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Guide

The 8 parts of speech, with examples

The 8 parts of speech in English with simple definitions and examples: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

By Polarzinho ·

Polarzinho sorting colorful letter cubes into ten little bins on a shelf, like a library of words

In "Wow! The hungry panda quickly ate two bamboo shoots", there is an interjection, a noun, an adjective, an adverb and a verb. Five parts of speech in one sentence, all of them happy.

English words are grouped into 8 parts of speech. Here is each one with a simple definition and examples.

Play Stop! Play Letter River

The 8 parts of speech

  1. Noun: names a person, place, thing or idea. Ex.: panda, Brazil, joy.
  2. Pronoun: takes the place of a noun. Ex.: I, she, it, they, mine.
  3. Verb: shows an action or a state. Ex.: run, eat, be, seem.
  4. Adjective: describes a noun. Ex.: fluffy, tall, Brazilian.
  5. Adverb: describes a verb, adjective or other adverb. Ex.: quickly, very, here.
  6. Preposition: shows how words relate in time or space. Ex.: in, on, under, before, with.
  7. Conjunction: joins words or clauses. Ex.: and, but, because, if.
  8. Interjection: shows emotion. Ex.: wow!, oops!, hey!, ouch!

The blog has full posts on nouns, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs and conjunctions, with more examples of each.

One word, different parts of speech

  • "Run" is a verb in "I run" and a noun in "a long run"
  • "Fast" is an adjective in "a fast car" and an adverb in "she runs fast"
  • "Light" is a noun, a verb and an adjective: turn on the light, light a candle, a light bag

Practice by playing

Stop!, the quick category game, is a parts-of-speech lesson in disguise: name, animal and object are all nouns, and you can invent an adjective or verb category.

Stop! home screen with the options to play with the crowd or create a room with friends

PolarzinhoI invented a "verb" category in Stop! and wrote "eat" for every letter. It did not count.

Stop!: play with the crowd or create a room with friends.

And in Letter River, every answer is vocabulary practice.

Letter River letter board next to the list of clues, with a river and mountains behind

PolarzinhoThe otter in Letter River knows all 8 parts of speech. I know 7 and a half.

Letter River: the letter board and the clues beside it.

FAQ

What are the 8 parts of speech?

Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.

Is an article a part of speech?

Some grammars treat articles (a, an, the) as adjectives or determiners, and some count them as a ninth part of speech.

Can a word be more than one part of speech?

Yes. "Run", "fast" and "light" change depending on how they are used.

Your turn

Label each word: "Wow! My three cats sleep very well on the sofa."

Play Stop! Play Letter River