Every English word belongs to a part of speech — a category defined by the job the word does in a sentence. CDS and OTA papers test this skill directly and indirectly, in spotting errors, sentence improvement and ordering of words. The golden rule: a word's class depends on its function, not its spelling. The same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb in another.
Why Parts of Speech Matter in CDS
The CDS English paper never says “name the part of speech” in so many words, yet the concept sits underneath almost every grammar question. If you cannot tell a noun from an adjective, or a preposition from a conjunction, you will misread spotting-error and sentence-improvement items. A candidate who has internalised word classes reads the paper the way a soldier reads a map — quickly and with confidence — while one who guesses keeps tripping over the same traps year after year.
There are eight parts of speech in traditional English grammar: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. Some modern books add the article (a, an, the) as a ninth, but Wren & Martin treat articles as a kind of adjective (determiner). Whichever count you follow, the eight core classes are enough to label any word the exam can throw at you.
The single most useful idea to carry into the hall is this: words are sorted by the work they do, not by the category they seem to belong to in a dictionary. A dictionary may list run first as a verb, yet in a long run it is plainly a noun. Once you train your eye to read function rather than form, identification becomes almost automatic.
A part of speech is a word class defined by function. Decide the class by asking: what job is this word doing here? — not by how the word looks.
Noun: The Naming Word
A noun names a person, place, thing, animal, quality or idea: soldier, Delhi, rifle, courage, freedom. Nouns answer who? or what?
Main kinds of nouns
- Proper noun — a particular name, always capitalised: Kargil, Ganga, Cavalier.
- Common noun — a general name: river, academy, officer.
- Collective noun — a group taken as one: army, fleet, crowd, jury.
- Abstract noun — a quality or state you cannot touch: bravery, honesty, discipline.
- Material noun — a substance: gold, iron, water.
Nouns also change their form to show number (soldier → soldiers) and possession (soldier's rifle). These signals are useful clues: a word that can be made plural or take an apostrophe-s is behaving as a noun. Abstract nouns, however, are usually uncountable — you cannot say two courages — so do not let countability alone fool you.
If you can put the, a/an, this or my in front of a word and it still makes sense (the courage, my rifle), it is almost certainly a noun.
Pronoun: The Stand-in Word
A pronoun is used in place of a noun so we need not repeat it: he, she, it, they, we, you, this, that, who, which, myself, each, somebody.
Common types
- Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
- Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs.
- Relative: who, whom, whose, which, that — they join clauses.
- Demonstrative: this, that, these, those.
- Reflexive: myself, himself, themselves.
- Indefinite: some, any, none, everyone, nobody.
Pronouns matter beyond labelling: the exam often tests agreement between a pronoun and the noun it replaces, called its antecedent. A pronoun must match its antecedent in number and gender — each soldier carried his kit, not their kit, in strict formal usage. Knowing that a word is a pronoun is the first step to checking such agreement quickly.
This, that, these, those are demonstrative adjectives when they sit before a noun (this book) but pronouns when they stand alone (this is mine). Function decides the class.
Adjective: The Describing Word
An adjective qualifies (adds meaning to) a noun or pronoun: a brave soldier, three rifles, this map, Indian army. Adjectives answer what kind? how many? which? whose?
Kinds you should recognise
- Quality: tall, honest, cold.
- Quantity: some, little, enough, all.
- Number: two, second, many, few.
- Demonstrative: this, that, those.
- Possessive: my, your, our, their.
- Interrogative: which, what, whose (before a noun).
Do not confuse an adjective with an adverb. An adjective describes a noun (a fast car); an adverb describes a verb/adjective/adverb (he drove fast). The word fast is the same; the job is different.
Verb: The Action or Being Word
A verb tells what the subject does, what is done to it, or what it is: march, fire, is, seems, become. Every complete sentence needs a verb.
Types of verbs
- Transitive — needs an object: He fired the gun.
- Intransitive — no object: The soldier slept.
- Auxiliary (helping) — is, am, are, was, has, do, shall, will.
- Modal — can, could, may, might, must, should, would.
- Linking (copula) — is, seem, appear, become — joins subject to a description.
A verb is the only word class that changes form for tense (march, marched, marching) and for person and number in the present (he marches vs they march). When a sentence has several words clustered together — will have been marching — the last word is the main verb and the earlier ones are auxiliaries supporting it. Spotting the main verb first is the quickest way to break a long sentence into subject, verb and object.
Test for a verb: put a subject and a time word in front. If “Yesterday he ___” or “They will ___” reads naturally, the word is a verb (marched, will march).
Adverb: The Modifier of Action
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb: He ran quickly. She is very brave. He ran quite quickly.
Adverbs answer
- How? (manner): bravely, fast, well.
- When? (time): now, soon, yesterday, already.
- Where? (place): here, there, outside, abroad.
- How much? (degree): very, too, quite, almost.
- How often? (frequency): always, never, often, rarely.
Many adverbs end in -ly (slowly, carefully), but not all: fast, hard, well, very, soon are adverbs too. And some -ly words are adjectives (lovely, friendly, lonely). Always check the function.
