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Understanding the Parts of Speech in English

Yes, the parts of speech in English are extensive and complex. But we’ve made it easy for you to start learning them by gathering the most basic and essential information in this easy-to-follow and comprehensive guide.

Parts of Speech: Quick Summary

Parts of speech assign words to different categories. There are eight different types in English. Keep in mind that a word can belong to more than one part of speech.

Learn About:

• Parts of Speech
• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Using the Parts of Speech Correctly In Your Writing

Knowing the parts of speech is vital when learning a new language.

When it comes to learning a new language, there are several components you should understand to truly get a grasp of the language and speak it fluently.

It’s not enough to become an expert in just one area. For instance, you can learn and memorize all the intricate grammar rules, but if you don’t practice speaking or writing colloquially, you will find it challenging to use that language in real time.

Conversely, if you don’t spend time trying to learn the rules and technicalities of a language, you’ll also find yourself struggling to use it correctly.

Think of it this way: Language is a tasty, colorful, and nutritious salad. If you fill your bowl with nothing but lettuce, your fluency will be bland, boring, and tasteless. But if you spend time cultivating other ingredients for your salad—like style, word choice, and vocabulary— then it will become a wholesome meal you can share with others.

In this blog post, we’re going to cover one of the many ingredients you’ll need to build a nourishing salad of the English language—the parts of speech.

Let’s get choppin’!

What Are the Parts of Speech in English?

The parts of speech refer to categories to which a word belongs. In English, there are eight of them : verbs , nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

Many English words fall into more than one part of speech category. Take the word light as an example. It can function as a verb, noun, or adjective.

Verb: Can you please light the candles?

Noun: The room was filled with a dim, warm light .

Adjective: She wore a light jacket in the cool weather.

The parts of speech in English are extensive. There’s a lot to cover in each category—much more than we can in this blog post. The information below is simply a brief overview of the basics of the parts of speech. Nevertheless, the concise explanations and accompanying example sentences will help you gain an understanding of how to use them correctly.

What Are Verbs?

Verbs are the most essential parts of speech because they move the meaning of sentences along.

A verb can show actions of the body and mind ( jump and think ), occurrences ( happen or occur ), and states of being ( be and exist ). Put differently, verbs breathe life into sentences by describing actions or indicating existence. These parts of speech can also change form to express time , person , number , voice , and mood .

There are several verb categories. A few of them are:

• Regular and irregular verbs
• Transitive and intransitive verbs
• Auxiliary verbs

A few examples of verbs include sing (an irregular action verb), have (which can be a main verb or auxiliary verb), be , which is a state of being verb, and would (another auxiliary verb).

My little sister loves to sing .

I have a dog and her name is Sweet Pea.

I will be there at 5 P.M.

I would like to travel the world someday.

Again, these are just the very basics of English verbs. There’s a lot more that you should learn to be well-versed in this part of speech, but the information above is a good place to start.

What Are Nouns?

Nouns refer to people ( John and child ), places ( store and Italy ), things ( firetruck and pen ), and ideas or concepts ( love and balance ). There are also many categories within nouns. For example, proper nouns name a specific person, place, thing, or idea. These types of nouns are always capitalized.

Olivia is turning five in a few days.

My dream is to visit Tokyo .

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States.

Some argue that Buddhism is a way of life, not a religion.

On the other hand, common nouns are not specific to any particular entity and are used to refer to any member of a general category.

My teacher is the smartest, most caring person I know!

I love roaming around a city I’ve never been to before.

This is my favorite book , which was recommended to me by my father.

There’s nothing more important to me than love .

Nouns can be either singular or plural. Singular nouns refer to a single entity, while plural nouns refer to multiple entities.

Can you move that chair out of the way, please? (Singular)

Can you move those chairs out of the way, please? (Plural)

While many plural nouns are formed by adding an “–s” or “–es,” others have irregular plural forms, meaning they don’t follow the typical pattern.

There was one woman waiting in line.

There were several women waiting in line.

Nouns can also be countable or uncountable . Those that are countable refer to nouns that can be counted as individual units. For example, there can be one book, two books, three books, or more. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted as individual units. Take the word water as an example. You could say I drank some water, but it would be incorrect to say I drank waters. Instead, you would say something like I drank several bottles of water.

What Are Pronouns?

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of other nouns or noun phrases. Pronouns serve the purpose of referring to nouns without having to repeat the word each time. A word (or group of words) that a pronoun refers to is called the antecedent .

Jessica went to the store, and she bought some blueberries.

In the sentence above, Jessica is the antecedent, and she is the referring pronoun. Here’s the same sentence without the proper use of a pronoun:

Jessica went to the store, and Jessica bought some blueberries.

Do you see how the use of a pronoun improves the sentence by avoiding repetitiveness?

Like all the other parts of speech we have covered, pronouns also have various categories.

Personal pronouns replace specific people or things: I, me, you, he, she, him, her, it, we, us, they, them.

