Grammar & Verbal Ability • Topic 2 of 6

Parts of Speech

The CTET tests parts of speech functionally -- it underlines a word in a sentence and asks what part of speech it is THERE, because the same word changes category by use. 'Light' is a noun in 'turn off the light', a verb in 'light the lamp', and an adjective in 'a light bag'. So the rule to drill is: decide by the work the word does in this sentence, not by a fixed label. Quick functional tests help. A noun names (and can take a/an/the before it); a pronoun replaces a noun (he, it, themselves); a verb shows action or state and can be marked for tense; an adjective describes a noun (which one? what kind? how many?); an adverb modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb and often answers how/when/where (many, not all, end in -ly); a preposition shows relation (in, on, between); a conjunction joins (and, but, because); an interjection exclaims (Oh! Alas!). The frequent trap is the adjective-versus-adverb pair (She sings beautiful vs beautifully) and treating every -ly word as an adverb -- friendly, lovely and lonely are adjectives.

✅ Solved examples

1. What part of speech is the underlined word: 'She gave a *fast* reply.'
Adjective. 'fast' describes the noun 'reply' (what kind of reply), so it is functioning as an adjective here, not an adverb.
2. Identify the part of speech of 'but' in: 'He is poor but honest.'
Conjunction. 'but' joins two adjectives/ideas, so it is a (coordinating) conjunction.
3. Correct the error: 'She speaks English very fluent.'
'fluent' should be 'fluently'. It modifies the verb 'speaks' (how she speaks), so it must be an adverb: 'She speaks English very fluently.'
4. What part of speech is the underlined word: 'The *poor* need our help.'
Noun. Preceded by 'the' and acting as the subject, 'poor' here names a group of people, so it functions as a noun.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Identify the part of speech of the underlined word: 'He ran *quickly* to the gate.'
It tells HOW he ran.
It modifies the verb "ran".
Adverb
2. What part of speech is 'under' in: 'The cat is under the table.'?
It shows the relation between cat and table.
in / on / under / between belong to one class.
Preposition
3. Spot the error: 'She is a very friendly and lovely child.' -- which class are friendly and lovely?
They describe the noun "child".
Do not be fooled by the -ly ending.
Adjectives
4. Identify the part of speech of the underlined word in 'Wow! That was a brilliant catch.' (the word Wow)
It expresses sudden feeling.
It stands apart with an exclamation mark.
Interjection

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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