part of speech word near

What part of speech is “near”

Learn all the parts of speech for different words and understand how to use them in the English language

Definition :

an adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun. Near is often used to describe physical or metaphorical distance.

The neighbors are very near to each other.

He always keeps his wallet near to him.

She wanted to sleep near the fire.

sometimes 'near' can be used in a more figurative sense, especially as an adjective, to indicate closeness in terms of relationship or similarity, not just physical proximity. Avoid redundancy. Phrases like 'near proximity' are tautological since 'near' already implies proximity.

Preposition

as a preposition, near can be used to refer to a close proximity, either literal or figurative, between two or more objects.

The restaurant is near the school.

We like to keep our acquaintances near at all times.

She drew near to the pond to get a better look.

an adverb is a word that modifies or describes a verb, another adverb, or an adjective. Near typically describes the manner and result of an action in regards to physical or metaphorical proximity.

He was near dead.

He stopped near, waiting for her to catch up.

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Understanding the Parts of Speech in English

Yes, the parts of speech in English are extensive and complex. But we’ve made it easy for you to start learning them by gathering the most basic and essential information in this easy-to-follow and comprehensive guide.

Parts of Speech: Quick Summary

Parts of speech assign words to different categories. There are eight different types in English. Keep in mind that a word can belong to more than one part of speech.

Learn About:

• Parts of Speech
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Using the Parts of Speech Correctly In Your Writing

Knowing the parts of speech is vital when learning a new language.

When it comes to learning a new language, there are several components you should understand to truly get a grasp of the language and speak it fluently.

It’s not enough to become an expert in just one area. For instance, you can learn and memorize all the intricate grammar rules, but if you don’t practice speaking or writing colloquially, you will find it challenging to use that language in real time.

Conversely, if you don’t spend time trying to learn the rules and technicalities of a language, you’ll also find yourself struggling to use it correctly.

Think of it this way: Language is a tasty, colorful, and nutritious salad. If you fill your bowl with nothing but lettuce, your fluency will be bland, boring, and tasteless. But if you spend time cultivating other ingredients for your salad—like style, word choice, and vocabulary— then it will become a wholesome meal you can share with others.

In this blog post, we’re going to cover one of the many ingredients you’ll need to build a nourishing salad of the English language—the parts of speech.

Let’s get choppin’!

What Are the Parts of Speech in English?

The parts of speech refer to categories to which a word belongs. In English, there are eight of them : verbs , nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

Many English words fall into more than one part of speech category. Take the word light as an example. It can function as a verb, noun, or adjective.

Verb: Can you please light the candles?

Noun: The room was filled with a dim, warm light .

Adjective: She wore a light jacket in the cool weather.

The parts of speech in English are extensive. There’s a lot to cover in each category—much more than we can in this blog post. The information below is simply a brief overview of the basics of the parts of speech. Nevertheless, the concise explanations and accompanying example sentences will help you gain an understanding of how to use them correctly.

What Are Verbs?

Verbs are the most essential parts of speech because they move the meaning of sentences along.

A verb can show actions of the body and mind ( jump and think ), occurrences ( happen or occur ), and states of being ( be and exist ). Put differently, verbs breathe life into sentences by describing actions or indicating existence. These parts of speech can also change form to express time , person , number , voice , and mood .

There are several verb categories. A few of them are:

• Regular and irregular verbs
• Transitive and intransitive verbs
• Auxiliary verbs

A few examples of verbs include sing (an irregular action verb), have (which can be a main verb or auxiliary verb), be , which is a state of being verb, and would (another auxiliary verb).

My little sister loves to sing .

I have a dog and her name is Sweet Pea.

I will be there at 5 P.M.

I would like to travel the world someday.

Again, these are just the very basics of English verbs. There’s a lot more that you should learn to be well-versed in this part of speech, but the information above is a good place to start.

What Are Nouns?

Nouns refer to people ( John and child ), places ( store and Italy ), things ( firetruck and pen ), and ideas or concepts ( love and balance ). There are also many categories within nouns. For example, proper nouns name a specific person, place, thing, or idea. These types of nouns are always capitalized.

Olivia is turning five in a few days.

My dream is to visit Tokyo .

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.

Some argue that Buddhism is a way of life, not a religion.

On the other hand, common nouns are not specific to any particular entity and are used to refer to any member of a general category.

My teacher is the smartest, most caring person I know!

I love roaming around a city I’ve never been to before.

This is my favorite book , which was recommended to me by my father.

There’s nothing more important to me than love .

Nouns can be either singular or plural. Singular nouns refer to a single entity, while plural nouns refer to multiple entities.

Can you move that chair out of the way, please? (Singular)

Can you move those chairs out of the way, please? (Plural)

While many plural nouns are formed by adding an “–s” or “–es,” others have irregular plural forms, meaning they don’t follow the typical pattern.

There was one woman waiting in line.

There were several women waiting in line.

Nouns can also be countable or uncountable . Those that are countable refer to nouns that can be counted as individual units. For example, there can be one book, two books, three books, or more. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted as individual units. Take the word water as an example. You could say I drank some water, but it would be incorrect to say I drank waters. Instead, you would say something like I drank several bottles of water.

What Are Pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of other nouns or noun phrases. Pronouns serve the purpose of referring to nouns without having to repeat the word each time. A word (or group of words) that a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent .

Jessica went to the store, and she bought some blueberries.

In the sentence above, Jessica is the antecedent, and she is the referring pronoun. Here’s the same sentence without the proper use of a pronoun:

Jessica went to the store, and Jessica bought some blueberries.

Do you see how the use of a pronoun improves the sentence by avoiding repetitiveness?

Like all the other parts of speech we have covered, pronouns also have various categories.

Personal pronouns replace specific people or things: I, me, you, he, she, him, her, it, we, us, they, them.

When I saw them at the airport, I waved my hands up in the air so they could see me .

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership : mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, whose.

I think that phone is hers .

Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject of a sentence or clause. They are used when the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same person or thing: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

The iguanas sunned themselves on the roof of my car.

Intensive pronouns have the same form as reflexive pronouns and are used to emphasize or intensify the subject of a sentence.

I will take care of this situation myself .

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific individuals or objects but rather to a general or unspecified person, thing, or group. Some examples include someone, everybody, anything, nobody, each, something, and all.

Everybody enjoyed the party. Someone even said it was the best party they had ever attended.

Demonstrative pronouns are used to identify or point to specific pronouns: this, that, these, those.

Can you pick up those pens off the floor?

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions and seek information: who, whom, whose, which, what.

Who can help move these heavy boxes?

Relative pronouns connect a clause or a phrase to a noun or pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, that, what, whoever, whichever, whatever.

Christina, who is the hiring manager, is the person whom you should get in touch with.

Reciprocal pronouns are used to refer to individual parts of a plural antecedent. They indicate a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more people or things: each other or one another.

The cousins always giggle and share secrets with one another .  

What Are Adjectives?

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns, usually by describing, identifying, or quantifying them. They play a vital role in adding detail, precision, and imagery to English, allowing us to depict and differentiate the qualities of people, objects, places, and ideas.

The blue house sticks out compared to the other neutral-colored ones. (Describes)

That house is pretty, but I don’t like the color. (Identifies)

There were several houses I liked, but the blue one was unique. (Quantifies)

We should note that identifying or quantifying adjectives are also referred to as determiners. Additionally, articles ( a, an, the ) and numerals ( four or third ) are also used to quantify and identify adjectives.

Descriptive adjectives have other forms (known as comparative and superlative adjectives ) that allow for comparisons. For example, the comparative of the word small is smaller, while the superlative is smallest.

Proper adjectives (which are derived from proper nouns) describe specific nouns. They usually retain the same spelling or are slightly modified, but they’re always capitalized. For example, the proper noun France can be turned into the proper adjective French.

What Are Adverbs?

Adverbs are words that modify or describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses. Although many adverbs end in “–ly,” not all of them do. Also, some words that end in “–ly” are adjectives, not adverbs ( lovely ).

