WORD CATEGORIES IN ENGLISH

Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, numerals, articles, and interjections are the ten word classes (or parts of speech) that are traditionally used to categorize words for the sake of grammatical description. Although each of these concepts is helpful and essential for practical purposes, it is debatable as to whether or not they belong in a completely clear description of a language or in general grammatical theory. Although most of the classic word class distinctions can be made in most languages, it is frequently difficult to apply these ideas across linguistic boundaries. The three main word classes—noun, verb, and adjective—as well as strategies for coping with the cross-linguistic heterogeneity in their patterning—are the main topics of this essay