Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech

There are traditionally eight parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. You’ll learn each of these in school and you’ll need to use them throughout your life as you read and write. If you need to refresh your memory, online activities are a great way to practice. Here’s a rundown of each part of speech.

noun- person, place, or thing (chair, New York City, Mr. Henderson)

verb- action or state of being (ran, go, was)

adjective- describes a noun (pretty, blue, funny)

adverb- describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb (anything other than a noun) and answers how, when, where, or how much? (quickly, quietly, slowly)

pronoun- replaces a noun (he, she, they)

preposition- links a word to another word (through, above, to)

conjunction- joins word, phrases, clauses or sentences (but, and, when)

interjection- a short exclamation that expresses emotion (Wow! Ouch! Oh!) *Sometimes articles are listed instead (a, an, the)

If you haven’t practiced your elementary parts of speech lately, online practice is a fun way to do it.

The multisensory nature of these games helps all students learn, including English language learners and students with special needs, such as children with autism.

While we gain a basic understanding of grammar when we are first learning to read and write English, it’s a good idea to make sure you have a solid foundation when it comes to the parts of speech. If you get stuck or need a review, learning tools like dictionaries, grammar worksheets, and online games will be helpful resources.