Parts of Speech.

Words have different uses in sentences. According to their uses, words are divided into classes called Parts of Speech. The parts of speech are as follows:

1. Noun; a word used as the name of something; as, man, box, London, Harry, silence, justice.
2. Pronoun; a word used instead of a noun; as, I, he, it, that. – Nouns, pronouns, or groups of words that are used as nouns or pronouns, are called by the general term, Substantives.
3. Adjective; a word used to limit or qualify the meaning of a noun or a pronoun; as, good, five, tall, many. The words a, an, and theare words used to modify nouns or pronouns. They are adjectives, but are usually called Articles.
4. Verb; a word used to state something about some person or thing; as, do, see, think, make.
5. Adverb; a word used to modify the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as, very, slowly, clearly, often.
6. Preposition; a word used to join a substantive, as a modifier, to some other preceding word, and to show the relation of the substantive to that word; as, by, in, between, beyond.
7. Conjunction; a word used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences; as, and, but, if, although, or.
8. Interjection; a word used to express surprise or emotion; as, Oh! Alas! Hurrah! Bah!

Sometimes a word adds nothing to the meaning of the sentence, but helps to fill out its form or sound, and serves as a device to alter its natural order. Such a word is called an Expletive. In the following sentence there is an expletive: There are no such thing as ghosts.

Adapted from: Practical Grammar and Composition, by Thomas Wood