Word Classification

Word classes are the same as what in traditional terminology are called parts of speech
and what many contemporary linguists call lexical categories). Word classes, also known as part
of speech, are a categorization based on the function of the word in the sentence.

The classification of words applied here is not the traditional classification which, based
mainly on meaning, classifies all English words commonly into eight parts of speech: noun,
verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. It is based on the new
classification which classifies all English words into two main divisions, namely, class words
and function words. The classification is consistently based on form. The class words can be
further subdivided into: (1) class 1 words (nouns), (2) class 2 words (verbs), (3) class 3 words
(adjectives), and (4) class 4 words (adverbs). It is these four classes of words which are called
the parts of speech. The majority of English words belong to these four parts of speech. The
other words which do not belong to these four parts of speech are called function words, namely,
words which do not have lexical meanings. These function words always occur with the parts of
speech to form phrases.

Word classes are a set of words that display the same formal properties, especially their
inflections and distribution. Similar to the more traditional term part of speech. The two major
families of word classes are (1) lexical classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) and (2)
function classes can be subdivided into the following groups (pronouns, determiners, auxiliaries,
prepositions, conjunction, articles, intensifiers, interjections and question words).

A. Lexical words/ open class/ content words

Word classes that expands with the progress in time are called open class words.
The following are the different open class words in English. Lexical Word is a word that
conveys information in a text or speech act. Lexical word can be identified as a content
word. Content words-- which include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs--belong to
open classes of words. Radford. A. (2009:2) declares that “words which have substantive
lexical content. Lexical/substantive categories found in English namely noun, verb,
adjective, and adverb (conventionally abbreviated to N, V, A, and ADV in order to save
space)”. Teschner and Evan (2007:5-12) classify lexical word in four categories namely
noun, verb, adjective, and adverb. From the explanation above, the researcher serves it
bellow:
1. Noun
Noun is a word that function as the name of a specific object or set of
objects, such as “persons,” “animals,” “places,” “things,” “ideas,” or
“events,” etc. Nouns encompass most of the words of a language.
Noun can be a/an -
 Person – a name for a person: - Max, Mifta, Catherine, Michel, Shawn,
etc.
 Animal – a name for an animal: - dog, cat, cow, kangaroo, etc.
 Place – a name for a place: - London, Australia, Canada, Seoul, etc.
 Thing – a name for a thing: - bat, ball, chair, door, house, computer,
etc.
 Idea – A name for an idea: - devotion, superstition, happiness,
excitement, etc.
1.1. Types of Noun
a. Proper Noun
A proper noun is a name which refers only to a single person,
place, or thing and there is no common name for it. In written
English, a proper noun always begins with capital letters.
Example:
 Melbourne (it refers to only one particular city), Steve (refers to
a particular person),
 Australia (there is no other country named Australia; this name
is fixed for only one country).
b. Common Noun
A common noun is a name for something which is common for
many things, person, or places. It encompasses a particular type of
things, person, or places.
 Example: Country (it can refer to any country, nothing in
particular), city (it can refer to any city like Melbourne, Mumbai,
Toronto, etc. but nothing in particular).
So, a common noun is a word that indicates a person, place, thing,
etc. In general and a proper noun is a specific one of those.
c. Abstract Noun
An abstract noun is a word for something that cannot be seen but is
there. It has no physical existence. Generally, it refers to ideas,
qualities, and conditions.
Example: “Truth,” “lies,” “happiness,” “sorrow”, “time,”
“friendship,”, “humor,” “patriotism,” etc.
Abstract Noun Examples in Sentences:
 Truthfulness is a virtue that is rare nowadays.
 Different people may have different ideas, opinions, and
beliefs.
d. Concrete Noun
A concrete noun is the exact opposite of abstract noun. It refers to
the things we see and have physical existence.
Example: “Chair”, “table”, “bat”, “ball”, “water”, “money”,
“sugar”, etc.
e. Countable Noun
The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns.
Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the.
Example: “Chair”, “table”, “bat”, “ball”, etc. (you can say 1 ball, 2
balls, 3 balls – so balls are countable)
Countable Noun examples in sentences:
 The car contains four seats.
 Bring me a glass of water.
f. Non-countable Noun
The nouns that cannot be counted are called non-countable nouns.
 Example: Water, sugar, oil, salt, etc. (you cannot say “1 water, 2
water, 3 water” because water is not countable)
Abstract nouns and proper nouns are always non-countable nouns,
but common nouns and concrete nouns can be both count and non-
count nouns.
Non-countable Noun examples in sentences:
 I need some drinking water.
 How much time do you need?
g. Collective Noun
A collective noun is a word for a group of things, people, or
animals, etc.
Example: “family”, “team”, “jury”, “cattle”, etc.
Collective nouns can be both plural and singular. However,
Americans prefer to use collective nouns as singular, but both of
the uses are correct in other parts of the world.
h. Compound Noun
Sometimes two or three nouns appear together, or even with other
parts of speech, and create idiomatic compound nouns. Idiomatic
means that those nouns behave as a unit and, to a lesser or greater
degree, amount to more than the sum of their parts.
Example: “six-pack”, “five-year-old”, and “son-in-law”,
“snowball”, “mailbox”, etc.

