Parts of Speech

Introduction

Words can be classified by type. Knowing these types is important as it allows you to understand and apply the rules of grammar. These types include nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions.

Nouns

Nouns denote people, places, and things. Nouns are “naming words” and there are different types of nouns including:

• Common, e.g. girl, city, hat - List of common nouns
• Proper – actual names, e.g. Jack, United Kingdom, Tower of London - List of common nouns
• Concrete – can be seen and touched, e.g. branch, basket, sign - List of concrete nouns
• Abstract – cannot be touched, e.g. happiness, loyalty, passion - List of abstract nouns
• Collective – groups or collections, e.g. team, flock, herd - List of collective nouns

Pronouns

Pronouns are used as an alternative to nouns. Examples include he, she, him, it, I. List of pronouns

Adjectives

Adjectives describe or modify nouns and pronouns. For example,

List of adjectives

Verbs

Verbs are words that describe actions, states, and occurrences. Examples include:

• Action – The couple danced all night.
• State – The children hate bullies
• Occurrence – She became president after the election.

Verbs come in various tenses including the three basic ones exemplified below:

Click here for more on verb tense. You will also find more on present, past, and future verbs here , on our sister site, HelpingWithVerbs.com

Click here for a printable list of verbs in various tenses

Adverbs

Adverbs describe or modify verbs and adjectives. For example,

Most, but not all, adverbs end with “-ly.”

List of adverbs

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words, or groups of words that connect words, phrases, or clauses. There are different types of conjunctions.

Coordinating Conjunctions

There are only 7 coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. They join two independent clauses together. For example,

Subordinating Conjunctions

There are lots of subordinating conjunctions: although, as much as, because, if, once, so that, than, unless, whenever. They join dependent clauses with independent ones. For example,

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions come in pairs: both/ and, either/ or, neither/ nor, whether/ or. Like subordinating junctions, they connect dependent with independent clauses. For example,

List of conjunctions

Prepositions

Propositions are words or phrases used with nouns and pronouns to show their relationship with the rest of the sentence. Examples include about, above, after, against, among, at, before, behind, below, between, by, down, up, upon, with, within. Examples of their usage include:

List of prepositions