She dances beautifully .

In the sentence above, beautifully modifies the verb dances.

We visited an extremely tall building.

Here, the adverb extremely modifies the adjective tall.

He had to run very quickly to not miss the train.

The adverb very modifies the adverb quickly.

Interestingly , the experiment yielded unexpected results that left us baffled.

In this example, the word interestingly modifies the independent clause that comprises the rest of the sentence (which is why they’re called sentence adverbs ).

Like adjectives, adverbs can also have other forms when making comparisons. For example:

strongly, more strongly, most strongly, less strongly, least strongly

What Are Prepositions?

Prepositions provide context and establish relationships between nouns, pronouns, and other words in a sentence. They indicate time, location, direction, manner, and other vital information. Prepositions can fall into several subcategories. For instance, on can indicate physical location, but it can also be used to express time.

Place the bouquet of roses on the table.

We will meet on Monday.

There are many prepositions. A few examples include: about, above, across, after, before, behind, beneath, beside, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, onto, past, regarding, since, through, toward, under, until, with, without.

Prepositions can contain more than one word, like according to and with regard to.

What Are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions are words that join words, phrases, or clauses together within a sentence and provide information about the relationship between those words. There are different types of conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance: and, but, for, not, or, so, yet.

I like to sing, and she likes to dance.

Correlative conjunctions come in pairs and join balanced elements of a sentence: both…and, just as…so, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, whether…or.

You can either come with us and have fun, or stay at home and be bored.

Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent clauses to independent clauses. A few examples include: after, although, even though, since, unless, until, when , and while.

They had a great time on their stroll, even though it started raining and they got soaked.

Conjunctive adverbs are adverbs that function as conjunctions, connecting independent clauses or sentences. Examples of conjunctive adverbs are also, anyway, besides, however, meanwhile, nevertheless, otherwise, similarly, and therefore .

I really wanted to go to the party. However , I was feeling sick and decided to stay in.

I really wanted to go to the party; however , I was feeling sick and decided to stay in.

What Are Interjections?

Interjections are words that express strong emotions, sudden reactions, or exclamations. This part of speech is usually a standalone word or phrase, but even when it is  part of a sentence, it does not relate grammatically to the rest of .

There are several interjections. Examples include: ahh, alas, bravo, eww, hello, please, thanks, and oops.

Ahh ! I couldn’t believe what was happening.

When it comes to improving your writing skills, understanding the parts of speech is as important as adding other ingredients besides lettuce to a salad.

The information provided above is indeed extensive, but it’s critical to learn if you want to write effectively and confidently. LanguageTool—a multilingual writing assistant—makes comprehending the parts of speech easy by detecting errors as you write.

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The 9 Types of Parts of Speech: Definitions, Rules and Examples

What are the Parts of Speech in English?

There are nine parts of speech in English. Together, these parts of speech provide the building blocks for creating meaning in language:

Prepositions

Conjunctions, articles and determiners, interjections.

Each part of speech serves a different purpose and can be used in different ways. For example, a noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being. An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun, while an adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Pronouns take the place of nouns and can function as the subject or object of a sentence. Prepositions show relationships between words in a sentence. Conjunctions join words or groups of words together. Interjections are exclamatory words or phrases that express strong emotion.

What is the Definition of Parts of Speech?

The context in which the word is used will determine its function. Parts of speech are an important part of language learning, as they help students to understand how sentences are constructed and how meaning is conveyed. Most of us are familiar with the parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. They are the categories into which words are classified according to their function in a sentence. Learning about parts of speech can also help students to improve their writing skills by using more accurate and varied sentence structures.

For example, ” cat” is a noun, and ” quickly” is an adverb. The direct objects can be divided into two main groups: content words and structure words. Content words include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. These are the words that carry the meaning in a sentence.

Open and Closed Word Classes

There are two main types of parts of speech, or word classes: open and closed. Open word classes, also known as content words, include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. They are so called because they can have new members added to them (open class), as opposed to closed word classes (e.g. prepositions, conjunctions, determiners), which are much more limited in number (closed class).

Open word classes are usually more central to the meaning of a sentence than closed classes, which often just provide grammatical information. For example, in the sentence “The big dog barked,” the words “big” and “dog” are more essential to the meaning of the sentence than the word “the,” which simply tells us that we are talking about a specific dog. However, all parts of speech are important in creating well-formed sentences.

The 9 Parts of Speech

A noun is a word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used as the subject or object of a sentence. They can be used as the object of a verb (I saw the cat) or a preposition (We walked in the park). Types of nouns also include:

• Plural nouns (cats, parks)
• Possessive nouns (cat’s, park’s)
• Proper (Mr. Smith, Times Square)

In addition to these types, others include; Common nouns, which are words that refer to general objects or ideas (chair, city), while proper nouns refer to specific people or places (John, New York). Collective nouns are words that refer to groups of things (class, team). Abstract nouns are words that refer to ideas or concepts (love, freedom). Concrete nouns are words that refer to physical objects that can be perceived by the five senses (sound, smell, taste, touch, and sight).

Pronouns are one of the parts of speech in English. A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or a noun phrase. Pronouns are used to refer to people or things, either directly or indirectly. The most common possessive pronouns are:

There are also reflexive pronouns and relative pronouns. Pronouns are usually found after the noun or the phrase that they are replacing. For example: “I saw John in the park.” In this sentence, “I” is a pronoun that is replacing the speaker’s name. “John” is the noun that is being replaced by the pronoun “I”. “He” is also a pronoun and it is replacing John.

You can also use pronouns to refer to yourself: “I’m going to the store.” Here, “I” is a reflexive pronoun because it is referring back to the subject of the sentence. Relative pronouns are used to introduce clauses: “The man who was at the store was looking for a book.” In this sentence, “who” is a relative pronoun that introduces the clause “who was at the store.”

Verbs are one of the eight parts of speech. They are words that indicate action or state of being. In English, verbs are usually denoted by the suffix “-ed” added to the root form of the word, as in “walk-ed,” “study-ed,” and “live-ed.” The root form is also known as the base form. There are three main types of verbs:

• Action verbs
• Linking verbs
• Helping verbs

Action verbs describe physical or mental actions and include words such as “run,” “jump,” “read,” and “think.” Linking verbs connect the subject to a word or entire sentence that describes or identifies it and include words such as “is,” “seems,” and “becomes.” Helping verbs assist the main verb in a sentence by providing more information about time, tense, mood, or condition and include words such as “can,” “should,” and “would.” All three types of verbs are necessary for constructing sentences in English. Knowing how to use them correctly is essential for effective communication.

Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech. They modify verbs, nouns, and other adjectives and show the degree, size, shape, age, colour, origin, and material of the things they modify. For example: “a hot stove,” “a round ball,” “an old car,” and ” Cuban cigars.” Adjectival meanings usually come before the noun or pronoun they modify but sometimes come after it: “He is slow.” “That car is mine.” When two or more adjective categories modify the same noun, they are usually listed in a specific order:

• Quantity or Number
• Quality or Opinion
• Nationality or Origin

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In English, adverbs are typically formed by adding the suffix “-ly” to an adjective, as in the words “slowly” and “quickly.” Adverbs can express manner, degree, frequency, time, place, or other aspects of how an action is performed. For example, the adverb “slowly” in the sentence “He slowly walked across the room” modifies the verb “walked.” The word “slowly” tells us how he walked. Similarly, the adverb “quickly” in the sentence “She quickly ran out of the room” modifies the verb “ran.” The word “quickly” tells us how she ran. Other examples of adverbs include words like:

Adverbs can be placed either before or after the word they modify. In general, however, they are placed after verbs and before adjectives and other adverbs.

