Parts of Speech Examples

Here are some examples of sentences made with different English parts of speech:

verb

Stop!

noun	verb
John	works.

noun	verb	verb
John	is	working.

pronoun	verb	noun
She	loves	animals.

noun	verb	noun	adverb
Tara	speaks	English	well.

noun	verb	adjective	noun
Tara	speaks	good	English.

pronoun	verb	preposition	determiner	noun	adverb
She	ran	to	the	station	quickly.

pron.	verb	adj.	noun	conjunction	pron.	verb	pron.
She	likes	big	snakes	but	I	hate	them.

Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:

interjection	pron.	conj.	det.	adj.	noun	verb	prep.	noun	adverb
Well,	she	and	my	young	John	walk	to	school	slowly.

Words with More Than One Job
Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one part of speech. For example, "work" can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be a conjunction and a preposition; "well" can be an adjective, an adverb and an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as adjectives.

• verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjunction!

word	part of speech	example
work	noun	My work is easy.
	verb	I work in London.
but	conjunction	John came but Mary didn't come.
	preposition	Everyone came but Mary.
well	adjective	Are you well?
	adverb	She speaks well.
	interjection	Well! That's expensive!
afternoon	noun	We ate in the afternoon.
	noun acting as adjective	We had afternoon tea.

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part of speech

We can categorize English words into 9 basic types called "parts of speech" or "word classes". It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences.

part of speech	function or "job"	example words	example sentences
Verb	action or state	(to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must	the1knowledge is a web site. I like the1knowledge.
Noun	thing or person	pen, dog, work, music, town, London, teacher, John	This is my dog. He lives in my house. We live in London.
Adjective	describes a noun	good, big, red, well, interesting	My dogs are big. I like big dogs.
Determiner	limits or "determines" a noun	a/an, the, 2, some, many	I have two dogs and some rabbits.
Adverb	describes a verb, adjective or adverb	quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really	My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.
Pronoun	replaces a noun	I, you, he, she, some	Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
Preposition	links a noun to another word	to, at, after, on, but	We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction	joins clauses or sentences or words	and, but, when	I like dogs and I like cats. I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats.
Interjection	short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence	oh!, ouch!, hi!, well	Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are you? Well, I don't know.

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Young Goodman Brown Summary

This short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne features Goodman (which is an old-fashioned way of saying mister) Brown who lives with his wife of three months, Faith in Salem village during the time of the Puritans. He tells her that he must go on a journey, and he heads into the woods. Once there, he meets a man who tries to persuade Goodman Brown to go with him, but Brown is reluctant. The man says that he knew Brown's father and grandfather and helped them in wicked ways. It soon becomes clear that the man Brown is talking to is the devil. Goodman wants to stay true to his faith, referring to both his religious beliefs and his wife, which the devil finds amusing. He tells Brown that many "good" people have come to his side. Then they notice a woman nearby, and the devil goes to speak to her. Brown recognizes her as Goody Cloyse, an older woman who taught him religious education. He is surprised that this woman appears to be friends with the devil and seems to be implying that she is a witch. As Brown continues to protest going along with the devil, the devil encourages him to sit and rest awhile. Brown sits and hides himself amongst the foliage. Then two men come by on horseback. One was a deacon of the church, and they were discussing a meeting that would take place that evening at which a young woman would be taken into their group. Despite seeing religious men from town seemingly on the devil's side, Brown vows not to be taken in.

     Brown then wandered toward noises he heard deeper in the woods. He heard a woman's screams, saw his wife, and found her pink hair ribbon fall onto a branch in front of him. He declared that he had lost his faith, referring to both his wife and his convictions, so he decides to cross over to the devil's side after all. He raced toward blazing trees where many villagers along with Indians and others congregated in a sort of powwow. Goodman Brown came forward when called by the devil and saw Faith standing before the altar as well. They looked at one another as the devil was asking them to join his brood, and at the last moment, Goodman Brown looked up and told Faith to resist the devil's invitation. He did not know what she did, but he found himself back at home the next morning.

     As he walked through town, he shrank away from the people he saw. When Faith ran up joyfully to kiss him, he looked at her sadly and walked away without saying anything. He wondered if that which he had witnessed in the forest had all been a dream. Whether a dream or not, that night changed Goodman Brown into a depressed, distrustful man who lived out the rest of his life jaded by what he saw whether real or imagined.

     The story raises several questions, such as what did Brown actually see in the forest? Was it real? Did he dream it? Did the devil make him hallucinate it? Clearly, the answer is based partly on admitting that this story is a fantasy since he spoke to the devil. It also seems to say that all people have evil inside of them, the question is whether they give in to it or not. Brown didn't seem to give in to the temptation, but did Faith? Or was he just assuming she did or projecting his feelings onto her? It's a very ambiguous ending.

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Story Analysis: Critique of Puritan Society

Like so many of Hawthorne's short stories and novels, 'Young Goodman Brown' takes place in Puritan New England, specifically in Salem, Massachusetts. You're probably already aware of Salem's grisly history as home of the infamous Witch Trials, during which dozens of women and men were accused of witchcraft, and many were executed. One of Hawthorne's ancestors was actually involved in the trials and sentenced several women to death. Some scholars have suggested that this family legacy may have been what sparked Hawthorne's interest in writing about - and criticizing - Puritan society.

At the beginning of the story, the Old Man reveals that he was present during two major events from Goodman Brown's family history: when Goodman Brown's grandfather whipped a Quaker woman in the streets of Salem, and when Goodman Brown's father burned an Indian village during King Philip's War.

Hawthorne drew these details from the actual history of Salem village. Founded by Puritans seeking religious tolerance, Salem quickly became a repressive society where those who did not follow sanctioned behavior were violently punished. The Quakers, the American Indians, and those convicted of witchcraft were among those brutally treated by the Puritans, and Hawthorne's story suggests that underneath Salem village's pious exterior, hypocrisy and intolerance prevail.

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