Having a basic grasp of English grammar terminology can help you to understand each of the separate parts of a sentence, how those parts function together, how they are constructed and strung together, and how this structure impacts the meaning of the sentence. Furthermore, understanding this lingo will give serious writers a stronger grasp of writing advice that uses such language.
This blog post comprises Part 2 of a multi-part series on sentence parts. This particular post will focus primarily on parts of speech, discussing parts of speech definitions and parts of speech examples. I hope you’ll check out the other parts of this series, including Part 1!
What are the parts of speech?
Words are often classified into eight or nine distinct parts of speech that describe how they function in speech or writing. “Parts of speech” are the “parts” or categories into which words are classified based on their functions. Many of these parts of speech are further divided into more specific categories. This blog post will only briefly cover some of these sub-categories.
Let’s discuss the nine parts of speech:
What are nouns?
Noun definition | A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
Types of nouns: Nouns are further classified into proper nouns and common nouns. There are also singular nouns (which represent one single unit of a noun) and plural nouns (which represent multiple units of that noun), as well as countable nouns (nouns that can be counted) and uncountable nouns (nouns that can’t be counted).
Proper noun definition | Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, things, or ideas, and writers show a noun is proper by capitalizing the first letter of the noun.
Examples of proper nouns:
- Sam
- Paris
Common noun definition | Common nouns don’t refer to specific people, places, or things.
Examples of common nouns:
- car
- apples
- happiness
What are pronouns?
Pronoun definition | A pronoun is a word that represents a specific noun by standing in for (i.e., replacing) that noun. Usually, this noun is mentioned earlier in the writing so that the reader knows to whom/what the pronoun is referring.
Types of pronouns: Pronouns are further classified into personal, demonstrative, relative, reflexive, and indefinite pronouns.
Personal pronoun definition | Personal pronouns represent specific people or things who have been previously introduced. These are further classified into specific cases, which won’t be discussed here.
Examples of personal pronouns:
- I went to see her at the park where she told me the letter was hers.
- They should be waiting for you with the document so you can look at it together.
- What is ours is yours.
Demonstrative pronoun definition | Demonstrative pronouns direct readers to specific nouns.
Examples of demonstrative pronouns:
- You grab those, and I’ll take these.
- Such is the way of life.
- This is going to be fun.
Relative pronoun definition | Relative pronouns are words that introduce dependent adjective clauses (also known as “relative clauses,” which Part 4 of this blog series will discuss in more detail). They connect these clauses to independent clauses and showcase how these clauses are related. In these clauses, the relative pronouns function as subjects.
Examples of relative pronouns:
- You can do whatever pleases you.
- The painting that depicted a mountain range was my favorite.
- Marcos, the man who started this mess, is being reprimanded.
- He can’t wait for a time when he no longer has homework.
Reflexive pronoun definition | Reflexive pronouns add -self or -selves to personal pronouns to show that the subject of the sentence is acting on itself (i.e., the subject is also the object):
Examples of reflexive pronouns:
- I wash myself with body wash.
- The athletes forced themselves to continue the competition despite the tragic death of one of their competitors.
- The cat licked itself.
Indefinite pronoun definition | Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that don’t have antecedents (meaning they don’t have a noun introduced earlier in the sentence to which they refer).
Examples of indefinite pronouns:
- Everybody should join hands.
- You can’t rely on anybody!
What are verbs?
Verb | A verb is a word that describes or begins to describe what a subject is being or doing.
Types of verbs: Verbs are further categorized into action verbs, being and linking verbs, and helping (auxiliary) verbs.
Action verb definition | Action verbs describe actions.
Action verb examples:
- He drove.
- We found a buried treasure.
- The car speeds past the police offer.
Linking verb definition | Linking verbs link subjects with complements to convey states of being (learn more about subjects and complements in Part 3 of this blog series). They include all forms of the verb “be,” as well as other verbs that communicate states of being (such as how subjects look, smell, sound, taste, and feel).
Linking verb examples:
- I was upset.
- She looked horrified.
- The man in the orange beanie smells like chlorine.
Helping verb definition | Helping verbs are used alongside other verbs in order to “help” those verbs. They reveal something about the sequence of time of the action or the attitude toward the action.
Helping verb examples:
- We will drive to the mall.
- I had already seen the message when she told me.