A preposition is a word (often a short word) that shows the relationship between two parts of a sentence. A preposition usually comes before a noun or a pronoun. For example, in the sentence “I looked for my watch under the couch,” the word “under” is a preposition that shows the relationship between “I” and “my watch.” The word “under” tells us where to find the watch. Other examples of prepositions are:

Many of these prepositions also have multiple meanings. The meaning of a preposition often has to do with time or location. Some people say there are only about 150 prepositions in English; others say there are closer to 250. It’s hard to be exact because new words are always being created. In addition, some words can be used as more than one part of speech.

Conjunctions are one of the parts of speech. They are words that join other words, phrases, or clauses together. There are three main types of conjunctions:

• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions join two words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance. Some common coordinating conjunctions include “and,” “but,” and “or.” Subordinating conjunctions join a subordinate clause to the main clause. Some common subordinating conjunctions include “after,” “although,” and “because.” Correlative conjunctions come in pairs and are used to join two words, phrases, or clauses that are of equal importance. Some common correlative conjunctions include “both…and,” “either…or,” and “neither…nor.”

While conjunctions are small words, they play an important role in sentence construction. Without them, sentences would be choppy and difficult to understand.

Articles and determiners are parts of speech that are used to modify nouns. They can indicate whether a noun is specific or unspecific, and can also be used to denote possession. There are two types of articles:

• Definite articles, which refer to a specific noun
• Indefinite articles, refer to any member of a group of nouns.

There are also three types of determiners:

• Demonstrative determiners, which point out a particular noun
• Possessive determiners, which show ownership
• Quantitative Determiners, which denote quantity

Although they perform different functions, both articles and determiners play an important role in communication. By using these parts of speech correctly, speakers can provide clarity and precision in their writing and speech.

An interjection is a word or phrase that can be used to express emotion. It is typically used as a standalone exclamation, such as:

• “Wow!”
• “Oh no!”
• “No way!”
• “Holy Cow!”
• “Ouch!”
• “Yay!”

Interjections can also be used to express excitement, surprise, or dismay. In some cases, they can even be used to fill in awkward pauses in conversation. While interjections are not always considered part of standard English grammar, they can be useful for adding emphasis or lending flavour to writing. As such, they are often used in fiction and other creative writing.

However, it is important to use them sparingly, as too many interjections can make writing feel choppy or amateurish. When used judiciously, however, interjections can add personality and flair to your writing.

Figuring out parts of speech

When you are trying to figure out the parts of speech in traditional grammar, the first step is to identify the verb. The verb is the action word in the sentence, and it will usually come before the subject. For example, in the sentence “The cat slept on the mat,” the verb is “slept.” Once you have identified the verb, you can then identify the subject. The subject is the noun or pronoun that is acting as the verb. In our example sentence, “The cat slept on the mat,” the subject is “cat.”

After you have identified the verb and subject, you can then begin to look for other parts of speech. Common parts of speech include adjectives (descriptive words), adverbs (words that modify verbs), and prepositions (words that show relationships between objects).

To identify these parts of speech, look for words that come before or after verbs and nouns. For example, in the sentence “The red cat slept on the soft mat,” the category of color and adjective “red” modifies the adjectival noun “cat” and the adjective “soft” modifies the noun “mat.” The adverb “on” modifies the verb “slept” by showing where the action took place.

By breaking down sentences into their parts, you can more easily identify the function of each word and understand how they work together to form a complete thought.

When a word is two different kinds of speech

There are parts of speech in the English language that can be difficult to identify.

• For example, the word “you” can function as both a pronoun and an adjective. When used as a pronoun, “you” is the subject of a sentence or clause.
• For example, “You are going to the store.” When used as an adjective, “you” modifies a noun or pronoun.

To identify when a word is two different kinds of speech, it is important to understand the parts of speech and how they function in a sentence. With a little practice, you will be able to identify when a word is being used as two different parts of speech.

Common Endings

Common noun endings.

In English, there are three parts of speech: nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Nouns are words that refer to people, places, things, or ideas. Verbs are words that describe actions or states of being. Adjectives are a word that classes nouns or pronouns. Common noun endings include:

These suffixes change the meaning of the word and often indicate whether the word is a subject or an object. For example, the word “read” is a verb meaning “to look at something closely.” The word “reader” is a noun phrase meaning “one who reads.” The word “reading” is a gerund meaning “the act of reading.” By understanding common noun endings, you can better understand the function of words in a sentence. This can help you to avoid breaking grammar rules and to communicate more effectively.

Common Verb Endings

There are a few basic combinations of verb endings that you will see in English. These are:

Each of these endings has a different function depending on the closedness of verbs. The -s ending is used to indicate present tense verbs, while -ed is used for past tense verbs. The -ing form is used for verb phrases and gerunds, and the -en form is used for irregular verbs.

While there are some exceptions to these rules, they generally apply to most verbs in English. By knowing these common verb endings, you can better understand how to use brand new verbs in sentence structure.

Common Adjective Endings

Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech in English. They are used to modify nouns and pronouns. Adjectives are a broader category and can be used to describe almost anything, from physical attributes to personality traits. There are dozens of adjective endings in English, but some of the most common are:

Common Adverb Endings

Adverbs are one of the eight parts of speech in English. They modify present tense verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, phrases, and clauses. Adverbs give us more information about how, when, where, and to what extent an action is carried out. In short, they tell us more about the verbs. Common adverb endings include:

The most common ending for adverbial phrases is -ly. This is because most adverbs are formed by taking an adjective and adding -ly to the end of it. For example, the adjective slow becomes the adverb slowly. Other examples include softly, bravely, happily, yearly, monthly, daily, etc. You can usually tell if a word is an adverb by its spelling; if it ends in -ly, chances are it’s an adverb.

Order of Adjectives

As previously mentioned, one of the most essential aspects of adjectives is their order of use. When more than one adjective is used to modify a noun, there is a specific order that they should follow. This order is:

• Quantity or number
• Quality or opinion
• Origin or material

Let’s take a closer look at each category. First, quantity or number refers to how many of something there are, like “five dogs.”

Quality or opinion covers adjectives that express someone’s opinion, such as “amazing” or “delicious.”

Size adjectives describe how large or small something is and include class sizes like “huge” or “tiny.”

Age tells us how old something is and can be either specific, like “twenty-year-old,” or general, like “ancient.”

Shape covers the physical form of an object and can be either geometric, like “square,” or organic, like “slippery.”

Colour tells us what colour something is while origin or material describes where something comes from or what it is made of and can include adjectives like “Italian” or “wooden.”

Finally, purpose tells us why something exists and can be either functional, like “safety goggles,” or decorative, like “ornate.” Now that we know the order of adjectives, we can use them correctly in our writing.

Commas With Multiple Adjectives

A good rule of thumb is that if omitting the comma would change the meaning of the sentence, then you should include it. For example, “The red, white, and blue flag” versus “The red white and blue flag.” In the first sentence, the colours are independent (coordinate) descriptors; in the second sentence, they create a single cumulative description.

Position of Adverbs

Adverbs usually come after the verb, but there are some exceptions. For example, in the sentence “He slowly walks to the door,” the adverb “slowly” describes the verb “walks.” In contrast, “He walked quickly to the door” emphasizes how fast he walked.

Adverbs can also be placed at the beginning or end of a sentence for added emphasis. For instance, “Sadly, I have to go” emphasizes the speaker’s regret, while “I have to go sadly” emphasizes how they will leave. Adverbs can thus add depth and meaning to sentences by providing insight into the speaker’s attitude or point of view.

More Detailed Rules for the Position of Adverbs

There are some detailed rules about the position of adverbs in a sentence.

Adverbs that modify verbs usually come after the main verb or after the auxiliary verb. For example:

• He slowly walked across the room.
• He has slowly been walking across the room.

Adverbs that modify adjectives or other adverbs usually come before the word they are modifying. For example:

• That is a very careful driver.
• She drives quite slowly.

There are some exceptions to these general rules. For example, certain types of adverbs (such as those that express frequency) can go in different positions in a sentence without changing the meaning. In addition, some adverbs can be moved to a different position for emphasis. However, in general, these are the basic rules for adverb placement in English sentences.