1.2. Functions of Nouns

Nouns can be used as a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object
of a verb; as an object of a preposition; and as an adverb or adjective
in sentences. Nouns can also show possession.
 Subject: The company is doing great. Roses are the flowers of love.
 Direct object: I finally bought a new mobile.
 Indirect object: Max gave Carol another chocolate.
 Object of preposition: Roses are the flowers of love.
  Adverb: The train leaves today.
 Adjective: The office building faces the mall.
 Possession: The lion’s cage is dangerous. My brother’s daughter is
adorable.
2. Verb
Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the subject is
doing. Along with nouns, verbs are the main part of a sentence or phrase,
telling a story about what is taking place.
a. Physical Verbs
Physical verbs are action verbs. They describe specific physical
actions. If you can create a motion with your body or use a tool to
complete an action, the word you use to describe it is most likely a
physical verb.
For example: Let's walk to campus with the others.
b. Mental Verbs
Mental verbs have meanings that are related to concepts such as
discovering, understanding, thinking, or planning. In general, a mental
verb refers to a cognitive state.
For example: Do you believe everything people tell you?
2.1. Basic Forms of Verb
There are six basic forms of verbs. These forms are as follows:
- Base form
The base form (or root) of a verb is the form listed in the
Dictionary.
For example: Children play in the field.
- Infinitive
An infinitive is a verb form that acts as other parts of speech in a
sentence. It is formed with to + base form of the verb.
For example: Tell them not to play
- Past tense
 The easiest form, we use this when the action has already
happened or has been completed.
For example: They played football yesterday.
- Past participle
The past participle is often used when we want to express a passive
action. In English we add -ed to the infinitive of regular verbs. We
use the 3rd column of the table of the irregular verbs.
For example: I have eaten a burger.
- Present participle
The present participle is often used when we want to express an
active action. In English we add -ing to the infinitive of the verb.
For example: I saw them playing with him today.
- Gerund
A gerund is a verb in its ing (present participle) form that functions
as a noun that names an activity rather than a person or thing.
For example: Swimming is the best exercise.

2.2. Types of Verbs

a. Finite Verb
Finite verbs are the actual verbs which are called the roots of
sentences. It is a form of a verb that is performed by or refers to a
subject and uses one of the twelve forms of tense and changes
according to the number/person of the subject.
For example: Jojo plays badminton
b. Non-finite Verb
Non-finite Verbs are not actual verbs. They do not work as verbs
in the sentence rather they work as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc.
Non-finite verbs do not change according to the number/person of
the subject because these verbs, also called verbals, do not have
any direct relation to the subject. Sometimes they become the
subject themselves.
 For example: Walking is a good habit.
c. Action Verb
Action verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence performs.
Action verbs can make the listener/reader feel emotions, see scenes
more vividly and accurately.
For example: He is playing a new guitar.
d. Transitive Verb
Transitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable
activities that relate or affect someone or something else.
For example: I wake up at 5 o’clock.
e. Intransitive Verb
An intransitive verb is one that does not need to transfer action on
an object in order to make sense.
For example: He arrived with moments to spare.
f. Auxiliary Verb
An auxiliary verb (or helping verb) accompanies a main verb to
help express tense, voice or mood. The most common auxiliary
verbs are "be," "do," and "have" (in their various forms).
For example: Jimin has eaten all the pies.
g. Modal Verb
A modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb used to express ideas such
as ability, possibility, permission, and obligation. The modal
auxiliary verbs are "can," "could," "may," "might," "must," "ought
to," "shall," "should," "will," and "would."
For example: Camila might eat that pie before he gets home.
h. Linking Verb
A linking verb adds details about the subject of a sentence. In its
simplest form, it connects the subject and the complement that is,
the words that follow the linking verb. Generally, linking verbs are
called ‘be’ verbs which are - am, is, are, was, were. However, there
 are some other verbs which can work as linking verbs. Those verbs
are:
“Act”, “feel”, “remain”, “appear”, “become”, “seem”, “smell”,
“sound”, “grow”, “look”, “prove”, “stay”, “taste”, “turn”.
For example: The food seemed delicious.

