Parts of Speech: Definition, 8 Types and Examples
Parts of speech are the categories into which we sort English words according to the job each word does in a sentence. Traditional grammar, as taught in CBSE and ICSE schools, recognises eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.
Every word you speak or write belongs to one of these groups. Knowing them helps you build correct sentences, understand grammar rules and answer exam questions such as "Name the part of speech of the underlined word". This lesson defines each one, shows how to spot it and gives plenty of examples.
A word's part of speech depends on how it is used in the sentence, not on the word alone. The eight parts of speech are: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection.
The 8 Parts of Speech at a Glance
| Part of speech | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Names a person, place, thing or idea | teacher, Mumbai, book, honesty |
| Pronoun | Takes the place of a noun | he, she, it, they, this |
| Verb | Shows an action or a state | run, write, is, seem |
| Adjective | Describes a noun or pronoun | tall, red, three, happy |
| Adverb | Describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb | slowly, very, today, here |
| Preposition | Shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to another word | in, on, at, under, between |
| Conjunction | Joins words, phrases or clauses | and, but, because, or |
| Interjection | Expresses a sudden feeling | Oh! Wow! Alas! Hurray! |
1. Noun
A noun is a word that names a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Nouns can be the subject or the object of a sentence. To spot one, ask: Can I put "the", "a" or "my" before this word? If yes, it is usually a noun.
✅ Kavya lives in Hyderabad. (person, place)
✅ The dog is chasing a ball. (animal, thing)
✅ Honesty is the best policy. (idea)
Nouns are grouped into common, proper, collective, abstract and material nouns. Read the full lesson: Types of Nouns in English, and try the nouns practice test.
2. Pronoun
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun, so that we do not repeat the same noun again and again. Common pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, this, that, who and someone.
✅ Rahul is my friend. He plays cricket every evening.
✅ The students finished the test, and the teacher collected their papers.
✅ Who broke the window?
See the 9 types of pronouns and pronoun cases, then practise with the pronouns practice test.
3. Verb
A verb is a word that shows an action (run, eat, write), a state (be, seem, belong) or helps another verb (is, have, can). Every complete sentence has at least one verb. To spot one, try changing the time of the sentence: the word that changes (walks → walked) is the verb.
✅ Meera sings beautifully. (action)
✅ The soup smells delicious. (state)
✅ They have finished their project. (helping verb + main verb)
Learn more in Verb Types and Their Uses, and practise with the verbs practice test.
4. Adjective
An adjective is a word that describes or gives more information about a noun or a pronoun. It answers the questions What kind? How many? Which one? Adjectives usually come before the noun or after a verb such as is or seems.
✅ She wore a beautiful saree. (what kind)
✅ There are five mangoes in the basket. (how many)
✅ This room is cold. (after the verb)
See Adjectives and Their Types and Comparative and Superlative Adjectives. Test yourself with the adjectives practice test.
5. Adverb
An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It tells us how, when, where, how often or to what degree. Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all of them do (fast, here, very, always).
✅ The train arrived late. (describes a verb)
✅ This soup is very hot. (describes an adjective)
✅ He speaks quite clearly. (describes another adverb)
Read Adverbs for Beginners and try the adverbs practice test.
6. Preposition
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to show its relation (place, time, direction, cause) to another word in the sentence. A preposition is always followed by a noun, a pronoun or an -ing word, which is called its object.
✅ The keys are on the table. (place)
✅ School starts at eight o’clock. (time)
✅ She walked towards the gate. (direction)
See Prepositions in English, in, on and at and the prepositions practice test.
7. Conjunction
A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases or clauses. And, but, or, so and because are the most common.
✅ I like tea and coffee.
✅ She was tired, but she finished her work.
✅ We stayed at home because it was raining.
Start with Conjunctions for Beginners, then go on to Types of Conjunctions. The conjunctions practice test gives you more questions.
