Eight Parts of Speech - Sentence Construction

How to use the 8 parts of speech in Sentence Construction"

We are going to use the different parts of speech, one by one, to build a sentence.

As we go on adding a word to this growing sentence, You will understand the added word's function in the sentence and what part of speech it is.


Let us Start
Once our sentence is built, you can try answering a quiz.

1. Verb
Example: eat
The word eat is an action word. Action words are verbs.




A few other words such as am, is, are, was, were, etc., which tell us about the state of being, are also called verbs.

2. Nouns
examples: Jack, apples
Jack eats. Jack is a name. Names are called nouns.

Jack eats mangoes.

The word 'mangoes' is also a name, though of another type than 'John' above. So, 'mangoes' is also a noun.

3. Adjective
example: ripe

John eats ripe mangoes.

The word 'ripe' is a description for the noun 'mangoes.'

Words that describe nouns are called adjectives.

4. Pronoun
example: he

He eats ripe mangoes.

The word 'he' is a substitute word for 'John.'

Words which are used as substitutes for nouns are called pronouns.

5. Adverbs
Three different types of words are called adverbs in traditional grammar.

We will go through three steps and add a different type of adverb to our sentence in each step.

The Adverb as Verb Modifier
example: quickly

He quickly eats ripe mangoes.

The word 'quickly' adds meaning to the verb 'eats'.

A word which describes a verb is called an adverb.

The Adverb as Adjective Modifier
example: fully

He quickly eats fully ripe mangoes.




The word 'fully' adds meaning to the adjective 'ripe'. A word which describes an adjective is also called an adverb.

The Adverb as Modifier of Another Adverb
example: very

He very quickly eats fully ripe mangoes.

The word 'very' adds meaning to the adverb 'quickly'. Words which thus describe adverbs are themselves adverbs.

6. Prepositions
examples: at, in

He very quickly eats fully ripe mangoes at home in the morning.

The words 'at' and 'in' are words placed before nouns 'home' and 'morning.' They are placed (i.e. "positioned") before (i.e. "pre") a noun or pronoun. Hence we call these words prepositions.

A preposition...is a word placed before a noun (or pronoun) and...relates such a noun to some other word in the sentence.

7. Conjunction
example: and

He very quickly eats very ripe mangoes and apples at home in the morning.

The word 'and' joins two words (mangoes, pears) in this sentence.

Words like and, but, or, because, therefore, and word-groups like either...or, not only...but also, etc. join together sentences and sometimes words.

E.g. Andrew came here but Jane sat at home. [The conjunction 'but' joins two sentences in this example].

Words which join sentences or words together are called conjunctions.

8. Interjection
My Goodness!

My goodness! He and she eat ripe mangoes!

The words 'my goodness!' are words expressing sudden feeling. Such words are called interjections.




Interjections are important more as expressions of emotion than for any grammatical relationship with other words.

Here are the 8 ...

English words belong to one or more of the eight parts of speech, which are:
Verbs
Nouns
Pronouns
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions
Conjunctions
Interjections

A Word May Belong to More than One Part of Speech
Remember that in English you cannot say that a word belongs to one particular part of speech. It is not so.

The same word may be a different part of speech in different sentences. The work a word does is more important than its spelling or sound.

See this example...
The word 'milk' is a different part of speech each time.

I don't like milk. (noun)
So, you will have to milk the cow. (verb)
I like milk chocolate. (adjective)
Best Answer to Give: "I don't know!"
So, what will you answer if someone asks you what part of speech a particular word is?




You should wisely answer: "I don't know." It is not always safe to talk about the part of speech of a word unless you get it in a sentence.

These parts of speech are the groups a dictionary normally divides words into. There are other more sophisticated divisions. You should not get confused if you see other types of groupings. If you go step by step in exploring you will become an expert at these things

Here is a grammar quiz which will deepen your understanding of Parts of Speech. This is both a game and a test. We know you'll enjoy this. Choose one from the options given after each question. Think carefully before you answer.

If you have fewer than five answers correct in this Grammar Quiz, please come back here, study again, and then try the quiz again.