3. Adjectives
An adjective describes or modifies noun/s and pronoun/s in a sentence. It
normally indicates quality, size, shape, duration, feelings, contents, and more
about a noun or pronoun.
3.1. Types of Adjective
a. Articles
Articles also modify the nouns. So, articles are also adjectives.
Articles determine the specification of nouns. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are used
to refer to an unspecific noun, and ‘the’ is used to refer to a
specific noun.
For examples:
 A cat is always afraid of water.
 The cat is afraid of me.
 An electronic product should always be handled with care.
b. Quantitative Adjectives
A quantitative adjective provides information about the quantity of
the nouns/pronouns. This type belongs to the question category of
‘how much’ and ‘how many’.
For examples:
 They have three children. (How many)
 You should have completed the whole task. (How much)
c. Possessive Adjectives
A possessive adjective indicates possession or ownership. It
suggests the belongingness of something to someone/something.
 Some of the most used possessive adjectives are my, his, her, our,
their, your.
For example: Her books are interesting.
d. Demonstrative Adjectives
Like the article the, demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate
or demonstrate specific people, animals, or things. “These,”
“those,” “this” and “that” are demonstrative adjectives.
“This” — Used to refer to a singular noun close to you.
“That” — Used to refer to a singular noun far from you.
“These” — Used to refer to a plural noun close to you.
“Those” — Used to refer to a plural noun far from you.
For example: Please put those cookies on the blue plate.
e. Descriptive Adjectives
A descriptive adjective is a word which describes nouns and
pronouns. Most of the adjectives belong in this type. These
adjectives provide information and attribute to the nouns/pronouns
they modify or describe. Descriptive adjectives are also called
qualitative adjectives.
For example: The hungry cats are crying.
f. Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives are the adjective form of proper nouns. When
proper nouns modify or describe other nouns/pronouns, they
become proper adjectives. ‘Proper’ means ‘specific’ rather than
‘formal’ or ‘polite.’
A proper adjective allows us to summarize a concept in just one
word. Instead of writing/saying ‘a food cooked in Chinese recipe’
you can write/say ‘Chinese food’.
For example: Chinese people are hard workers.
g. Interrogative Adjectives
Interrogative adjectives interrogate, meaning that they ask a
question. These adjectives are always followed by a noun or a
 pronoun, and are used to form questions. In this category, be on the
lookout for these words:
“Which” — Asks to make a choice between options.
“What” — Asks to make a choice (in general).
“Whose” — Asks who something belongs to.
For example: What pet do you want to get?
h. Indefinite Adjectives
An indefinite adjective describes or modifies a noun
unspecifically. They provide indefinite/unspecific information
about the noun. The common indefinite adjectives are few, many,
much, most, all, any, each, every, either, nobody, several, some,
etc.
For example: Each student will have to submit homework
tomorrow.
i. Compound Adjectives
When compound nouns/combined words modify other nouns, they
become a compound adjective. This type of adjective usually
combines more than one word into a single lexical unit and
modifies a noun. They are often separated by a hyphen or joined
together by a quotation mark.
For example: Claire worked as a part-time keeper at Supermarket.
j. The Degree of Adjectives
There are three degrees of adjectives: Positive, comparative,
superlative. These degrees are applicable only for the descriptive
adjectives.
For examples:
 Positive degree: He is a good boy.
 Comparative degree: He is better than any other boy.
 Superlative: He is the best boy.

