🎓 Study Notes – Parts of Speech
(English Language – Competitive Exams: IIT‑JEE, JEE‑Main, NTA‑CBSE, etc.)
Why it matters
In competitive exams, you’ll often have to:
- Identify the part of speech of a word in a sentence.
- Spot errors in sentences that arise from misuse of a particular part of speech.
- Rewrite sentences while preserving meaning.
- Answer “Which of the following is/are not a/an …?” type questions.
1. Overview – Eight Parts of Speech
| # | Part of Speech | Definition | Typical Indicators | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noun | Person, place, thing, idea, or action. | Proper nouns (capitalized), plural forms, countability. | “Teacher gave a lecture.” |
| 2 | Pronoun | Word that substitutes for a noun or noun phrase. | Personal, demonstrative, relative, interrogative, reflexive, interrogative. | “She will arrive tomorrow.” |
| 3 | Verb | Action, occurrence, or state of being. | Infinitive (“to + base”), present/past/present‑participle/gerund, auxiliary. | “They run fast.” |
| 4 | Adjective | Describes a noun or pronoun. | Comparative/ superlative forms, determiners. | “A beautiful garden.” |
| 5 | Adverb | Modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. | Usually ends in ‑ly, but not always. | “She sang beautifully.” |
| 6 | Preposition | Shows relationship between a noun/pronoun and other words. | in, on, at, by, with, to, from etc. | “The book is on the table.” |
| 7 | Conjunction | Connects words, phrases, or clauses. | Coordinating (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so), subordinating (because, although, when), correlative (either‑or, neither‑nor). | “I like and you like.” |
| 8 | Interjection | Expresses emotion or exclamation. | Usually stands alone, often punctuated by commas or exclamation marks. | “Wow! That’s amazing.” |
Tip – In many competitive exams, you’ll be asked to classify a word. A quick mental check:
• Does it name something? → Noun.
• Does it replace a noun? → Pronoun.
• Does it describe something? → Adjective.
• Does it describe a verb or adjective? → Adverb.
• Does it link a noun to another word? → Preposition.
• Does it connect clauses? → Conjunction.
• Is it a standalone exclamation? → Interjection.
2. In‑Depth Descriptions & Derivations
2.1 Nouns
- Countable vs. Uncountable
- Countable: book, books – can use a/an.
- Uncountable: information, happiness – no a/an.
- Derived Forms
- Agent nouns: teach → teacher (‑er, ‑or).
- Result nouns: teach → teaching (‑ing).
- Abstract nouns: happy → happiness (‑ness).
2.2 Pronouns
- Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
- Demonstrative: this, that, these, those.
- Relative: who, whom, which, that.
- Interrogative: who, what, which, whom.
- Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
- Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves.
Tricky Point – Relative pronouns can be who (subject) or whom (object), but whom is rarely used in contemporary speech.
Rule – If the pronoun can be replaced by he/she → who; if by him/her → whom.
2.3 Verbs
- Tenses – 12 standard forms (Simple, Progressive, Perfect, Perfect‑Progressive × 3 tenses).
- Mood – Indicative, imperative, subjunctive.
- Voice – Active vs. passive.
Derivation – to + base is infinitive; verb + ing forms gerund (noun) and present‑participle (adjective).
Tricky Point – be is irregular: am, is, are (present); was, were (past).
2.4 Adjectives
- Attributive – before noun.
- Predicative – after linking verb.
- Comparatives & Superlatives – more/most + adjective or ‑er / ‑est.
- Degree – positive, comparative, superlative.
Rule – If the adjective can be swapped with very → it’s a degree adjective.
2.5 Adverbs
- Formation – Usually ‑ly (quick → quickly).
- Adverbial phrases – in the morning, with great enthusiasm.
- Double‑adverbial – He spoke very loudly.
Tricky Point – Some adverbs are identical to adjectives (*fast, hard,