The parts of speech in English are words that perform the same grammatical function in phrases and sentences. They are used to form a sentence. In this grammar guide, you will learn what the eight parts of speech are, how to identify each, and how to use each in a sentence.

What is a noun?

A noun names a person, place thing, or idea. Nouns are often referred to as ‘naming words’.

Let’s look at some examples: 
✔︎ John ⟶ This is the name of a person.
✔︎ School ⟶ This is the name of a place.
✔︎ Book ⟶ This is the name of a thing.
✔︎ Happiness ⟶ This is the name of an idea.

➜ E.g. John went to school. ⟶ The nouns in this sentence are John and school.

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. There are many different types of pronouns.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ I, me, my, we, he, she, you, etc.

➜ E.g. Tim was late to school because he missed the bus. ⟶ The pronoun in this sentence is he.

What is an adjective? 

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ Tall
✔︎ Long
✔︎ Beautiful 
✔︎ Small

➜ E.g. The giraffe is tall. ⟶ The adjective in this sentence is tall.

What is a verb?

A verb is a word that describes an action or experience.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ Run
✔︎ Jump
✔︎ Shout
✔︎ Read

E.g. The cat jumped over the fence. ⟶ The verb in this sentence is jumped.

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Adverbs are used to provide extra information to the sentence so the reader is able to visualise what is being described in the sentence. Adverbs usually end in the letters ‘ly’ however there are many exceptions to this.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ Slowly
✔︎ Fast
✔︎ Daily
✔︎ Never

➜ E.g. She walks slowly. ⟶ The adjective in this sentence is slowly.

What is a conjunction?

A conjunction is used to connect words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ And
✔︎ But
✔︎ However
✔︎ Because 

➜ E.g. I like to eat chicken and chips. ⟶ The conjunction in this sentence is and.

What is an interjection?

An interjection is used to express strong emotion and usually ends with an exclamation mark.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ Wow!
✔︎ Ouch!
✔︎ Hooray!

➜ E.g. Yay! I won the game. ⟶ The interjection in this sentence is yay.

What is a preposition?

A preposition describes the place, time, or direction. It shows the relationship between two words or phrases.

Let’s look at some examples:
✔︎ On
✔︎ Under
✔︎ Near
✔︎ Before
✔︎ After

➜ E.g. The books are on the shelf. ⟶ The preposition in this sentence is on.