4. Adverb
An adverb is a part of speech (or word class) that's primarily used to modify a
verb, adjective, or other adverbs and can additionally modify prepositional
phrases, subordinate clauses, and complete sentences. Put another way,
adverbs are content words that provide information about how, when, or
where something happens.
Adverbs can modify a verb or adjective in several ways, by providing
information about emphasis, manner, time, place, and frequency.
4.1. Types of Adverb
a. Adverbs of Emphasis
Adverbs of emphasis are used to give added force or a greater
degree of certainty to another word in a sentence or to the sentence
as a whole. Common adverbs of emphasis include absolutely,
definitely, obviously, positively, really, simply, and undoubtedly.
These types of adverbs serve to bolster the part of speech they
modify.
For example:
 He certainly liked the food.
 She is clearly the frontrunner.
b. Adverbs of Time
An adverb of time provides more information about when a verb
takes place. Adverbs of time are usually placed at the beginning or
end of a sentence. When it is of particular importance to express
the moment something happened we’ll put it at the start of a
sentence.
Examples of adverbs of time: “never”, “lately”, “just”, “always”,
“recently”, “during”, “yet”, “soon”, “sometimes”, “usually”, “so
far”.
For examples:
 I've already bought my tickets for the concert.
 We recently bought a new car.
c. Adverbs of Place
 Adverbs of place illustrate where the verb is happening. It’s
usually placed after the main verb or object, or at the end of the
sentence.
Examples of adverbs of place: “here”, “there”, “nowhere”,
“everywhere”, “out”, “in”, “above”, “below”, “inside”, “outside”,
“into”, “in front of”
For examples:
 I can’t see anything because there’s a tall man in front of
me.
 I decided to rest over there.
d. Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner provide more information about how a verb is
done. Adverbs of manner are probably the most common of all
adverbs. They’re easy to spot too. Most of them will end in –ly.
Examples of adverbs of manner: “neatly”, “slowly”, “quickly”,
“sadly”, “calmly”, “politely”, “loudly”, “kindly”, “lazily”
For examples:
 Hanan coughed loudly to attract her attention.
 I politely opened the door for my father as he stepped out of
the car.
e. Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of degree explain the level or intensity of a verb,
adjective, or even another adverb.
Example of adverbs of degree: “almost”, “quite”, “nearly”, “too”,
“enough”, “just”, “hardly”, “simply”, “so”.
For examples:
 Can I come to the movies too?
 I’m so excited to see Westlife’s world tour concert!
f. Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency explain how often the verb occurs. They’re
often placed directly before the main verb of a sentence.
 Examples of adverbs of frequency: “never”, “always”, “rarely”,
“sometimes”, “normally”, “seldom”, “usually”, “again”.
For examples:
 I rarely eat fast food these days.
 He usually gets up at 6 o'clock.

B. Functional words/Closed Words/Grammatical Words

In English grammar, closed class refers to the category of function words—that is,
parts of speech (or word classes)—that don't readily accept new members. The closed
classes in English include pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, prepositions,
5. Pronoun
A pronoun is defined as a word or phrase that is used as a substitution for
a noun or noun phrase, which is known as the pronoun’s antecedent. Pronouns
are short words and can do everything that nouns can do and are one of the
building blocks of a sentence. Common pronouns are “he,” “she,” “you,”
“me,” “I,” “we,” “us,” “this,” “them,” “that.” A pronoun can act as a subject,
direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, and more and takes the
place of any person, place, animal or thing. As mentioned, pronouns are
usually used to replace nouns, however they can also stand in for certain
adverbs, adjectives, and other pronouns. Almost anytime you refer to a
person, animal, place or thing, you can use pronouns to add interest and make
your speech or writing flow better.
5.1. Types of Pronouns
Pronouns can be divided into numerous categories including:
a. Personal Pronoun
Personal pronouns take the place of people or things. They can
be either singular or plural, depending whether they refer to
one or multiple nouns. Personal pronouns are usually either the
subject of a sentence or an object within a sentence. Each
personal pronoun has different forms depending on its
function.
 - Subjective personal pronouns
Subjective personal pronouns are pronouns that act as the
subject of a sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are
“I”, “you”, “he”, “she”, “it”, “we”, “you” and “they”.
For example: We will be late if you don’t hurry up.
- Objective personal pronouns
Objective personal pronouns are pronouns that act as the
object of a sentence. The objective personal pronouns
are me, you, her, him, it, us, you, and them.
For example: Taehyung sang the song to me.
b. Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that also indicate
possession of something. They have singular forms (like my),
and plural forms (like our). These pronouns often appear before
the possessed item, but not always. The possessive pronouns
are “mine”, “yours”, “his,” “hers,” “ours,” and “theirs.”
For example: This present is mine. It has my name on it.
c. Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are used to link one phrase or clause to
another phrase or clause. The relative pronouns are “who”,
“whom”, “that”, and “which”. The compounds whoever,
whomever, and whichever are also commonly used relative
pronouns.
For example: Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the world.
d. Reflexive Pronoun
Reflexive pronoun redirects a sentence or a clause back to the
subject, which is also the direct object of that sentence. A
reflexive pronoun comes when the subject performs its action
upon itself. Here, ‘itself’ is a reflexive pronoun. The reflexive
pronouns used in writing English are “myself”, “yourself”,
 “herself,” “himself,” “itself,” “ourselves,” “yourselves,” and
“themselves”.
For example: She baked a bread for herself.
e. Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns point to and identify a noun or a
pronoun. “This” and “these” refer to things that are nearby in
space or time, while “that” and “those” refer to things that are
farther away in space or further away in time.
For example: This is the dress I will wear; that is the one I
wore yesterday.
f. Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. The
interrogative pronouns are “who,” “whom,” “which,” and
“what.” It is important to remember that “who” and “whom”
are used to refer to people, while “which” is used to refer to
things and animals. Who acts as the subject, while “whom”
acts as the object.
For example: Whom should we invite?
g. Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to an identifiable, but not specified,
person or thing. An indefinite pronoun conveys the idea of all,
any, none, or some. If you are learning English as a second
language, remember the following common indefinite
pronouns: “all,” “another,” “any,” “anybody,” “anyone,”
“anything,” “each,” “everybody,” “everyone,” “everything,”
“few,” “many,” “nobody,” “none,” “one,” “several,” “some,”
“somebody,” and “someone.”
For example: I really want to do something in my life.

