Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples In English | Easy to Learn English Notes

Parts of Speech

Definition:

Words are divided into distinct types or parts called Parts of Speech. A speech or discourse can not be complete if parts of speech are not used. The English language contains eight significant parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, interjection, and preposition.

Each part of speech explains the use of the word, not the word only. Parts of speech are important to analyze and understand the sentences and are helpful in making good sentence structure.

1. Noun

A noun is a naming word used as the name of a person, place, or thing; as Akbar, king, Karachi, Islamabad, rose, sun, etc.

2. Pronoun

A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun; as, He, his, him, She, her, hers, it, its,  they, their, them, I, my, me, mine, we, our, us, etc.

3. Verb 

A verb is a word used to express an action or state; as, eat, drink, write, is, am, are, etc.

4. Adjective

An Adjective is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun or pronoun; as, a brave boy, twenty girls, naughty students, etc.

5. Adverb

An Adverb is a word used to add something to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as very beautiful, quite correctly, quickly, etc.

6. Conjunction

A conjunction is a word used to join words or sentences; as, and, but, yet, etc.

7. Interjection

An Interjection is a word that expresses some sudden feeling; as Hurrah! Alas! Aha, Ah, well, whoops, hey, ouch, whew, wow, etc.

8. Preposition

A preposition is a word used with a noun or a pronoun to show how the person or thing denoted by the noun or pronoun stands in relation to something else, as, in, on, of, under, above, at, behind, etc.

Noun

A noun is a naming word used as the name of a person, place, idea, or thing.

Noun as a name of a person:       Aslam, Dr.Allam Iqbal

Noun as a name of a place:         Lahore, Urdu Bazar

Noun as the name of an idea:      Honesty, truth, wisdom

Noun as a name of thing:            Table, cat, phone

Examples:

Aslam is my elder brother.

We live in Lahore.

Pakistan is our country.

Honesty is the best policy.

The cat is on the table.

Aslam, brother Lahore, Pakistan, country, Honesty, table are noun

Kinds of Noun

(1) Common Noun

(2) Proper Noun

(3) Collective Noun

(4) Material Noun

(5) Abstract Noun

(6)  Countable Noun

(7) Uncountable Noun

(8) Possessive Noun

(9) Compound Noun

1. Common Noun

A common noun is the name of a person, place, or thing used in general as a boy, girl, woman, room, chair, pen, table, etc.

Examples:

1. This is my pen
2. A book is on the table

2. Proper Noun

A proper noun is the name of a certain person or place or thing. A proper noun is always written with a capital letter at the beginning as Quaid-i Azam, Lahore, Badshahi Mosque, Islamabad, Pakistan etc.

Examples:

1. We live in Pakistan.
2. Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan.

3. Collective Noun

A collective is the name of persons or things taken together and spoken of as one whole as crowd, mob, family, nation, cattle, police, committee, tea, flock, army, jury etc.

Examples:

1. Cattle are grazing in the field.
2. Pakistani police is very intelligent.

4. Material Noun

A material noun is a name of matter or substance of which things are made as gold, silver, iron, water, milk, cotton, wood, steel, copper, etc.

Examples:

1. Milk is useful for health.
2. Gold is a very precious metal.

5. Abstract Noun

An abstract noun is the name of an action, state, or quality that is apart from the object to which it belongs as, goodness, beauty, kindness, honesty, wisdom, youth, childhood, democracy, pleasure, death, life, truth, love, justice, boyhood, hatred etc.

Examples:

1. Honesty is the best policy
2. In his childhood, he was very clever

6. Countable Noun

A countable noun is the name of a thing that can be counted or divided into singular or plural, book, chair, table, pen, students etc.

Examples: 

1. I have four books.
2. They are five brothers.

7. Uncountable Noun

An uncountable noun is the name of a matter or thing that cannot be counted or divided into singular or plural. These are milk, rice, iron, gold, water, petrol, etc.

Examples:

1. Milk is good for your health.
2. Iron is very hot to touch.

8. Possessive Noun

Possessive nouns are those nouns that show ownership or relationship. A possessive noun always has an apostrophe(‘).

Examples:

1. This is Anwer’s book.
2. The worker’s demand is genuine.

9. Compound Noun

A noun of two or more than two words used together is called a compound noun. These are bookcases, footsteps, father-in-law, software, inkpot, blackboard etc.

Examples:

1. My father-in-law is a noble person.
2. He works in a software company.

Errors in the Use of Noun

Rule#1

Some common nouns are written both as singular and plural, it is wrong to use s or es to make the plural. These common nouns are: Code, Trout, Yoke, Pair, Gross, Hair, Sheep, deer, Swine, Salmon, Brace, etc.

Incorrect: There are two pairs of shoes.

Correct:    There are two pair of shoes.

Incorrect: They caught three fishes in the river.

Correct:    They caught three fish in the river.

Incorrect: I saw three sheeps.