When I saw them at the airport, I waved my hands up in the air so they could see me .

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership : mine, ours, yours, his, hers, theirs, whose.

I think that phone is hers .

Reflexive pronouns refer to the subject of a sentence or clause. They are used when the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same person or thing: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

The iguanas sunned themselves on the roof of my car.

Intensive pronouns have the same form as reflexive pronouns and are used to emphasize or intensify the subject of a sentence.

I will take care of this situation myself .

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific individuals or objects but rather to a general or unspecified person, thing, or group. Some examples include someone, everybody, anything, nobody, each, something, and all.

Everybody enjoyed the party. Someone even said it was the best party they had ever attended.

Demonstrative pronouns are used to identify or point to specific pronouns: this, that, these, those.

Can you pick up those pens off the floor?

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions and seek information: who, whom, whose, which, what.

Who can help move these heavy boxes?

Relative pronouns connect a clause or a phrase to a noun or pronoun: who, whom, whose, which, that, what, whoever, whichever, whatever.

Christina, who is the hiring manager, is the person whom you should get in touch with.

Reciprocal pronouns are used to refer to individual parts of a plural antecedent. They indicate a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more people or things: each other or one another.

The cousins always giggle and share secrets with one another .  

What Are Adjectives?

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns, usually by describing, identifying, or quantifying them. They play a vital role in adding detail, precision, and imagery to English, allowing us to depict and differentiate the qualities of people, objects, places, and ideas.

The blue house sticks out compared to the other neutral-colored ones. (Describes)

That house is pretty, but I don’t like the color. (Identifies)

There were several houses I liked, but the blue one was unique. (Quantifies)

We should note that identifying or quantifying adjectives are also referred to as determiners. Additionally, articles ( a, an, the ) and numerals ( four or third ) are also used to quantify and identify adjectives.

Descriptive adjectives have other forms (known as comparative and superlative adjectives ) that allow for comparisons. For example, the comparative of the word small is smaller, while the superlative is smallest.

Proper adjectives (which are derived from proper nouns) describe specific nouns. They usually retain the same spelling or are slightly modified, but they’re always capitalized. For example, the proper noun France can be turned into the proper adjective French.

What Are Adverbs?

Adverbs are words that modify or describe verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or entire clauses. Although many adverbs end in “–ly,” not all of them do. Also, some words that end in “–ly” are adjectives, not adverbs ( lovely ).

She dances beautifully .

In the sentence above, beautifully modifies the verb dances.

We visited an extremely tall building.

Here, the adverb extremely modifies the adjective tall.

He had to run very quickly to not miss the train.

The adverb very modifies the adverb quickly.

Interestingly , the experiment yielded unexpected results that left us baffled.

In this example, the word interestingly modifies the independent clause that comprises the rest of the sentence (which is why they’re called sentence adverbs ).

Like adjectives, adverbs can also have other forms when making comparisons. For example:

strongly, more strongly, most strongly, less strongly, least strongly

What Are Prepositions?

Prepositions provide context and establish relationships between nouns, pronouns, and other words in a sentence. They indicate time, location, direction, manner, and other vital information. Prepositions can fall into several subcategories. For instance, on can indicate physical location, but it can also be used to express time.

Place the bouquet of roses on the table.

We will meet on Monday.

There are many prepositions. A few examples include: about, above, across, after, before, behind, beneath, beside, during, except, for, from, in, inside, into, like, near, of, off, onto, past, regarding, since, through, toward, under, until, with, without.

Prepositions can contain more than one word, like according to and with regard to.

What Are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions are words that join words, phrases, or clauses together within a sentence and provide information about the relationship between those words. There are different types of conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses of equal importance: and, but, for, not, or, so, yet.

I like to sing, and she likes to dance.

Correlative conjunctions come in pairs and join balanced elements of a sentence: both…and, just as…so, not only…but also, either…or, neither…nor, whether…or.

You can either come with us and have fun, or stay at home and be bored.

Subordinating conjunctions connect dependent clauses to independent clauses. A few examples include: after, although, even though, since, unless, until, when , and while.

They had a great time on their stroll, even though it started raining and they got soaked.

Conjunctive adverbs are adverbs that function as conjunctions, connecting independent clauses or sentences. Examples of conjunctive adverbs are also, anyway, besides, however, meanwhile, nevertheless, otherwise, similarly, and therefore .

I really wanted to go to the party. However , I was feeling sick and decided to stay in.

I really wanted to go to the party; however , I was feeling sick and decided to stay in.

What Are Interjections?

Interjections are words that express strong emotions, sudden reactions, or exclamations. This part of speech is usually a standalone word or phrase, but even when it is  part of a sentence, it does not relate grammatically to the rest of .

There are several interjections. Examples include: ahh, alas, bravo, eww, hello, please, thanks, and oops.

Ahh ! I couldn’t believe what was happening.

When it comes to improving your writing skills, understanding the parts of speech is as important as adding other ingredients besides lettuce to a salad.

The information provided above is indeed extensive, but it’s critical to learn if you want to write effectively and confidently. LanguageTool—a multilingual writing assistant—makes comprehending the parts of speech easy by detecting errors as you write.

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Understanding Parts of Speech (9 Types With Examples)

What are parts of speech? In the American English language, parts-of-speech is a category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions. They exist under the verb , noun, pronoun, interjection , adjective , conjunction, adverb, and preposition forms.

Learn more about parts of the speech in this comprehensive worksheet…

What are parts of speech?

“Parts of speech” refers to the essential words used in sentence formation in the English language.

Every word used in a sentence structure plays an important role in defining the sentence’s meaning. These words use and placement give proper intentions in sentence structures.

Parts of speech are the basic grammar lessons taught during the primary phases of learning English.

Any word used in sentence formation falls into one of these categories for proper sentence structure.

Some of those words can be a part of one or more parts of speech. This topic further explores the essential parts of speech used in the English language.

Watch this as a video lesson

In total, there are nine categories of parts of speech

These nine parts of speech are namely: Verbs, Nouns , Adjectives, Determiners, Adverbs , Pronouns, Prepositions , Conjunctions, and Interjections.

Another additional classification is used as a part of speech, i.e. , Articles, a subprogram of determiners.

To comprehend the meaning and use of each word in the English language, it is essential to clearly understand the various parts of speech and select the right parts of speech form at the appropriate place in the sentence.

What are the 9 parts of speech with their functions?

Here are the nine parts of speech and how they impact the English language.

‘Verbs’ are the words used in a sentence to define the action/state of action being performed. Most of the sentences in sentence formation require the inclusion of verbs.

Some examples of verbs used in the English language are Love, Break, Fall , and Cry . These are the basic forms of verbs and are known as infinitives .

Most of the verbs used have two other major forms called participles . The use of these participles is for the formation of various verb-tense combinations.

These participles define the forms of verbs concerning the time of action/performance. These verb-tense combinations can be used in two types: Active voice and passive voice .

A ‘noun’ are words used in a sentence to give recognition or the name of an object, individual, or animal.

Nouns can be sub-classified into two major categories: Common nouns , which give generic descriptor names to things, and common items, such as a bat, a bicycle , etc. The other category of nouns is Proper nouns , which have specific descriptor names to refer to a specialized object, place, or individual, such as Charley, The Empire State Building, The Telegraph , etc.

Additionally, nouns can be classified as singular nouns and plural nouns based on the number of individuals/objects.

Singular Nouns

The definition of a Singular Noun is the same as that of a noun when used commonly. It carries the same definition as the noun: “A word referring towards an individual/object/event/material/place.”

Plural Nouns

The word plural relates to “more than one in certain languages or more than two in certain languages.”

Thus singular nouns can be converted to their plural noun format when there is an implication of more than one or two objects/individuals/places.

A general Singular/Common Noun can be turned into the appropriate form of a Plural Noun by adding a ‘s’/’es’/’ ies’/’ves.’ It is also initiated by changing ‘us’ to ‘i’, ‘is’ to ‘es’ , or ‘on’ to ‘a’ .

Some common nouns do not change when interchanged between their singular and plural noun forms. Some other common nouns do not fall under plural nouns and are called irregular nouns, which are made plural by changing the spelling or adding a suffix to the word.

‘Adjectives’ are words that give a description or modify the scope of nouns/pronouns by being specific. For example, adjectives used to define a noun can be red, small, hot, common, etc.

An adjective is usually placed before a noun or after the verb that it modifies. Three forms of adjectives are used to compare similar characteristics of different individuals/objects. These three degrees of comparison are:

• Positive/Absolute form

This comparison of adjectives defines the original form of the adjective as stated in English. For example, “this candy is tasty .” This degree of comparison states that no relative subject is available for comparison.

• Comparative form

This form of the adjective gives a relative comparison between two objects performing similar actions with identical characteristics. For example, “the candy we had today is tastier than the one we received yesterday.”

• Superlative form

This form of the adjective gives the superiority declaration of one object over similar objects possessing similar characteristics. For example, “this candy is the tastiest I have ever had in the last two years .”

Adjectives can be sub-classified based on their function in sentence formation. This sub-classification is:

• Possessive Adjectives

These adjectives show/represent the possessiveness of an object. For example, mine, my, his/her, their, its, etc.

• Interrogative Adjectives

These adjectives modify the noun/pronoun by interrogation. Only a select few adjectives are available in this form. For example, whose, which, what, and where.

• Demonstrative Adjectives

These adjectives describe the current state/position of the noun/pronoun concerning space/time. For example, this, these, those, that.

• Compound Adjectives

These adjectives are a result of the combination of two or more adjectives. The resulting adjective modifies the subject in the sentence. For example, hand-dried, heavy-weighted, spike-haired, etc.

‘Determiners’ are the words placed before a noun/pronoun group terms to refer to a single/multiple things. Some commonly used determiners in English are ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘some’, ‘any’, and ‘this.’ Determiners are generally placed before descriptive adjectives . It tells the reader more about the description of the noun being referred to.

Determiners are classified into sub-categories, articles, and demonstratives.

An ‘Article’ can be either definite or indefinite. An article modifies a noun/pronoun without specifying any description of the object. In English, an example of a ‘definite article’ is the , whereas examples of two ‘indefinite articles’ are a and an .

Here, the refers to specific things or things that are identified beforehand. A or a refer to non-specific things that have not been identified beforehand.

Demonstratives

A ‘Demonstrative’ is defined as a demonstrative adjective/pronoun based on its usage in the sentence. Some examples of demonstratives are ‘this’, ‘that’, and ‘those’ .

A determiner has the same rules of use as in the case of adjectives in sentence formation. Thus, confusion takes place when carefully choosing the type of parts of speech to assign when given a choice of either a determiner or adjective.

An ‘Adverb’ defines essential information about the verb, similar to what an adjective is to a noun. It provides a descriptor for a verb used in a sentence and some cases, can also describe an adjective or another adverb.

Some adverbs used in sentences with verbs are ‘slowly’, ‘hastily’, ‘unfortunately’, and ‘angrily’.

Adverbs are further sub-classified into various types based on their application in a sentence.

• Adverbs of Time (to inform about the occurrence of a verb), For example, ‘now’, ‘tomorrow’, and ‘soon’.
• Adverbs of Manner (to describe the action of a verb), For example, ‘hastily’, ‘slowly’, and ‘minutely’.
• Adverbs of Place (to indicate the place of action of the verb),
• Adverbs of Frequency (to describe the frequency of a verb action),
• Adverbs of Degree (to describe the intensity of an action),
• Conjunctive Adverbs (are used to link/act as a conjunction to two sentences).

A ‘Pronoun’ is a word used in specifically providing an alternate name for a non/noun phrase. They are alternate words for referring to an object/individual when the requirement of a noun is unnecessary, as the noun has been mentioned previously in some parts of the sentence.

Some examples of pronouns are ‘it’, ‘he/she’, and ‘himself/herself’.

Pronouns are sub-classified into different categories based on their use in the sentence.

Some of these sub-categories are:

• Relative Pronouns (to relate a part of a sentence with the other)
• Possessive Pronouns (to show possessiveness)
• Reflexive Pronouns (to refer back to the subject of discussion)
• Demonstrative Pronouns (to refer to specific objects/individuals)
• Interrogative Pronouns (to ask questions)
• Indefinite Pronouns (to avoid reference to any specific object/individual/place)
• Personal Pronouns (to use as substitutes for proper names)
• Subject Pronouns (to assign acting on an object)
• Object Pronouns (to assign receiving action towards an object)
• Reciprocal Pronouns (to express two-way/mutual relationship)
• Preposition

A ‘Preposition’ is a word used as a connective between a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun with another word.

Prepositions are used in sentence formations to convey these meanings:

• To show the direction towards/of something/someone
• To refer to the period of an action taking place
• To specify the location/position of an object
• To present the space and time relationship between objects

Based on their use and function, prepositions are classified into four subtypes:

• Prepositions of Time (to indicate the happening of an action/event)
• Preposition of Place (to indicate the location of an object)
• Preposition of Direction (to indicate the direction/orientation of an object)
• Prepositions of Spatial Relationship (to indicate an object moving away/towards a source)
• Conjunction

A ‘Conjunction’ is a word that combines two/more objects and behaves as connectives in a sentence. These can appear in the beginning/middle/end of the sentence following the location of the objects.

There are three types of conjunctions used in sentence formation:

• Coordinate conjunction (to combine two independent clauses )
• Subordinate conjunction (to combine an independent with a dependent clause)
• Correlation conjunction (to combine two phrases having equal weightage)

Interjection

An ‘Interjection’ is a word to convey the expression of a variety of emotions/feelings. As such, there is no specific rule for the use of interjection and where it is to be placed.

However, in most cases, it is placed at the beginning of the sentence. For example, some of the most commonly used interjections are ‘ouch’, ‘phew’, and ‘well’.

Parts of speech examples

Here are some examples of the parts of speech used in sentences. Note the placement and its relation with other parts of speech present in the sentence format.

• John is  cutting  a pipe.
• John intends to  come  to the office this Monday .
• Jogging  regularly is good for health.
• Drinking  and  driving  put other motorists in danger.
• Would you want to wear  a suit?
• I love  to sing  in between classes.

See another example in the image below.

• Juno  ran towards the classroom.
• The janitor  requested the students to clear their lockers.
• The monkey  was caged after being sedated.
• I gifted my brother a  phone .
• Why did you purchase the  book ?
• I misplaced the  manuscript .
• Do you want to eat some  ice cream ?
• Mum loved my new car .
• Daniel gifted  his brother  a Porsche.

• I purchased a blue suit for the reception.
• Mary purchased two oranges from the fruit seller.
• The curry is tasty .
• Juno’s brother is arrogant .
• The documentary that premiered on television was fascinating .
• Giovanni Giorgio is a great music composer.

• My house is currently under lease.
• This novel is lengthy.
• I purchased some fruits and vegetables.
• She sent me an expensive watch.
• Velma loved  the  dress gifted by her parents.
• Joyce and Jill watched  a  movie together.
• Grandma gave us materials to prepare  the   dessert.

• Typically , we visit Mom on Mondays.
• Don’t you taste the coffee to be  too  bitter?
• Do not be nervous. You will  eventually get the hang of it.
• The movie I watched was  very  scientific.
• It is  scorching hot inside the workshop.
• Can I visit the office  today ?

• His aunt will be staying at the apartment for a while .
• He is the man I was referring to.
• I found my missing luggage outside the airport.

• I won’t be coming  to  the office  in  the afternoon.
• He arranged the cutlery  on  the table.
• Bhaskar made the dog hide  under  its bed.
• I enjoy strolling by the lake in the mornings.

• James  and  I trekked to the hilltop today.
• I stayed back home  because  I felt uneasy.
• He did not enjoy the yogurt ,  yet  he finished it.

• Interjection
• Hurray!  We got the funding.
• Ouch!  That wound looks severe.
• Wow!  You look great in the wedding gown.
• Oh my God !  I hope he is safe.

See an example in the image below.

Words with more than one job

Many parts of speech can have more than one function/job in the sentence. This improves the versatility of the words being used and makes the use more situational in its placement and conveyance of meaning.

• Myers can shift for herself (Preposition)
• Give prayers to the Almighty; for He is the one above all (Conjunction)
• We require more women to have the same vigor. (Adjective)
• More of the women died in the operating room than in the cabin. (Pronoun)
• Agatha needs to shut the gossiping and work more (Adverb)

To see how all the objects work together, see the table below.

Here is a chart showing the parts of speech:

How to identify parts of speech

In sentence formation, it often becomes difficult to ascertain the parts of speech represented by each word. To help out and to make the process of identification easier, follow these steps:

• Identify any word which names an object/individual/place in a generalized form as a noun .
• To identify a specific noun, use pronouns .
• Any words which describe/identify actions/performance are verbs .
• Any word that modifies or gives a greater definition to nouns is an adjective.
• Any word that modifies or gives meaning to the actions of verbs, are adverbs.
• It is easy to pick out prepositions as they describe relationships between a noun/pronoun with other nouns/pronouns.
• Any joiner used to join two clauses is a conjunction .
• Exclamations generally follow any interjections in the text.

• Parts of speech

More parts of speech:

• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
• Possessive nouns
• Irregular plural nouns
• Proper nouns
• Concrete nouns
• Collective nouns
• Possessive and plural nouns
• Verbs: The Definitive Guide
• Nouns | Explore Definition, Examples & Types with Examples
• What Are Pronouns? Definitions and Examples
• What Are Adverbs? (with Examples)
• Interjections – Explore Meaning, Definition, Usage and Examples
• What Is A Conjunction? Types & Examples
• The 9 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples
• What Is a Determiner?
• The 8 Parts of Speech: Examples and Rules
• Adverbs – What is It? Explore the Meaning, Definition, Types, Usage and Examples

Inside this article

Fact checked: Content is rigorously reviewed by a team of qualified and experienced fact checkers. Fact checkers review articles for factual accuracy, relevance, and timeliness. Learn more.

About the author

Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

Core lessons

• Abstract Noun
• Accusative Case
• Active Sentence
• Alliteration
• Adjective Clause
• Adjective Phrase
• Adverbial Clause
• Appositive Phrase
• Body Paragraph
• Compound Adjective
• Complex Sentence
• Compound Words
• Compound Predicate
• Common Noun
• Comparative Adjective
• Comparative and Superlative
• Compound Noun
• Compound Subject
• Compound Sentence
• Copular Verb
• Collective Noun
• Colloquialism
• Conciseness
• Conditional
• Concrete Noun
• Conjugation
• Conditional Sentence
• Comma Splice
• Correlative Conjunction
• Coordinating Conjunction
• Coordinate Adjective
• Cumulative Adjective
• Dative Case
• Declarative Statement
• Direct Object Pronoun
• Direct Object
• Dangling Modifier
• Demonstrative Pronoun
• Demonstrative Adjective
• Direct Characterization
• Definite Article
• Doublespeak
• Equivocation Fallacy
• Future Perfect Progressive
• Future Simple
• Future Perfect Continuous
• Future Perfect
• First Conditional
• Gerund Phrase
• Genitive Case
• Helping Verb
• Irregular Adjective
• Irregular Verb
• Imperative Sentence
• Indefinite Article
• Intransitive Verb
• Introductory Phrase
• Indefinite Pronoun
• Indirect Characterization
• Interrogative Sentence
• Intensive Pronoun
• Inanimate Object
• Indefinite Tense
• Infinitive Phrase
• Intensifier
• Indicative Mood
• Juxtaposition
• Linking Verb
• Misplaced Modifier
• Nominative Case
• Noun Adjective
• Object Pronoun
• Object Complement
• Order of Adjectives
• Parallelism
• Prepositional Phrase
• Past Simple Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Progressive Tense
• Present Simple Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Personal Pronoun
• Personification
• Persuasive Writing
• Parallel Structure
• Phrasal Verb
• Predicate Adjective
• Predicate Nominative
• Phonetic Language
• Plural Noun
• Punctuation
• Punctuation Marks
• Preposition of Place
• Parts of Speech
• Possessive Adjective
• Possessive Determiner
• Possessive Case
• Possessive Noun
• Proper Adjective
• Proper Noun
• Present Participle
• Quotation Marks
• Relative Pronoun
• Reflexive Pronoun
• Reciprocal Pronoun
• Subordinating Conjunction
• Simple Future Tense
• Stative Verb
• Subjunctive
• Subject Complement
• Subject of a Sentence
• Sentence Variety
• Second Conditional
• Superlative Adjective
• Slash Symbol
• Topic Sentence
• Types of Nouns
• Types of Sentences
• Uncountable Noun
• Vowels and Consonants

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The Eight Parts of Speech

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections
• Basic Sentence Structure
• Sentence Fragments
• Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices
• Sentence Type and Purpose
• Independent and Dependent Clauses: Coordination and Subordination
• Subject Verb Agreement
• Consistent Verb Tense
• Other Phrases: Verbal, Appositive, Absolute
• Pronoun Reference
• Relative Pronouns: Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses
• Avoiding Modifier Problems
• Transitions
• Would, Should, Could
• Achieving Parallelism
• Definite and Indefinite Articles
• Two-Word Verbs

TIP Sheet THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.

1. NOUN

• A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

man... Butte College... house... happiness

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article ( the , a , an ), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by adding 's . Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher , and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Nouns" for further information.

2. PRONOUN

• A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

She... we... they... it

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the pronoun she is the girl. Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Pronouns" for further information.

3. VERB

• A verb expresses action or being.

jump... is... write... become

The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. (" She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different forms to express tense.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared . Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Verbs" for more information.

4. ADJECTIVE

• An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

pretty... old... blue... smart

An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.)

See the TIP Sheet on "Adjectives" for more information.

5. ADVERB

• An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

gently... extremely... carefully... well

An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.

See the TIP Sheet on "Adverbs" for more information.

6. PREPOSITION

• A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.

by... with.... about... until

(by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The following list includes the most common prepositions:

See the TIP Sheet on "Prepositions" for more information.

7. CONJUNCTION

• A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.

and... but... or... while... because

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Conjunctions" for more information.

8. INTERJECTION

• An interjection is a word used to express emotion.

Oh!... Wow!... Oops!

An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my !

See the TIP Sheet on "Interjections" for more information.

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The Parts of Speech – Definitions and Examples

The different parts of speech are the breakdown and classification of words in English that show their unique functions and properties. In core language, a single word can function as two or more parts of speech.

Differentiating between the 9 parts of speech is the first step to building your grammar skills and writing tools. Keep reading to learn the definitions and examples of each category!

What are the 9 Basic Parts of Speech?

A noun is any place, person, idea, or thing. Some examples of nouns include:

There are various classifications of nouns you can use in your writing. Proper nouns are specific names for places, persons, ideas, or things. Meanwhile, common nouns are generic class nouns. A possessive noun is another type of noun that demonstrates belonging. 

We can also classify this part of speech as an abstract noun, concrete noun, count noun, and uncountable noun.

The placement of the noun in a sentence also determines its function. A noun can be in the nominative or objective case. The nominative functions include subject and subject complement. And the types of objects are direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition.

A quick introduction to pronouns shows they are classes of words that take the place of nouns. Some examples of pronouns include he, that, whoever, myself.

This quick guide to pronouns shows they can be classified as: 

• Personal pronoun (I, he, she, you, etc.)
• Demonstrative pronouns (that, those, these, this, etc.).
• Interrogative pronouns (what, when, why, how, etc.).
• Relative pronouns (who/whom, whose, which, etc.).
• Indefinite pronouns (anybody, everybody, somebody, everything, etc.).
• Reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself, herself, etc.).
• Intensive pronouns (myself, yourself, herself, etc.).

Pronouns can further be divided into first-person pronoun, second-person pronoun, and third-person pronoun.

A verb is a word that conveys time while showing a condition, an action, or the fact that something exists. All complete sentences should contain at least one verb unless using an interjection.

Verbs can be treated as either lexical verbs/action verbs (study, love, drink) or auxiliary verbs (seem, is, have). 

A verb phrase combines verbs with linking verbs and lexical categories of verbs. Some examples include:

• Has become.

Phrasal verbs are forms of verbs that consist of two or more words. Here are some examples:

• Put up with.

When you add “up with” after the simple verb “put,” you create a brand-new verb with a new meaning. Therefore, phrasal verbs should be treated as complete verbs because of their unique definitions.

Some verbs are reflexive. A reflexive verb is where the subject and object are one since the sentence uses reflexive pronouns like “himself” or “itself.”

Whether you’re using a lexical or auxiliary verb, this part of the speech always expresses time through the different tenses. For instance, the verb “eats” is a present-tense verb, and its past form is “ate.”

4. Adjective

Another part of speech is the adjective , which modifies or describes a noun or a pronoun. It typically answers the questions “what kind,” “which one,” or “how much.” For example:

The articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are sometimes categorized as adjectives. “The” is a definite article, and “a” and “an” are indefinite articles.

Adjective classes include:

• Absolute adjectives.
• Appositive adjectives.
• Attributive adjectives.
• Predicative adjectives.
• Compound adjectives.
• Qualitative adjectives.
• Denomial adjectives.
• Participial adjectives.
• Demonstrative adjectives.

Adverbs are a word class that modifies adjectives, verbs, and fellow adverbs. One frequent adverb marker is the suffix -ly, such as “healthily,” “badly,” and “swiftly.”

But the discussion of adverbs goes beyond words that describe actions. There are also adverbs of degree, place, time, and frequency. The English language also considers “most days,” “to visit my friend,” “very loudly,” and other adverbial phrases as adverbs.

Adverbial phrases are under the phrasal categories, including verb phrases, adjective phrases, etc.

6. Conjunction

A conjunction is a word that binds words, clauses, and phrases. “And,” “but,” “because,” and “consequently” are some examples of conjunctions.

Conjunctions make it easy to construct more complex sentences because you can easily add new clauses. The category distinctions of this part of speech are:

• Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, etc.)
• Subordinating conjunctions (after, although, unless, since, if, etc.)
• Correlative conjunctions (not only… but also, either… or, etc.)

7. Preposition

Prepositions show relations of space, time, and role between nouns, pronouns, and other words. They are at the start of prepositional phrases. Here are some examples of prepositions:

• Apart from.

8. Determiner

A determiner is like an adjective because it also modifies nouns. However, these words are essential for proper syntax as opposed to adjectives. They can be classified as indefinite and definite. New grammar rules now treat articles as determiners. Examples of determiners include:

• Which. 

9. Interjection

The last part of speech is the interjection which may have standalone functions in sentences. “Whoops,” “ouch,” “ah,” and “hooray” can be an entire sentence on their own.

Parts of Speech Chart

Analyzing the parts of speech is different for every individual language. Here’s an overview of the different categories in English.

When A Word is Also Two Different Kinds of Speech

Sometimes, words have more than one role in the English language. For example, some nouns can also act as adjectives called adjectival nouns. In the phrase “race car,” “race” modifies “car,” so its usage is as an adjective instead of a noun.

A noun can be used in verbal senses. Consider the word “work” in these sentences.

• My new work is more promising than the old one. (noun)
• Shew works in a new industry. (verb)

Open and Closed Word Classes

The two classifications of the parts of speech include open and closed classes. The open classes can be changed and added as the language changes. 

• Adjectives.

Meanwhile, closed classes are parts of speech that do not change. These include:

• Prepositions.
• Conjunctions.
• Articles and determiners.
• Interjections.

In some languages, verbs and adjectives form closed classes. This closedness of verbs is common in Basque and Persian verbs .

Linguistics , or the study of language, does not recommend the label “part of speech” anymore. Instead, the discipline favors “syntactic category” or “word class.”

What Part of Speech is With?

In the stricter sense, the only use of “with” is as a preposition. You can find it before a noun or a pronoun to form prepositional phrases. Use it to show togetherness, associations, and connections between people and objects.

What Part of Speech is And?

The conjunction “and” connects words, clauses, and phrases. It can also combine sentences that need to be presented at once.

What Part of Speech is My?

“My” is a possessive pronoun that can also act as an adjective, determiner, or interjection.

Are You Using the Parts of Speech the Right Way?

This guide has shown you the nine parts of speech and their grammatical functions. By now, you should already be able to give definitions and examples of each category, so they make sense. 

To correctly use the parts of speech, ask yourself, “what is the function of this word in the sentence?” Keep practicing until you master the traditional grammar rules of English!

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Word Families

Tanya Trusler February 1, 2018

Nouns and adverbs and verbs, oh my!

Parts of speech are the building blocks for English sentences, and studying them early on can be beneficial for English language learners. Along with common sentence patterns , learning the parts of speech (nouns, verbs, prepositions, etc.) can help students form English sentences more easily.