Frequently Asked Questions on Parts of Speech

The introduction, body, and conclusion are the parts of the speech where the speaker should start with an attention grabber, state the main points, and then finish with a strong conclusion. They add color to language and keep things organized. – The introduction is the part of the speech where the speaker gets the audience’s attention. The speaker can use a quotation, question, story, or statistic. – The body is the meat of the speech. This is where the speaker states the main points. The main points should be clear and concise. The body should also flow smoothly from one point to another. – The conclusion is the last part of the speech. The speaker should restate the main points and end with a strong statement that leaves the audience thinking.

Each part of speech plays a different role in a sentence, and understanding how they work together is essential for clear communication. For example, verbs describe an action, while adjectives modify nouns. If you don’t know the basic types of speech, it can be difficult to construct a grammatically correct sentence. In addition, parts of speech can affect the meaning of a sentence. For instance, using the wrong pronoun can change the subject of a sentence entirely.

“You” is a personal pronoun. Pronouns take the place of a noun phrase or a group of words acting as a noun in a sentence. There are three types of pronouns: personal pronouns, relative pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns. “You” is a personal pronoun. Personal pronouns represent specific people or things in blocks of grammar.

Many people are unsure of the parts of speech for “either” and “or.” The word “either” is always a conjunction, while “or” can be either a conjunction or a disjunctive pronoun, depending on its usage. When used as a conjunction, “or” joins two distinct parts of a sentence together, such as two nouns or two verbs.

Us and we are both personal pronouns, which are words that take the place of a noun or noun phrase. Pronouns allow us to avoid repeating the same noun over and over again. For example, instead of saying “John went to the store. John bought some milk. John drank the milk,” we can use demonstrative pronouns to say “John went to the store. He bought some milk. He drank the milk.”

Near is what is known as a preposition. A preposition is a word that expresses spatial or temporal relationships between its object and the rest of the sentence (e.g., “over,” “under,” “before,” “after”). In the sentence, “The book is near the lamp,” the word “near” functions as a preposition because it expresses the spatial relationship between the book and the lamp.

English is a complex language with many nuances and subtleties. A key part of understanding and using English correctly is knowing the parts of speech. These are the different categories that words can be classified into, based on their function in a sentence.

The word “would” is a verb. It typically expresses past tense actions, but it can also be used to express future actions. For example, “I would go to the store” means that in the past, I went to the store. “I would go to the store” can also mean that in the future, I will go to the store.

The parts of speech that are universally recognized are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. These parts of speech are essential for conveying information about people, places, things, and actions. Together, they provide the building blocks for creating complete sentences. Without them, communication would be impossible. Consequently, parts of speech are universal features of language that play a vital role in human communication.

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What are the parts of speech?

Today's the day for you to learn about this important grammatical concept! But first...let's see what the parts of speech have to do with your clothes.

Imagine that it's laundry day, and you've just finished washing and drying your clothes. You dump the contents of the laundry basket onto your bed, and you begin to organize everything. You fold matching socks together, you create a pile of perfectly folded shirts that you would be proud to show Marie Kondo, and you do the same thing with your pants, jackets, and everything else.

In the same way that we organize our clothes into groups based on each item's function and features, we organize our words into categories based on each word's function and features. We call these categories of words the parts of speech .

Some people categorize words into eight parts of speech, and some people categorize them into nine parts of speech. Neither one is wrong; they're just two ways of looking at things. We'll go over these categories below. Here at English Grammar Revolution, we categorize words into eight groups, but I'll tell you about the ninth one as well.

There's one important thing for you to know before we look at these categories: most words can function as more than one part of speech . They will only do one job at a time, but they can do different things in different sentences. Look at the word love in the following sentences.

My  love  of grammar inspired me to make this website.

Here, love is functioning as a noun. It's the subject of the sentence. 

I  love  you.

Now, love is acting as a  verb ! It's telling us an action.

The only way we can know how to categorize a word is to look at how it's acting within a sentence.

Okay, let's check out the parts of speech!

The 8 Parts of Speech

Nouns  name people, places, things, or ideas. They're important parts of our sentences because they perform  important jobs  (subjects, direct objects, predicate nouns, etc.).

A peacock walked through our yard .

The dog howled during the night , and it woke up our whole family .

Sometimes people get bogged down with this part of speech because there are also many subcategories of nouns. This is similar to the way that we have subcategories for our clothes. You may have a whole drawer full of pants, but you may also have different types of pants that you use for different purposes (workout pants, lounge pants, work pants, etc.). This is similar to the way that we can further categorize nouns into smaller groups. 

Here are a few of the subcategories of nouns:  proper nouns, common nouns ,  collective nouns ,  possessive nouns , and compound nouns.

Tip : Other parts of speech also have subcategories. If you're studying this information for the first time, ignore the subcategories and focus on learning about each broader category.

2. Pronouns

Pronouns  take the place of nouns. When most people hear the word pronoun , they think of words like I, we, me, he,   she, and they . These are indeed all pronouns, but they're a part of a subcategory called personal pronouns. Know that there are other kinds of pronouns out there as well. Here are some examples: myself, his, someone , and who .

Here are a few of the subcategories of pronouns:  reflexive pronouns ,  indefinite pronouns ,  possessive pronouns , and  relative pronouns . 

When we walked across the bridge,  we saw someone who  knows you .

I will fix the dishwasher  myself .

Verbs  show actions or states of being. They are integral elements of  sentences .   

The shuttle will fly into space.

The loving mother comforted  and soothed the baby.

In the Montessori tradition of education, they use a large red circle or ball to symbolize a verb, and they often teach children to think of verbs as a sun providing the energy of a sentence. Isn't that a lovely way to think of verbs?

I know that you're getting tired of hearing about subcategories, but linking verbs, action verbs, and helping verbs are described on the  verb page here . 

Modal verbs  are described on that link, and you can learn even more about  action verbs  and  linking verbs  from those links.

4. Adjectives

Adjectives  describe, or  modify , nouns and pronouns. I like to think of them as adding color to language. It would be hard to describe a beautiful sunset or the way a touching story makes us feel without using adjectives.

The wise, handsome owl had orange eyes.

The caring father rocked the baby.

One helpful strategy for learning about and identifying adjectives is to learn how they are diagrammed . Sentence diagrams are pictures of sentences that help us see how all of the words are grammatically related. Since adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, we diagram them on slanted lines under the nouns/pronouns that they are modifying. 

My green and white book fell.

Book is a noun. It's the subject of this sentence. My, green , and white are all adjectives describing book , so we diagram them on slanted lines underneath book . Isn't that a great way to SEE what adjectives do?

Nine Parts of Speech

When people categorize words into eight parts of speech, they say that articles/determiners ( a, an,   the, this, that, etc. ) are subcategories of adjectives.  

When people categorize words into nine parts of speech, they say that articles/determiners make up their own category and are not a part of the adjective category. 

Adverbs  modify (describe) verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs are similar to adjectives in that they both modify things. 

The extremely cute koala hugged its mom very tightly .

The dog howled loudly .

Sentence diagrams also make it really easy to see what adverbs do. Take a look at this diagram. What do you notice about the way the adverbs are diagrammed? 

James ran very quickly.

Did you notice that the adverbs are diagrammed on slanted lines under the words that they are modifying?

Ran is a verb. Quickly is an adverb telling us more about the verb ran . Very is an adverb telling us more about the adverb quickly .

Doesn't the diagram make it easier to SEE what adverbs do?

6. Prepositions

Prepositions  are probably the most difficult part of speech to explain, but people generally have an easier time understanding them when they look at lots of examples. So...let's start with some examples of commonly used prepositions! 

in, for, of, off, if, until

The frog sat in the flower.

The baby cried for a long time.

I'm so convinced that memorizing some of the prepositions will be helpful to you that  I'll teach you a preposition song . 

Okay, now that we've looked at some examples, let's look at the definition of a preposition. 

Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and some other word in the rest of the sentence. 

Sentence diagrams will come to the rescue again to help us visualize what prepositions do. Think of prepositions as "noun hooks" or "noun bridges." In the diagram below, notice how the preposition down links the noun tree to the rest of the sentence.  

The cat ran down the tree.

Since prepositions always function as "noun hooks," they'll always be accompanied by a noun. The preposition plus its noun is called a prepositional phrase .

If you find a word from the preposition list that's not a part of a prepositional phrase, it's not functioning as a preposition. (You remember that words can function as different parts of speech , right?)

7. Conjunctions

Conjunctions  join things together. They can join words or groups of words (phrases and clauses).

The hummingbird sat   and   waited .

The conjunction and is joining the words sat and waited .

Do you live  near the park or near the hospital ?

The conjunction or is joining the phrases near the park and near the hospital.  

The two conjunctions we just looked at ( and and or ) belong to a subcategory called coordinating conjunctions, but there are other subcategories of conjunctions as well. The other one that we use most often is  subordinating conjunctions . Subordinating conjunctions are a little trickier to learn because they involve a more complicated concept ( dependent adverb clauses ).

For now, just know that all conjunctions, no matter what type they are, connect things together. In fact, let's LOOK at how they do this by looking at a sentence diagram.

Here is a sentence diagram  showing how the coordinating conjunction  and  connects two clauses. 

She cooked, and he cleaned. 

8. Interjections

Interjections show excitement or emotion. 

Wow ! That jump was amazing!

Phew , the baby finally fell asleep.

They are different from the other parts of speech in that they're not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence, and the way that we diagram them reflects that. Look at how we diagram interjections :

Yes ! We won the lottery!

The interjection yes sit sits there on its own line floating above the rest of the sentence. This helps show that it's not grammatically related to the other words in the sentence. 

It's time to review what we covered on this page.

• We can categorize the words that we use into groups based on their functions and features. We call these groups the parts of speech.
• Many words can function as multiple parts of speech. You need to look at each word in the context of a sentence in order to say what part of speech it is. 
• The eight parts of speech are nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. 
• You just learned about all of the parts of speech. Give yourself a high five! 

If you'd like to teach or learn grammar the easy way—with sentence diagrams—check out our  Get Smart Grammar Program .

It starts from the very beginning and teaches you grammar and sentence diagramming in easy, bite-size lessons. 

Hello! I'm Elizabeth O'Brien, and my goal is to get you jazzed about grammar. 

This is original content from  https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/parts-of-speech.html

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The 8 Parts of Speech | Chart, Definition & Examples

A part of speech (also called a word class ) is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence. Understanding the different parts of speech can help you analyze how words function in a sentence and improve your writing.

The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives , adverbs , prepositions , conjunctions , and interjections . Some modern grammars add others, such as determiners and articles .

Many words can function as different parts of speech depending on how they are used. For example, “laugh” can be a noun (e.g., “I like your laugh”) or a verb (e.g., “don’t laugh”).

Table of contents

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Other parts of speech

Interesting language articles, frequently asked questions.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, concept, place, or thing. Nouns can act as the subject of a sentence (i.e., the person or thing performing the action) or as the object of a verb (i.e., the person or thing affected by the action).

There are numerous types of nouns, including common nouns (used to refer to nonspecific people, concepts, places, or things), proper nouns (used to refer to specific people, concepts, places, or things), and collective nouns (used to refer to a group of people or things).

Ella lives in France .

Other types of nouns include countable and uncountable nouns , concrete nouns , abstract nouns , and gerunds .

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A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns typically refer back to an antecedent (a previously mentioned noun) and must demonstrate correct pronoun-antecedent agreement . Like nouns, pronouns can refer to people, places, concepts, and things.

There are numerous types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (used in place of the proper name of a person), demonstrative pronouns (used to refer to specific things and indicate their relative position), and interrogative pronouns (used to introduce questions about things, people, and ownership).

That is a horrible painting!

A verb is a word that describes an action (e.g., “jump”), occurrence (e.g., “become”), or state of being (e.g., “exist”). Verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing. Every complete sentence must contain at least one verb.

Verbs can change form depending on subject (e.g., first person singular), tense (e.g., simple past), mood (e.g., interrogative), and voice (e.g., passive voice ).

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding“-ed” to the end of the word (or “-d” if the word already ends in “e”). Irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed in some other way.

“I’ve already checked twice.”

“I heard that you used to sing .”

Other types of verbs include auxiliary verbs , linking verbs , modal verbs , and phrasal verbs .

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be attributive , appearing before a noun (e.g., “a red hat”), or predicative , appearing after a noun with the use of a linking verb like “to be” (e.g., “the hat is red ”).

Adjectives can also have a comparative function. Comparative adjectives compare two or more things. Superlative adjectives describe something as having the most or least of a specific characteristic.

Other types of adjectives include coordinate adjectives , participial adjectives , and denominal adjectives .

An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or sentence. Adverbs are often formed by adding “-ly” to the end of an adjective (e.g., “slow” becomes “slowly”), although not all adverbs have this ending, and not all words with this ending are adverbs.

There are numerous types of adverbs, including adverbs of manner (used to describe how something occurs), adverbs of degree (used to indicate extent or degree), and adverbs of place (used to describe the location of an action or event).

Talia writes quite quickly.

Other types of adverbs include adverbs of frequency , adverbs of purpose , focusing adverbs , and adverbial phrases .

A preposition is a word (e.g., “at”) or phrase (e.g., “on top of”) used to show the relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used to indicate aspects such as time , place , and direction .

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

A conjunction is a word used to connect different parts of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, or clauses).

The main types of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions (used to connect items that are grammatically equal), subordinating conjunctions (used to introduce a dependent clause), and correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join grammatically equal parts of a sentence).

You can choose what movie we watch because I chose the last time.

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express a feeling, give a command, or greet someone. Interjections are a grammatically independent part of speech, so they can often be excluded from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

Types of interjections include volitive interjections (used to make a demand or request), emotive interjections (used to express a feeling or reaction), cognitive interjections (used to indicate thoughts), and greetings and parting words (used at the beginning and end of a conversation).

Ouch ! I hurt my arm.

I’m, um , not sure.

The traditional classification of English words into eight parts of speech is by no means the only one or the objective truth. Grammarians have often divided them into more or fewer classes. Other commonly mentioned parts of speech include determiners and articles.

• Determiners

A determiner is a word that describes a noun by indicating quantity, possession, or relative position.

Common types of determiners include demonstrative determiners (used to indicate the relative position of a noun), possessive determiners (used to describe ownership), and quantifiers (used to indicate the quantity of a noun).

My brother is selling his old car.

Other types of determiners include distributive determiners , determiners of difference , and numbers .

An article is a word that modifies a noun by indicating whether it is specific or general.

• The definite article the is used to refer to a specific version of a noun. The can be used with all countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., “the door,” “the energy,” “the mountains”).
• The indefinite articles a and an refer to general or unspecific nouns. The indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns (e.g., “a poster,” “an engine”).

There’s a concert this weekend.

If you want to know more about nouns , pronouns , verbs , and other parts of speech, make sure to check out some of our language articles with explanations and examples.

Nouns & pronouns

• Common nouns
• Proper nouns
• Collective nouns
• Personal pronouns
• Uncountable and countable nouns
• Verb tenses
• Phrasal verbs
• Types of verbs
• Active vs passive voice
• Subject-verb agreement

A is an indefinite article (along with an ). While articles can be classed as their own part of speech, they’re also considered a type of determiner .

The indefinite articles are used to introduce nonspecific countable nouns (e.g., “a dog,” “an island”).

In is primarily classed as a preposition, but it can be classed as various other parts of speech, depending on how it is used:

• Preposition (e.g., “ in the field”)
• Noun (e.g., “I have an in with that company”)
• Adjective (e.g., “Tim is part of the in crowd”)
• Adverb (e.g., “Will you be in this evening?”)

