CBSE Class 5 English Parts of Speech Notes Set 01

What are parts of speech?

The words in a sentence do different jobs. Grouping words by the job they do gives us the parts of speech. English has eight of them: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. Knowing them helps us build correct sentences and understand how words work together.

1. Noun (naming word)

A noun is the name of a person, place, animal, thing or idea. Examples: Steve lives in Mumbai. Mary uses a pen and paper to write letters. The nouns are Steve, Mumbai, Mary, pen, paper and letters.

2. Pronoun (replaces a noun)

A pronoun is used in place of a noun so that we do not repeat it. Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they. Mary is tired. She wants to sleep. 'She' takes the place of 'Mary'.

3. Adjective (describing word)

An adjective tells us more about a noun or pronoun. It says what kind, how many or which one. The little girl had a pink dress. 'Little' and 'pink' are adjectives.

4. Verb (action word)

A verb shows an action or a state of being. The shuttle flew into space. The largest slice is mine. 'Flew' is an action. 'Is' shows a state of being.

5. Adverb (describes a verb)

An adverb tells how, when, where, how often or to what extent something happens. It can describe a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Yesterday, I ate my lunch quickly. 'Yesterday' tells when and 'quickly' tells how. In I am usually busy, 'usually' tells how often.

6. Preposition (shows relation)

A preposition shows how a noun or pronoun is related to another word in the sentence. It can show place, time or direction. I left my keys on the table. My house is near the post office. 'On' and 'near' are prepositions.

7. Conjunction (joining word)

A conjunction joins words, phrases or sentences. Common ones are and, but, or, so, because and yet. I was hot and tired but I finished the race. 'And' and 'but' are conjunctions.

8. Interjection (expressive word)

An interjection is a word or short phrase that shows a sudden strong feeling such as joy, surprise or pain. It is usually followed by an exclamation mark. Wow! I passed my test. Ouch! That hurts.

One word, different jobs

The part of speech depends on how a word is used in the sentence, not on the word alone. 'Run' is a verb in 'I run fast' but a noun in 'Let us go for a run'. 'Book' is a noun in 'I need a Maths book' but a verb in 'Will you book a table?'. Always read the whole sentence before deciding.

Worked examples

Example 1. Name the parts of speech: The hungry cat scratched at the back door.
The = article (adjective), hungry = adjective, cat = noun, scratched = verb, at = preposition, back = adjective, door = noun.

Example 2. Identify the underlined word's use: He always watches a football game.
'Always' tells how often he watches, so it is an adverb.

Example 3. Is 'oil' a noun or a verb? This is an oil painting. and Dad wanted to oil his bicycle.
In the first it describes the painting, so it is an adjective. In the second it names an action, so it is a verb.

Remember

1. There are eight parts of speech.
2. A noun names, a pronoun replaces a noun, an adjective describes a noun.
3. A verb shows action, an adverb describes a verb.
4. A preposition shows relation, a conjunction joins, an interjection shows feeling.
5. The same word can be different parts of speech in different sentences.

Quick Check Questions

Answer each question.