Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech
Mind the following sentence:
George is a good boy.
In the above sentence, there are five words as: George, is, a, good and boy. These words are the parts of the sentence.Â
Words with which a sentence is made are called Parts of Speech.
Now mind the underlined words of the following sentences:
1. Merina is a girl.
2. She reads the Bible.
3. Eliza plays cricket.
4. Diana is a good dancer.
5. She dances nicely.
6. The pen is on the table.
7. Robert and William are cousins.
8. Alas! Henry is dead.
In the above sentence no.1, the underlined word Meirna refers to the name of a girl. In sentence no. 2 the underlined word She refers to the girl (Merina) who is already mentioned in the first sentence. In sentence no. 3 the wordplay describes the action of the subject (Eliza). In sentence no. 4 the underlined word good says something about the quality of Diana as a dancer. In the fifth sentence, the word nicely tells about how Diana dances. Thus each word used in a sentence has its own function. In the English language, the words according to their nature and function in a sentence are divided into eight classes (parts of speech) as: Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction and Interjection.
Let us tell about these Parts of Speech in detail as below:
NOUN
Mind the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. Albert was a scientist.
2. London is a city.
3. Gold is a precious metal.
4. Kindness is a great virtue.
5. Your presence gives me pleasure.
6. Meredith ran a race.
In the above sentence no. 1 the underlined word Albert refers to the name of a scientist. In sentence no. 2, the word London refers to the name of a city (place). In the sentence, no 3. the word Gold indicates the name of a metal and in sentence no. 4 the word Kindness refers to the name of a virtue. The word pleasure in sentence no. 5 is the name of a feeling and the word race in sentence no.6 is the name of an action. These words are Nouns.
A noun is a naming word. It may be the name of a person, place, thing, quality, feeling, action etc.Â
Some Examples of Noun: man, book, crow, vulture, bird, Earth, March, school, Mohan, Tajmahal, Delhi, Iran, gold, honesty, courage etc.
Note: By thing we mean (i) something which we can see, touch, hear, smell or (ii) something which we can feel or think of but cannot see or touch.
PRONOUN
Mind the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. Henry says that he likes sweetmeats.
2. Susmita is fine: she has left the place just now.
3. Oliver, Tom and Jim are friends: all belong to Paris.
In the above sentence no.1 the underlined word he stands for Henry (a person). In sentence no. 2 the word she stands for Susmita (a girl). Likewise, the word all in sentence no.3 stands for Oliver, Tom and Jim. These are Pronouns.
A word that is used instead of a Noun is called Pronoun.
A Pronoun is used to avoid the repetition of a name.Â
Some examples of pronouns: I, he, she, her, our, we, me, my, us, you, your, his, they, their etc.
ADJECTIVE
Mind the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. There are five mangoes in the basket.
2. Sabrina is an intelligent girl.
3. Ronaldo gave me a new pen.
4. Many guests have turned up.
5. Lilima is wise.
6. Today is hot.
The underlined words in the above sentences tell us something about the number, quality, state, etc. of the persons or things mentioned. They have qualified certain Nouns which follow or precede them. These are called Adjectives.Â
An Adjective is a word which qualifies a Noun and adds something to its meaning.
Some examples of Adjectives: small, long, big, deep, black, white, some, many, short, good, one, sweet, bitter, red, green, fat, strong etc.
VERB
Notice the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. We drink tea.
2. Rakesh runs a race.
3. They play cricket.
4. Mrs. Patricia is my sister.
5. The Earth moves round the Sun.
Each of the underlined words in the above sentences describes the action of the subject i.e. what the subject does, what happens to it or what it is. These are called Verbs.
A Verb is a word used for saying something about a person, place or thing.
Some examples of Verb: learn, is, are, have, teach, has, drink, run, go, eat, read, write, come, sit, play, swim etc.
ADVERB
Notice the underlined words in the following sentences:Â
1. Pearson laughs loudly.
2. Rebeca is very intelligent.
3. Raphel walks so slowly.
In the above sentences, the underlined words have modified or added something to the meaning of a Verb (laughs), an Adjective (intelligent), or an adverb (slowly). These are called Adverb.
An Adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an Adjective or another Adverb.
Some examples of Adverbs: now, soon, so, very, here, there, often, then etc.
Most Adverbs are made by adding-ly to Adjectives as:
Adjective ——- Adverb
Sudden ——- suddenly
Slow ——- slowly
Loud ——- loudly
Bright ——- brightly
Easy ——- easily
Strong ——- strongly
Clear ——- clearly
Nice ——- nicely
Kind ——- kindly
Light ——- lightly
Soft ——- softly
PREPOSITION
Notice the underlined words in the following sentences:Â
1. Pritam kept the pen on the table.
2. Thomas hid behind the tree.
3. Amrita is afraid of the dark.
4. They jumped over the bridge.
In the above sentences, the underlined words have shown how the Nouns ‘table’, ‘tree’, ‘dark’ and ‘bridge’ are related to other words (Nouns) in the sentences. These are Prepositions.
