Key takeaways
- There are 8 traditional parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection.
- A word's part of speech depends on its job in the sentence, so the same word can change class — 'run' is a verb in 'They run' but a noun in 'a morning run'.
- Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are 'open' classes that gain new words; pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions are small 'closed' classes.
- Many curricula also teach determiners (a, an, the, my, some) as a 9th class, split off from adjectives.
- Teach in order of frequency and concreteness: nouns and verbs first, then adjectives and adverbs, then the connecting words.
Grammar gets easier the moment students stop asking what does this word mean? and start asking what is this word doing? The parts of speech are the answer to that second question. They sort every word in English into a small set of jobs — naming, replacing, showing action, describing, connecting — so that a sentence stops being a string of words and becomes a structure students can see.
This guide covers all eight parts of speech, gives you a reference chart, and shows the tricky bit most textbooks skip: how one word can belong to different classes depending on how it is used.
The 8 parts of speech at a glance
Print or project this chart when you introduce the topic. Students should be able to name the job and give one example of their own for each row.
| Part of speech | The job it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Names a person, place, thing, or idea | teacher, London, pencil, freedom |
| Pronoun | Stands in for a noun | she, they, it, this, who |
| Verb | Shows an action or a state of being | run, think, is, become |
| Adjective | Describes or limits a noun | happy, three, tall, blue |
| Adverb | Describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb | quickly, very, yesterday, here |
| Preposition | Shows a relationship in time or space | in, on, under, before, with |
| Conjunction | Joins words, phrases, or clauses | and, but, or, because, although |
| Interjection | Expresses a sudden feeling | wow, ouch, hey, oops |
| Determiner / article (often a 9th) | Introduces a noun | a, an, the, my, some |
Each part of speech, explained
1. Nouns name things. They can be common (dog, city) or proper (Rex, Chicago), concrete (something you can sense, like thunder) or abstract (an idea, like courage). A quick test: if you can put the or a in front of it, it is probably a noun.
2. Pronouns replace nouns so you don't have to repeat them. Maria lost Maria's keys becomes Maria lost her keys. Common types include personal (I, you, they), possessive (mine, ours), demonstrative (this, those), and relative (who, which, that).
3. Verbs are the engine of the sentence — no verb, no sentence. Action verbs show what the subject does (jump, write, decide). Linking verbs connect the subject to a description (is, seem, become). Helping verbs team up with a main verb to show tense or possibility (has gone, will try, might rain).
4. Adjectives describe nouns and answer which one? what kind? how many? In three red apples, both three and red are adjectives modifying apples.
5. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, answering how? when? where? to what extent? In She sang very softly yesterday, softly (how), very (to what extent), and yesterday (when) are all adverbs. Many, but not all, end in -ly.
6. Prepositions show how a noun relates to the rest of the sentence, usually in time or space: in the box, before lunch, with a smile. A preposition almost always sits in front of a noun or pronoun to form a phrase.
7. Conjunctions connect. The seven coordinating conjunctions spell FANBOYS — for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so — and join equal parts. Subordinating conjunctions (because, although, when, if) attach a dependent clause to a main one.
8. Interjections are short words that show emotion and often stand apart with a comma or exclamation mark: Wow, that's clever! or Ouch! That hurt. They add tone but carry no grammatical link to the rest of the sentence.
The same word can be more than one part of speech
This is the idea that unlocks real understanding: a word's part of speech comes from its job in the sentence, not from the word itself. Look at run:
- They run every morning. — verb (an action)
- She went for a morning run. — noun (a thing)
- He scored the winning run. — noun (a thing, different meaning)
Or light: a noun (turn on the light), a verb (light the candle), and an adjective (a light backpack). Teaching students to ask "what is this word doing here?" is far more reliable than asking them to memorize which list a word lives on.
Open classes grow
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are open classes — English keeps adding new ones (email, google, selfie).
Closed classes are fixed
Pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions are closed classes; we rarely invent new ones.
Content vs function
Content words carry meaning (nouns, verbs); function words hold sentences together (prepositions, conjunctions, articles).
Color-coding helps
Assign each part a color for sentence-labeling activities so patterns pop visually for younger students.
How to teach the parts of speech, in order
- 1
Start with nouns and verbs
They are the most concrete and the backbone of every sentence. Have students find the naming word and the doing word before anything else.
- 2
Add adjectives and adverbs
Once students can spot a noun and a verb, teach the words that describe them. Use 'shades of meaning' sorts (big, huge, enormous) to make adjectives vivid.
- 3
Introduce pronouns
Show how pronouns prevent repetition. Rewrite a repetitive paragraph together, swapping names for pronouns.
- 4
Teach the connectors
Prepositions and conjunctions are more abstract, so save them for when the content words are secure. FANBOYS and preposition songs help them stick.
- 5
Finish with interjections and review
Interjections are quick and fun. End the unit by labeling every word in a short paragraph to prove the whole system works together.
A word of caution on the count: most K–12 curricula in the US teach eight parts of speech, but you'll also see nine when determiners and articles are pulled out of the adjective category, and some linguists use different labels entirely. For classroom purposes, pick the number your standards use and be consistent — the labels matter less than students being able to explain each word's job.
Turn this into ready-to-print practice
Generate labeling sheets, sorting activities, and quizzes for any part of speech and grade level in seconds.
Make grammar worksheetsFrequently asked questions
There are traditionally 8: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. Many curricula count a 9th by separating determiners and articles (a, an, the) out of the adjective category.
Ask what the word is doing in that sentence, not what it means. The same word can change class — 'run' is a verb in 'they run' but a noun in 'a morning run' — so its job decides its part of speech.
Start with nouns and verbs because they are concrete and appear in every sentence. Then add adjectives and adverbs, then pronouns, and finish with the more abstract connectors: prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.
Articles (a, an, the) are a small group of determiners. Traditional 8-part systems file them under adjectives, while 9-part systems list determiners as their own class. Either is fine as long as you stay consistent.
Open classes — nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs — keep gaining new words as language grows. Closed classes — pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions — are a fixed set that rarely takes on new members.