English Grammar - Parts Of Speech

Parts Of Speech

Definition:

Classes in which words are categorized (according to their function in a sentence: are called parts of Speech.

OR

Words are divided into different kinds or classes, called Part of Speech, according to their use; according to the work the do in the sentence.
The part of speech are eight in numbers.

1. Noun
2. Adjective
3. Pronoun
4. Verb
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection

1. A NOUN: is a word used as the name of a person, place or thing, etc.
Example:

• Akbar was a great King.
• Karachi is a big city.
• The rose smells sweet.
• The sun shines bright.
• His courage won him honour.

Note: The word thing includes
(i) all objects that we can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell; and
(ii) something that can we think of, but cannot perceive by the senses.

2. A PRONOUN: is a word used instead of a noun; as
Example:

• John is absent, because he is ill.
• The books are where you left them.

3. AN ADJECTIVE: is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun; as
Example:

• He is a brave boy
• There are twenty boys in this class.

4. A VERB: is a word used to express an action or state; as
Example:

• The girl wrote a letter to her cousin.
• New York is a big city.
• Iron and copper are useful metals.

5. AN ADVERB: is a word used to add something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as,
Example:

• He worked the sum quickly.
• This flower is very beautiful.
• She pronounced the word quite correctly.

6. A PREPOSITION: is a word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in relation to something else; as,
Example:

• There is a cow in the garden.
• The girl is fond of music.
• A fair little girl sat under a tree.

7. A CONJUNCTION: is a word used to join words or sentences; as,
Example:

• Roma and Henry are cousins.
• Two and two make four.
• I ran fast, but missed the train.

8. AN INTERJECTION: is a word which expresses some sudden feeling; as,
Example:

• Hurrah ! we have won the game.
• Alas ! she is dead.

DETERMINERS:
Some modem grammars include determiners among the parts of speech. Determiners are words like a, an, the, this, that, these, those, every, each, some, any, my, his, one, two, etc., which determine or limit the meaning of the nouns that follow.
All determiners excepts , an and the are classed among adjectives.

NOTE:
As words are divided into different classes according to the work they do in sentences, it is clear that we cannot say to which part of speech a word belongs unless we see it used in a sentence.
Example:

• They arrived soon after. (Adverb)
• They arrived after us. (Preposition)
• They arrived after we had left. (Conjunction)

From the above examples we see that the same word can be used as different parts of speech .

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