Identifying Parts of Speech
~9 min read
- Eight classes: Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection. Some grammars add 'determiner' as a ninth.
- Function-based: A word's part of speech depends on its job in a sentence - 'run' can be a noun or verb.
- CDS pattern: Identify the part of speech of an underlined word in context.
CDS tests parts of speech identification - usually one or two questions where you must label an underlined word in context. The same word can play different roles, so context decides.
Noun
A noun names a person, place, thing, idea, animal or quality.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Proper | Ravi, Delhi, India, Monday (always capitalised) |
| Common | boy, city, book |
| Collective | team, jury, flock, herd, audience |
| Material | gold, water, milk |
| Abstract | honesty, beauty, courage, freedom |
| Countable | book, pen (singular/plural) |
| Uncountable | water, sugar, information, advice (no plural with -s) |
Spot the noun: any word you can put 'the/a/an' before; usually serves as subject or object of a verb.
Pronoun
A pronoun replaces a noun.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Personal | I, you, he, she, it, we, they / me, him, her, us, them |
| Possessive | my, your, his, her, its, our, their / mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs |
| Reflexive | myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves |
| Demonstrative | this, that, these, those |
| Interrogative | who, whom, whose, which, what |
| Relative | who, whom, whose, which, that (introduce relative clauses) |
| Indefinite | someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, somebody, all, some, none |
| Reciprocal | each other, one another |
| Impersonal | it (as in 'It is raining') |
Verb
A verb expresses an action, state or occurrence.
| Type | Description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Action / dynamic | Express physical or mental action | run, write, think, believe |
| Linking / copular | Connect subject to a complement | be, seem, appear, become, look, feel, taste, sound |
| Auxiliary (helping) | Combine with main verb to form tense, voice, mood | be, have, do |
| Modal | Express possibility, ability, permission, obligation | can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, ought to |
| Transitive | Need an object | I wrote a letter. |
| Intransitive | Take no object | The baby is sleeping. |
| Finite | Show tense and agree with subject | He goes; They went. |
| Non-finite | Don't change with subject - infinitive, gerund, participle | to go, going, gone |
Adjective and Adverb
Adjective describes a noun or pronoun (size, colour, number, quality).
- Descriptive: tall, beautiful, hot
- Quantitative: some, many, few, several
- Numeral: one, first, second
- Demonstrative: this, that (used as adjective before noun)
- Interrogative: which, what (used as adjective)
- Possessive: my, your, his
- Distributive: each, every, either, neither
Adverb modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence (manner, time, place, degree, frequency).
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Manner | slowly, carefully, well |
| Time | now, then, yesterday, soon, already, still |
| Place | here, there, everywhere, outside |
| Frequency | often, always, never, sometimes |
| Degree | very, quite, too, almost, enough |
| Affirmation/negation | certainly, surely, not, never |
Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection
Preposition: links a noun/pronoun to another word, showing relation. Common: in, on, at, by, for, of, with, to, from, into, between, among, beside, against, around, before, after.
Conjunction: joins words, phrases or clauses. Three types covered in the Conjunctions topic.
Interjection: a sudden exclamation. Oh!, Alas!, Hurrah!, Wow!, Bravo!, Ouch!
Same Word, Different Part
Many English words shift roles in different sentences.
| Word | As noun | As verb | As adjective | As adverb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| fast | a religious fast | to fast on Tuesday | a fast car | he runs fast |
| well | the village well | tears well up | a well argument | he sings well |
| round | another round of talks | they rounded the corner | a round table | turn round |
| before | — | — | — | I had seen it before (adv); before me (prep); before he came (conj) |
Always ask: what is this word doing in this sentence? - then assign the part of speech.
CDS/OTA PYQ Examples
Q: In 'It is eleven o'clock now and all of us should retire to bed', the word 'it' is a:
(a) Personal pronoun (b) Relative pronoun (c) Impersonal pronoun (d) Verb
Answer: (c) Impersonal pronoun — 'it' here doesn't refer to anything; it's a dummy subject for time/weather expressions.
Q: Identify the part of speech of 'fast' in: He runs fast.
(a) Noun (b) Verb (c) Adjective (d) Adverb
Answer: (d) Adverb — modifies the verb 'runs', telling how he runs.
Q: Identify the part of speech of 'that' in: I know that he is honest.
(a) Demonstrative pronoun (b) Relative pronoun (c) Conjunction (d) Adjective
Answer: (c) Conjunction — 'that' introduces the noun clause 'he is honest'.
Q: Identify the part of speech of 'well' in: This is a deep well.
(a) Noun (b) Verb (c) Adjective (d) Adverb
Answer: (a) Noun — 'well' here means a water-shaft.
Q: In 'He is one who never gives up', the word 'who' is a:
(a) Interrogative pronoun (b) Relative pronoun (c) Demonstrative pronoun (d) Indefinite pronoun
Answer: (b) Relative pronoun — introduces the relative clause modifying 'one'.
Q: Identify the part of speech of 'before' in: I had finished before he arrived.
(a) Preposition (b) Adverb (c) Conjunction (d) Noun
Answer: (c) Conjunction — 'before' joins two clauses by indicating time.
Drill Identifying Parts of Speech for CDS/OTA
CDS/OTA-pattern items on Identifying Parts of Speech with answer keys and explanations.
Start Free Mock TestFrequently Asked Questions
How do I quickly identify a part of speech?
Ask what role the word plays. Subject/object → noun or pronoun. Action/state → verb. Describes a noun → adjective. Modifies a verb/adj/adv → adverb. Links words → preposition or conjunction.
Can a word change its part of speech?
Yes - this is called 'conversion' or 'functional shift'. English freely lets nouns become verbs ('to text', 'to email'), adjectives become nouns ('the rich'), and verbs become nouns ('a long run').
What's the difference between 'this' as pronoun and 'this' as adjective?
'This' is a demonstrative pronoun when it stands alone ('This is mine'). It's a demonstrative adjective when it precedes a noun ('this book is mine').
Is 'a' a part of speech?
Articles (a/an/the) are traditionally grouped with adjectives in older grammars, but modern grammar treats them as 'determiners' - a separate class along with possessives and quantifiers.
Why does CDS ask about 'it' as impersonal pronoun?
Because students often misidentify it. In 'It is raining', 'it' is impersonal - it has no antecedent, just fills the subject slot. CDS PYQs repeatedly test this.