PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun,
verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. 
 The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as
well as grammatically within the sentence. 
 An individual word can function as more than one part of
speech when used in different circumstances. Example: Give a
look to me. She looks like a doll.
  Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the
correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.
1. NOUN (already discussed)
A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.
Man, College, house, happiness
 A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. 
 Nouns are often used with an article (the, a, an), but not always.
  Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns
do not. 
 Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. 
 Nouns show possession by adding 's. Example: Fahim's cat.
 Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for
example, a noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object,
subject complement, or object of a preposition. Example: The
young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

2. PRONOUN
  A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Example:
She... we... they... it
 A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is
called its antecedent. Example: Ragib is a boy with soft heart.
He is loved by all.
 Pronouns are many type: personal pronouns- refer to specific
persons or things;
(See chart)
 First person Second person Third person
Subjecti Objecti Subjecti Objecti
Subjective Objective
ve ve ve ve
he, she, it, him, her, it,
I, we me, us you you
they them

 possessive pronouns- indicate ownership

Possessive
pronouns
my our your his, her its their whose
his,
mine ours yours theirs
hers
In the table above, the words in the upper row must accompany
nouns: her bags, our house. The pronouns in the lower row stand alone,
as replacements for the adjective + noun pair– "Hers is fast; mine is
slow."
 Reflexive pronouns- are used to emphasize another noun or
pronoun. Reflexive pronouns add emphasis. They always follow a
noun or personal pronoun and do not appear alone in a sentence:
"Jamie herself changed the tire." "She herself changed the tire."
The meaning is that she, and no one else, changed the tire, and the
emphasis is on the independence of her action. Reflexive pronouns
also show that someone did something to himself or herself: "She
surprised herself with how well she did on the test."
 (See chart)

Reflexive pronouns

yourself himself, herself, itself

myself ourselves
yourselves themselves

 Relative pronouns- introduce a subordinate clause

Relative pronouns

that who whoever whose

which whom whomever what

 Demonstrative pronouns- identify, point to, or refer to nouns.

Demonstrative pronouns

this these

that those

 Indefinite pronouns
While personal pronouns refer to specific persons, places, or
things, indefinite pronouns refer to general persons, places, or
things. Indefinite pronouns all are third-person pronouns and can
be subjects or objects in sentences.
 Many indefinite pronouns seem to refer to groups–everybody seems
like a crowd, right?-and so are often mistakenly treated as plurals
("Everybody overfilled their backpack"). However, any indefinite
pronoun that ends in -one, -body, -thing is singular:
"Everybody overfilled his (or her) backpack." The following
indefinite pronouns are usually singular; if one of these words is the
antecedent in a sentence, the pronoun that refers to it must also be
singular. Thus, we must write, "Does anyone know," rather than "Do
anyone know"; "Each of them knows," rather than "Each of them
know"; and "Someone left her cell phone," rather than, "Someone left
their cell phone."
Indefinite pronouns, singular
anyone anybody anything either each
no one nobody nothing another one
someone somebody something any
everyone everybody everything
 On the other hand, some indefinite pronouns are plural:
Indefinite pronouns, plural
both few many several

Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs and plural pronouns: "Both
were rewarded for their courage." "Many attend in spite of their other
obligations."
A few indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on
the context:
Indefinite pronouns,
singular or plural
an
most all none some neither
y
3. VERB(already discussed)
 A verb expresses action or being.
jump... is... write... become
The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb
and sometimes one or more helping verbs. ("She can sing." Sing is the
main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb must agree with its subject in
number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different
forms to express tense.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then
she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

4. ADJECTIVE
 An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.
pretty... old... blue... smart
An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a
pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or
how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.)
Degree is used to intensify the adjectives (discussed). The pronouns
are sometimes treated as adjectives in a sentence if they describe the
conditions of that particular sentence. Example: What a joke! How cute
the cat is!
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and
then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

