Basic Parts of Speech

Know more about the basic parts of speech

8 Essential parts of speech

This essential guide is great for any level to teach or remind you of the basic ‘parts of speech’ in English. Review the 8 parts of speech to keep your English grammar in check!

What is a part of speech?

A part of speech is a term used in traditional English grammar for words that are classified according to their functions in sentences, such as the categories of nouns, adjectives or verbs.  ‘Parts of speech’ are also called ‘word classes’, and these are the building blocks of grammar.

What’s inside the ‘8 parts of speech’ pdf download?

We’ve prepared a compact guide with detailed explanations and examples on the 8 parts of speech. Every word is a part of speech and these basic parts include:

1. Nouns: Nouns are a person, place, thing, or idea.
They can act as the subject or object of a sentence.  For example: James, New York, table, book, Dubai

2. Articles: Articles specify and identify nouns, and they can either be indefinite
or definite articles. Examples of articles: a, an, the

3. Adjectives: Adjectives are words used to describe nouns and pronouns. They are
describing words to help us to imagine or see something more clearly.  For example: red, big, beautiful, soft, American, lazy, loud

4. Verbs: Verbs are action or state words that tell what happens in a sentence.
Verbs can change form based on the tense (present/past) and whether they are
used with a singular or plural noun.  For example: sing, dance, believed, seemed, finish, eats, drank, is, was, reads, became

5. Adverbs: Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. They indicate
when, where, how, and why something happened and to what extent or how often. For
example: loudly, softly, lazily, often, only, hopefully, well, easily, sometimes

6. Prepositions: Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or pronoun
and the other words in a sentence. They come at the start of a prepositional
phrase, which contains a preposition and its object. For example: for, with,
over, against, by, to, into, close to, behind

7. Conjunctions:  Conjunctions connect words,
phrases and clauses in a sentence. There are 3 types of conjunctions: coordinating,
subordinating, and correlative conjunctions. For example: but, and, so, while, after, nor, because, although, even if

8. Interjections: Interjections are expressions that often carry strong emotions
and convey reactions. For example: yay, ah, whoops, ouch, yuck, eww!

This useful grammar guide is a quick reference to help you improve your grammar and writing skills. Students who are planning to prepare for IELTS or other English languages
tests will also find this useful.

Download your FREE PDF copy here.

Contact us to find out more about our English courses with native teachers.  Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for regular and informative content.  Take our exclusive English Level Placement Test for grammar and vocabulary to check your current level of English.