6. Determiners
 A determiner is a word placed in front of a noun to specify quantity (e.g.,
"one dog," "many dogs") or to clarify what the noun refers to (e.g., "my dog,"
"that dog," "the dog").
6.1. Types of Determiners
a. Articles (Type of Determiner)
The articles are the words "a," "an," and "the." They define
whether something is specific or unspecific. There are two types of
article:
1. The Definite Article (The)
"The" is called the definite article. It defines its noun as
something specific (e.g., something previously mentioned or
known, something unique, something being identified by the
speaker).
For example: This is the lake. (This is a previously specified
lake, i.e., one already known to the readers.)
2. The Indefinite Article (A, An)
"A" and "an" are called the indefinite articles. They define their
noun as something unspecific (e.g., something generic,
something mentioned for the first time).
For example: This is a lake. (This is a previously unspecified
lake.)
b. Demonstratives (Type of Determiner)
The demonstrative determiners (known as demonstrative adjectives
in traditional grammar) are “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those.” A
demonstrative determiner defines where its noun or pronoun is in
relation to the speaker.
This and these define close things (in terms of distance,
psychological closeness or time). That and those define distant
things.
For example:
 Is this your key?
  That one looks worried.
 In these matters, the only certainty is nothing is certain.
 I regret those times when I've chosen the dark side. I've
wasted time being unhappy.
c. Possessives (Type of Determiner)
The possessive determiners (known as possessive adjectives in
traditional grammar) are “my,” “your,” “his,” “her,” “its,” “our,”
“their,” and “whose.” A possessive determiner sits before a noun
(or a pronoun) to show who or what owns it.
For example: Each owner is responsible for their dog.
d. Quantifiers (Type of Determiner)
Any determiner that refers, even loosely, to an amount or a
quantity can be classified as a quantifier. So, numbers (one dog,
two dogs) are quantifiers. Not all quantifiers are so specific though.
Many refer to an undefined amount or quantity. The most common
ones are “any,” “all,” “many,” “much,” “several” and “some”
(these are called indefinite adjectives in traditional grammar).
For example:
 He bought some flowers.
 We didn’t buy any flowers.