- We must drive quickly, so you should put on your seatbelt.
What are adjectives?
Adjective definition | An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun.
Examples of adjectives:
- The sleek, blue car drove past us.
- The happy driver waved.
Adjectives are divided into further classifications, which include comparative and superlative adjectives, predicate adjectives, possessive adjectives, proper adjectives, and participial adjectives.
Comparative and superlative adjectives definition | Comparative and superlative adjectives compare nouns. Comparative adjectives show that one noun is more of something than another nouns, while superlative adjectives should that one noun is the most something compared to other nouns.
Examples of comparative and superlative adjectives:
- Today is worse than yesterday.
- The best dessert is Mira’s cake.
Predicate adjective definition | Predicate adjectives are adjectives contained in the predicate when the predicate takes the form of a complement that is linked to the subject through a linking verb.
Predicate adjective examples:
- She is beautiful.
- The cat looks clean.
Possessive adjective definition | Possessive adjectives describe the noun by indicating possession.
Possessive adjective examples:
- Angie’s balloons floated up to the ceiling.
- The dog ate the students’ homework.
Proper adjective definition | Proper adjectives are proper nouns turned into adjectives.
Proper adjective examples:
- Her Canadian husband is very polite.
- The Walmart employee was fired.
Participial adjective definition | Participial adjectives are participles (words derived from verbs) that function as adjectives.
Participial adjective examples:
- The running man stormed past the wounded woman.
- The terrified dog hid from the purring cat.
What are adverbs?
Adverb definition | An adverb is also a word that describes, but instead of describing nouns or pronouns, adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs often end in -ly (but not always).
Adverb examples:
- I slowly and meticulously sketched the scene before me.
- He drove far down the road before slamming his foot down hard on the brakes.
Types of adverbs: Beyond serving as words that describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs, adverbs have two other functions based on two other commonly discussed categories: sentence adverbs and conjunctive adverbs. (Some sources—like this one from thesaurus.com—even categorize adverbs based on their descriptive functions. The categories include frequency, time, manner, degree, and place.)
Sentence adverb definition | Sentence adverbs are adverbs that modify the entire sentence to either express the writer’s attitude toward the sentence’s content or to offer context about the sentence.
Examples of sentence adverbs:
- Hopefully, I’ll get a good grade.
- Theoretically, the plan should work.
Conjunctive adverb definition | Conjunctive adverbs, also called “transitional adverbs,” act like a conjunction to connect two independent clauses together by providing a transition and/or showcasing the relationship between the sentences. In a way, conjunctive adverbs are like sentence adverbs because they, too, modify the entire sentence, but their function goes beyond modifying the sentence, as they also demonstrate the relationship between two sentences.
Examples of conjunctive adverbs:
- Sam drove to Las Vegas; meanwhile, his wife traveled to New York.
- I enjoy ice cream. However, I prefer cake.
What are prepositions?
Preposition definition | A preposition is a word that connects a noun or pronoun to another word, phrase, or clause to demonstrate the relationship between that noun/pronoun and word/phrase/clause. Prepositions often show literal and figurative relationships regarding place, time, or direction.
Examples of prepositions:
- Sam drove into a lamppost.
- The lamppost was at the park.
- Sam’s reckless driving has already gotten him in trouble with the law once.
What are conjunctions?
Conjunction definition | A conjunction is a word that connects and shows the relationship between words, phrases, and clauses.
Types of conjunctions: Conjunctions are classified into coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunction definition | Coordinating conjunctions connect words or word groups of equal importance. For example, they connect words to other words, phrases to other phrases, and clauses to other clauses. It’s easy to remember coordinating conjunctions, as there are only seven of them, and the mnemonic device FANBOYS makes memorizing them easy: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.
Examples of coordinating conjunctions:
- Sam and Maria went to the store, but they forgot to get milk.
- Sam rode his skateboard and listened to music all day.
- I am athletic yet lazy, for I love video games more than exercise.
Subordinating conjunction definition | Subordinating conjunctions join independent clauses with dependent, or subordinate, clauses.
Examples of subordinating conjunctions:
- Wherever you hide, I will find you.
- I refuse to drive any further because I am exhausted.
- If the cat doesn’t stop urinating on the couch, its owners will seek medical intervention.
