Word classes (or Parts of speech)

Word classes (or Parts of speech)

‘Word classes’ or ‘parts of speech’ are the categories of words based on their function within a sentence. This is an easy way to look at words to help you recognize the underlying grammar and logic of any language you study.

Word classes traditionally called parts of speech

Read this reference: (Second Edition) A Semantic Approach to English Grammar by R. M. W. Dixon

At the level of semantics words can be arranged in semantic types, with a common meaning element. At the level of grammar, they can be arranged in word classes (traditionally called ‘parts of speech’), with common morphological and syntactic properties. - [Part A - Article 1.2]

There are eight different kinds of word in English.

NOUN GROUP

1. Noun - Nouns are words for people, places or things like: mother, town, Rome, car, dog.

2. Pronoun - Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns, like: me, you, his, it, this, that, mine, yours, who, what.

3. Adjective - Adjectives are words that describe nouns, like: kind, clever, expensive.

VERB GROUP

4. Verb - Verbs are action or state words like: run, work, study, be, seem.

5. Adverb - Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, like: quickly, back, ever, badly, away, generally, completely.

EMPTY GROUP

6. Preposition - Prepositions are words usually in front of a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element, like: after, down, near, of, plus, round, to.

7. Conjunction - A conjunction (also called a connective or linking word) is a word such as and, because, but, for, if, or, and when.

8. Interjection - Interjections have no grammatical value - words like: ah, hey, oh etc.