Preposition: The Relationship Word
A preposition shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to another word, usually of position, direction or time: in, on, at, by, with, under, between, before, into.
In The book is on the table, the preposition on links book and table. The noun after a preposition is its object (here, table).
English fixes many prepositions by convention rather than logic — we say good at, afraid of, married to, depend on. These set combinations are tested heavily in spotting-error questions, so once you can recognise a preposition you should also memorise the word it normally pairs with. A wrong preposition is one of the most common deliberate errors planted in CDS sentences.
A preposition is always followed by an object (a noun/pronoun). If a word like after, before, since, till is followed by a full clause with its own verb, it is acting as a conjunction, not a preposition. after the war (preposition) vs after the war ended (conjunction).
Conjunctions and Interjections
A conjunction joins words, phrases or clauses: and, but, or, because, although, while, if, so, yet.
- Coordinating (join equals): and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.
- Subordinating (link a dependent clause): because, since, although, unless, if, when.
- Correlative (in pairs): either…or, neither…nor, both…and, not only…but also.
An interjection is a word thrown in to express sudden feeling, usually with an exclamation mark: Alas! Hurrah! Oh! Bravo! It has no grammatical link to the rest of the sentence and can be removed without breaking the structure. Because it stands apart, an interjection is the easiest of all classes to spot — look for the exclamation and the burst of emotion.
The difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions matters in the exam too. Coordinating conjunctions join items of equal rank — two nouns, two main clauses — whereas subordinating conjunctions attach a dependent clause to a main one and often signal cause, time or condition.
Do not mix up a relative pronoun (who, which, that) with a conjunction. A relative pronoun does double duty — it joins clauses and replaces a noun. A pure conjunction (and, because) only joins.
The Function Test: One Word, Many Classes
The trickiest CDS items use a single word in different roles. Decide its part of speech only after seeing the sentence. Look at round:
- The round table — adjective (describes table).
- Come round tomorrow — adverb (modifies come).
- They walked round the field — preposition (links to field).
- This is the second round — noun (names a thing).
- Please round off the figure — verb (an action).
Three quick questions identify almost any word: (1) Does it name something? → noun/pronoun. (2) Does it show an action/being? → verb. (3) Does it describe or modify? → adjective (noun) or adverb (verb).
Worked Example: Labelling a Sentence
Identify the part of speech of each underlined word in: “Alas! the brave soldiers quickly crossed the river before dawn.”
Work through the sentence word by word, asking the function question for each.
Note how before is a preposition here because it is followed by the noun dawn, not a clause.
Common Traps to Avoid
A few patterns trip up candidates every year.
- -ing words: Swimming is healthy (gerund = noun); a swimming pool (participle = adjective); She is swimming (verb).
- that: relative pronoun (the book that fell), conjunction (I know that he came), or demonstrative adjective (that book).
- but: usually a conjunction, but a preposition meaning “except” in None but the brave.
- since: preposition (since Monday), conjunction (since you asked), adverb (I have not met him since).
When stuck, replace the word with a clear example of each class and see which substitution keeps the sentence grammatical. That trick reveals the true function fast.
Previous-Year Style Question
Q. In the sentence “He arrived after the parade had ended,” the underlined word after is a — (a) preposition (b) adverb (c) conjunction (d) adjective.
Answer: (c) conjunction. Here after joins two clauses and is followed by the clause the parade had ended (with its own subject and verb), so it works as a subordinating conjunction. Had the sentence read “He arrived after the parade,” with only a noun following, after would be a preposition.
For any after / before / since / till / until question, look at what follows the word: a clause → conjunction; a noun alone → preposition; nothing → adverb.
Quick Revision
- Eight parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection.
- Class is decided by function in the sentence, never by spelling alone.
- Noun names; pronoun replaces a noun; adjective describes a noun; verb shows action/being.
- Adverb modifies a verb/adjective/adverb; preposition links a noun to another word; conjunction joins; interjection shows feeling.
- Watch shape-shifters: round, that, since, after, -ing words — test by what follows.
Master the three function questions — does it name? does it act? does it modify? — and you can label any word in a CDS sentence in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
How many parts of speech are there in English?
Traditional grammar lists eight: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection. Some books add the article (a, an, the) as a ninth, though Wren & Martin treat articles as adjectives.
Can the same word belong to more than one part of speech?
Yes. A word's part of speech depends on its function in the sentence, not its spelling. For example, 'round' can be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb or preposition depending on how it is used.
How do I tell a preposition from a conjunction?
Look at what follows. If the word is followed by a noun or pronoun alone, it is a preposition; if it is followed by a full clause with its own subject and verb, it is a conjunction. Compare 'after the war' with 'after the war ended'.
Is every word ending in -ly an adverb?
No. Most adverbs do end in -ly (quickly, bravely), but words like lovely, friendly and lonely are adjectives, while fast, hard and well are adverbs without -ly. Always check the function.
How is this topic tested in the CDS exam?
It is rarely asked as a direct label question; instead it underpins spotting errors, sentence improvement and ordering of words. Knowing word classes helps you see why a sentence is wrong and how to fix it.
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