CHAPTER 19: PARTS OF SPEECH
19.1 INTRODUCTION: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF LANGUAGE
Imagine you are building a house. You need different materials: bricks, cement, windows, doors, and a roof. Just like a house, every sentence we build in English is made from different types of words. These different types are called Parts of Speech.
Every word in a sentence has a job. Knowing the parts of speech helps us understand what each word is doing, so we can build correct and meaningful sentences.
There are 8 main parts of speech. Let's meet them!
19.2 THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH (WITH PUNJABI CONTEXT)
1. NOUN (ਨਾਂਵ - Nāṃv) - The Naming Word
Job: It names a person, place, animal, thing, or idea.
Ask: What is it? Who is it?
Examples:
Person: teacher (ਅਧਿਆਪਕ), Aman, doctor (ਡਾਕਟਰ)
Place: school (ਸਕੂਲ), Punjab (ਪੰਜਾਬ), garden (ਬਾਗ਼)
Thing: book (ਕਿਤਾਬ), pencil (ਪੈਨਸਿਲ), computer (ਕੰਪਿਊਟਰ)
Animal: cow (ਗਾਂ), dog (ਕੁੱਤਾ)
Idea/Ideal: happiness (ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ੀ), courage (ਹਿੰਮਤ), honesty (ਇਮਾਨਦਾਰੀ)
Classroom Tip: Play "I Spy" with nouns. "I spy with my little eye, something that is a noun (e.g., a desk)."
2. PRONOUN (ਸਰਵਨਾਮ - Sarvanām) - The Replacing Word
Job: It takes the place of a noun to avoid repetition.
Ask: Which noun is it replacing?
Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them.
Ravi is a boy. He is tall. (He = Ravi)
The books are heavy. Please put them on the table. (Them = books)
Classroom Tip: Write a repetitive sentence: "Aman played. Aman ran. Aman ate." Show how using "He" makes it better.
3. VERB (ਕਿਰਿਆ - Kiri'ā) - The Action or Being Word
Job: It shows action (what someone/thing does) or a state of being (what someone/thing is).
Ask: What is happening? What is the subject doing or being?
Examples (Action): run (ਦੌੜਨਾ), eat (ਖਾਣਾ), write (ਲਿਖਣਾ), read (ਪੜ੍ਹਨਾ), think (ਸੋਚਣਾ)
Examples (State of Being): am, is, are, was, were (forms of 'to be')
She runs fast. (Action)
They are students. (State of Being)
Classroom Tip: "Verb Charades." A student acts out an action (jumping, reading), others guess the verb.
4. ADJECTIVE (ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਣ - Viśēśaṇ) - The Describing Word (for Nouns)
Job: It describes or gives more information about a noun. It tells us what kind, how many, or which one.
Ask: What kind of noun?
Examples: big (ਵੱਡਾ), small (ਛੋਟਾ), red (ਲਾਲ), two (ਦੋ), happy (ਖੁਸ਼), clever (ਹੁਸ਼ਿਆਰ)
a red ball, three pencils, a clever girl, happy children
Classroom Tip: "The Adjective Game." Hold up an object (e.g., an apple). Students shout out adjectives for it (red, round, juicy, sweet).
5. ADVERB (ਕਿਰਿਆ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਣ - Kiri'ā Viśēśaṇ) - The Describing Word (for Verbs, Adjectives, Other Adverbs)
Job: It describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It often tells how, when, where, or to what extent.
Ask: How? When? Where? How much?
Examples: quickly (ਜਲਦੀ), slowly (ਹੌਲੀ), here (ਇੱਥੇ), now (ਹੁਣ), very (ਬਹੁਤ), well (ਚੰਗੀ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ)
She runs quickly. (How does she run? - describes the verb 'runs')
It is very hot. (How hot? - describes the adjective 'hot')
He reads quite slowly. (How slowly? - describes the adverb 'slowly')
6. PREPOSITION (ਸੰਬੰਧ ਸੂਚਕ - Sambandh Sūchak) - The Positioning Word
Job: It shows the relationship (often of place, time, or direction) between a noun/pronoun and other words in the sentence.
Ask: Where is it? When is it? What is the connection?
Examples: in, on, at, under, over, between, from, to, with
The book is on the table. (Relationship between 'book' and 'table')
We go to school in the morning. (Relationship between 'go' and 'morning')
Classroom Tip: Use a toy and a box. Place the toy in, on, under, beside the box. Say the sentence each time.
7. CONJUNCTION (ਸੰਯੋਜਕ - Sanyojak) - The Joining Word
Job: It joins words, phrases, or sentences together.
Examples: and, but, or, because, so
Ravi and Priya are friends. (Joins two words)
I was tired, so I went to bed. (Joins two sentences)
Classroom Tip: Give students two short sentences: "I like apples. I like bananas." Show how to join them with "and."
8. INTERJECTION (ਵਿਸਮਯਾਦਿਬੋਧਕ - Vismayādibōdhak) - The Emotion Word
Job: It expresses a sudden feeling or emotion. It often stands alone, followed by an exclamation mark (!).
Examples: Wow!, Ouch!, Hurray!, Oh!, Alas!
Wow! What a beautiful painting!
Ouch! That hurt!
19.3 ONE WORD, DIFFERENT JOBS (CONTEXT IS KEY!)
Many English words can act as different parts of speech depending on how they are used in a sentence.
Example: "LIGHT"
Noun: Please turn on the light. (A thing)
Verb: Light the candle. (An action)
Adjective: The bag is light. (Describes the bag)
This is why we must look at the word's function in the sentence, not just the word itself.
EXERCISE: IDENTIFY THE PART OF SPEECH (ANSWERS)
Let's look at the words in bold from the exercise.
Still waters run deep.
Still: Adjective. It describes the noun "waters" (What kind of waters? Still waters).
He still lives in that house.
still: Adverb. It describes the verb "lives" (How does he live there? He still lives there - indicating time/continuation).
After the storm comes the calm.
calm: Noun. It is the name of a state or condition that "comes" after the storm.
The after effects of the drug are bad.
after: Adjective. It describes the noun "effects" (What kind of effects? After effects).
The up train is late.
up: Adjective. It describes the noun "train" (Which train? The up train, meaning the train going towards a major city/terminus).
It weighs about a pound.
about: Preposition. It shows the relationship between "weighs" and "a pound," indicating approximation.
He told us all about the battle.
about: Preposition. It shows the relationship between "told" and "the battle" (concerning the battle).
He was only a yard off me.
off: Preposition. It shows the spatial relationship, meaning "away from" me.
Suddenly one of the wheels came off.
off: Adverb. It describes the verb "came," indicating the direction or result of the action (the wheel became detached).
Muslims fast in the month of Ramzan.
fast: Verb. It is the action that Muslims perform (What do they do? They fast).
Conclusion for the Teacher: Teaching parts of speech is not about memorizing definitions. It's about helping children see the system behind the language. Use plenty of examples from their textbooks and daily life. When they understand that a 'verb' is a 'doing word,' they can start to build their own sentences correctly. This knowledge is the foundation for all future grammar learning.
