(NOTE:Hyperlinks have been provided for all the 8 parts of
speech mentioned above)
The ‘8
PARTS OF SPEECH’is the most important component of English Language. To
amp up your communication skills (both oral and written), it is better to have
some knowledge on the 8 parts of speech.
Do
remember that almost all the English words fall under these 8 parts of speech.
LET’S START…..
A word that describes the NAMES of PERSON,
PLACE, ANIMAL (or) THING. You have to understand that any word that is directly
associated with PERSON, PLACE ANIMAL (or) THING is also a noun.
·
PERSON:teacher,
boy, girl, David, Jill, the President, Postman etc.,
·
PLACE:
India, U.S.A, School, field, stadium, Australia, street, park etc.,
·
ANIMAL:
LION, DOG etc.
·
THING:
Pen, pencil, car etc.(Remember THING can also be UNTOUCHABLE such as
‘Cleanliness’, ‘Sky’, ‘Wisdom’ etc.)*THING
CAN BE TOUCHABLE & UNTOUCHABLE*.
(NOTE: In the below five
examples, all the words that are marked in bold and underline are NOUNS)
Ex: 1
- Suraj is a nice guy.
Ex: 2-
The Stadium is filled with audience.
Ex: 3-
Mark is driving a car.
Ex: 4-
Let’s go to London.
Ex: 5–
My desk is near the window.
EXERCISE
– 1:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (MARK THE NOUN IN BOLD)
1.Birds
of a feather flock together.
2.He
gave me an apple.
3.
It was Edison who invented the Phonograph.
4.The
geese of Rome.
5.
Silver and Gold are precious metals.
6.
He is on the jury.
7.
Still waters run deep.
8.
Solomon was the wisest of all kings.
9.
The boy was rewarded for his honesty.
10.The
early bird catches the worm.
(ANSWERS:1 –
Birds, feather;2 - Apple; 3 – Edison, Phonograph;4 – Geese, Rome; 5 – Silver, Gold, Metal;6 -
Jury;7 - Waters;8– Solomon, Kings;9 –
Boy, Honesty; 10–Bird, Worm)
A wordthat is used in
place of a noun.
Ex:
He,
she, it, her, him, mine, us, those, these, me, you, them, I, we, they etc. Remember
any word that can perfectly be used in place of a noun is a pronoun.
(NOTE: In the below five examples, all the words that are
marked in bold and underline are PRONOUNS)
Ex:
1 – She
met Paul at the seminar.
Ex:
2–We
are going on a vacation.
Ex:
3–Richard stared at himself in the mirror.
Ex:
4–They
are a group of elite businessmen
Ex:
5 – You
are definitely one of the best speakers in this state.
EXERCISE – 2:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE CORRECT PRONOUN)
1.Gary’s
mom asked _ (he, him) to clean the garage.
2.
Neither
Mary nor _ (I, me) knew why the
store was closed.
3.
Everyone
at the table has eaten _ (his or her,
their) lunch earlier.
4.
Did
he see _? (Us, we)
5.
I
took the bag from_ (him, they)
6.
Five
of _ (us, ourselves) took a cab to
the play.
7.
_ (Who, whom) can I go out with tonight
8.
Margaret
and _ (I, me) hope to be roommates.
9.
Is
he the one for _ (who, whom) the
note is intended.
10.A
person as young as _ (she, her) should
not be given too much responsibility.
(
ANSWERS:1 –
him;2 - I; 3 – their;4 – Us; 5 – him;6 - Us;7 - Whom;8 – I;9 – Whom; 10 – She)
It provides
information/ meaning to a noun (or) pronoun. It is a word that describes a noun
(or) pronoun. It qualifies a noun (or) pronoun.
(NOTE: In the below five examples, all the words that are
marked in bold and underline are ADJECTIVES)
Ex:
1 – Shikha is creative.
Ex:
2 – He is an honest
guy.
Ex:
3 – They drive an amazing sports car.
