Parts of speech are categories that describe how words function in a sentence. A word may name something, express an action, describe another word, connect ideas, show a relationship, or perform another grammatical role.
Start with The 8 Parts of Speech for an overview of the main word classes and their functions. You can then explore detailed lessons on nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.
In English grammar, adjectives help describe the quality of nouns. How tall a person is, how fast a car moves, or how beautiful a painting looks. But when you want to compare two or more things, adjectives change form. This…
Infinitives can be confusing because they do not all look alike. To leave is an infinitive, but so is leave after a modal in should leave. You may also come across longer forms such as to be invited and to…
Called and bought can both describe something that happened in the past, but the verbs were formed differently. Call becomes called by following the regular -ed pattern. Buy changes to bought, so it is irregular. That basic difference between regular…
Forms of be can do two very different jobs in English. In The room is quiet, is connects the room with a description of it. In The guests are waiting, are helps form the verb phrase are waiting. The first…
A verb does not have to describe running, lifting, or another visible action to be dynamic. The temperature is rising, Nora is thinking about the offer, and The glass cracked all present something happening, developing, or changing. That is the…
The soup smells spicy, the auditorium became quiet, and the hikers looked exhausted. In each sentence, the adjective appears after a verb but still describes the subject. This is predicative use, and the adjective is commonly called a predicate adjective.…
A confusing instruction, a confused traveler, a broken railing, and boiling water all contain forms that come from verbs but work adjectivally. These are commonly called participial adjectives. Some appear in familiar -ing/-ed pairs, but the category is much broader…
A beautiful old Italian painting sounds natural. An Italian beautiful old painting does not. The adjectives are the same, but English normally places them in a particular sequence before a noun. This pattern is called adjective order. The familiar OSASCOMP…
A five-hour delay, a thought-provoking question, and a user-friendly interface all use compound forms to describe a noun. Some compound adjectives are hyphenated. Others are written as one word or remain open. It helps to separate two questions: What kind…
Limiting adjectives help narrow down which noun you’re talking about. Instead of describing the quality of a noun, they define it by showing quantity, ownership, selection, or emphasis. Words like “each,” “my,” “that,” and “some” don’t tell you how something…
Helping verbs do much of the grammatical work inside English verb phrases. They help us form questions and negatives, build continuous, perfect, and passive constructions, and add meanings such as possibility, ability, necessity, and prediction. In Mila has finished the…
Adjectives of material describe what something is made of. They tell us the substance or physical matter used to create an object and answer the question, “What is it made of?” These adjectives help specify the nature of an item;…