We begin by learning the eight main parts of speech. As we move forward, you will discover that there are more than eight parts of speech, but many of them are often taught as subcategories of the eight main categories.

Parts of Speech Overview

• Nouns name people, places, things, concepts, and ideas.
• Pronouns replace noun phrases.
• Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns by describing physical or emotional qualities. Adjectives answer the questions: How many? Which one? Whose? What kind?
• Verbs express actions and states of being.
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and clauses. Adverbs answer the questions: Where? When? How? Why? To what extent?
• Prepositional phrases begin with a preposition and end with the object of the preposition. The phrase functions as an adjective, an adverb, or a complement.
• Conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses.
• Interjections express emotion and are grammatically separate from the sentence.

Noun Classifications

Why do we need to learn about the unique characteristics of nouns?

A noun can serve as the subject of a sentence, and the subject must agree with the verb for the sentence to be grammatically correct. To understand how sentences work, you first need to understand how nouns behave.

Since I am a big Harry Potter fan, I like to think of each part of speech as an ingredient used to make a potion—a sentence. The wrong ingredients will make the potion unusable. The ingredients must work together—for example:

• The subject and verb must agree.
• Determiners must agree with the nouns they describe.

Concrete vs. Abstract Nouns

Concrete nouns are nouns you can experience with your senses:

• Touch, see, hear, smell, and taste
• Examples: dog, house, food, pizza

Even some things you might not expect can be concrete:

• Specific times, like 6:00 a.m., because they are precise and measurable
• Groups, like teams, clubs, and organizations, because they are defined by members, structures, and functions.

Abstract nouns are nouns you cannot experience with your senses. They include:

• Moments in time or general periods time: childhood, adolescence, birthdays
• Subjective qualities: courage, patience, honesty
• Concepts or ideas: charity, democracy, religion, dreams, justice
• Emotions or feelings: grief, sorrow, stress, despair, pride, happiness
• Perspective states: failure, evil, boredom

Many abstract nouns are uncountable, meaning they are not typically used in the plural form. This is important when forming sentences and ensuring subject-verb agreement. 

We speak to convey a message, so let our words carry wisdom.

Words of Wisdom

“Words can be as sharp as swords. Entire nations have been built—and destroyed—by what people say.”