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

• What Is a Part of Speech?
  • 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.

Parts of Speech Definition

• 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”.

Different Parts of Speech with Examples

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:

1. 1. • 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:

1. 1. • 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:

1. 1. • 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:

1. 1. • 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:

1. 1. • 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:

1. 1. • 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:

1. 1. • 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

1. 1. 1. Noun – Tom lives in New York.
      2. Pronoun – Did she find the book she was looking for?
      3. Verb – I reached home.
      4. Adverb – The tea is too hot.
      5. Adjective – The movie was amazing.
      6. Preposition – The candle was kept under the table.
      7. Conjunction – I was at home all day, but I am feeling very tired.
      8. Interjection – Oh! I forgot to turn off the stove.

A Small Exercise to Check Your Understanding of Parts of Speech

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.

1. 1. 1. My brother came home late.
      2. I am a good girl.
      3. This is the book I was looking for.
      4. Whoa! This is amazing.
      5. The climate in Kodaikanal is very pleasant.
      6. Can you please pick up Dan and me on your way home?

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

1. 1. 1. My – Pronoun, Home – Noun, Late – Adverb
      2. Am – Verb, Good – Adjective
      3. I – Pronoun, Was looking – Verb
      4. Whoa – Interjection, Amazing – Adjective
      5. Climate – Noun, In – Preposition, Kodaikanal – Noun, Very – Adverb
      6. And – Conjunction, On – Preposition, Your – Pronoun

Frequently Asked Questions on Parts of Speech

Q1

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.

Q2

How many parts of speech are there?

There are 8 parts of speech in total.

Q3

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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Active and Passive Voice Rules for Competitive Exams

Active & Passive Voice

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Active and Passive voice is a particularly essential grammatical structure used in the English language. Understanding the rules governing their usage is crucial for effective communication. In this article, we will delve into the fundamentals of the active and passive voice. we will also explore the usage, rules, and conversion of Active and Passive voices. The English Language is utterly essential for all competitive exams, and you must understand the significance of the Voice section if you are preparing for one

Voice of a verb

The voice of a verb is the form of the verb that indicates whether the subject of the sentence is performing the action or the subject is receiving the action. In the English Language, verbs can be classified into two types of voices – Active voice and Passive voice.

There are Two Basic Kinds of Voice in English Grammar :

1. Active Voice
2. Passive Voice

What is Active Voice?

• When the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed by the verb then it is Active Voice.
• For Example: “Nisha ate the apple”. Here “Nisha” is the subject performing the action”ate”.

What is Passive Voice?

• When the subject of the sentence receives the action expressed by the verb or is acted upon then it is Passive Voice.
• For Example: “The apple was eaten by Nisha.” Here, ” The apple” is the subject receiving the action “was eaten”.

“Active voice defines that the subject is doing the action and the passive voice refers to that the subject is being acted upon.”

Active and Passive Voice Rules Chart

Tense	Active voice	Passive voice
Present Indefinite	Does/Do	Is/Are/Am
Present Continuous	Is/Am/Are	Is/Am/Are + Being
Present Perfect	Has / Have	Has been / Have been
Present Perfect Continuous	Has / Have been	Has / Have been + Being
Past Indefinite	Did	Was / Were
Past Continuous	was/were	was/ were + being
Past Perfect	had	had been
Past Perfect Continuous	had been	had been + being
Future Indefinite	Will	Will be
Future Continuous	Will be	Will be + Being
Future Perfect	Will have	Will have been
Future Perfect Continuous	Will have been	Will have been + being

Active And Passive Voice Rules For Conversion :

• The object of the active verb becomes the Subject of the passive verb.
• The active sentence’s subject becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped). The finite form of the verb is changed to past participle or V3 form.
• The preposition “by” is used before the passive object.

