Basic Parts of
Speech
An Overview
Basic Parts of Speech
 Noun
 Pronoun
 Verb
 Adverb
 Adjective
 Preposition
 Conjunction
 Interjection
Noun
 Definition:

a person, place, or thing
 Often
used with an article (a, the, an)
 Proper
 Can
nouns are always capitalized
be singular or plural
Noun Examples

Catherine went to the store.



The boy set the book on the table.




Catherine=person=noun
Store=place=noun
Boy=person=noun
Book=thing=noun
Table=thing=noun
Proper nouns:



California
The White House
Michael
Pronoun
 Definition:

Used in place of a noun
 Refers
to a specific noun, called an
antecedent
 Includes
words like he, she, they, it, me,
myself, we, our
Pronoun Examples
 She

She=pronoun
 On

went to the store.
Saturday they will go to the mall.
They=pronoun
 Jacob
came over yesterday. He left his
book on the table.



Jacob=noun
He=pronoun
His=pronoun
Verb
 Definition:

Describes an action
 Can
have different tenses
 Can
include helping verbs and main verb
 Must
agree with the subject

Subject and verb must both be singular or
both be plural
Verb Examples

Next month I will travel to Canada.



Today she ate dinner at six o’ clock.


Ate=verb
Can you help him clean the dishes?



will=helping verb
Travel=main verb
Help=verb
Clean=verb
We will watch television while we do
homework.


Watch=verb
Do=verb
Adverb
 Definition:

changes or describes a verb, adjective, or
other adverb
 Answers
when, where, how, why, or what
 Often
end in –ly
 Never
describes a noun or pronoun
Adverb Examples
 Sam
walked quickly around the block.
 Walked=verb
 Quickly=adverb
 Her
paper was well written.
 well=adverb
 First
they drove to the mall, and then
they stopped at the gas station.
 Then=adverb
Adjective
 Definition:

Describes a noun or pronoun
 Includes
articles, i.e. a, an, the
 Answers
which one, what kind, or how
many
Adjective Examples
 The

Yellow=adjective
 She


sent me a short letter.
Short=adjective
 The

yellow basket is full of flowers.
truck is old and rusty.
Old=adjective
rusty=adjective
 Rachel

has beautiful handwriting.
Beautiful=adjective
Preposition
 Definition:


Modifies a word in the sentence
Placed before a noun or pronoun
 Part

of a prepositional phrase
Prepositional phrases usually tell where,
when, or show relationship
 Example:


at the mall
At=preposition
Prepositional phrases often function as
adjectives or adverbs
Preposition Examples

For some common prepositions see the
following website: list of prepositions.

The rabbit jumped into the hole.


John walked home with Mary.


With=preposition
The conference will be held in October.


into=preposition
in=preposition
Sam checked his phone for messages
throughout the day.

Throughout=preposition
Conjunction
 Definition:


Joins words, clauses, and phrases together
Shows the relationship between the joined
words, phrases, or clauses
 There


are different types of conjunctions
Coordinating—connects equal words,
phrases, or clauses
Subordinating—connects unequal words,
phrases, or clauses
Conjunction Examples

The most common conjunctions can be
remembered by the acronym FANBOYS:

For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Other conjunctions can be found here.

Catherine and John went to the store.


Before you go out, you must finish your
homework.


And=conjunction
Before=conjunction
She raised her hand because she had a
question.

Because=conjunction
Interjection
 Definition:

A word or phrase that expresses emotion
 Often
followed by an exclamation point
Interjection Examples
 Oops!

Oops=interjection
 Oh

my gosh, it’s snowing outside.
Oh my gosh=interjection
 When

Matt got injured he said, “Ow!”
Ow=interjection
 Well,

I forgot to take out the trash!
I guess he can come if he wants.
Well=interjection
Further help…
 For
further information on the basic parts
of speech, see the following:



Butte College’s The Eight Parts of Speech
Purdue Owl
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