Parts of Speech

Let’s learn ‘Parts of Speech’ briefly today.

Every sentence consists of small parts, i.e., words. Each word of a sentence acts differently according to its role in the sentence. So, we name the word according its role in the sentence. Such type of division is called 'Parts of Speech'.

There are eight parts of speech in the English Language. These are also called ‘word classes’. They are:

1. Nouns

2. Pronouns

3. Verbs

4. Adjectives

5. Adverbs

6. Prepositions

7. Conjunctions

8. Interjections

1. Noun: A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, idea, or emotion.

Examples:

Anupama is a smart girl.

The government has started a new health project.

Hatred does not beget love.

Excessive use of diesel is harming the environment.

( All the highlighted words are nouns )

2. Pronoun: A pronoun is a word which is used in the place of a noun or noun phrase in order to avoid repetition.

Examples:

I met them at the railway station.

Jhansi has got a good rank. She may join the service any time.

He wants his daughter to go along with him.

3. Verb: A verb shows an action or state of being. The verb tells us what someone or something is doing.

Examples:

Meghmani likes the beauty of villages.

Indira is very much worried about her daughter.

I am a teacher.

My brother-in-law will contact you tomorrow.

( is, am, and will are auxiliary verbs and likes, worried, and contact are main verbs )

4. Adjective: An adjective is a word which describes a noun or pronoun. It qualifies or quantifies them. Adds something to their meaning.

Examples:

Khasim is a brave boy.

She is a beautiful girl.

Many people bought the blue socks.

5. Adverb: An adverb is a word which describes or adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Examples:

The deer ran fast, seeing the tiger.

Those are the emotionally spoken words by Sofia.

Soha got out of the room very quickly.

6. Preposition: A preposition is a word which is placed before a noun or a pronoun and links it with other parts of the sentence. An object of the sentence is generally placed after the preposition.

Examples:

The old man sat under a tree.

There are two 20 books in that box.

Sreya arrived at 5 p.m.

7. Conjunction: Conjunction is the word that joins two or more words, phrases, or clauses. Conjunctions are also known as ‘linkers’.

Examples:

Deeksha brought some mangoes and gave them to her children.

Ketan is not well but attended the meeting.

He is neither intelligent nor hard-working.

8. Interjection: An interjection is a word that expresses some sudden feeling or emotion.

Examples:

Wow! It’s amazing!

My God! I forgot my keys.

Phew! I am glad he fell asleep.

Practice Bits

Identify the parts of speech of the highlighted words in the following sentences.

1. He wants to take her book.

2. Either Krishna or Nitin will attend the party.

3. Sheela stayed quite cool during the crisis.

4. Mounika has disappeared in a few seconds.

5. Rats! I have lost my keys again.

6. Aparna must complete this course to get a job.

Prepositions of Agency, Possession, and Reason

Now, we shall learn the Prepositions of Agency, Possession, and Reason. * Prepositions of Agency and Instrumentality # by: The thief was arrested by the police. I am going to send the parcel by post tomorrow. Gora was written by Tagore. # with : Mohan has beaten Hemu with a stick. The workers have cut the tree down with an axe. # through : Vinaya heard about the vacancy through a friend. You can achieve success only through hard work. * Prepositions of Possession # to: This house belongs to our MLA. # with: The dog with brown spots is my pet. # of: Ottawa is the capital of Canada. * Prepositions of Reason # for: Ambedkar worked for the upliftment of the disadvantaged. # from: Mitesh is suffering from fever. # of: My grandmother died of Cholera. # because: They didn’t attend the meeting because their car met with an accident. Practice Use appropriate prepositions in the following blanks 1. I entered the hotel and placed an order _________ a plate of Idli. 2. Gopi earned millions

Article: The

Let’s learn how to use the definite article ‘ the ’. Usage of the definite article ( ‘the’ ) : 1. Observe the following paragraph: One day, I saw a rat in my house. I thought there were many rats living in our house. So, I brought a cat from my friend’s house. I gave the cat all the food it required. It ate well and moved around the house. But a month after bringing the cat, to my surprise, one day I found the cat playing with the same rat. Now, they have become good buddies. You learn from the above paragraph that when we used ‘rat’ or ‘cat’ and ‘house’ for the first time, we used ‘a’ before them. But, when we used the words for the second or third time, we kept ‘the’ before them. So, the definite article ‘the’ is used before the persons or things that we already know beforehand. 2. ‘The’ is used with a noun whose identity is clear to the listener and the speaker from the context. Our classroom is on the second floor. ( the second floor of our school building ) What is the tim

Articles 'a' or 'an'

There are two articles in the English Language: 1) the indefinite article ( ‘a’ or ‘an’ ) 2) the definite article ( ‘the’ ) Usage of indefinite article ( ‘a’ or ‘an’ ): 1. The indefinite article is used with a singular countable noun. The article ‘a’ is used before a word that begins with a consonant sound, while ‘an’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound. ( There are 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds in English ) a pen a choice a tall building an employee an oak tree an interesting story 2. Some words start with a vowel letter ( a, e, i, o, u ), but have a consonant sound. So, ‘a’ is used before them a university a universal rule a European woman 3. There are some words which start with a silent ‘h’. In such cases, ‘an’ is used. an hour an honest man an honourable teacher an heir But, when ‘h’ is pronounced, we use ‘a’ a humble man a hint a humorous person a historian 4. ‘An’ is used before abbreviations which begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S

Phrase

We shall learn what a phrase is and how many types of phrase are there in English. Phrase : A phrase is a group of words which doesn’t contain a finite verb, but does the work of a single part of speech. Example: Reading novels improves your English. In the above example, the highlighted words act as noun in the sentence. It contains two words which act as a unit. So, we call such words phrases . Types of Phrases : There are at least nine important types of phrases in English. They are: 1. Noun Phrase : This phrase acts as a noun in the sentence, and it also contains other associates to modify it. Examples: Kavya bought a blue saree . A tall woman came to help him. 2. Prepositional Phrase : It contains a preposition and an object of the preposition. Examples: The students are looking at the black-board. Jyothi has slept on the sofa . 3. Adjective Phrase : It acts like an adjective in the sentence. Examples: The man with the white-hair is my father. The chairman is the man of h

What is a 'clause'?

Shall we learn what a clause is? Clause : A clause is a group of words which resembles a phrase, but it has its own subject and predicate. Types of clauses : Clauses can broadly be divided into two types. 1. Independent Clause. 2. Dependent Clause. 1. Independent Clause : An Independent Clause is a group of words in a sentence which has complete meaning and can stand on its own. It is also called the main clause of the sentence. The Independent Clauses can combine with other clauses and form complex and compound sentences. Examples: Roshni ate some noodles when she got hungry yesterday . We love this restaurant because the service here is excellent. Raveena switched on the TV to divert her son’s attention. 2. Dependent Clause : A Dependent Clause can’t stand on its own but depend upon the main clause to make complete sense. Examples: If you practise hard , you will win the game. Tommy was extra careful while crossing the road . Everybody stayed inside because there was heavy

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Parts of Speech

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