What is part of speech

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Table | Examples | More than One Job | Quiz

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech.

part of speech	function or "job"	example words	example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	EnglishClub.com is a web site. I like EnglishClub.com.
Noun	thing or person	pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John	This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.
Adjective	describes a noun	a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting	My dog is big. I like big dogs.
Adverb	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.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction	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.
Interjection	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 categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com, we use the traditional categorization of 8 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 a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under Adjectives
Parts of Speech Examples

Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:

verb

Stop!

noun verb

John works.

noun verb verb

John is working.

pronoun verb noun

She loves animals.

noun verb adjective noun

Animals like kind people.

noun verb noun adverb

Tara speaks English well.

noun verb adjective noun

Tara speaks good English.

pronoun verb preposition adjective noun adverb

She ran to the station quickly.

pron. verb adj. noun conjunction pron. verb pron.

She likes big snakes but I hate them.

Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:

interjection pron. conj. adj. noun verb prep. noun adverb

Well, she and young John walk to school slowly.

Parts of Speech:
What they are and how to use them

You might ask yourself, "What are the parts of speech?" The parts of speech are the jobs that a word can have within a sentence. Sometimes, a word that can be one thing in one sentence, might be something else in another. For example, you might think that "running" is a verb. That's not always true. In the sentence He heard the running water., running is an adjective. In the sentence, He is running., running is a verb. It can even be a noun! In the sentence Running is good for you., running is a noun! When you read a sentence, you have to look at what the word is doing before you can tell what part of speech it is. When it is by itself, you can make a good guess. Below are descriptions and examples of the parts of speech. There are sentences to practice below. Then, if you are brave, you can try our game.

There are eight parts of speech. They are:

Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Pronouns
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Prepositions
Interjections

Return to Hobbit Hole

Descriptions

Nouns: A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples: Hobbit, Bilbo, Gandalf, Hobbiton, Tolkien, courage, friendship

VERBS: A verb is an action word or doing word.
Examples: run, walk, sleep, think, seek, is, has, hath

ADJECTIVES An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
Examples: dusty, quiet, tasty, swiftest

PRONOUNS: A Pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.
Examples: he, she, it, ours, thee, thou, thy, you, mine, his, whose

ADVERBS: An Adverb is a word that describes verbs or an adjectives.
Examples: bravely, soon, mysteriously

CONJUNCTIONS: A Conjunction is a word that joins two parts of a sentence.
Examples: but, and, so, as

PREPOSITIONS: A Preposition is a word that shows relationships between words. In other words it shows connections between two words.
Examples: on, off, around, through

INTERJECTIONS: A surprise or sudden spoken word.
Examples: Wow!, Yes!, Cool!

Note:
Just so you know, EVERY word...even the littlest... have jobs. The words a, an, and the have job names, too. They are called Articles. Remember....Every word in this sentence has a job.

Table | Examples | More than One Job | Quiz

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech.

part of speech	function or "job"	example words	example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	EnglishClub.com is a web site. I like EnglishClub.com.
Noun	thing or person	pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John	This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.
Adjective	describes a noun	a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting	My dog is big. I like big dogs.
Adverb	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.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction	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.
Interjection	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 categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com, we use the traditional categorization of 8 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 a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under Adjectives
Parts of Speech Examples
Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:
verb
Stop!

noun verb
John works.

noun verb verb
John is working.
pronoun verb noun
She loves animals.

noun verb adjective noun
Animals like kind people.
noun verb noun adverb
Tara speaks English well.

noun verb adjective noun
Tara speaks good English.
pronoun verb preposition adjective noun adverb
She ran to the station quickly.
pron. verb adj. noun conjunction pron. verb pron.
She likes big snakes but I hate them.
Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:
interjection pron. conj. adj. noun verb prep. noun adverb
Well, she and young John walk to school slowly.

Parts of Speech:
What they are and how to use them

You might ask yourself, "What are the parts of speech?" The parts of speech are the jobs that a word can have within a sentence. Sometimes, a word that can be one thing in one sentence, might be something else in another. For example, you might think that "running" is a verb. That 's not always true. In the sentence He heard the running water. , running is an adjective. In the sentence, He is running. , running is a verb. It can even be a noun! In the sentence Running is good for you. , running is a noun! When you read a sentence, you have to look at what the word is doing before you can tell what part of speech it is. When it is by itself, you can make a good guess. Below are descriptions and examples of the parts of speech. There are sentences to practice below. Then, if you are brave, you can try our game.

