Learn the 8 Parts of Speech in English To Build Better Sentences

Both English learners and native English speakers can agree: There are a lot of words in the English language! You’ll find words that name people, words that describe action, and words that connect other words.

That’s where English parts of speech come in. Knowing the parts of speech in English grammar helps you say what you want by putting words in the correct order so other English speakers can understand you. Find out how to use all the parts of speech in English with definitions and example sentences. You’ll sound and write like a fluent English speaker very quickly!

What are the parts of speech in English?

There are eight main parts of speech in English, and part of learning how to speak English is knowing how to use each one in your writing and conversations.

Most English words fall into one of these eight categories. Some words fall into more than one category, depending on how they’re used in a sentence. That’s why it’s important to know how each part of speech works and where you would see it in an English sentence.

Part of Speech	Function	Example
noun	names a person, place, or thing	The *dog* barked.
verb	shows action or connects words	The dog *barked*.
adjective	describes a noun	The *brown* dog barked.
adverb	describes a verb or adjective	The dog barked *loudly*.
pronoun	replaces a noun	He barked.
preposition	shows relationships between words	The dog barked at the cat.
conjunction	connects two parts of a sentence	The dog barked *and* the cat ran.
interjection	expresses feelings	*Wow!* The dog barked!

For an English sentence to be called a complete sentence, it needs to have at least one noun and one verb. But adding additional English parts of speech makes your sentences more detailed and interesting! Adding more words helps you build different types of sentences in English.

1. Noun: Names a person, place, or thing

A noun is a person, place, or thing in a sentence. It answers the questions Who? or What? There are two main types of nouns: common nouns and proper nouns.

Common nouns

A common noun names a general person, place, or thing. You’ll see the English articles the, a, or an before most common nouns. You don’t capitalize them in a sentence, unless they’re the first word in the sentence.

Common Noun	Pronunciation	Example
house	hous	I live in a *house*.
car	kahr	The *car* is white.
door	dohr	We walked through the *door*.
pencil	PEN-suhl	Do you have a *pencil*?
child	chahyld	The *child* ran away.

These common nouns are singular, which means that there is only one of each. Most English nouns become plural when you add an –s or –es to the end (houses, cars, doors), and some change form (child→children).

Proper nouns

Another type of noun is the proper noun. Proper nouns are specific nouns, so instead of boy, you could say Matthew (the name of the boy). Proper nouns are always capitalized, and you don’t usually use a, an, or the before them.

Proper Noun	Pronunciation	Example
John	jon	*John* is my father.
Pinetree School	pahyn-tree skool	I go to *Pinetree School*.
Mr. Smith	MIS-ter smith	We said hello to *Mr. Smith*.
Main Street	meyn street	Do you live on *Main Street*?
New York	noo yawrk	Mom visited *New York*.

You don’t usually see plural proper nouns because there’s only one of them. But if there are plural proper nouns, such as the Smiths, you would make them plural and add the in front of them.

2. Verb: Shows action or connects words

Verbs describe what nouns do in a sentence. You conjugate verbs in English based on what noun is performing the action and if the verb is regular or irregular. Action verbs and connecting verbs are the two main types of verbs.

Action verbs

Most English verbs are action verbs. They show actions that you can see or perform with your body. Present tense action verbs usually add -s or -es to the end, depending on the noun in the sentence.

Action Verb	Pronunciation	Example
run	ruhn	Do you *run* every morning?
sleep	sleep	I *sleep* in my room.
talk	tawk	They *talk* on the phone.
play	pley	You *play* the piano well.
eat	eet	We *eat* dinner together.

Irregular verbs like run and sleep change form in the past tense (ran and slept). Regular verbs like talk or play add -d or -ed in the past tense (talked and played). Memorize which English verbs are regular and irregular so you can conjugate them correctly.

Connecting verbs

Some verbs make connections in a sentence instead of showing action. Linking verbs, stative verbs, and helping verbs are all kinds of connecting verbs.

Connecting Verb	Pronunciation	Example
be	bee	She will be happy.
look	look	I *look* at the food.
seem	seem	They *seem* like nice people.
become	bih-KUHM	Jen wants to *become* a doctor.
have	hav	I *have* three dogs.

Some irregular connecting verbs, such as be, change form in the present tense (am, is, are) and the past tense (was, were). Regular connecting verbs like look or seem follow regular conjugation rules (looks, seems).

3. Adjective: Describes a noun

Adjectives add more details to your sentence. In English parts of speech, adjectives come before nouns to describe them. They can also come after connecting verbs like be (am, is, are) to describe the subject.

Adjective	Pronunciation	Example
beautiful	BYOO-tuh-fuhl	My *beautiful* sister graduated today.
funny	FUHN-ee	That kid is *funny*.
green	green	I parked my *green* car.
clean	kleen	Our house is *clean*.
big	big	We climbed a *big* mountain.

You can add more than one adjective to a sentence for even more detail. For example, you can say I parked my big green car, or you can say My beautiful sister is funny.

