PARTS OF SPEECH

Sadaf Farooq
 Introduction
■ The parts of speech indicates/determines how the word
functions within the sentence as meaning and grammatically
as well.
■ Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the
correct definition of a word when using a dictionary.
■ There are 8 parts of speech:
1. Noun. 5. Adverbs
2. Pronoun. 6. Prepositions
3. Adjectives. 7. Conjunction
4. Verbs 8. Interjections
 Nouns
■ A noun is a word used for an animal, person, place, thing or
ideas.
■ Nouns may sometimes be used with an article but not always.
■ Nouns are further divided into 8 types:
1. Common noun. 5. Countable noun
2. Proper noun. 6. Uncountable noun
3. Abstract noun. 7. Collective noun
4. Concrete noun. 8. Compound noun
Common Nouns Proper Nouns
■ A name given in common ■ A name which refers to a
to people, things or places particular person, place or
and shared by belonging to thing at the moment.
the same class. ■ In written English, a
■ Fir Example: Girl, boy, proper noun always begins
man etch with capital letters.
■ For example: Ali, Umama,
Peshawar etc.
Abstract Nouns Concrete Nouns
■ A word which refers to ■ It is exact opposite of
quality and, action, state or abstract noun.
idea and has no physical ■ A word which refers to
existence. things that we can see and
■ Quality: goodness, have physical existence.
kindness, darkness ■ For example: chair, table,
■ Action: laughter, theft, bat
■ State: childhood, boyhood,
youth
Countable Nouns
Uncountable Nouns
■ The nouns which we can
count are called countable
nouns. ■ The nouns that cannot be
counted are called
■ Countable nouns can take
uncountable nouns.
articles such as a, an, the.
■ For example: water, sugar,
■ For example: 1 chair, 1
oil, salt etc.
table etc
Collective Noun Compound Nouns

■ It is word used for group ■ Sometimes two or three

of people, things or words appear together or
animals etc. even with other parts of
■ Collective nouns can be speech and create
both plural and singular. compound nouns.
■ For Example: Family, ■ For example: five-year-
Team, Cattle etc old, son-in-law, snowball,
mailbox.
Pronouns

■ A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. It is usually

substituted for a specific noun which is called its antecedent.
■ There are seven types of pronouns:
Personal pronouns. Indefinite pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns. Reflexive pronouns
Interrogative pronouns. Intensive pronouns
Relative pronouns
Personal pronouns
■ Personal pronouns refer to specific person or things.
■ Subjective personal pronouns: They are pronouns that act as
subject of a sentence. They are:
I, You, He, She, It and they
■ Objective personal pronouns: They act as objects of a
sentence. They are
Me, You, Her, Him, It, Us, You and Them
■ Possessive personal pronouns: They are pronouns that show
possession. They define a person (or number of people) who
owns a particular object. They are:
Mine, Yours, Hers, His, Its, Our and Theirs.
Demonstrative Pronouns

■ Demonstrative pronouns points to a noun or pronoun.

■ This and these refer to things that are near by in space or
time.
■ That and those refers to things that are farther away in
space or time
Interrogative Pronouns

■ Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.

■ The interrogative pronouns are how, who, whom, which
and what.
■ Who + whom refers to people subject and object
respectively.
■ Which refers to things and animals.
Relative Pronouns
■ It is used to link one phrase or clause to another phrase or
clause.
■ They are: who, that, which, whoever, whomever,
whichever.
■ For example:
We will reward whoever wins the contest.
I will hire whomever I could find.
Indefinite pronouns

■ It refers to an indentifiable but not specified person or

thing.
■ They are: all, another, any, anybody, anyone, anything,
each, everybody, everyone, everything, anyone,
everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several,
some, somebody, someone.
■ For example: everybody got lost on the way back.
Reflexive pronouns

■ It refers back to the subject of the clause or sentence.

