Parts of Speech in English: Guide & Examples

Understanding the different parts of speech is crucial for effective communication and proper grammar.

There are eight parts of speech in the English language, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

Each part of speech serves a unique purpose within a sentence and contributes to the meaning and structure of the sentence.

• Nouns refer to people, places, things, or ideas
• Verbs express actions or states of being.
• Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, and pronouns take the place of nouns in a sentence.
• Prepositions show relationships between nouns and other elements in a sentence.
• Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses
• Interjections express strong feelings or emotions.

Understanding the different parts of speech will not only improve your writing skills but also make it easier to understand the meaning of sentences.

Video: Parts of Speech

This is a video that explains the parts of the speech

Parts of the Speech: Verbs

A verb tells about an action or a state and is the main part of a sentence

• The cat slept.
• That is John.
• She loves you.
• They are running.

Parts of the Speech: Nouns

A noun is a word used to name a person, animal, place, thing, and abstract idea.

• The dog slept.
• That is John.
• This is the Alton police station.
• The pay of the job is high.
• I have a new computer
• I would like to buy a new phone

Parts of the Speech: Pronouns

A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun

• She is very good at playing the piano.
• I am doing something great
• They will play soccer with us tomorrow morning
• He is listening to music
• We are the new students
• It isn’t working as usual

Parts of the Speech: Adjectives

An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words.

• I like blue skies and fluffy clouds.
• He is a nice man.
• It was a cold day.
• They are good people.
• She is really beautiful
• I ate a very delicious dessert at the cafeteria
• She has a very expensive phone

Parts of the Speech: Adverbs

An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as “how,” “when,” “where,” “how much”.

• The man walked slowly.
• The dogs barked loudly.
• She never cooks dinner for us
• She lived happily with her husband
• My sisters drives carelessly
• My dog eats quickly. 
• She was really angry with me

Parts of the Speech: Prepositions

Prepositions are words which link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence

about	Tell me a story about your chilhood
above	The waves came up above her head
across	I  live across the street
after	I quit my job after one week.
against	We are against discrimination
along	My dog ran along the track with me
among	We are among the only four survivors
around	It costs around 50 Dollars
at	I have a blind date at the Coffee House
before	The church was built before the temple
behind	She is standing behind that tree
below	Please do not write below this line.
beneath	He found a penny beneath the couch
beside	She sat beside Marie
between	It is between the boxes and the sofa
by	It is a letter written by John
down	I walked down the street
during	She slept during the flight to France
except	She bought presents for everybody, except for me
for	I bought a present for Emily
from	We are from a foreign country
in	We are in the car parked outside
in front of	I live in front of the supermarket
inside	The keys are inside one of those boxes
instead of	I bought apples instead of pears
into	he entered into the woods
like	This is a story like no other
near	The hospital is near the gas station
of	I want a small piece of cake
off	The cat jumped off the counter
on	She always keeps her purse on the desk
onto	The baby climbed onto the table.
out of	I was unable to get out of the appointment.
outside	We are outside your house
over	He loved to sit over the rooftop
past	They took a walk past the park
since	I don’t play soccer since 2005
through	The car went through the tunne
to	The flight is going to India
toward	Move toward the door
under	The car is under the car
underneath	There was a tunnel running underneaththe city.
until	I will stay until the show is over
up	It is up to us to find the answer
upon	The decision was based upon two considerations
with	I am with my friends at school
within	I wil be there within a few minutes
without	I am running without proper equipment
According to	According to Science, Evolution is true

Parts of the Speech: Conjunctions

You can use a conjunction to link words, phrases, and clauses, as in the following example:

Conjunction	Sentence
And	I like tea and coffee.
If	If they were older, they could go to the party.
Otherwise	Look at the map, please. Otherwise you’ll get lost.
When	When you get to France, send me an email
In case	Take your phone with you in case you need my help
Since	Since you fail the test, you will have to apply again
However	She worked hard however she didn’t lose weight

Parts of the Speech: Interjections

An interjection is a word added to a sentence to convey emotion. It is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

• Ouch, that hurt!
• Oh no, I forgot that the exam was today.
• Hey! Put that down!

Parts of the Speech: Exercises

Identify the parts of the speech  in the following sentence

1. I finished last in the race.
2. I ate lobster for lunch.
3. I jumped into the water.
4. I sang a beautiful  song.
5. I started fire in the forest.
6. She did the homework.
7. She always says nice words.

Online Exercises – Parts of the Speech

These are some exercises to help you see how much you know about parts of the speech

1. Word Formation
2. Grammar Exercise – Parts of the Speech
3. Part of the Speech Exercise

Parts of the Speech PDF

These are parts of the speech exercises in PDF formar

• Identifying adverbs Exercise PDF
• Identifying adverbs Exercise PDF
• Parts of the Speech – Worksheet
• Grammar Quiz- Parts of the Speech

Learn More

These are some posts that you might be interested in

1. Prepositions: In, At and On
2. Simple Present vs Present Continuous
3. Use of Can and Could with Examples
4. Modals of Ability in English
5. Guide to Using Too and Enough
6. Quantifiers Examples and Exercises
7. The Past Perfect Continuous Tense
8. Types of Adverbs in English: Guide & Examples
9. List of the 50 most Common Prepositions
10. Reported Speech: Structures and Examples