4. Adverb: Describes a verb or adjective

Like adjectives, adverbs add important details to your sentence. An adverb’s job in a sentence is to describe a verb or adjective, which makes your English writing and speaking clear.

Adverbs of manner

Most adverbs are made by adding -ly to the end. These adverbs show how a noun performed an action. You can place adverbs before or after a verb.

Adverb	Pronunciation	Example
quickly	KWIK-lee	The boy eats *quickly*.
loudly	LOUD-lee	We laughed *loudly*.
carefully	KAIR-fuh-lee	I *carefully* unwrapped the gift.
happily	HAP-uh-kee	The bird *happily* chirps.
proudly	PROUD-lee	My parents smiled *proudly*.

Adverbs of time, place, frequency, and degree

Other adverbs show different details about a verb or adjective. They explain when, where, how often, or to what degree an action happens in a sentence. These adverbs can also appear before or after a verb or adjective.

Adverb	Pronunciation	Example
often	AW-fuhn	I *often* play video games.
very	VER-ee	You are *very* kind.
soon	soon	We’ll leave the party *soon*.
sometimes	SUHM-tahymz	*Sometimes* I travel to another city.
here	heer	Put the package *here*.

Adverbs like often and sometimes show how much something happens. Very and other adverbs come before adjectives to show their degree. Adverbs like soon show when an action happens, and adverbs like here explain where it happens.

5. Pronoun: Replaces a noun

When you’ve learned English nouns, it’s time to learn English pronouns. Pronouns replace nouns in a sentence, so you’re not repeating yourself. They make English writing and speaking easier to understand.

Subject pronouns

English has both subject pronouns and object pronouns. A subject pronoun replaces the noun that performs the action in the sentence.

Subject Pronoun	Pronunciation	Example
I	ahy	I live two miles away.
you	yoo	*You* are my best friend.
he	hee	He knows my grandmother.
she	shee	*She* is my sister.
it	iht	It is my favorite book.
we	wee	We walked to the store.
they	thay	*They* like to cook.

Object pronouns

An object pronoun replaces the object in a sentence. Some pronouns, including you and it, are the same in their subject and object roles.

Object Pronoun	Pronunciation	Example Sentence
me	mee	The teacher helped me.
you	yoo	I’ll buy *you* some lunch.
him	him	Janey talked to *him*.
her	hur	Did she call *you*?
it	iht	I’ve read it twice.
us	uhs	Please visit us.
them	them	I met *them* in high school.

Follow our guide on English pronouns to learn about other types of pronouns, including possessive pronouns (like mine and ours), indefinite pronouns (like anyone and nobody), relative pronouns (like which and who), and reflexive pronouns (like myself and yourself).

6. Preposition: Shows relationships between words

A preposition links words together in a sentence to show a relationship. Usually, prepositions show where an object is or where it’s going. But they can show other types of relationships, too.

Preposition	Pronunciation	Example
at	at	I’m at the store.
from	fruhm	Johann is *from* Germany.
in	ihn	The book was in my room.
through	throo	Let’s walk *through* the tunnel.
with	with	He went to the movies *with* Jessica.

Prepositions like at and in show where the noun is (the store and my room). From and with connect two pairs of nouns in their sentences (Johann and Germany; movies and Jessica). Prepositions like through show movement in a sentence.

7. Conjunction: Connects two parts of a sentence

Conjunctions connect different parts of a sentence. They can link words, phrases, or clauses (groups of words with a noun and verb). They show relationships of the two parts of a sentence that they link.

Conjunction	Pronunciation	Example
and	and	Becky *and* Paul are married.
but	buht	I went to the store, *but* it was closed.
or	awr	He wants milk or coffee.
so	soh	Sarah is hungry, so she ate a sandwich.
because	bih-KUHZ	I walked home *because* my bike was broken.
if	ihf	We can watch a movie if we finish our homework.

Conjunctions like and, but, or, and so show an equal relationship between the words, phrases, or clauses they connect. Other conjunctions, including because and if, connect dependent clauses (clauses that aren’t their own sentences) to independent clauses.

8. Interjection: Expresses feelings

English speakers use interjections to show their feelings in a sentence. Interjections are most common in casual writing or speech. You can use a comma (,), period (.), or an exclamation point (!) after an interjection, depending on how strong the feeling is.

Interjection	Pronunciation	Example
wow	wou	Wow! That cake looks wonderful!
oh no	oh noh	Oh no. I broke my pencil.
hey	hay	Hey, what time is it?
uh oh	UH-oh	Uh oh. You’re late.
ouch	owch	Ouch! That hurt!

Using interjections is a good way to sound like a native English speaker. Try adding them to your conversations or writing today!

Learning English starts with the parts of speech

The parts of speech in English are the building blocks to sentences in your speaking and writing. Once you know how to use them, you’re on the way to becoming a fluent English speaker! Learn more about how Rosetta Stone works to get your English learning journey started today.

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