Ex:
4 – Mark is playing football. He looks tired.
Ex:
5 – Follow the yellow
cab.
EXERCISE – 3:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (MARK THE ADJECTIVE IN BOLD)
1.
He
has written several stories.
2.
A
dog is very faithful to its master.
3.
He
is a man of few words.
4.
King
Francis was a brave king. He loved playing royal games.
5.
I
must replace these cheap, old shoes.
6.
There
is an essential matter we need to discuss.
7.
She
lives in a 2BHK apartment.
8.
Kindly
put the old documents in the shelf.
9.
John
won the second prize.
10.
We have to take off our shoes. This path is muddy.
(
ANSWERS:1 –
several;2 - faithful; 3 – few;4 – brave, royal; 5 –
cheap, old;6 - essential;7 – 2BHK;8 – old;9 – second; 10 – muddy)
A verb is a word that describes an
ACTION (or)STATE OF BEING i.e., BE (It includes is
/ am / are – was / were) Form.
(NOTE: In the below five
examples, all the words that are marked in bold and underline are VERBS).
Ex: 1
– Surya plays cricket twice a
week.
Ex: 2
– I am a teacher.
Ex: 3
– She is playing chess.
Ex: 4
– He was reading a book.
Ex: 5
– They are working hard to
win the game.
EXERCISE – 4:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (MARK THE VERB IN BOLD)
1. He
laid the book on the table.
2. She
travels to work by train.
3. David
sings in the choir
4. We
walked five miles to a garage.
5. I
cooked a meal for my friends.
6. Jack
sets the plates on the table.
7. Can
you recite the same poem in another language?
8.My
Uncle told me a story last week.
9. Surya
tried his level best to develop the complicated product.
10. He
is climbing a mountain.
(ANSWERS:1 –
laid;2 -travel; 3 –sings;4 –walked; 5 –cooked;6 -sets;7 –recite;8 –told;9 –tried; 10 –is
climbing)
It is a word that
modifies a verb (or) adjective (or) adverb.
(NOTE: In the below five
examples, all the words that are marked in bold and underline are ADVERBS).
Ex:
1 –She sings melodiously.
Ex:
2 – You should run fast.
Ex:
3 – We sometimes
get confused.
Ex:
4 – She rarely
eats mangoes.
Ex:
5 – I never
went skiing.
EXERCISE – 5:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (MARK THE ADVERB IN BOLD)
1.
Sharon
is throwing a party on Sunday. She finally finished her Ph.D.
2.I
was so surprised. His new apartment was beautifully decorated.
3.Some
stories are incredibly exciting from start to finish
4.They
live somewhere in Paris
5.He
will go to school tomorrow.
6.I
met him yesterday.
7.He
usually sleeps in the day.
8.
I am still waiting for my friend.
9.
My
friend is a really good cook.
10.
David
speaks English fluently
(ANSWERS:1 –
finished;2 -beautifully;3 – incredibly;4 – somewhere; 5 –
tomorrow;6 - yesterday;7 – sleeps;8 – still;9 –really; 10 – fluently)
It links a noun (or)
pronoun to the other words of a sentence. Words that show relationship between
a noun (or) pronoun and other words in a sentence.
Prepositions tell you
where something is (or) when something happened.
Prepositions tell us
where (or) when something is in relation to something else.
Prepositions show
relationship in time, place and position.
A preposition is a
word (usually a short word) that shows the relationship between two other
nearby words.
PLACE – in,
below, above, under, outside, within.
TIME – during,
while, after, at etc.,
(NOTE: In the below five
examples, all the words that are marked in bold and underline are PREPOSITION).
Ex:
1 – The puppy is on the floor.
Ex:
2 – The book is beside the phone.
Ex:
3 –I did my homework after I ate.
Ex:
4 –She swam across
the lake
Ex:
5 – A boy from
the Bahamas.
EXERCISE – 6:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (MARK THE PREPOSITION IN BOLD)
1.
We
live _ (in, on) London.