There are eight parts of speech. They are:

Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Pronouns
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Prepositions
Interjections
Descriptions
Nouns: A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples: Hobbit, Bilbo, Gandalf, Hobbiton, Tolkien, courage, friendship
VERBS: A verb is an action word or doing word.
Examples: run, walk, sleep, think, seek, is, has, hath
ADJECTIVES An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
Examples: dusty, quiet, tasty, swiftest
PRONOUNS: A Pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.
Examples: he, she, it, ours, thee, thou, thy, you, mine, his, whose
ADVERBS: An Adverb is a word that describes verbs or an adjectives.
Examples: bravely, soon, mysteriously
CONJUNCTIONS: A Conjunction is a word that joins two parts of a sentence.
Examples: but, and, so, as
PREPOSITIONS: A Preposition is a word that shows relationships between words. In other words it shows connections between two words.
Examples: on, off, around, through
INTERJECTIONS: A surprise or sudden spoken word.
Examples: Wow!, Yes!, Cool!
Note:
Just so you know, EVERY word...even the littlest... have jobs. The words a, an, and the have job names, too. They are called Articles. Remember.... Every word in this sentence has a job.

Parts of Speech:
What they are and how to use them

You might ask yourself, "What are the parts of speech?" The parts of speech are the jobs that a word can have within a sentence. Sometimes, a word that can be one thing in one sentence, might be something else in another. For example, you might think that "running" is a verb. That 's not always true. In the sentence He heard the running water. , running is an adjective. In the sentence, He is running. , running is a verb. It can even be a noun! In the sentence Running is good for you. , running is a noun! When you read a sentence, you have to look at what the word is doing before you can tell what part of speech it is. When it is by itself, you can make a good guess. Below are descriptions and examples of the parts of speech. There are sentences to practice below. Then, if you are brave, you can try our game.

There are eight parts of speech. They are:

Nouns
Verbs
Adjectives
Pronouns
Adverbs
Conjunctions
Prepositions
Interjections
Descriptions
Nouns: A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples: Hobbit, Bilbo, Gandalf, Hobbiton, Tolkien, courage, friendship
VERBS: A verb is an action word or doing word.
Examples: run, walk, sleep, think, seek, is, has, hath
ADJECTIVES An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
Examples: dusty, quiet, tasty, swiftest
PRONOUNS: A Pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.
Examples: he, she, it, ours, thee, thou, thy, you, mine, his, whose
ADVERBS: An Adverb is a word that describes verbs or an adjectives.
Examples: bravely, soon, mysteriously
CONJUNCTIONS: A Conjunction is a word that joins two parts of a sentence.
Examples: but, and, so, as
PREPOSITIONS: A Preposition is a word that shows relationships between words. In other words it shows connections between two words.
Examples: on, off, around, through
INTERJECTIONS: A surprise or sudden spoken word.
Examples: Wow!, Yes!, Cool!
Note:
Just so you know, EVERY word...even the littlest... have jobs. The words a, an, and the have job names, too. They are called Articles. Remember.... Every word in this sentence has a job.

-1

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if you click on each part of speech.

part of speechfunction or "job"example wordsexample sentencesVerbaction or state(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, mustEnglishClub.comisa web site. IlikeEnglishClub.com.Nounthing or personpen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, JohnThis is mydog. He lives in myhouse. We live inLondon.Adjectivedescribes a nouna/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interestingMy dog isbig. I likebigdogs.Adverbdescribes a verb, adjective or adverbquickly, silently, well, badly, very, reallyMy dog eatsquickly. When he isveryhungry, he eatsreallyquickly.Pronounreplaces a nounI, you, he, she, someTara is Indian.Sheis beautiful.Prepositionlinks a noun to another wordto, at, after, on, butWe wenttoschoolonMonday.Conjunctionjoins clauses or sentences or wordsand, but, whenI like dogsandI like cats. I like catsanddogs. I like dogsbutI don 't like cats.Interjectionshort exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentenceoh!, ouch!, hi!, wellOuch! That hurts!Hi! How are you?Well, I don 't know.

* Some grammar sources categorize English into9or10parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com, we use the traditional categorization of8parts 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)Determinersmay be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under AdjectivesParts of Speech Examples

Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:

verbStop!nounverbJohnworks.nounverbverbJohnisworking.pronounverbnounShelovesanimals.nounverbadjectivenounAnimalslikekindpeople.nounverbnounadverbTaraspeaksEnglishwell.nounverbadjectivenounTaraspeaksgoodEnglish.pronounverbprepositionadjectivenounadverbSherantothestationquickly.pron.verbadj.nounconjunctionpron.verbpron.ShelikesbigsnakesbutIhatethem.

Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:

interjectionpron.conj.adj.nounverbprep.nounadverbWell,sheandyoungJohnwalktoschoolslowly.

Heres a refresher:

Nouns

Common nouns refer to a person, place, or thing.

Examples: writer, library, book.

Proper nouns refer to a specific person, place, or thing. Proper nouns are capitalized.

Examples: Patrick OBrian, London, the Thames.

Pronouns

Pronouns take the place of a noun.

Examples: my, me, she, he, his, her.

Verbs

Verbs are action words. They show action or state of being and indicate the time of that action or state, past, present, or future.

Example (from the Patrick OBrian novel H.M.S. Surprise): Stephen looked sharply round, saw the decanter, smelt to the sloth, and cried, Jack, you have debauched my sloth.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe or modify nouns. They specify size, appearance, number, etc.

Example (from Patrick OBrians The Golden Ocean): Dont you know that in the Navy you must always choose the lesser of two weevils?

Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They specify how, when, where, and how much.

Example (from OBrians The Mauritius Commander): For very strangely his officers looked upon Jack Aubrey as a moral figure, in spite of all proofs of the contrary

Prepositions

Prepositions show how a noun or pronoun is related to another word in a sentence (into, behind, around, over).

Example (from OBrians Master and Commander): However, she continued to acknowledge the compliments of her audience with a radiant smile, looking very well in pale blue satin and a great double rope of pearls—pearls from the Santa Brigida.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses (and, but, or, nor).

Example (again, from Master and Commander): For a moment Jack felt the strongest inclination to snatch up his little gilt chair and beat the white-faced man down with it

Interjections

Interjections are exclamations and are usually indicated by the use of the exclamation mark (oh, well, wow, cheers, hooray).

Example (from OBrians Testimonies): Oh! It has always seemed to me that books are the supreme decorations of a room.

Parts of Speech: What they are and how to use them

You might ask yourself, "What are the parts of speech?" The parts of speech are the jobs that a word can have within a sentence. Sometimes, a word that can be one thing in one sentence, might be something else in another. For example, you might think that "running" is a verb. That 's not always true. In the sentence He heard the running water. , running is an adjective. In the sentence, He is running. , running is a verb. It can even be a noun! In the sentence Running is good for you. , running is a noun! When you read a sentence, you have to look at what the word is doing before you can tell what part of speech it is. When it is by itself, you can make a good guess. Below are descriptions and examples of the parts of speech. There are sentences to practice below. Then, if you are brave, you can try our game. There are eight parts of speech. They are:

Descriptions

Nouns: A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Examples: Hobbit, Bilbo, Gandalf, Hobbiton, Tolkien, courage, friendship

VERBS: A verb is an action word or doing word. Examples: run, walk, sleep, think, seek, is, has, hath

ADJECTIVES An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Examples: dusty, quiet, tasty, swiftest

PRONOUNS: A Pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun. Examples: he, she, it, ours, thee, thou, thy, you, mine, his, whose

ADVERBS: An Adverb is a word that describes verbs or an adjectives. Examples: bravely, soon, mysteriously

CONJUNCTIONS: A Conjunction is a word that joins two parts of a sentence. Examples: but, and, so, as

PREPOSITIONS: A Preposition is a word that shows relationships between words. In other words it shows connections between two words. Examples: on, off, around, through

INTERJECTIONS: A surprise or sudden spoken word. Examples: Wow!, Yes!, Cool!

Note: Just so you know, EVERY word...even the littlest... have jobs. The words a, an, and the have job names, too. They are called Articles. Remember.... Every word in this sentence has a job.

Parts of Speech:What they are and how to use them

You might ask yourself, "What are the parts of speech?" The parts of speech are the jobs that a word can have within a sentence. Sometimes, a word that can be one thing in one sentence, might be something else in another. For example, you might think that "running" is a verb. That 's not always true. In the sentenceHe heard the running water., running is an adjective. In the sentence,He is running., running is a verb. It can even be a noun! In the sentenceRunning is good for you., running is a noun! When you read a sentence, you have to look at what the word is doing before you can tell what part of speech it is. When it is by itself, you can make a good guess. Below are descriptions and examples of the parts of speech. There are sentences to practice below. Then, if you are brave, you can try our game. There are eight parts of speech. They are: