Project:Parts of Speech 101

This page is a quick rundown on the parts of speech in English as they relate to this wiki.

Noun
A noun is a word that names a thing or concept. Words like "apple", "love", "system", "Pluralpedia", or someone's name are nouns.

If you can replace the word "cat" or "dogs" in "The cat likes dogs" with your word and it doesn't sound like a grammar mistake (even if it is nonsense), it is probably a noun.

Verb
A verb is a word that names an action or relationship. Words like "front", "eat", "likes", "yeeted", or "hugged" are verbs.

If you can replace the word "likes" in the sentence "The cat likes dogs" with your word (or a version of it), it is probably a verb.

Note that the -ing form of verbs can be used as other parts of speech. The sentence "The cat likes playing" has the word "playing" as a noun, but the word "play" itself is still a verb, as this form can be used with any verb. Similarly, the sentence "The cat likes the sleeping dog" has "sleeping" as an adjective, but the word "sleep" is still a verb.

If at all possible, use the base form of a verb as the title of the article. The base form is the one that fits in sentences like "The cats sleep". (For example, the base form of "fronting" is "front", and the base form of "kicking" is "kick".)

Adjective
An adjective is a word that can modify a noun. Words like "green", "colorless", "endogenic", "cute", or "playful" are adjectives.

If you can replace the word "green" in the sentence "I would not eat green eggs and ham." with your word, it is probably an adjective. Most -ing words are *not* adjectives, and are instead gerund form of the verb.

Adverb
An adverb is a word that can modify a verb. Words like "softly", "quietly", "abruptly", or "suddenly" are adverbs.

If you can replace the word "softly" in the sentence "I snuck upstairs quietly" with your word, it is probably an adverb.

Pronoun
Pronouns are words that appear in place of another word. Words like "I", "we", "they", or "he" are pronouns. Pronouns can take on different meanings depending on who speaks them, and what context they are spoken in.

For example, in the sentence "The boy hit the dog who bit him", "him" means "the boy" but in the sentence "The teacher sent the boy to the principal for hitting him", "him" means "the teacher".

As another example, if Alice was to say "I am hungry", the word "I" means "Alice". But, if Bob were to say "I am also hungry", the word "I" in a different context means "Bob".