2.
Would
you like to go _ (at, to) seminar tomorrow.
3.
We
are going _ (on, to) holiday next
week.
4.
There
is a bridge _ (across, through) the
river.
5.
_ (on, onto) my wall, there are many picture
postcards.
6.
Munich
lies 530 meters _ (above, across) sea
level.
7.
The
woman is sitting _ (in front of, on) a
table.
8.
There
is another chair _ (opposite, beside) the
woman.
9.The
woman’s bag is _ (behind, under) the
table.
10.I
stayed _ (at, in) home all weekend.
(ANSWERS:1 –
in;2 -to;3 – on;4 – across; 5 – on;6 - above;7 – on;8 –opposite;9 –under; 10 –at)
Conjunctions are the
words that join two (or) more words (or) phrases (or) even sentences. It is
also called as a joiner.
We
will discuss three important types of conjunctions as follows:
7.1:Coordinating Conjunctions:
Just remember the
acronym ‘FANBOYS’.
F-For
A-And
N-Nor
B-But
0-Or
Y-Yet
S-So
7.2: Subordinating Conjunctions:
Just remember the
acronym ‘A WHITE BUS’.
A-Although,
As
W-Whenever,
whether, while, when
H-However
I-If,
in order that
T-Though,
than, that, thus
E-Even
if
B-Because,
before
U-Unless
S-Since
7.3: Correlative Conjunction:
·
Either………..or
·
Whether…….or
·
Both…………and
·
Though……..yet
·
Neither………nor
·
Not only…….but also
* Just remember those
words that help join a sentence are called as Conjunction. *
(NOTE: In the below five
examples, all the words that are marked in bold and underline are CONJUNCTION).
Ex:
1 – Raghav and
Rahul have completed this particular task.
Ex:
2 – He not
only acts but also
writes his own plays.
Ex:
3 – You can write on a paper with a pen or pencil
Ex:
4 – She speaks both
English and Spanish.
Ex:
5 – Unless
you persist, you won’t be able to become an able businessman
EXERCISE – 7:(DO
IT YOURSELF) (MARK THE CONJUNCTION IN BOLD)
1.
I like sugar in my tea, _ (but, and) I
do not like milk in it.
2.
Listen
to the story _ (and, but) answer the
questions in complete sentences.
3.
He
was late _ (Although, because) the
bus didn’t come.
4.
I
will text you _ (after, than) I have
arrived in Toronto.
5.
_ (If, when) it rains on Sunday, I will not be able
to drive.
6.
Bob
is very tall _ (while, but) Bill is
very short.
7.
I
refuse to pay anything _ (as long as,
until) you do the work properly.
8.
I
came early _ (so that, while) I
could talk to you privately.
9.
I
want Mary to be in charge _ (until,
while) I get back from holiday.
10.
_ (Though, As if) he worked hard, he did not win.
(ANSWERS:1 –
but;2 -and; 3 – because; 4 – after; 5 –If;6 -While;7 –until;8– so that;9 – until; 10– Though)
An
Interjection is a word put into a sentence to show some sudden feeling (or)
emotion. Interjection do not refer to anything, but simply express the
speaker’s emotion (or) wish.
It shows some strong
feeling such as surprise (or) fear.
(NOTE: In the below five
examples, all the words that are marked in bold and underline are INTERJECTION).
Ex:
1 – Wow!
Did you see that?
Ex:
2 – Hurrah!
You have won the match
Ex:
3 – Hello!
How do you do?
Ex:
4 –Alas!
You are done with your tasks.
Ex:
5 –Hush!Do
not make a noise.
Of course! – expressing commitment.
Bingo! – Acknowledging something as right.
Oh! – Expressing disappointment.
Hmm! – expressing doubt.
Um! – expressing hesitation.
Oops! – making a mistake.
Shh! – desire for silence.
Whew! – Relief.
Yippee! (or) Yay! – Celebrations.
Hey! – Anger/annoyance
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