Active and Passive Voice Rules For All Tenses:

1. Simple Present/ Past/ Future Tense

• Active: Subject + V1/ V2/ will V1/ shall V1 + object…
• Passive: Object + Is/are/am/was/were/will be/shall be + verb (III forms) + by + subject…

2. Present/ Past Continuous Tense

• Active: Subject + Is/are/am/was/were + verb (ing) + object…
• Passive: Object + Is/are/am/was/were + being + verb (III from) + by + subject… 

3. Present/ Past/ Future Perfect Tense

• Active: Subject + has/have/had/shall have/will have + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
• Passive: Object + has/have/had/shall have/will have + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…

. Interrogative Sentences

Present and Past Tense:

• Structure 1:
  Active: Do/does/did + subject + V1 + object….?
  Passive: Is/are/am/was/were + object + V3 + by + subject….?
• Structure 2:
  Active: Is/are/a/was/were + subject + verb (ing) + object…?
  Passive: Is/are/am/was/were + object + being + verb (III from) + by + subject…?
• Structure 3:
  Active: Has/have/had + subject + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
  Passive: Has/have/had + object + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…
• Structure 4:
  Active: Who + verb (s or es)/verb (IInd form) + object…?
  Passive: By whom + is/are/am/was/were + object + verb (IIIrd form)?
• Structure 5:
  Active: Wh-question word + do/does/did + subject + verb (I form) + object…?
  Passive: Wh-question word + Is/are/am/was/were + object + verb (III from) + by + subject…? 

Future Tense:

• Structure 1:
  Active: Shall/ will + subject + verb (Ist form) + object….?
  Passive: Is/are/am Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject….?
• Structure 2:
  Active: Shall/ will + subject + have + verb (IIIrd form) + object…
  Passive: Shall/ will + object + have + been + verb (IIIrd form) + by + subject…
• Structure 3:
  Active: Who + Shall/ will + V1 + object…?
  Passive: By whom + Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd form)?
• Structure 4:
  Active: Wh-question word + Shall/ will + subject + verb (Ist form) + object…?
  Passive: Wh-question word + Shall/ will + object + be + verb (IIIrd from) + by + subject…? 

		5. Imperative Sentences

• Positive
• Active: Verb + object
  Passive: (i) Let + object + be + past participle
  (ii) You are requested/ordered/suggested + to + verb (Ist form) + object
• Negative
• Active: Do + not + Verb + Object
  Passive: (i) Let + object + not + be + past participle
  (ii) You are requested/ordered/suggested + not + to + verb (Ist form) + object 

6. “To be” Sentences

• Active: Subject + Is/Are/Am/Was/Were/Has/Have/Had + To + Verb (Ist form) + Object..
• Passive: Object + Is/Are/Am/Was/Were/Has/Have/Had + To + Be + Verb (III form) + By + Subject.

7. Verb + Preposition + Object

• Active: Subject + verb + preposition + object…
• Passive: Object + to be + verb (III form) + preposition + by + subject…
   

NOTE: While converting such sentences into passive voices, the verb is always followed by the particular preposition.

8. Modal Verbs

• Active: Subject + modal verb + (V1) + object…
• Passive: Object + modal verb + be + V3 + by + subject… 

9. Di-Transitive Verbs

• Some verbs take two objects, for example:
• Active: Samdish gave the beggar an old t-shirt.
  Passive: (i) An old t-shirt was given to the beggar by Samdish.
  (ii) The beggar was given an old t-shirt by Samdish.

10. Sentences with the Intransitive Verb:

Such sentences are known as Mid-voice or Quasi-Passive voice. They seem in active voice, but their meaning is in passive voice, and they have intransitive verbs, like without a direct object.

• Active: Honey tastes sweet.
• Passive: Honey is sweet when it is tasted.

TENSE	Active Voice	Passive Voice
Simple present	I write a letter.	A letter is written by me.
Present continuous	I am writing a letter.	A letter is being written by me.
Present perfect	I have written a letter.	A letter has been written by me.
Present perfect continuous	I have been writing a letter.	A letter has been being written by me.
Simple past	I wrote a letter.	A letter was written by me.
Past continuous	I was writing a letter.	A letter was being written by me.
Past parfect	I had written a letter.	A letter had been written by me.
Past perfect continuous	I had been writing a letter.	A letter had been being written by me.
Simple future	I will write a letter.	A letter will be written by me.
Future continuous	I will be writing a letter.	A letter will be being written by me.
Future Parfect	I will have written a letter.	A letter will have been written by me.
Future Parfect Continuous	I will have been writing a letter.	A letter will have been being written by me.

