Parts of speech
Understanding parts of speech is important because it helps us build correct sentences, understand and learn new words faster, use grammar rules correctly and express ideas clearly.
1.Nouns
1.1Countable Nouns
A noun can be countable. A countable noun can be singular(one) or plural (two and more). We can use numbers (one, two, three etc) with countable nouns.
| Singular | Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a banana | bananas | I eat a banana every day. I eat 2 bananas every day. |
| a song | songs | It is a nice song. My sister sings nice songs every day. |
| a cup | cups | Can you give me a cup? We need 5 cups for our guests. |
| a dog | dogs | It is a clever dog. Dogs are clever animals. |
| a student | students | He is a hardworking student. Students learn hard. |
1.2Uncountable Nouns
A noun can be uncountable. An uncountable noun has only one form. There is no plural. We cannot use numbers (one, two, three etc) with uncountable nouns.
| Uncountable Noun | No Plural | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rice | I like rice. I eat rice every day. |
|
| music | I like music. I listen to different music every day. |
|
| butter | Butter is not very expensive in Italy. I don't eat butter every morning. |
|
| electricity | All people use electricity nowadays. Is electricity expensive? |
|
| meat | A vegetarian is a person who doesn't eat meat. I buy meat every week. |
1.3Proper nouns
Proper nouns are names for people, places and languages.
| Examples |
|---|
| Effiel Tower |
| Taj Mahal |
| United Kingdom |
| North America |
| Mark |
1.4Common nouns
A common noun is a general word for something, not a specific name (for people, places, things, or ideas.)
| examples |
|---|
| table |
| person |
| water |
| city |
| electricity |
2.Subject Pronouns
2.1Singular subject pronouns
Singular subject pronouns replace singular nouns and act as the subject of a sentence. They are used to refer to people and things, without saying their name.
| Singular(one person/thing) Pronoun | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I (First Person) |
the person speaking = me | I like pizza. (I replaces my name.) |
| You (Second Person) |
the person I am talking to | You are my friend. (You replaces the person's name.) |
| He (Third Person Masculine) |
one boy or man | He plays soccer. (He replaces John.) |
| She (Third Person Feminine) |
one girl or woman | She is beautiful! (She replaces the beautiful lady.) |
| It (Third Person Neuter) |
one thing | It is very expensive. (It replaces the table.) |
2.2Plural subject pronouns
Plural subject pronouns replace plural nouns and act as the subject of a sentence. These pronouns refer to more than one person or thing.
| Plural (two or more people/things) Pronoun | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| We (First Person) |
me and other people | My friends and I are at the park. We are happy. |
| You (Second Person) |
the people I am talking to | Tom and Ben, you are my friends. |
| They (Third Person) |
other people or things | The boy and the girl are here. They are very nice. |
3.Verbs
3.1Verbs
A verb is a word that describes an action (something you do) or a state (how someone or something is or feels).
Verbs are important in every sentence.
Action verbs - something you do.
| Action Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| run | to move fast with your legs | I run to school every day. |
| speak | to say words to someone | We speak English in class. |
| eat | to put food in your mouth | They eat pizza on Friday. |
| call | to talk to someone on the phone | She calls her mum every evening. |
| write | to put words on paper | He writes a letter to his friend. |
| play | to do something fun, like a game | The children play football. |
State verbs - how someone or something is or feels.
| State Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| be | to exist or to show what something is | I am happy today. |
| have | to own something | We have a big dog. |
| like | to think something is nice | She likes ice cream. |
| know | to have information in your head | They know my name. |
| want | to wish for something | He wants a new bike. |
| feel | to have a feeling inside | I feel tired. |
4.Articles
4.1Indefinite Article
The indefinite articles are "a" and "an". They are used when we talk about something general or not specific.
| Article | Use before | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | consonant sounds | He has a university degree. (Sounds like 'you-niversity', not a vowel sound) I can see a dog. She is a teacher. He wants to buy a car. |
| an | vowel sounds | She is an honest person. (Silent "h" → Sounds like 'onest') She wants an apple. He is an actor. You can see an elephant at our zoo. |
We use "a" or "an" with singular countable nouns when we talk about one person or thing or when we mention the person or thing for the first time.
We use "a" or "an" to say what type of thing something is or what kind of person somebody is.
| Example | Comment |
|---|---|
| I can see a cat outside. | one cat, first mention |
| She needs a pen. | one pen, not a particular pen |
| She is a smart student. | What kind of student? A smart one. |
| She wants to buy an electric car. | What kind of car? An electric one. |
| I am a doctor. | one of many doctors in the world |
Here is a table to sum-up the basic rules about using articles
| Countable Nouns | Uncountable Nouns | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | a table the table |
the money money |
| Plural | the tables tables |
- |
Test yourself
4.2Definite Article
The definite article is "the". It is used when we talk about something specific or known.
"The" is used before both singular and plural countable nouns.