7. Auxiliaries
Auxiliary (or Helping) verbs are used together with a main verb to show
the verb’s tense or to form a negative or question. The most common auxiliary
verbs are have, be, and do.
Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, add functional or
grammatical meaning to the clauses in which they appear. They perform their
functions in several different ways:
 By expressing tense ( providing a time reference, i.e. past, present, or
future)
 Grammatical aspect (expresses how verb relates to the flow of time)
 Modality (quantifies verbs)
 Voice (describes the relationship between the action expressed by the
verb and the participants identified by the verb’s subject, object, etc.)
 Adds emphasis to a sentence
Auxiliary verbs almost always appear together with a main verb, and
though there are only a few of them, they are among the most frequently
occurring verbs in the English language.
7.1. Three Common Auxiliary Verbs
There are just three common auxiliary verbs:
 Have
 Do
 Be
a. Have
“Have” is a very important verb that can stand alone in all its
tenses, including has, have, having, had, and hadn’t or had not. It is
usually used to denote ownership, and it can also be used to
discuss ability or describe appearance. “Have” is also a very
popular substitute for the verbs “eat” and “drink.”
For example: Let’s have dinner.
b. Do
“Do” can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its
tenses, including to do, do, does, done, did and didn’t, doesn’t or
did not. When used as an auxiliary verb, do is always paired up
with another verb to create a complete verb phrase. Do is often
used to form questions and negated clauses. It is also used in
elliptical sentences, where the main verb is understood and is
omitted as a result.
For example:
 He plays piano well, doesn’t he?
 They all had dinner, but I didn’t.
c. Be
 “Be” or “to be” is an important verb that has a multitude of uses in
English. It can be used as an action verb that stands alone in all its
tenses including “be,” “to be,” “been,” “am,” “are,” “is,” “was,”
“were,” “wasn’t,” “aren’t,” and “weren’t.” When used as an
auxiliary verb, be is always paired with another verb to create a
complete verb phrase. It can be singular or plural, present or past.
Negative sentences are formed by adding the word “not”.
For examples:
 Jerry is messy.
 Jerry is going to be doing extra laundry for the rest of his
life.

7.2. Modal Auxiliary Verbs

In addition to the three main auxiliary verbs, have, do, and be,
there are additional auxiliary verbs. These are called modal auxiliary
verbs, and they never change form. A complete list of modal auxiliary
verbs follows: “Can,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “must,” “ought to,”
“shall,” “should,” “will,” “would.”
For examples:
 Could you please turn off the TV? I’m working right now.
 The teacher might come but it’s not sure at all.

8. Intensifiers
An intensifier is a word that strengthens or weakens another word (usually
the word immediately to its right). An intensifier has no real meaning by itself
and can usually be removed from the sentence. Intensifiers are adverbs.
The most common intensifiers are "very," "extremely," and "incredibly." The
sole purpose of an intensifier is to tell us about the intensity of another word.
For examples:
 This pie is very tasty.
 Last week's test was incredibly easy.
9. Prepositions
The definition of a preposition is a word or phrase that connects a noun or
pronoun to a verb or adjective in a sentence. They are usually short words, and
they normally are found in front of nouns. On rare occasions, prepositions can
be found in front of gerund verbs.
If the subject, noun, and verb are the bricks of sentence, then prepositions
are the mortar that connects them. They express position, movement,
possession, time, and how an action is completed.
9.1. Types of Preposition
a. Prepositions of Time
Basic examples of time prepositions include: “at,” “on,” “in,”
“before” and “after.” They are used to help indicate when
something happened, happens or will happen. It can get a little
confusing though, as many different prepositions can be used.
For example: Before I discovered this cafe, I used to go straight
home after work.
b. Prepositions of Movement
Prepositions of movement are quite easy to understand as they are
less abstract than prepositions of place and time. Essentially, they
describe how something or someone moves from one place to
another. The most commonly used preposition of movement is to,
which usually serves to highlight that there is movement towards a
specific destination.
For example: He has gone on vacation to France.

9.2. Recognize a Preposition

a. Prepositions with Nouns
There are lots of different nouns that carry specific prepositions to
consolidate their meaning. These are called dependent
prepositions. Moreover, there are many possible combinations.
 Essentially, it’s case of familiarizing yourself with the different
possibilities of nouns and dependent prepositions.
For example: He displayed cruelty towards his dog.
b. Prepositions with Verbs
Prepositional verbs – the phrasal combinations of verbs and
prepositions – are important parts of speech. The prepositions
again act as links between the verb and noun or gerund, giving
extra meaning to the sentence. The prepositions most commonly
used with verbs are: “to,” “for,” “about,” “of,” “in,” “at” and
“from.”
For example: William can relate to the character in the play.
c. Prepositions with Adjectives
Prepositions can form phrases with adjectives to give further
context to the action, emotion or thing the adjective is describing.
Like verbs and nouns, adjectives can be followed by: “to,”
“about,” “in,” “for,” “with,” “at” and “by.”
For example: Ellie is crazy about this movie.