As a part of speech, and is classed as a conjunction . Specifically, it’s a coordinating conjunction .

And can be used to connect grammatically equal parts of a sentence, such as two nouns (e.g., “a cup and plate”), or two adjectives (e.g., “strong and smart”). And can also be used to connect phrases and clauses.

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Parts of Speech for Near

Gramatical hierarchy.

• Preposition
• Intransitive verb

Grammatically "Near" is a adjective, to be more precise even a intransitive verb. But also it is used as a adverb, specifically a intransitive verb. Part of speech depends on meaning of this word.

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• Knowledge Base
• Parts of speech

The 8 Parts of Speech | Definition & Examples

A part of speech (also called a word class ) is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence. Understanding the different parts of speech can help you analyse how words function in a sentence and improve your writing.

The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives , adverbs , prepositions , conjunctions , and interjections . Some modern grammars add others, such as determiners and articles .

Many words can function as different parts of speech depending on how they are used. For example, ‘laugh’ can be a noun (e.g., ‘I like your laugh’) or a verb (e.g., ‘don’t laugh’).

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Table of contents

Prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, other parts of speech, frequently asked questions.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, concept, place, or thing. Nouns can act as the subject of a sentence (i.e., the person or thing performing the action) or as the object of a verb (i.e., the person or thing affected by the action).

There are numerous types of nouns, including common nouns (used to refer to nonspecific people, concepts, places, or things), proper nouns (used to refer to specific people, concepts, places, or things), and collective nouns (used to refer to a group of people or things).

Ella lives in France .

Other types of nouns include countable and uncountable nouns , concrete nouns , abstract nouns , and gerunds .

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A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns typically refer back to an antecedent (a previously mentioned noun) and must demonstrate correct pronoun-antecedent agreement . Like nouns, pronouns can refer to people, places, concepts, and things.

There are numerous types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (used in place of the proper name of a person), demonstrative pronouns (used to refer to specific things and indicate their relative position), and interrogative pronouns (used to introduce questions about things, people, and ownership).

That is a horrible painting!

A verb is a word that describes an action (e.g., ‘jump’), occurrence (e.g., ‘become’), or state of being (e.g., ‘exist’). Verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing. Every complete sentence must contain at least one verb.

Verbs can change form depending on subject (e.g., first person singular), tense (e.g., past simple ), mood (e.g., interrogative), and voice (e.g., passive voice ).

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding’-ed’ to the end of the word (or ‘-d’ if the word already ends in ‘e’). Irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed in some other way.

‘I’ve already checked twice’.

‘I heard that you used to sing ‘.

Other types of verbs include auxiliary verbs , linking verbs , modal verbs , and phrasal verbs .

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be attributive , appearing before a noun (e.g., ‘a red hat’), or predicative , appearing after a noun with the use of a linking verb like ‘to be’ (e.g., ‘the hat is red ‘).

Adjectives can also have a comparative function. Comparative adjectives compare two or more things. Superlative adjectives describe something as having the most or least of a specific characteristic.

Other types of adjectives include coordinate adjectives , participial adjectives , and denominal adjectives .

An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or sentence. Adverbs are often formed by adding ‘-ly’ to the end of an adjective (e.g., ‘slow’ becomes ‘slowly’), although not all adverbs have this ending, and not all words with this ending are adverbs.

There are numerous types of adverbs, including adverbs of manner (used to describe how something occurs), adverbs of degree (used to indicate extent or degree), and adverbs of place (used to describe the location of an action or event).

Talia writes quite quickly.

Other types of adverbs include adverbs of frequency , adverbs of purpose , focusing adverbs , and adverbial phrases .

A preposition is a word (e.g., ‘at’) or phrase (e.g., ‘on top of’) used to show the relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used to indicate aspects such as time , place , and direction .

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

A conjunction is a word used to connect different parts of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, or clauses).

The main types of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions (used to connect items that are grammatically equal), subordinating conjunctions (used to introduce a dependent clause), and correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join grammatically equal parts of a sentence).

You can choose what movie we watch because I chose the last time.

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express a feeling, give a command, or greet someone. Interjections are a grammatically independent part of speech, so they can often be excluded from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

Types of interjections include volitive interjections (used to make a demand or request), emotive interjections (used to express a feeling or reaction), cognitive interjections (used to indicate thoughts), and greetings and parting words (used at the beginning and end of a conversation).

Ouch ! I hurt my arm.

I’m, um , not sure.

The traditional classification of English words into eight parts of speech is by no means the only one or the objective truth. Grammarians have often divided them into more or fewer classes. Other commonly mentioned parts of speech include determiners and articles.

Determiners

A determiner is a word that describes a noun by indicating quantity, possession, or relative position.

Common types of determiners include demonstrative determiners (used to indicate the relative position of a noun), possessive determiners (used to describe ownership), and quantifiers (used to indicate the quantity of a noun).

My brother is selling his old car.

Other types of determiners include distributive determiners , determiners of difference , and numbers .

An article is a word that modifies a noun by indicating whether it is specific or general.

• The definite article the is used to refer to a specific version of a noun. The can be used with all countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., ‘the door’, ‘the energy’, ‘the mountains’).
• The indefinite articles a and an refer to general or unspecific nouns. The indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns (e.g., ‘a poster’, ‘an engine’).

There’s a concert this weekend.

A is an indefinite article (along with an ). While articles can be classed as their own part of speech, they’re also considered a type of determiner .

The indefinite articles are used to introduce nonspecific countable nouns (e.g., ‘a dog’, ‘an island’).

In is primarily classed as a preposition, but it can be classed as various other parts of speech, depending on how it is used:

• Preposition (e.g., ‘ in the field’)
• Noun (e.g., ‘I have an in with that company’)
• Adjective (e.g., ‘Tim is part of the in crowd’)
• Adverb (e.g., ‘Will you be in this evening?’)

As a part of speech, and is classed as a conjunction . Specifically, it’s a coordinating conjunction .

And can be used to connect grammatically equal parts of a sentence, such as two nouns (e.g., ‘a cup and plate’), or two adjectives (e.g., ‘strong and smart’). And can also be used to connect phrases and clauses.

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The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples

• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A part of speech is a term used in traditional grammar for one of the nine main categories into which words are classified according to their functions in sentences, such as nouns or verbs. Also known as word classes, these are the building blocks of grammar.

Every sentence you write or speak in English includes words that fall into some of the nine parts of speech. These include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections. (Some sources include only eight parts of speech and leave interjections in their own category.)

Parts of Speech

• Word types can be divided into nine parts of speech:
• prepositions
• conjunctions
• articles/determiners
• interjections
• Some words can be considered more than one part of speech, depending on context and usage.
• Interjections can form complete sentences on their own.

Learning the names of the parts of speech probably won't make you witty, healthy, wealthy, or wise. In fact, learning just the names of the parts of speech won't even make you a better writer. However, you will gain a basic understanding of sentence structure  and the  English language by familiarizing yourself with these labels.

Open and Closed Word Classes

The parts of speech are commonly divided into  open classes  (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) and  closed classes  (pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles/determiners, and interjections). Open classes can be altered and added to as language develops, and closed classes are pretty much set in stone. For example, new nouns are created every day, but conjunctions never change.

In contemporary linguistics , parts of speech are generally referred to as word classes or syntactic categories. The main difference is that word classes are classified according to more strict linguistic criteria. Within word classes, there is the lexical, or open class, and the function, or closed class.

The 9 Parts of Speech

Read about each part of speech below, and practice identifying each.

Nouns are a person, place, thing, or idea. They can take on a myriad of roles in a sentence, from the subject of it all to the object of an action. They are capitalized when they're the official name of something or someone, and they're called proper nouns in these cases. Examples: pirate, Caribbean, ship, freedom, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Pronouns stand in for nouns in a sentence . They are more generic versions of nouns that refer only to people. Examples:​  I, you, he, she, it, ours, them, who, which, anybody, ourselves.

