Synonyms and Antonyms
We shall now look at common synonyms and antonyms used in everyday life.
The Same Word Used as Different Parts of Speech
Content and Function Words
In English, a word can be either a content word or a function word.
Parts of Speech
Form and content words are further classified into different classes called parts of speech.
There are eight parts of speech in English:
1. Noun
2. Adjective
3. Pronoun
4. Verb
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection
The same word can belong to different parts of speech according to how it is used in sentences.
Let us see how.
Identifying the Function of a Word
A word used as a noun in a sentence will answer the question ‘what?’ and will usually
be the subject of the sentence.
If the word is used as an adjective, it will answer the question ‘what kind of/how much?’
and will describe the noun/s in the sentence.
When used as an adverb, a word will answer the question ‘how?’ and will tell you more
about the verb in a sentence.
Let us look at a few examples:
A word used as a verb will show an action performed by the noun.
A word which is used as a preposition will show location, time and movement.
A word used asa conjunction will connect phrases and sentences.
Let us look at a few examples:
Adverb or Preposition?
Some words can be used as both prepositions and adverbs.
Noun or Verb?
Some words can be used both as nouns and verbs.
The following are some commonly used words which can be used as different parts of speech.