10. Conjunctions
Conjunctions are used to join clauses, phrases, and words together for
constructing sentences. Conjunctions make a link between/among words or
groups of words to other parts of the sentence and show a relationship
between/among them.
10.1. Types of Conjunctions
a. Coordinating Conjunctions
The job of a coordinating conjunction is to join two words,
phrases, or independent clauses, which are parallel in structure.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions which are by far the
most common conjunctions: “and,” “but,” “for,” “nor,” “or,” “so,”
“yet.”
For examples:
  Pizza and burgers are my favorite fast food.
 I am mad at you, yet still I forgive you.
b. Correlative Conjunctions
A correlative conjunction uses a set of words in a parallel sentence
structure to show a contrast or to compare the equal parts of a
sentence. The words of correlative conjunctions have a special
connection between them.
The correlative conjunctions are “not only…but also,” “either…
or,” “neither…nor,” “both…and,” “not…but,” “whether…or.”
For examples:
 He may buy either a laptop or a camera
 Both my mother and my father want me to be a lawyer.
c. Subordinating Conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction joins elements of an unparallel
sentence structure. These elements are usually a dependent clause
and an independent clause.
Most commonly used subordinating conjunctions are:
“After,” “how,” “than,” “when,” “although,” “if,” “that,” “where,”
“as,” “in order that,” “though,” “which,” “as much as,” “inasmuch
as,” “unless,” “while,” “because,” “provided,” “until,”
“who/whom,” “before,” “since,” “what,” “whoever/whomever.”
For examples:
 Even though the weather was horrible, they still went
outside.
 He will get up earlier in order that he can arrived on time.

11. Interjection
An interjection is a part of speech, either a word or phrase, that expresses
sudden feelings, communicates a desire, or fills the silence. An interjection
adds emotional value to a statement. Grammatically, interjections are one of
two types:
11.1. Types of Interjection
a. Primary interjections list
Primary interjections are words that are primarily interjections and
do not function as any other part of speech.
List of interjection that are primary: “ack,” “ah,” “aha,” “aw,”
“bah,” “boo,” “brr,” “eh,” “er,” “gee,” “geez,” “hmm,” “huzzah,”
“hurray,” “meh,” “oh,” “oh my god,” “oops,” “ouch,” “pfft,”
“phew,” “ugh,” “uh,” “uh-huh,” “um,” “whoa,” “yahoo,” “yay,”
“yippee,” “yuck,” “yum,”
For example: Hurray! He has set a new record today.
b. Secondary interjections list
When nouns, adjectives, and other parts of speech serve as
interjections, they are called secondary interjections.
List of interjections that are secondary: “agreed,” “all right,”
“awesome,” “bravo,” “cheers,” “cool,” “dear me,” “exactly,”
“excellent,” “finally good,” “great,” “hello,” “hey,” “I say,”
“indeed,” “Man,” “my goodness,” “nice,” “no,” “no way,” “nope,”
“oh boy,” “oh brother,” “please,” “super,” “sweet,” “welcome,”
“well,” “what,” “whatever,” “wicked,” “yes.”
For example: Great! I’d love to watch a movie with you.

11.2. Interjections mainly have four roles

a. Rule 1
Interjections express a sudden mood, emotions, and feeling
with emphasis. There are also many taboo words that are
usually used in everyday conversation but not in formal
aspects. These words fall into the category of interjections.
For examples:
 Wow! That’s an amazing scene.
 What? You never told me that!
b. Rule 2
 Some interjections interrupt a conversation or a thought or hold
someone’s attention for a moment. These are just sounds, not
words because these sounds do not make any sense.
For examples:
 Your, um, shirt has a stain on the back.
 I want to, uh, ask you out on a date.
c. Rule 3
Some interjections express only yes or no.
For examples:
 Yes! I will most definitely do it.
 Nah, we are not going.
d. Rule 4
Some interjections are used to get someone’s attention.
For examples:
 Hey! Will you give me that ball?
 Yoo-hoo! Is there anyone?

12. Question Word

There are two main types of questions: Yes/No questions and WH-
question. WH-questions are questions starting with WH-words including:
“what,” “when,” “where,” “who,” “whom,” “which,” “whose,” “why” and
“how.” Question words are used to ask about specific qualities, times, places,
people and so on.
12.1. Types of Question Word
a. Who
Who is only used when referring to people. (I want to know the
person)
For example: Who is the best football player in the world?
b. Where
Where is used when referring to a place or location. (I want to
know the place)
 For example: Where is the library?
c. When
When is used to refer a time or an occasion (I want to know the
time)
For example: When do the shops open?
d. Why
Why is used to obtain an explanation or a reason. (I want to know
the reason)
For example: Why does she complain all the time?
e. What
What is used to refer to specific information. (I want to know the
thing)
For example: What is his favorite food?
f. Which
Which is used when a choice needs to be mad. (I want to know the
thing between alternatives)
For example: Which day do you prefer for a meeting - Today or
tomorrow?
g. How
How is used to describe the manner that something is done. (I want
to know the way)
For example: How does he know the answer?