A Preposition is a word that is used with a Noun to show its relation to some other words (Nouns) in the sentence.
Some examples of Preposition: in, under, from, on, by, for, with, into, to, at, unto, till, up, behind etc.
CONJUNCTION
Notice the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. Medona and Ophelia are two sisters.
2. Raman is poor but honest.
3. Make hay while the Sun shines.
4. You must do or die.
In the above sentences, the underlined words link together words (in the first sentence), phrases (in the second sentence), clauses (in the third sentence), or sentences (in the fourth sentence). These are called Conjunctions.
A Conjunction is a word used to join together words, phrases, clauses or sentences.
Some examples of Conjunction: or, though, if, yet, that, as, but, till etc.
INTERJECTION
Notice the underlined words in the following sentences:
1. Hurrah! We have own the match.
2. Alas! the old man is no more.
3. Bravo! go ahead.
4. O God! help us.
5. Oh! what a wonderful fort it is.
The underlined words in the above sentences express sudden feelings or emotions of joy, sorrow or wonder. These are called Interjection.
An Interjection is a word that expresses a sudden feeling or emotion.
Some examples of Interjection: hello, O, Oh, alas, hurrah, bravo etc.
Note: The above-discussed classification of words is based on the function of words in a sentence. In the English language the same word may have a different function in different sentences: For example:
We have the right to vote. (Noun)
Do it in the right way. (Adverb)
Right the wrong. (Verb)
I am right. (Adjective)
Parts of Speech
1. What do you mean by Parts of Speech? How many classes are the English words divided into according to their function in a sentence?
2. Name the parts of speech of the underlined words in the following sentences:
(i) All that glitters is not gold.
(ii) Whom do you praise most?
(iii) Rejina is an industrious woman
(iv) Though Ravan is bold yet he is unhappy.
(v) How many friends do you have?
(vi) She is not enough beautiful.
(vii) We are brothers and sisters.
(viii) God loves His creations.
(ix) Mahatma Gandhi was the votary of Non-violence.
(x) Having done this he left the place.
(xi)Â Seema sings hymns nicely.
(xii) It is very hot today.
(xiii) Rita and Sita are class friends.
(xiv) Alas! Our leader is dead.
(xv) Hark! the crickets sing.
(xvi) God helps them who help themselves.
(xvii) We are fond of pet dogs.
(xviii) Newman is our best Friend.
(xix) Still water runs deep.
(xx) The mangoes are in the tree.
2. Underline the verbs in the following sentences:
(i) I am a boy.
(ii) You are drinking tea.
(iii) They have been doing this since Sunday.
(iv) Listen to: he is speaking.
(v) Long live the king.
3. Underline the Prepositions of the following sentences:
(i) The cat is under the chair.
(ii) Climb up the wall.
(iii) Look at the sky.
(iv) She kept the towel on the table.
(v) He came soon from the market.
4. Underline the Conjunctions of the following sentences:
(i) He is my classmate who wears white dress.
(ii) Priya and Deepika are good dancers.
(iii) Nalini is short but charming.
(iv) Though he is honest yet he is rich.
(v) Wait till I return.
5. Underline the Adverbs in the following sentences:
(i) She walks fast.
(ii) He goes there soon.
(iii) Tom visits India often.
(iv) They are so much tired.
(v) The Sun shines brightly.
6. Underline the Adjectives in the following sentences:
(i) I am hungry.
(ii) Rajen is wise.
(iii) Margaret is a reputed social worker.
(iv) I have some books.
(v) He is very intelligent.
7. Underline the Interjections in the following sentences:
(i) Alas! We have lost our Captain.
(ii) Bravo! March ahead.
(iii) O God! bless us.,
(iv) Oh! he has lost his red pencil.
(v) Hark! the wind is blowing.
Parts of Speech   Â
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N.B. Â The article ‘Parts of Speech’ originally belongs to the book ‘School English Grammar Part- I‘ by Menonim Menonimus.
Books of Composition by M. Menonimus:
- Advertisement Writing
- Amplification Writing
- Note Making
- Paragraph Writing
- Notice Writing
- Passage Comprehension
- The Art of Poster Writing
- The Art of Letter Writing
- Report Writing
- Story Writing
- Substance Writing
- School Essays Part-I
- School Essays Part-II
- School English Grammar Part-I
- School English Grammar Part-II..
Books of S. Story by M. Menonimus:
Books of Biography by M. Menonimus:
- The World Writers-Brief Biographies
- Introduction to World Writers
- Introduction to World Personalities
- Love of Reputed Persons ..
Books on Linguistics by M. Menonimus:
- A Brief History of the English Language
- Essays on Linguistics
- My Imageries
- Felicitous Expression: Some Examples
- Learners’ English Dictionary
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