8. Interjection
An interjection is a word or short phrase that expresses a sudden feeling such as joy, surprise, pain or sorrow. It is not grammatically connected to the rest of the sentence and is usually followed by an exclamation mark or a comma.
✅ Hurray! We won the match.
✅ Ouch! That hurt.
✅ Alas! The old tree has fallen.
See the complete lesson, Interjections: Definition, List and Examples.
One Word, Different Parts of Speech
Many English words can be more than one part of speech. You can only decide by looking at the job the word does in that sentence.
| Word | Sentence | Part of speech |
|---|---|---|
| light | Please switch on the light. | noun |
| This bag is very light. | adjective | |
| They light a lamp at Diwali. | verb | |
| work | My work is finished. | noun |
| I work in Chennai. | verb | |
| before | Wash your hands before lunch. | preposition |
| Wash your hands before you eat. | conjunction | |
| I have seen this film before. | adverb | |
| well | The well in our village is deep. | noun |
| She sings well. | adverb | |
| Are you well today? | adjective |
To find the part of speech of a word, ask what it does in the sentence: Does it name something (noun)? Replace a noun (pronoun)? Show an action or state (verb)? Describe a noun (adjective)? Describe a verb, adjective or adverb (adverb)? Show a relation before a noun (preposition)? Join two parts (conjunction)? Show a sudden feeling (interjection)?
What About Articles and Determiners?
The words a, an and the are called articles. In the eight-part scheme used in most school textbooks, articles (along with words such as this, my, some, many) are counted as adjectives, because they tell us something about a noun. Some modern grammars treat them as a separate group called determiners, which is why you may see "nine parts of speech" in some books. For school exams, stay with the eight.
Parts of Speech in One Sentence
Wow! My younger sister quickly ate the hot samosa and drank some tea after the match.
- Wow: interjection
- My, younger, the, hot, some: adjectives (my and the are often called determiners)
- sister, samosa, tea, match: nouns
- quickly: adverb
- ate, drank: verbs
- and: conjunction
- after: preposition
The sentence has no pronoun, but you can swap my younger sister for she: "She quickly ate the hot samosa". That is a pronoun doing a noun's job.
Common Mistakes
| ❌ Mistake | ✅ Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| She sings good. | She sings well. | Good is an adjective; use the adverb well to describe the verb. |
| He runs quick. | He runs quickly. (or: He runs fast.) | An adverb is needed after the verb. Fast is both adjective and adverb. |
| I am very boring in this class. | I am very bored in this class. | Bored describes how you feel; boring describes what causes the feeling. |
| Me and Sana went home. | Sana and I went home. | Use the subject pronoun I as the subject of the sentence. |
✍️ Quick Practice — Name the Part of Speech of the Bold Word
- Delhi is the capital of India.
- She quickly finished her homework.
- The tea is ready, but the snacks are not.
- Wow! We won the match.
- The tall boy is my cousin.
- The cat is sleeping under the table.
- Rohan reads a newspaper every morning.
- They live in Pune.
Answers: 1. noun | 2. adverb | 3. conjunction | 4. interjection | 5. adjective | 6. preposition | 7. verb | 8. pronoun
✍️ Quick Practice — Same Word, Different Job
- He runs fast.
- We caught a fast train to Jaipur.
- The students sat down after the principal came in.
- We went for a walk after dinner.
- I forgot to bring a book.
- Please book two tickets for the evening show.
Answers: 1. adverb | 2. adjective | 3. conjunction | 4. preposition | 5. noun | 6. verb
For printable practice with an answer key, use the Parts of Speech worksheet. If you are not sure where your grammar stands, take the free level test.
Summary
- There are eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.
- Nouns name; pronouns replace nouns; verbs show action or state; adjectives describe nouns; adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and adverbs; prepositions show relation; conjunctions join; interjections show sudden feeling.
- The same word can be a different part of speech in different sentences, so always check its job in the sentence.
- Articles and other determiners are counted as adjectives in the traditional eight-part list.