Parts of Speech

Links and learning materials covering parts of speech in English

Parts of speech is the term used for the basic categories of words in a language. In English, the eight primary parts of speech are nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Other subcategories include articles and determiners.

Parts of Speech: Brief Definitions

The terms defined below are the eight primary parts of speech, along with articles. For a more comprehensive list of grammar terms, see the Grammar and Usage main page.

adjective: a word that modifies a noun or pronoun

adverb: a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb

article: a type of adjective that shows if a noun is specific or non-specific (aanthe)

conjunction: a word or phrase that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences

interjection: a word or phrase that expresses an emotion or reaction

noun: a word that names something (person, place, thing, idea, or action)

preposition: a word that connects a noun or pronoun to another word by showing direction, location, position, or relation

pronoun: a word that stands for or refers to a noun

verb: a word that shows an action or state of being

Parts of Speech Pages

For detailed information about each part of speech, visit the pages below. More will be added in the near future.

Prepositions

Pronouns

Verbs

OWL Resources

Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) has many helpful resources covering parts of speech. Exercises can be found on this page.

Parts of Speech Exercises

The links below are browser-based grammar exercises and quizzes covering parts of speech. More will be added in the near future.

Articles Exercise 1: Indefinite Articles

Articles Exercise 2: Indefinite Articles

Articles Exercise 3: Indefinite Articles

Pronoun Categorization Exercise 1

Count Nouns vs Noncount Nouns Quiz 1

Gerunds and Infinitives Exercise 1