■ They are: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself,
ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
■ For example: She baked a cake for herself.
■ They are sometimes used as intensive pronouns as well.
■ For example: I myself washed the dishes.
Verbs

■ A verb in a sentence expresses an action or state of person

or thing.
■ There are broadly three types of verbs:
1. Action verbs
2. Linking verbs
3. Helping verbs.
Action Verbs
■ Action verbs are those verbs that express an action.
 For example: give, talk, kick etc.
■ Action verbs can further be divided into the following types:
I. Transitive Verbs
II. Intransitive Verbs
III. Regular Verbs
IV. Irregular Verbs
Transitive Verbs
■ Transitive verbs are not just verbs that can take an object;
they demand objects. Without an object to affect, the
sentence that a transitive verb inhabits will not seem
complete.
■ Please bring coffee.
■ In this sentence, the verb bring is transitive; its object
is coffee, the thing that is being brought. Without an object
of some kind, this verb cannot function.
■ Please bring.
Intransitive Verbs
■ An intransitive verb is the opposite of a transitive verb:
it does not require an object to act upon.
■ They jumped.
■ The dog ran.
■ She sang.
■ A light was shining.
■ None of these verbs require an object for the sentence to
make sense. Some intransitive verbs can even make
comprehensible one-word sentences.
■ Run!
■ Sing!
Regular Verbs

■ Regular verbs follow the same pattern and create the past
simple and the past participle using the same word ending,
-ed.
■ They lived in Rome.
■ I wanted to learn English.
■ He finished his work
Irregular Verbs
■ There are about 200 irregular verbs in English. We can divide
these into four types:
■ Verbs which have the same base form, past simple and past
participle. E.g cut, put etc.
■ Verbs which have the same past simple and past participle.
E.g feel-felt-felt, sell-sold-sold.
■ Verbs which have the same base form and past participle. E.g
come-came-come,
■ Verbs which have a different base form, past simple and past
participle. E.g choose-chose-chosen.
Linking Verbs

■ Linking verbs connects the subject of a sentence to a word

that gives information about the subject.
■ They do not show any action, they simply link the verb
with the rest of the sentence.
■ The most common linking verbs are forms of verb to be:
am, is, are, was, were, being, been.
Auxiliary Verbs
■ An auxiliary verb helps the main (full) verb and is also
called a "helping verb." 
■ The verb forms of be, do, and have can be used as an
auxiliary verb.
■ She doesn’t agree with me.
■ They didn’t arrive here yet.
■ We have done a lot so far.
■ She had been queen of the town.
Helping Verbs
■ Helping Verbs are used before action verbs to convey
additional information.
■ The main verb along with helping verbs is called verb
phrase.
■ They’re further divided into:
 Auxiliary
 Modal
 Modal Verbs
■ We use modal verbs to show if we believe something is certain,
possible or impossible.
■ We also use them to do things like talk about ability, ask
permission, and make requests or offers:
■ They’re: can, may, must, shall, will, could, might, should, would.
■ My keys must be in the car.
It might rain tomorrow.
That can't be Peter's coat. It's too small.
■ I can't swim.
May I ask a question?
Could I have some tea, please?
Would you like some help?
Adverbs
■ Adverbs are words or set of words that modifies verbs,
adjectives and other adverbs.
■ It tells when, where and how an action is performed or indicates
the quality or degree of the action.
■ Most of the adverbs end with –ly.
■ There are four types of adverbs:
1) Adverbs of time/frequency 3) Adverbs of Degree
2) Adverbs of place 4) Adverbs of manner
 Adverbs of Time/Frequency
■ Adverbs of time/frequency indicate time or frequency of the action in the
sentence.
■ They answer the question ‘when or how frequently is the action
performed?’
■ Always, never, often, eventually, now, frequently, occasionally, once,
forever, seldom, before, Sunday, Monday, 10 AM, 12 PM, etc. are
common adverbs of time/frequency.
■ I went to school a little lateyesterday.
■ He always gets a good result.
■ I will leave Monday.
■ He smokes occasionally.
 Adverbs of Place/Direction 
■ Adverbs of place/direction that indicate place/direction of the action
in the sentence.
■ They answer the question ‘ where is the action performed?’.
■ Across, over, under, in, out, through, backward, there, around, here,
sideways, upstairs, in the park, in the field, in that place, etc. are
some common adverbs of place/direction.
■ I went through the jungle.
■ He plays in the field.
■ Alex is going to school.
■ He is staying at my home.
 Adverbs of Degree
■ Adverbs that express the importance/degree/level of the action in
the sentence are called adverbs of degree.
■ They answer the question ‘how much is the action performed?’.
■ Completely, nearly, entirely, less, mildly, most, thoroughly,
somewhat, excessively, much, etc. are common adverbs of degree.
■ She completely forgot about her anniversary.
■ I read the newspaper thoroughly.
■ I am so excited about the new job.
 Adverbs of Manner
■ Adverbs that express the manner/approach/process of the action in
the sentence are called adverbs of manner.
■ They answer the question ‘how is the action performed?’.
■ Beautifully, equally, thankfully, carefully, handily, quickly, coldly,
hotly, resentfully, earnestly, nicely, tirelessly, etc. are common
adverbs of manner. These adverbs usually end in ly.
■ Let's divide the prizes equally.
■ Please, handle the camera carefully.
■ Ali is walking slowly.
■ He is running fast.
 Adjectives
■ Adjectives are words, which are used to modify, describe or limit a
noun or pronoun.
■ Adjectives are divided into two types broadly, each is further
divided into sub types.
■ Modifying adjectives.
■ Limiting adjectives.
Modifying Adjectives