5. ADVERB
 An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or
another adverb.
gently... extremely... carefully... well
An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb,
but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how,
why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher,
and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
Adverbs are often made by adding -ly to an adjective.

adjective: slow      adverb: slowly
adjective: deep      adverb: deeply
adjective: fair        adverb: fairly
However, not all words that end in -ly are adverbs!
nouns: family, homily, rally, lily
adjectives: friendly, worldly, lovely, sly
 Some common adverbs do not originate from adjectives.
very
quite
only
so
 Some adverbs modify by negating a statement. These are
referred to as negative adverbs. 
hardly
never
no
not
scarcely
 When using negative adverbs, be careful to avoid a double
negative.
 (Incorrect double negative)
He can't hardly understand the words of the speaker.
(Correct)
He can hardly understand the words of the speak
Conjunctive Adverbs
Words that function as adverbs (telling how, when, where, why, under
what conditions, or to what degree) and which also function as
conjunctions (joining grammatical parts) are called conjunctive adverbs. 
 Conjunctive adverbs
Accordingly, finally, likewise, similarly
also, furthermore, meanwhile, specifically
anyway, hence, moreover, still
besides, however, nevertheless, subsequently
certainly, incidentally, next, then
consequently, indeed, nonetheless, therefore
conversely, instead, otherwise, thus
Conjunctive adverbs join and create transitions between independent
clauses. 

6. PREPOSITION(to be discussed next)

 A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to
form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.
by... with.... about... until
(by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)
A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a
phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition
is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost
always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The following list
includes the most common prepositions:
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then
she quickly disappeared. Oh my!
7. CONJUNCTION
  A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.
and... but... or... while... because
A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the
relationship between the elements joined.
1.Use a coordinating conjunction to connect elements (words,
phrases, or clauses) of equal grammatical value.
 There are seven coordinating conjunctions in English:
and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet
 (Note: These are often remembered with the acronym FANBOYS.) 
2.Coordinating conjunctions link equal elements.
Swimming and reading are my two favorite summer activities.
(Swimming and reading are both subjects in the sentence.)
  
Please place the papers on top of the desk or in the drawer.  (On top of
the desk and in the drawer are both prepositional phrases.)

She wanted to drive the car, but she had never received her license. (She
wanted to drive the car and she had never received her license are
both independent clauses.)
3. Use correlative conjunctions in pairs to connect words, phrases, or
clauses of equal grammatical value. Correct use of these conjunctions
is critical in achieving parallelism in sentence structure.
  Correlative conjunctions always come in pairs:
as...as 
both...and
not only...but also
either...or
neither...nor 
whether...or 
  Make sure that the grammatical structure following the
second half of the pair is the same as that following the first
half.

You must decide either to fly or to drive. (The elements to fly and to

drive are both infinitives.) 
Contrary to my plans, I spent much of my vacation both correcting
papers and contacting students. (The elements correcting
papers and contacting students are both participial phrases.)
4. Use a subordinating conjunction to connect a subordinate
(dependent) clause to an independent clause.
 Common subordinating conjunctions include the following:
after  even though  than  whenever
although if that  where
as  in order that though whereas
as if rather than unless wherever
because since until whether
before so that when while
(Note: Some of the words listed can serve as different parts of speech,
depending on how they are used.)
 A subordinating conjunction indicates that the dependent clause
is not complete without an attached independent clause.
If you finish your homework, you will be prepared for the test. (If you
finish your homework by itself is an incomplete thought.)
I lose myself in the music whenever I practice the piano. (Whenever I
practice the piano by itself is an incomplete thought.)

5. Conjunctive adverbs (sometimes called adverbial conjunctions)

are used to indicate a relationship between sentences and
independent clauses.
  Common conjunctive adverbs include the following:
however     therefore     moreover     nevertheless

8. INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word used to express emotion.

Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by
an exclamation point.
The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then
she quickly disappeared. Oh my.
END

Made by palash saha

Department of Finance

University of Dhaka

Courtesy: Grammar book, teachers' sheet, online