conjunction joins, and it may be coordinating, such as and and but, or subordinating, such as because and although. An interjection stands alone and expresses sudden feeling, as in alas or hurrah. These small words are often the point tested in error detection.
How This Topic Appears in the Examination
In ADRE Grade IV, APSC and Assam Police English papers this topic appears when the candidate is asked to name the part of speech of an underlined word, to fill a blank with the correct form of a word, or to spot the word used wrongly. The question usually turns on the difference between an adjective and an adverb, or between a noun and a verb in the same spelling.
Shortcut Methods for Quick Answers
Ask what work the word does in the sentence and not what it looks like. To tell an adjective from an adverb, look at what it describes: a noun takes an adjective, and a verb, adjective or adverb takes an adverb. To find the subject, ask who or what does the action, and the verb usually follows. When two parts of speech seem possible, test the sentence with a synonym of the same kind.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Deciding a part of speech by the spelling instead of by the work done.
- Using an adjective where an adverb is needed, as in he speaks slow.
- Confusing a pronoun with the noun it stands for.
- Treating a helping verb as the main verb of the sentence.
- Calling a joining word a preposition when it joins two clauses.
How to Prepare This Topic
- Learn the eight parts of speech and one clear example of each.
- Practise finding the work of each word in a short sentence.
- Revise the kinds of nouns and pronouns with examples.
- Work on adjective and adverb questions, which are the most tested.
- Finish with a mixed identification set and revise the eight names weekly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many parts of speech are there in English?
There are eight: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. A word belongs to the part that matches the work it does in a particular sentence.
Can one word be two parts of speech?
Yes. The word water is a noun in I drink water and a verb in Please water the plants. The sentence, not the dictionary, decides the part of speech.
How do I tell an adjective from an adverb?
An adjective describes a noun, and an adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. In a quick runner, quick is an adjective; in he runs quickly, quickly is an adverb.
What is the difference between a preposition and a conjunction?
A preposition shows the relation of a noun to another word, as in in the room. A conjunction joins words, phrases or clauses, as in and, but and because.
Why does the part of speech matter for other topics?
Because article, agreement and tense rules all depend on knowing whether a word is a noun, a verb or an adjective. Parts of speech is the foundation on which the rest of grammar is built.