Parts of Speech (abbreviated to PoS and sometimes called Word Classes) are the different categories of English words which all work in the same grammatical way: nouns, verbs, prepositions and so on.
This section has articles on all the different parts of speech.
A Proper Noun is a special type of noun which refers to a person or place (and sometimes a title). Tom Cruise, Spain, Alexander the Great, Pluto… Proper nouns help identify a particular person, place, object or animal because they tell us their name. Compare these statements: I met a […]
Pronouns are a closed group of words which can be used in place of nouns in a sentence. We replace nouns that are repeated with pronouns so instead of saying: William took the ball and then William kicked the ball. We say: William took the ball and then he kicked […]
The Present Simple is usually one of the very first verb forms to be taught in English. We use it mainly to talk about situations which are always the same or at least consistent for a long time. This includes habits, facts and so on. My name is Joe and […]
It is sometimes the case that students will have problems understanding when to use the Present Perfect Simple and when to use the Past Simple. In general, the Past Simple is used for an action completed in the past. (Note that we would use the Past Continuous if that action […]
In general, the Present Perfect Simple (PPS) is used to talk about an event which happened in the past but which has a very strong connection to the present: I have just finished laying the table so we can eat soon. The Present Perfect Continuous (PPC) on the other hand […]