Correlative conjunction definition | Correlative conjunctions are pairs of conjunctions that work together to join parts of a sentence. Most correlative conjunctions contain one coordinating conjunction.
Examples of correlative conjunctions:
- Greta neither helped with the cooking nor cleaned up after her guests.
- You must choose whether you will leave now or later.
- The dog was not only fatigued but also quite ill.
What are determiners? What are articles?
Determiner definition | A determiner precedes a noun and identifies, specifies, or quantifies the noun, providing information that can answer questions such as, “which one(s)”? “whose?” “specific or general?” and “how much/how many?” Some grammarians classify these as a type of adjective, but unlike adjectives, which can be deleted from a sentence without making the sentence ungrammatical, determiners usually cannot be deleted from the sentence without resulting in an ungrammatical sentence.
Types of determiners: Determiners are often categorized into articles and other determiners.
Article definition | The indefinite articles “a” and “an” are used before singular, countable nouns that are being introduced for the first time to showcase that these nouns are singular, countable, and newly introduced. The definite article “the” is used before a noun that either 1) has already been introduced or 2) represents a particular noun; the use of the definite article indicates that the noun has previously been introduced or is a particular noun.
Examples of definite and indefinite articles:
- A crocodile swam past a group of kayaks floating on the river. A few moments later, the crocodile attacked the kayaks. One kayaker fought back with an ax he had on board. After fending of the crocodile, the kayaker was taken to the closest hospital for his injuries.
Examples of other determiners:
- Every person should find one partner.
- I’ve had enough sugar, but you are welcome to have more cake.
- Their halloween party had very few decorations.
- Our classroom uses this curriculum.
What are interjections?
Interjection definition | Interjections are expressions that convey strong emotion. These expressions can stand alone or be contained inside of sentences. Not all grammarians and linguists consider “interjections” to be the ninth and final part-of-speech category, but I find this category to be extremely useful, as interjections do not usually fit well into any other part-of-speech category.
Examples of interjections:
- Ow! What did you do that for?
- I finished my essay on time, phew!
Some words function as various parts of speech
Certain words can function as multiple parts of speech, which can make determining a word’s function all the more confusing.
Take, for example, the word “that,” which can be a determiner, a demonstrative pronoun, a relative pronoun, a subordinating conjunction, and an adverb:
“I’ve already explained that [subordinating conjunction] I want to go to the restaurant with that [determiner] delicious pasta dish that [relative pronoun] tastes like marinara heaven,” I told Roy.
“I don’t think we should drive that [adverb] far,” Roy said. “What if we go to that [determiner] pasta restaurant that just opened downtown?”
“Okay,” I relented. “That [demonstrative pronoun] should be fine.”
Determining parts of speech in sentences comes down to thinking critically about how each word in a sentence is functioning. This is easier when you understand the different sentence parts. For example, in the above passage, I know that the first instance of “that” is a subordinating conjunction because I can see that it introduces a subordinate clause: “that I want to go to the restaurant.”
The lingo used to describe parts of speech is confusing
The language that grammarians, linguists, instructors, etc. use to describe parts of speech can be downright confusing, especially because there are inconsistencies in the language and even disagreements about the functions of words and the best labels to use when classifying those words’ functions.
Rather than getting too bogged down in the confusion, though, just try to recognize the advantages of having a basic understanding of the parts of speech. If you understand how words function, you can do a better job constructing sentences with those words. If you are a creative writer, then learning the rules will help you to follow the rules with ease and to break the rules effectively should you wish to do so.
It’s also good to remember that parts of speech comprise made-up categories. And among these made-up categories exist many overlapping and gray areas. Grammar experts disagree about many of these gray areas, including when something is a determiner versus an adjective, when something is a preposition versus an adverb, and more. If parts of speech confuse you, know that you are not alone, and know that the reason confusion exists is because parts-of-speech labels are humans’ attempt to classify something very complicated and complex—our ever-evolving language—into neat and orderly categories.
Please stay tuned for Part 3 of this post, which will discuss subjects, objects, complements, and modifiers. Part 4 will begin to bring the contents of parts 1, 2, and 3 together, as it will discuss how phrases and clauses can function as parts of speech. Part 5 will return to parts of speech, discussing some of the more confusing cases of classification, including the aforementioned gray and overlapping areas. Thank you for reading!