English sentences are made up of words. Each word, in turn, is a part of speech. Here’s a quick review of the main parts of speech.

Category Definition Examples
noun a person, place, thing, quality or act student, park, chair, kindness
verb an action or existence word go, run, be, drink, study, feel
adjective a word that describes a noun a happy person
a sunny day
adverb a word that describes a verb, adjective, or adverb He drives carefully.
She speaks English well.
conjuction a word that joins words, phrases, or clauses John and Mary
tea or coffee
I like you but I cannot go out with you.
preposition a word that describes a relationship between a noun and a noun, verb, or adverb in, on, at, into, beside, above, below, with
interjection a word that describes a sudden utterance Oh!
Ah!
pronoun a word that replaces a noun or noun phrase I admire Lili. She is an intelligent woman.
Where is John? He is at the clinic.