■ Modifying adjectives are used to modify or describe a

noun or pronoun by showing the kind, characteristics and
state of it.
■ These are further divided into 2 parts:
■ Proper adjectives
■ Common adjectives
Proper Adjectives

■ These adjectives come from proper nouns, so the first

letter of them is always capitalised.
■ E.g Iranian, French, English etc.
■ For example: She is a French girl.
Common Adjectives

■ These adjectives are used in common to decrease a person,

place or thing.
■ They have positive, comparative and superlative forms.
■ Example:
■ Ahmad is a talented boy.
■ It is hotter today than yesterday.
B: Limiting Adjectives

■ These adjectives are used to limit noun(s). It means

they are used to tell the number, quantity or show a
strong feelings of mind, or to point out a person, place
or thing and to ask a question. There are eight kinds of
limiting adjectives in English. Which are:
1-Possesseve Adjectives

■ These adjectives are used before nouns to show the

possession of person-to-person, thing-to-thing or thing
to person. They are as follows:(my, your, our, their,
his, her, its)
■ Ex: This is my book.
2-Demonstrative Adjectives

■ These adjectives answer the question which. They are

used to point out which person or thing is meant. There
are two kinds of demonstrative adjectives.
■ -Definite Demonstrative Adjectives: are this , that ,these,
those ,the, such, the same, and the other. These adjectives are
used before specific nouns, which are clear.
■ Ex: This book is interesting.
■ I have never heard such facts as you did.
■  
■ B-Indefinite Demonstrative Adjectives: are (some, another,
other, a, an, any, and one).These are used to point to some
unspecific noun(s).
■ Ex:
■ Some day you will understand.
■ One night there was a terrible storm.
3-Distributive Adjectives
■ These adjectives are used to distribute some nouns by
considering each one separately. They are (each, every,
both, either, and neither).
■ Example: Each man had a gun.
■ Every student is present and has a flag in his/her hand.
4-Interrogative Adjectives
■ These adjectives are used t ask a question. They are
(what, which, and whose).
■ What time is it?
■ Which book do you like?
■ Whose car is this?
5- Quantitative Adjectives
■ These adjectives are used to show the quantity of a
noun. Material and abstract nouns always follow these
addictives. The most important ones are (some, any,
much, enough, all, whole and half)
■ Example:
■ I have enough time to get to the airport.
■ There is much sugar in the glass.
6-Exclamatory Adjectives
■ These adjectives are used before nouns to show a
strong feeling of mind. They are as follows (what,
what a/an, such, such a/an).
■ Ex:
■ What students!
■ Such a good day!
■ I had never seen such intelligent students.
7 – Numeral Adjectives
■ These adjectives are used to show how many persons
or things are meant. They are divided into two parts,
which are definite and indefinite numeral adjectives.
I-Definite Numeral Adjectives:
■ They are used to denote an exact number and they are divided into four
other parts: which are
■  
■ Cardinal Numbers: which answer a question how many e.g. one, two,
three etc.
■ Ordinal Numbers: which show the order of things in a series e.g. first,
second etc
■ Fractional Numbers: are those expressed as a fraction? E.g. 20/4
■ Decimal Numbers: are those expressed with a decimal. e.g.1.2