Verbs are action words that tell what happens in a sentence. They can also show a sentence subject's state of being ( is , was ). Verbs change form based on tense (present, past) and count distinction (singular or plural). Examples:  sing, dance, believes, seemed, finish, eat, drink, be, became.

Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They specify which one, how much, what kind, and more. Adjectives allow readers and listeners to use their senses to imagine something more clearly. Examples:  hot, lazy, funny, unique, bright, beautiful, poor, smooth.

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs. They specify when, where, how, and why something happened and to what extent or how often. Many adjectives can be turned into adjectives by adding the suffix - ly . Examples:  softly, quickly, lazily, often, only, hopefully, sometimes.

Preposition

Prepositions  show spatial, temporal, and role relations between a noun or pronoun and the other words in a sentence. They come at the start of a prepositional phrase , which contains a preposition and its object. Examples:  up, over, against, by, for, into, close to, out of, apart from.

Conjunction

Conjunctions join words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence. There are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative conjunctions. Examples:  and, but, or, so, yet.

Articles and Determiners

Articles and determiners function like adjectives by modifying nouns, but they are different than adjectives in that they are necessary for a sentence to have proper syntax. Articles and determiners specify and identify nouns, and there are indefinite and definite articles. Examples of articles:  a, an, the ; examples of determiners:  these, that, those, enough, much, few, which, what.

Some traditional grammars have treated articles  as a distinct part of speech. Modern grammars, however, more often include articles in the category of determiners , which identify or quantify a noun. Even though they modify nouns like adjectives, articles are different in that they are essential to the proper syntax of a sentence, just as determiners are necessary to convey the meaning of a sentence, while adjectives are optional.

Interjection

Interjections are expressions that can stand on their own or be contained within sentences. These words and phrases often carry strong emotions and convey reactions. Examples:  ah, whoops, ouch, yabba dabba do!

How to Determine the Part of Speech

Only interjections ( Hooray! ) have a habit of standing alone; every other part of speech must be contained within a sentence and some are even required in sentences (nouns and verbs). Other parts of speech come in many varieties and may appear just about anywhere in a sentence.

To know for sure what part of speech a word falls into, look not only at the word itself but also at its meaning, position, and use in a sentence.

For example, in the first sentence below,  work  functions as a noun; in the second sentence, a verb; and in the third sentence, an adjective:

• Bosco showed up for  work  two hours late.
• The noun  work  is the thing Bosco shows up for.
• He will have to  work  until midnight.
• The verb  work  is the action he must perform.
• His  work  permit expires next month.
• The  attributive noun  (or converted adjective) work  modifies the noun  permit .

Learning the names and uses of the basic parts of speech is just one way to understand how sentences are constructed.

Dissecting Basic Sentences

To form a basic complete sentence, you only need two elements: a noun (or pronoun standing in for a noun) and a verb. The noun acts as a subject, and the verb, by telling what action the subject is taking, acts as the predicate. 

In the short sentence above,  birds  is the noun and  fly  is the verb. The sentence makes sense and gets the point across.

You can have a sentence with just one word without breaking any sentence formation rules. The short sentence below is complete because it's a verb command with an understood "you" noun.

Here, the pronoun, standing in for a noun, is implied and acts as the subject. The sentence is really saying, "(You) go!"

Constructing More Complex Sentences

Use more parts of speech to add additional information about what's happening in a sentence to make it more complex. Take the first sentence from above, for example, and incorporate more information about how and why birds fly.

• Birds fly when migrating before winter.

Birds and fly remain the noun and the verb, but now there is more description. 

When  is an adverb that modifies the verb fly.  The word before  is a little tricky because it can be either a conjunction, preposition, or adverb depending on the context. In this case, it's a preposition because it's followed by a noun. This preposition begins an adverbial phrase of time ( before winter ) that answers the question of when the birds migrate . Before is not a conjunction because it does not connect two clauses.

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• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of near in English

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• approach A stranger approached and asked to have her picture taken with him.
• come/get closer The swarm of bees was coming closer and closer.
• come/get nearer As she came nearer, he got more flustered.
• draw closer/nearer The holidays are drawing closer.
• come up A stranger came up to me and shook my hand.
• walk, go, etc. up I went up to him and asked him who he was.
• almost We need to hurry up - it's almost time to go.
• nearly It's nearly midnight.
• near He was near tears (= almost crying) .
• about Are you about ready to leave?
• all but The concert was all but over by the time we arrived.
• well-nigh It is well-nigh impossible to get a person on the phone these days.
• Several small streams feed into the river near here.
• If we sit near the front of the bus , we'll have a better view .
• The car was parked near a small group of trees .
• Concentrations of troops near the border look set to invade within the next few days .
• He stood near the front to get a better view .
• a few steps idiom
• a hair's breadth idiom
• a stone's throw idiom
• anywhere near idiom
• approachable
• float around
• hand to hand idiom
• proximately
• round the corner idiom

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

• This curtain ring is the nearest thing I have to a wedding ring .
• We only invited our near relations to the wedding .
• I directed her to the nearest library .
• The nearest shop is five miles away.
• What's the nearest equivalent to silk ?

Related word

• a hop, skip, and a jump idiom
• as good as idiom
• as much as idiom
• be on the way to something idiom
• more or less idiom
• that was close! idiom
• to the brink of something
• to/for all intents and purposes idiom
• up to (doing) something idiom

near | Intermediate English

Examples of near, translations of near.

Get a quick, free translation!

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used for saying that you accept that you are wrong or that something is your fault

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Parts of Speech – Word Classes

What is an adverb? What is a preposition? What is a…?

These are questions that students sometimes ask when a teacher is explaining a grammar point.

The different parts of speech (or all of those “grammar words” as some students call them) are important to know when learning English, or any other language.

In order to help solve doubts about what the different parts of speech are and what functions they have, I created a summary chart and a video explaining the main differences between each one.

Parts of Speech in English – ESL Video

In our ESL video, we look at the eight parts of speech in traditional English grammar. These parts of speech, sometimes called word classes, include: Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, Verbs, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections .

We give an explanation of how each word class is used and have included example sentences. For some of the parts of speech we also look at sub-classes such as subject pronouns and possessive pronouns, the different types of adverbs such as adverbs of manner, adverbs of frequency, etc.

In the final section we talk about how some teachers sometimes include a 9th part of speech which can be either Articles or Determiners. Again, we include examples.

This ESL video to ideal to give students a general overview of the different parts of speech in English.

Summary Chart

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What part of speech is the word near?

Depending on the use, the word near can serve as an adverb, adjective, preposition, or verb. Adverb: Come near. Adjective: in the near future Preposition: near the time Verb. The boat neared the docks.

Nears is a verb.

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Add your answer:

What part of speech is the word about?

The word about can be a preposition, an adverb and an adjective.Preposition: Near; not farAdverb: Nearly; approximatelyAdjective: Moving around

What part speech of near?

"Near" is an adjective.

What part of speech is the word my-?

The part of speech that the word my is used as is an adjective.

What is the part of speech near?

What often changes a word's part of speech.

A suffix changes a word's part of speech. For example, the word 'happy' is an adjective. But when you add a suffix, which is an ending, it can change the part of speech. Happily is an adverb. Happiness is a noun.

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• English Grammar
• Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech - Definition, 8 Types and Examples

In the English language , every word is called a part of speech. The role a word plays in a sentence denotes what part of speech it belongs to. Explore the definition of parts of speech, the different parts of speech and examples in this article.

Table of Contents

Parts of speech definition, different parts of speech with examples.

• Sentences Examples for the 8 Parts of Speech

A Small Exercise to Check Your Understanding of Parts of Speech

Frequently asked questions on parts of speech, what is a part of speech.

Parts of speech are among the first grammar topics we learn when we are in school or when we start our English language learning process. Parts of speech can be defined as words that perform different roles in a sentence. Some parts of speech can perform the functions of other parts of speech too.