Correct:    I saw three sheep.

Incorrect: He has golden hairs.

Correct:    He has golden hair.

Note: s or es are not used with the above-mentioned nouns but the word Hair is an exception from it. Although no s or es is used with hair yet the words white or golden can be used in the plural sense.

Incorrect: She has three white hair in her head.

Correct:   She has three white hairs in her head.

The plural of fish is always fish but if it means the different species of fish, the plural word is written like fishes.

Incorrect:   There are great fish in the river.

Correct:      There are great fishes in the river.

Rule# 2

Some nouns seem singular but plural in meanings and the verb is plural with them; Cattle, Gentry, Poultry, Public, Police, Sheep, Committee, vermin, flock, clergy, audience etc.

Incorrect: Cattles are grazing the field.

Correct:    Cattle are grazing the field.

Incorrect: Flock has gone.

Correct:    Flock have gone.

Note: When the noun People is used as a nation, its plural  Peoples is used

Incorrect:   The people of the world is divided.

Correct:     The people of the world are divided.

Rule#3

Some nouns have no plural and s or es is are not added with them. These are Furniture, Offspring, wheat, advice, vacation, scenery, information, poetry, issue, bedding, work, mischief, food.

Incorrect: He wrote good poetries.

Correct:   He wrote good poetry/poems.

Incorrect: This town is full of charming sceneries.

Correct:    This town is full of charming scenery.

Incorrect:  I have lost my furnitures.

Correct:     I have lost my furniture.

Incorrect:  I have no informations.

Correct:     I have no information.

Rule# 4

The countable nouns are used in the same way both in singular and plural. s or es are not used with them. These are: score, hundred, thousand, million, trillion, etc.

Incorrect: He gave me three hundreds rupees.

Correct:    He gave three hundred rupees

Incorrect: Ahmad has two dozens eggs.

Correct:    Ahmad has two dozen eggs

Note: S or es are not used with these number nouns but if the word of comes after any one of these nouns, s is used with these nouns.

Incorrect: He has hundred of dollars

Correct:    He has hundreds of dollars

Rule# 5

Some nouns are apparently plural but are used as singular. These nouns are; politics, mumps, mechanics, summons, statistics, ethics, classics, innings, economics, gallows, news, billiards, measles, wages, mathematics, gymnastics, etc.

Incorrect:   Physics are my favorite study.

Correct:     Physics is my favorite study.

Incorrect:  The news were very funny.

Correct:     The news was very funny.

Note: the word wage is singular and wages is plural

Examples:

1. They are earning a good wage.
2. Wages are paid on Sunday.

Note: The wages of sin is hell is used as a proverb

Remember, the nouns which end with ics are used both as singular and plural. These are Mathematics, tactics, comics, politics economics, statistics, civics, physics, gymnastics, cosmetics, etc.

Incorrect: His mathematics is weak.

Correct:   His mathematics are weak.

Incorrect: Mathematics are a difficult subject.

Correct:    Mathematics is a difficult subject.

Rule # 6

Some nouns have plural verbs. These nouns are; goods, manners, cattle, trousers, people, jeans, tools, pajamas, pants, gentry, scales, scissors, glasses, committee, spectacles, skirts, instruments, assets, police, vermin, poultry, spirits, stairs, peasantry, surroundings, etc.

Incorrect: People is going to Lahore.

Correct:    People are going to Lahore.

Incorrect: Cattle is grazing in the field.

Correct:    Cattle are grazing in the field.

Incorrect:  Give me a scissor.

Correct:     Give me scissors.

Rule# 7

Here are some nouns that are used as both singular and plural. These are; public, family, team, government, means, etc.

Examples: 

1. Government is working for the people.

Government are working for the people.

1. Public is in active form nowadays.

Public are in active form nowadays.

Rule# 8

When a noun as an adjective works as a compound word, it is written as a singular. These are; Three-foot rule, a ten-rupee note, a two-year-old bird, an eighty-day dock, a three-mile race a seven day week, three hour takes, etc.

Incorrect:  I have ten rupees note.

Correct:    I have ten-rupee note.

Incorrect:  I saw a three years old child.

Correct:     I saw a three-year-old child.

Rule# 9

The plural noun and a singular verb is used after One of my/ his/ her.

Incorrect: One of my friends are coming to see me.

Correct:    One of my friends is coming to see me.

Rule# 10

Some proper nouns; Englan, Ameria, Pakistan, and some material nouns; gold, coffee, tea, etc and some abstract nouns; honesty, beauty, goodness, etc. These all have no plural and The is not used at the start of these nouns.

Incorrect: The gold is a precious metal.

Correct:    Gold is a precious metal.

Note: But if these nouns are used in a specific place, The can be used with them.

The gold of swat is very famous.

More Examples:

1. Pakistan is my country.
2. Coffee is a pleasant drink.
3. Goodness is a part of his conduct.