 II – Indefinite Numeral Adjectives:
■ They don’t denote an exact number. However, they are
merely used to show the approximate number of people or
things. They are (few, a few, some, any, many, several,
enough, all, etc.)
■ Examples:
■ Few students are present.
■ I bought several new books.
■ Notice: that these adjectives are followed by plural countable
nouns.
8 – Emphasizing or Emphatic
Adjectives
■ These adjectives are used to give emphasis to their following
nouns. They are as follows (very, mere, bloody, own and sheer).
■ Examples:
■ This is the very thing we wanted.
■ I saw her with my own eyes.
■ She is a mere child.
■ You bloody fool.
Formation of Comparative and
Superlative Adjectives
• Most adjectives of one syllable are formed comparative
by adding (er) and superlative by adding (est.) to the
positive. A monosyllabic words ends with er and est.
• E.g. cold – colder – coldest
■ The comparative and superlative degree of diasyllabic
adjective can be made either by adding er and est to
the positive or by using the word more and most.
■ E.g. Happy Happier Happiest

Happy More Happy Most Happy

• Adjectives of more than two syllables are made
comparative and superlative by using more and most
before the positive and for negative we use less and
least.
• E.e.
Intelligent More intelligent
Most intelligent
PREPOSITION
■ A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to
link it with other words in a sentence.
■ There are almost 150 prepositions in English language.
■ Commonly used prepositions are: above, across, before,
behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, down, from,
in, into, near, of, off, on, to, towards, under, upon, with,
within, until, about, by.
■ For example:
1. My vacations begin on Thursday.
2. The cat jumped onto my lap.
CONJUNCTION
■ A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses and
indicates the relationship between the elements joined.
■ There are three types of conjunctions:
1. Coordinating conjunctions
2. Correlating conjunctions
3. Subordinating conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
■ Coordinating conjunctions join two words, phrases or
independent clauses, which are parallel in structure.
■ They are seven in number: and, but, for, nor, or, so,
yet.
■ For example:
1. Do you want an ice cream or a chocolate?
2. We went to the stadium and enjoyed the cricket
match.
Correlating Conjunctions
■ Correlating conjunctions are used when we want to
show a contrast or compare two parallel things in a
sentence.
■ They are: not only- but also, either-or, neither- nor,
both-and, not-but, whether-or.
■ For example:
1. Neither Ali nor Asim can play baseball.
2. I want both ice cream and chocolate.
Subordinating Conjunctions
■ Subordinating conjunctions are used to join elements
of unparallel structure (dependent and independent
clauses).
■ They are: after, how, than, when, although, if, that,
where, as, in order that, though, which, as much as,
unless, while, since, what, whoever, whomever.
■ For example:
1. My father believes that I should be a writer.
2. I started writing when I was eight.
INTERJECTIONS
■ An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is
often followed by an exclamation point.
■ They are: Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
■ For Example:
■ Wow! This flower is so beautiful.
■ Ouch!