• The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary defines parts of speech as “one of the classes into which words are divided according to their grammar, such as noun, verb, adjective, etc.”
• The Cambridge Dictionary also gives a similar definition – “One of the grammatical groups into which words are divided, such as noun, verb, and adjective”.

Parts of speech include nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.

8 Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples:

1. Nouns are words that are used to name people, places, animals, ideas and things. Nouns can be classified into two main categories: Common nouns and Proper nouns . Common nouns are generic like ball, car, stick, etc., and proper nouns are more specific like Charles, The White House, The Sun, etc.

Examples of nouns used in sentences:

• She bought a pair of shoes . (thing)
• I have a pet. (animal)
• Is this your book ? (object)
• Many people have a fear of darkness . (ideas/abstract nouns)
• He is my brother . (person)
• This is my school . (place)

Also, explore Singular Nouns and Plural Nouns .

2. Pronouns are words that are used to substitute a noun in a sentence. There are different types of pronouns. Some of them are reflexive pronouns, possessive pronouns , relative pronouns and indefinite pronouns . I, he, she, it, them, his, yours, anyone, nobody, who, etc., are some of the pronouns.

Examples of pronouns used in sentences:

• I reached home at six in the evening. (1st person singular pronoun)
• Did someone see a red bag on the counter? (Indefinite pronoun)
• Is this the boy who won the first prize? (Relative pronoun)
• That is my mom. (Possessive pronoun)
• I hurt myself yesterday when we were playing cricket. (Reflexive pronoun)

3. Verbs are words that denote an action that is being performed by the noun or the subject in a sentence. They are also called action words. Some examples of verbs are read, sit, run, pick, garnish, come, pitch, etc.

Examples of verbs used in sentences:

• She plays cricket every day.
• Darshana and Arul are going to the movies.
• My friends visited me last week.
• Did you have your breakfast?
• My name is Meenakshi Kishore.

4. Adverbs are words that are used to provide more information about verbs, adjectives and other adverbs used in a sentence. There are five main types of adverbs namely, adverbs of manner , adverbs of degree , adverbs of frequency , adverbs of time and adverbs of place . Some examples of adverbs are today, quickly, randomly, early, 10 a.m. etc.

Examples of adverbs used in sentences:

• Did you come here to buy an umbrella? (Adverb of place)
• I did not go to school yesterday as I was sick. (Adverb of time)
• Savio reads the newspaper everyday . (Adverb of frequency)
• Can you please come quickly ? (Adverb of manner)
• Tony was so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open during the meeting. (Adverb of degree)

5. Adjectives are words that are used to describe or provide more information about the noun or the subject in a sentence. Some examples of adjectives include good, ugly, quick, beautiful, late, etc.

Examples of adjectives used in sentences:

• The place we visited yesterday was serene .
• Did you see how big that dog was?
• The weather is pleasant today.
• The red dress you wore on your birthday was lovely.
• My brother had only one chapati for breakfast.

6. Prepositions are words that are used to link one part of the sentence to another. Prepositions show the position of the object or subject in a sentence. Some examples of prepositions are in, out, besides, in front of, below, opposite, etc.

Examples of prepositions used in sentences:

• The teacher asked the students to draw lines on the paper so that they could write in straight lines.
• The child hid his birthday presents under his bed.
• Mom asked me to go to the store near my school.
• The thieves jumped over the wall and escaped before we could reach home.

7. Conjunctions are a part of speech that is used to connect two different parts of a sentence, phrases and clauses . Some examples of conjunctions are and, or, for, yet, although, because, not only, etc.

Examples of conjunctions used in sentences:

• Meera and Jasmine had come to my birthday party.
• Jane did not go to work as she was sick.
• Unless you work hard, you cannot score good marks.
• I have not finished my project,  yet I went out with my friends.

8. Interjections are words that are used to convey strong emotions or feelings. Some examples of interjections are oh, wow, alas, yippee, etc. It is always followed by an exclamation mark.

Examples of interjections used in sentences:

• Wow ! What a wonderful work of art.
• Alas ! That is really sad.
• Yippee ! We won the match.

Sentence Examples for the 8 Parts of Speech

• Noun – Tom lives in New York .
• Pronoun – Did she find the book she was looking for?
• Verb – I reached home.
• Adverb – The tea is too hot.
• Adjective – The movie was amazing .
• Preposition – The candle was kept under the table.
• Conjunction – I was at home all day, but I am feeling very tired.
• Interjection – Oh ! I forgot to turn off the stove.

Let us find out if you have understood the different parts of speech and their functions. Try identifying which part of speech the highlighted words belong to.

• My brother came home  late .
• I am a good girl.
• This is the book I  was looking for.
• Whoa ! This is amazing .
• The climate  in  Kodaikanal is very pleasant.
• Can you please pick up Dan and me on  your way home?

Now, let us see if you got it right. Check your answers.

• My – Pronoun, Home – Noun, Late – Adverb
• Am – Verb, Good – Adjective
• I – Pronoun, Was looking – Verb
• Whoa – Interjection, Amazing – Adjective
• Climate – Noun, In – Preposition, Kodaikanal – Noun, Very – Adverb
• And – Conjunction, On – Preposition, Your – Pronoun

What are parts of speech?

The term ‘parts of speech’ refers to words that perform different functions in a sentence  in order to give the sentence a proper meaning and structure.

How many parts of speech are there?

There are 8 parts of speech in total.

What are the 8 parts of speech?

Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections are the 8 parts of speech.

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This tool allows you to find the grammatical word type of almost any word.

• near can be used as a verb in the sense of "To decrease the distance to something."
• near can be used as a preposition in the sense of "close to, in close proximity to." or "close to in time."
• near can be used as a adjective in the sense of "physically close." or "approaching" or "approximate, almost"
• near can be used as a adverb in the sense of "Having a small intervening distance with regard to something." or "nearly"

Related Searches

What type of word is ~term~ .

Unfortunately, with the current database that runs this site, I don't have data about which senses of ~term~ are used most commonly. I've got ideas about how to fix this but will need to find a source of "sense" frequencies. Hopefully there's enough info above to help you understand the part of speech of ~term~ , and guess at its most common usage.

For those interested in a little info about this site: it's a side project that I developed while working on Describing Words and Related Words . Both of those projects are based around words, but have much grander goals. I had an idea for a website that simply explains the word types of the words that you search for - just like a dictionary, but focussed on the part of speech of the words. And since I already had a lot of the infrastructure in place from the other two sites, I figured it wouldn't be too much more work to get this up and running.

The dictionary is based on the amazing Wiktionary project by wikimedia . I initially started with WordNet , but then realised that it was missing many types of words/lemma (determiners, pronouns, abbreviations, and many more). This caused me to investigate the 1913 edition of Websters Dictionary - which is now in the public domain. However, after a day's work wrangling it into a database I realised that there were far too many errors (especially with the part-of-speech tagging) for it to be viable for Word Type.

Finally, I went back to Wiktionary - which I already knew about, but had been avoiding because it's not properly structured for parsing. That's when I stumbled across the UBY project - an amazing project which needs more recognition. The researchers have parsed the whole of Wiktionary and other sources, and compiled everything into a single unified resource. I simply extracted the Wiktionary entries and threw them into this interface! So it took a little more work than expected, but I'm happy I kept at it after the first couple of blunders.

Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source code that was used in this project: the UBY project (mentioned above), @mongodb and express.js .

Currently, this is based on a version of wiktionary which is a few years old. I plan to update it to a newer version soon and that update should bring in a bunch of new word senses for many words (or more accurately, lemma).

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part of speech

noun phrase

Definition of part of speech, examples of part of speech in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'part of speech.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1517, in the meaning defined above

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Cite this Entry

“Part of speech.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/part%20of%20speech. Accessed 13 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of part of speech, more from merriam-webster on part of speech.

Nglish: Translation of part of speech for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about part of speech

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