The Eight Parts of Speech

What are the parts of speech and why do we use them?

When you speak or write, every word has a job. Some words name things. Some show action. Others add detail or connect ideas. These jobs are called parts of speech. When you understand them, your sentences become clearer. You also make fewer grammar mistakes and choose better words.

In this lesson, you will learn the eight parts of speech step by step. Everything is explained in a simple and friendly way, just like a real teacher would explain it in class.

By the end of this lesson, you will:

Know all Eight parts of speech
Understand how they work in real sentences
Spot them easily in reading and writing
Use them to speak English more clearly and confidently

What are the eight parts of speech?

The eight parts of speech are groups of words based on the job they do in a sentence. Now let’s break each one down step by step.

1. Noun

A noun names something.

It can be
• A person
• A place
• A thing
• An idea

Examples of nouns:

Persons: teacher, doctor, Ali, sister
Places: school, park, Karachi, home
Things: pen, bicycle, apple, computer
Ideas: love, honesty, happiness

Important idea
Some nouns are real things you can touch. Others are feelings or ideas you cannot touch.

2. Pronoun

A pronoun points back to a noun and speaks for it.

Ali likes Ali’s bag because Ali bought it yesterday.

Using the same noun again and again makes a sentence dull and heavy. To keep language smooth, we replace repeated nouns with pronouns.

Repeating nouns again and again sounds boring. Therefore we use pronouns to avoid repeating the same noun again and again:

Ali likes his bag because he bought it yesterday.

Pronouns usually stand in for a specific noun called the antecedent. In the sentence above, he refers back to the Ali.

Common pronouns:

I, you, he, she, it, we, they, him, her, us, them, mine, yours

3. Verb

A verb shows:

Action: run, jump, study, eat
State of being: am, is, are, was, were

If a sentence has no verb, it’s not really a sentence.

She runs fast.
We are happy.

4. Adjective

An adjective adds color to language by describing a noun or a pronoun.

They describe nouns and pronouns by telling:

What kind? (red, tall, sweet)
How many? (four, many, some)
Which one? (this, that)

I saw a big elephant.
She bought two new dresses.

5. Adverb

An adverb tells how, when, or where something happens. It can describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all.

He runs quickly. (how)
We will meet tomorrow. (when)
The cat is sitting outside. (where)

6. Preposition

A preposition comes before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase.

Examples include by, with, about, until, under, over, behind, before, after, to, from

A preposition never works by itself. It starts a phrase and connects to a noun or pronoun at the end. Together, this phrase describes another word in the sentence by adding details such as place, time, manner, or direction.

The ball is under the table.
She will come after lunch.

7. Conjunction

A conjunction works like glue. It links ideas together in a sentence. Conjunctions can connect single words, groups of words, or full sentences.

Words
Ali and Sara

Phrases
in the room and on the bed

Sentences
I like tea, but I don’t like coffee.

Common conjunctions:

and, or, but, because, so, yet, although

8. Interjection

An interjection is a word that expresses a sudden feeling or reaction.

Examples include Wow! Oops! Hurray! Oh no! Yippee!

Wow! You scored full marks!
Oops! I spilled water.