REFERENCES
Ba’dulu, Abdul Muis. 2005. English syntax. Makassar: Badan Penerbit Universitas Negeri
Makassar

Learn Grammar. “Noun: Definition & types.” Learngrammar.net.

https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/noun (accessed February 25, 2021).

Learn Grammar. “Verb: Definition & Types.” Learngrammar.net.

https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/verb (accessed February 25, 2021).

Ginger. “Gerunds and Infinitives.” Gingersoftware.com.

https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/gerunds-and-infinitives/
(accessed February 25, 2021).

Englisch-hilfen. “Present Participle, Past Participle, Perfect Participle.” Englisch-hilfen.de.

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/grammar/participles_form.htm (accessed February 25,
2021).

Ginger. “Action Verbs.” Gingersoftware.com.

https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/action-verbs/ (accessed
February 25, 2021).

Learn Grammar. “Adjective: Definition & Types.” Learngrammar.net.

https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/adjective (accessed February 25, 2021).

Ginger. “Adjectives.” Gingersoftware.com. https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-

rules/adjectives/ (accessed February 25, 2021).

Geikhman, Yuliya. “The Essentials of English Adjectives: 7 Key Adjective Types to Know.”
Fluentu.com. https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/english-adjectives/ (accessed
February 25, 2021).

Koltai, Anastasia. (2018, July 17). “Types of Adverb - Adverb Examples [All You Need].”
Myenglishteacher.eu. https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/types-of-adverb/ (accessed
February 26, 2021).
Thoughtco. “What Is an Adverb in English Grammar?” Thoughtco.com.
https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-adverb-1689070 (accessed February 26, 2021).

Thoughtco. “Closed Class Words.” Thoughtco.com. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-closed-

class-words-1689856#:~:text=%22The%20closed%20classes%20include%20pronouns,in
%20a%20process%20called%20grammaticalization. (accessed February 28, 2021).

Ginger. “Pronouns.” Gingersoftware.com. https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-

rules/pronouns-2/ (accessed February 28, 2021).

Scribendi. “Parts Of Speech: Pronouns.” Scribendi.com.

https://www.scribendi.com/academy/articles/parts_of_speech_pronouns.en.html
(accessed February 28, 2021).

Thesaurus. “10 Types Of Pronouns And How To Use Them.” Thesaurus.com.

https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/what-are-the-types-of-pronouns/ (accessed
February 28, 2021).

Grammar Monster. “What Is a Determiner? (with Examples).” Grammarmonster.com.

https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/determiner.htm (accessed February 28,
2021).

Ginger. “Auxiliary (or Helping) Verbs.” Gingersoftware.com.

https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/auxiliary-or-helping-
verbs/ (accessed February 28, 2021).

Norris, Carolanne. (2021, January 18). “5 Types of Prepositions: An Easy Guide.” Inkforall.com.
https://blog.inkforall.com/types-of-prepositions (accessed February 28, 2021)

Ginger. “Preposition.” Gingersoftware.com. https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-

rules/preposition/ (accessed March 1, 2021).

Learn Grammar. “Conjunction: Definition & Types.” Laerngrammar.net.

https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/conjunction#:~:text=Conjunctions
%20are%20used%20to%20join,and%20Robin%20are%20playing%20together (accessed
March 1, 2021).
Thought.co. “The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples.” Thoughtco.com.
https://www.thoughtco.com/part-of-speech-english-grammar-1691590 (accessed March
1, 2021).

Chegg. “Wow! A list of interjections and types.” Chegg.com.

https://www.chegg.com/writing/guides/grammar-guides/parts-of-speech/interjection/
interjections-list/ (accessed March 1, 2021).

Learn Grammar. “Interjection: Definition & Types.” Learngrammar.net.

https://www.learngrammar.net/english-grammar/interjection (accessed March 1, 2021).

Basic English Speaking. “WH- questions (Question Words).” Basicenglishspeaking.com.

https://basicenglishspeaking.com/wh-questions/ (accessed March 1, 2021).

Woodward English. “Question Words in English.” Grammar.cl.

https://www.grammar.cl/Notes/Question_Words.htm (accessed March 1, 2021).