Parts of Speech Overview

Overview of Parts of Speech

• Nine basic categories of words in language

1. Nouns

• Refer to people, places, things, and ideas
• Examples: dog, city, freedom
• Can be:
  • Proper (named entities): John, London
  • Common (general terms): dog, city
  • Collective (groups): family, team
  • Abstract (concepts): happiness, love

2. Pronouns

• Replace nouns in sentences
• Examples: he, she, it, they
• Can be:
  • Personal (replace nouns): I, you, he
  • Possessive (show ownership): mine, yours
  • Reflexive (refer back to subject): myself, herself
  • Demonstrative (point out): this, that

3. Verbs

• Express action, occurrence, or state
• Examples: run, eat, be
• Can be:
  • Action (physical or mental): run, think
  • Linking (connect subject to info): be, seem
  • Helping (auxiliary verbs): will, would
  • Transitive (take an object): eat, write
  • Intransitive (no object): sleep, laugh

4. Adjectives

• Modify or describe nouns or pronouns
• Examples: happy, big, blue
• Can be:
  • Quantitative (amount): three, five
  • Qualitative (quality): happy, tall
  • Demonstrative (point out): this, that

5. Adverbs

• Modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs
• Examples: quickly, very, well
• Can be:
  • Manner (how): quickly, slowly
  • Time (when): yesterday, soon
  • Place (where): here, there
  • Frequency (how often): often, rarely
  • Degree (to what extent): very, extremely

6. Prepositions

• Show relationships between words
• Examples: in, on, at
• Can be:
  • Words or phrases indicating location: in, on, at
  • Words or phrases indicating direction: to, from
  • Words or phrases indicating time: at, by

7. Conjunctions

• Connect words, phrases, or clauses
• Examples: and, but, or
• Can be:
  • Coordinating (connect equal elements): and, but, or
  • Subordinating (connect unequal elements): because, although

8. Interjections

• Express emotion or feeling
• Examples: oh, wow, ouch
• Can be:
  • Words that express strong emotions: oh, wow
  • Words that express sudden feelings: ouch, ah

Overview of Parts of Speech

• Language consists of nine basic categories of words.

Nouns

• Refer to people, places, things, and ideas.
• Examples: dog, city, freedom.
• Classified into:
  • Proper nouns: named entities, e.g., John, London.
  • Common nouns: general terms, e.g., dog, city.
  • Collective nouns: groups, e.g., family, team.
  • Abstract nouns: concepts, e.g., happiness, love.

Pronouns

• Replace nouns in sentences.
• Examples: he, she, it, they.
• Classified into:
  • Personal pronouns: replace nouns, e.g., I, you, he.
  • Possessive pronouns: show ownership, e.g., mine, yours.
  • Reflexive pronouns: refer back to the subject, e.g., myself, herself.
  • Demonstrative pronouns: point out, e.g., this, that.

Verbs

• Express action, occurrence, or state.
• Examples: run, eat, be.
• Classified into:
  • Action verbs: physical or mental, e.g., run, think.
  • Linking verbs: connect subject to information, e.g., be, seem.
  • Helping verbs: auxiliary verbs, e.g., will, would.
  • Transitive verbs: take an object, e.g., eat, write.
  • Intransitive verbs: no object, e.g., sleep, laugh.

Adjectives

• Modify or describe nouns or pronouns.
• Examples: happy, big, blue.
• Classified into:
  • Quantitative adjectives: amount, e.g., three, five.
  • Qualitative adjectives: quality, e.g., happy, tall.
  • Demonstrative adjectives: point out, e.g., this, that.

Adverbs

• Modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
• Examples: quickly, very, well.
• Classified into:
  • Manner adverbs: how, e.g., quickly, slowly.
  • Time adverbs: when, e.g., yesterday, soon.
  • Place adverbs: where, e.g., here, there.
  • Frequency adverbs: how often, e.g., often, rarely.
  • Degree adverbs: to what extent, e.g., very, extremely.

Prepositions

• Show relationships between words.
• Examples: in, on, at.
• Classified into:
  • Words or phrases indicating location, e.g., in, on, at.
  • Words or phrases indicating direction, e.g., to, from.
  • Words or phrases indicating time, e.g., at, by.

Conjunctions

• Connect words, phrases, or clauses.
• Examples: and, but, or.
• Classified into:
  • Coordinating conjunctions: connect equal elements, e.g., and, but, or.
  • Subordinating conjunctions: connect unequal elements, e.g., because, although.

Interjections

• Express emotion or feeling.
• Examples: oh, wow, ouch.
• Classified into:
  • Words that express strong emotions, e.g., oh, wow.
  • Words that express sudden feelings, e.g., ouch, ah.