English · Lesson · Class 3–7

Parts of Speech: the four jobs words do

Q: How many parts of speech are there?

English is usually described as having eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. This lesson focuses on the four you use constantly: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

Q: Is “quickly” an adjective or an adverb?

An adverb. Words like quickly, slowly, loudly and yesterday answer HOW, WHEN or WHERE an action happens, so they are adverbs. Adjectives describe nouns — fast car, slow tortoise.

Q: How can I quickly identify a verb?

Ask yourself: what is happening in the sentence? If the sentence describes an action (runs, writes, jumps) or a state (is, seems, feels), that word is the verb. Every complete English sentence needs at least one verb.

Every English word has a job in the sentence. The ones you meet constantly are: nouns name things, verbs show actions or states, adjectives describe nouns, and adverbs describe verbs (how, when, where). Learn these four and grammar starts to make sense everywhere.

1. Nouns — naming words

Nouns name people, places, things and ideas. Kathmandu, teacher, river, honesty, football.

“Sita opened the window and looked at the rain.” → Sita (proper noun — specific name), window and rain (common nouns — general things).

2. Verbs — action and state words

Verbs tell what happens or what is. runs, writes, eats, is, seems, feels.

“The baby sleeps.” → action verb.

“The baby is happy.” → state verb (being). Both are verbs — every complete sentence needs one.

3. Adjectives — describe nouns

Adjectives answer which? or what kind? — they sit next to a noun and paint a picture. tall, blue, delicious, brave, five.

“The tall boy wore a red shirt and held five balloons.” → tall (describes boy), red (shirt), five (balloons).

4. Adverbs — describe verbs

Adverbs answer how? when? where? They usually sit near the verb. quickly, loudly, tomorrow, here, very, often.

“She sings beautifully.” → how she sings.

“He will arrive soon.” → when he will arrive. Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all (very, soon, fast, well).

The pocket trick

Ask these questions, one by one

Noun? What is this about? → “The dog barked.” (dog)
Verb? What is happening / what is it? → barked → happening.
Adjective? Which one / what kind? → “the brown dog” (brown describes dog).
Adverb? How / when / where? → “barked loudly”.

Try it yourself

1. In “The old man walks slowly”, which word is an adjective?

2. Which word is the verb? “The children played in the muddy park.”

3. “She answered the question correctly.” — “correctly” is a(n)…

Frequently asked questions

How many parts of speech are there?

Eight in all — nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. The four above do most of the daily work.

Is “quickly” an adjective or an adverb?

An adverb — it tells how something is done. Adjectives describe nouns (a fast car); adverbs describe verbs (she drives fast).

How can I quickly identify a verb?

Ask: what is happening, or what is it? The word answering that question is the verb.