FAQs on Active and Passive Voice Rules

Q1. What are examples of Active Passive Voice?

Active – I gave him a book for his Birthday
Passive- He was given a book for his Birthday.
Active – The Hunter killed the Lion
Passive- The Lion was killed by Hunter.

Q2. When can we use Passive Voice?

When we want to frame a sentence in such a condition where the main subject, who is doing the action is not known then we can use passive voice.

Q3. How do we identify Active-Passive Voice Sentences?

When the Subject is doing the action it means the sentence is in Active Voice. And when the Subject is only receiving the action it means the sentence is in Passive Voice.

Q4. What are Passive voice examples?

1. Active Voice: “She writes a book.”

Passive Voice: “A book is written by her.”

2. Active Voice: “They will complete the project.”

Passive Voice: “The project will be completed by them.”

3. Active Voice: “He repaired the car.”

Passive Voice: “The car was repaired by him.”

In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject, and the verb is changed, often with the addition of “by” to indicate the doer of the action.

Q5. Give some Passive exercises

Exercise 1: Change the following active voice sentences into passive voice:

1. The teacher teaches the students.
2. They built a new house.
3. She will sing a song.
4. The chef cooked a delicious meal.
5. The company has developed a new product.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the following sentences in passive voice:

1. The cat chased the mouse.
2. He has completed the assignment.
3. They are repairing the car.
4. The gardener is planting flowers.
5. She will bake a cake.

Exercise 3: Identify whether the following sentences are in active or passive voice:

1. The letter was written by Mary.
2. They are watching a movie.
3. The door was opened by John.
4. She will be awarded a prize.
5. He fixed the computer.

Q6. What are Passive voice tenses

Passive voice can be used in different tenses to indicate when an action happens:

1. Present Simple Passive: Happens now.

– The book is read by the students.

2. Past Simple Passive: Happened in the past.

– The car was repaired by the mechanic yesterday.

3. Future Simple Passive: Will happen in the future.

– The project will be completed by the team next week.

And so on, with each tense indicating a specific time frame for the action.

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SOME IMPORTANT IDIOMS AND PHRASES

Some important Idioms and phrases

#CTET #Assampolice #Apsc #ADRE 

1.Turn the table :- To reverse the condition.

2.Beating around the bush :- Avoiding the main topic.

3.Crocodile tears : - insincere tears.

4.A snake in the grass :- A treacherous person.

5.Spill the beans :- Reveal the secret.

6.To take to one's heels :- To run away.

7.Backstairs influence :- Secret and unfair influence.

8.Give the cold shoulder :- To ignore.

9.Bed of Roses :- Full of joy.

10.No love lost :- Intense dislike.

11.With Might and main :- Full of force.

12.A bolt from the blue :- A complete surprise.

13.Fight tooth and nail :- As best as they could.

14.Showed the white Flag :- Surrender.

15.To cut one short :- To interrupt one.

16.Under a cloud :- In disgrace.

17.A free hand :- complete Liberty.

18.From hand to mouth :- comfortably.

19.Hard and fast :- Strict /definite.

20.At eleventh  hour :- at a late stage .

21.Kicking his heels :- wasting time.

22.leals and bounds :- Rapidly.

23.Hanging by thread :- Be in a dangerous situation.

24.Have one's hands full :- To be very busy.

25.To grease the palm :- to bribe someone.

26.Gift of the gab :- Have the talent to speak.

27.Died the harness :- Died while on duty.

28.At one's wits end :- get puzzled.

29.Out of thin air :- Appears suddenly.

30.To spilt hairs :- To argue about trifles.

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