"The" can be used with uncountable nouns when we talk about something specific:Both the speaker and the listener know exactly what .
| Example | Comment |
|---|---|
| I can see a cat outside. The cat is black. | a specific cat that both the speaker and listener already know, already mentioned in the first sentence |
| - Can you give me your new books? - Sure! The books are on the table. You can take them. |
specific books, we both understand which exactly books we need |
| I love the music you make! | specific music which you make, not in general |
Here is a table to sum-up the basic rules about using articles
| Countable Nouns | Uncountable Nouns | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | a table the table |
the money money |
| Plural | the tables tables |
- |
Test yourself
4.3Zero Article
Zero article is actually NO ARTICLE. We often use it to talk about things or people in general.
Zero article is often used before plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns.
| Example | Comment |
|---|---|
| My sister loves horses. | in general, all the horses in the world |
| People make mistakes. | all the people in the world, any kind of mistakes - nothing specific |
| I like working with people. | people in general, not a specific group of people |
| I'm afraid of dogs. | dogs in general, not specific dogs |
| Do you like interesting movies? | all the interesting movies in the world, in general |
| I like coffee. | in general, as a name of a drink |
| Money makes the world go round! | in general, not specific money or amount of money |
Here is a table to sum-up the basic rules about using articles
| Countable Nouns | Uncountable Nouns | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | a table the table |
the money money |
| Plural | the tables tables |
- |
Test yourself
5.Prepositions
5.1Prepositions
Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. They help us understand where, when, or how something happens. They can show direction, time, place.
Here are some prepositions you need in everyday life.
| Preposition | Example | Question |
|---|---|---|
| on | The flowers are on the table | Where? (place) |
| on | He works on Sunday. | When? (time) |
| before | We want to be there before 12 o'clock | When? (time) |
| at | I always meet you at 6 PM. | When? (time) |
| into | Put the toy into the box. | Where to? (direction / movement) |
| to | She goes to the store every week. | Where (to)? (movement / direction) |
| by | She travels by car. | How? (method) |
| in | My sister is in the house. | Where? (place) |
| in | I start the new course in April. | When? (time) |
6.Conjunctions
6.1Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases, or sentences. It helps ideas flow smoothly.
Here are some conjunctions you need in everyday life.
| Conjuction | Example | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| and | Mark and John are friends. I like paper books and he likes E-books. |
'and' adds more information. |
| but | It is sunny, but it is cold. | 'but' shows contrast (difference). |
| or | You can watch a film or read a book. | 'or' gives a choice. |
| because | I am happy because it is my birthday. | 'because' shows a reason. |
| so | She works hard, so she goes to bed early. | 'so' shows a result, that something follows from something. |
7.Adjectives
7.1Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
It tells us more about the noun, like how it looks, feels, or behaves.
| Example | Example with a noun |
|---|---|
| big | It is a big table. |
| strong | He is a strong person. |
| tasty | I want that tasty cake. |
| interesting | These are interesting books. |
| clever | My brother is a very clever person. |
8.Adverbs
8.1Adverbs
An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
It tells us how, when, where, or how often something happens.
| Adverb | Example |
|---|---|
| well | She sings well. (How? → well) |
| soon | We leave soon. (When? → soon) |
| always | I always wake up early. (How often? → always) |
| very | It is very good. (How much? → very) |
| very+well | He speaks English very well. (How? → well / How well? → very well) |
| quickly | She finishes her homework quickly. (How? → quickly) |
| completely | I can understand you completely. (How? → completely) |
9.Frequently asked questions
What are the parts of speech in English?
The parts of speech are the groups English words belong to by their job: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and articles. In "She sees a big dog and quickly runs to the park", "dog" and "park" are nouns, "she" is a pronoun, "sees" and "runs" are verbs, "big" is an adjective, "quickly" is an adverb, "to" is a preposition, "and" is a conjunction, and "a" and "the" are articles. Traditional lists count eight parts of speech, with interjections like "oh" and "wow" and with articles counted as adjectives.
Adjective vs adverb: what's the difference?
An adjective describes a noun, and an adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Compare "She is a quick runner" ("quick" describes the noun "runner") with "She runs quickly" ("quickly" describes the verb "runs"). To check, ask a question: an adjective answers "What kind?", and an adverb answers "How?", "When?", "Where?" or "How often?". Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all of them: "soon", "always" and "very" are adverbs too, as in "It is very good".
Can the same word be more than one part of speech, like 'play'?
Yes, many English words can be different parts of speech, and the sentence shows which one it is. In "I play football", "play" is a verb because it shows an action; in "We watched a play", it is a noun because it names a thing. A simple check: after "a", "an" or "the", the word is usually a noun, and after a subject like "I" or "they", it is usually a verb. "Work", "walk" and "drink" do the same: "I work here" and "I love my work".
A or an: is it 'a university' or 'an university'?
Say "a university", because the choice between the articles a and an depends on the first sound of the next word, not its first letter. "University" starts with a "you" sound, which is a consonant sound, so it takes "a". Use "an" before a vowel sound: "an apple", "an actor", and also "an hour" and "an honest person", where the "h" is silent. In the same way, say "a European city" but "an umbrella".
The or no article: 'I like music' or 'I like the music'?
Say "I like music" when you mean music in general; "I like the music" means specific music that you and the listener both know. Use no article (the zero article) with uncountable nouns and plural nouns when you talk about them in general: "I drink coffee every day", "Dogs are clever animals". Use "the" for something specific: "I love the music you make". So say "My sister loves horses", not "My sister loves the horses", unless you mean particular horses that you both know.