But how do students know which vocabulary words are nouns, verbs, etc.? This is where suffixes (word endings) come into play. Learning common word endings can help students easily guess at the part of speech of a new vocabulary term.

Parts of speech and suffixes aren’t just for beginner students. This knowledge can boost students’ abilities in both grammar and vocabulary at any level, and is quite useful for higher‑level students who need to decipher complex and unfamiliar words. Learning and practicing word families in context can help higher-level students with speaking and writing as well as on tests such as the TOEIC.

Try presenting the word family chart below to your intermediate- to advanced‑ level learners, and then see if they can complete the following practice exercise. Subscribers can access a printable pdf of the chart and exercise here: Advanced Word Families . See our Parts of Speech lesson for lower‑level practice.

Have students complete the sentences below with a form of the prompt word. Allow them to refer to the chart above. You may also want to have students identify the parts of speech. Note that they may have to change the word form by making a noun plural or conjugating a verb into the correct tense.

• success (noun)
• have relied (verb)
• different (adjective)
• Actions (noun)
• apologized (verb)
• identification (noun)
• understandably (adverb)
• divisive (adjective)
• decisively (adverb)
• beneficial (adjective)
• Advanced Word Families
• Parts of Speech Lesson
• Parts of Speech Lesson – Young Learners
• Parts of Speech Chart
• Parts of Speech Cards
• English Sentence Patterns
• Suffix Flashcards
• Prefix Flashcards
• Flying Affixes Activity

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Comments (6)

Shiwantha Wishwananth (Guest)

April 17, 2019 at 12:19 pm

Great work. as an English teacher i make maximum use of these lessons. thank you verymuch.

Reply to Comment

Tanya Trusler (Author)

April 22, 2019 at 10:40 pm

You're welcome! I'm happy to hear this.

Lindsay Rose (Guest)

March 26, 2021 at 8:19 pm

This was SO INCREDIBLY HELPFUL for my brilliant English Language Learners!

Most of the word family resources I find are aimed toward early elementary and this was so great to find. THANK YOU!

March 29, 2021 at 11:42 pm

Hi Lindsay, I'm so glad to hear this was useful for your higher-level learners! Thanks for letting us know.

Jessica P. (Teacher)

April 7, 2021 at 11:38 pm

How do you determine at what level to teach this?

April 9, 2021 at 7:57 pm

Hi Jessica,

That's a great question. I usually teach this to my intermediate levels and above. However, I also always taught this in my TOEIC classes even when they included low-intermediate students. Remind students that knowing the word endings and patterns can help them determine the part of speech even if they don't know the meaning of a word. Learning the meanings of various longer words with endings like these would happen much more gradually (and at higher levels, depending on the word), but learning suffixes and patterns can happen at almost any level. If you teach lower levels, you could start by teaching them sentence patterns ( https://ellii.com/blog/english-sentence-patterns/ ) and suffixes ( https://ellii.com/blog/english-word-endings-suffixes-that-show-the-part-of-speech/ ) before presenting word families.

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How to Teach Parts of Speech: Lesson Tips & Activities for ESL Teachers

Coleen monroe.

• March 22, 2021

Bridge grad Coleen Monroe previously taught English in South Korea and Chile. She has since gone on to earn her Master’s in Linguistics from University College London and is currently teaching English in China. As a seasoned teacher, we asked Coleen to again share her expertise — this time on how to teach parts of speech. A version of this post  also appeared on her personal blog, Reverse Retrograde , about travel, TEFL, and more.  

If you’re new to teaching, you’ll want to get initial training and qualification with a TEFL certificate . You can explore our online TEFL courses to get started!

Okay, so you’ve realized that grammar is a thing and that your new job as a TEFL/TESOL teacher requires you to know something about how to teach it. Good start! But you won’t get far unless you’re able to guide students to label the parts of the sentences that you use in daily speech, and especially in writing. The parts of speech are a foundation for all the other skills you need as a teacher in the ESL classroom, so let’s get started with how to teach parts of speech.

Want more ideas for teaching grammar? Earn a Specialized TEFL/TESOL Certificate in Teaching English Grammar!

Why teach parts of speech?

In order to teach parts of speech to ESL learners, you first need to know why this grammar topic is essential. The tips below will help you to be able to show your students why it’s important to learn parts of speech in the ESL classroom.

• Parts of speech are a part of universal human grammar. In other words, they exist in every human language as categories.
• Parts of speech are essential to being able to use other grammar in a new language.
• Students will need to be able to identify and manipulate parts of speech in order to conjugate verbs. This is particularly important for verb agreement, which is a common problem for ESL learners.
• In some parts of the world, grammar is considered to be the most important part of ESL. Using the activities in this article will demonstrate to parents and other teachers that you’re putting in the effort to teach grammar in your classroom.
• Whatever your learners’ goals, they’ll need to be able to understand the basics of English. Even kindergartners can learn parts of speech in a simple way and use them to help further their English understanding.

Teacher Stefano, from Jamaica , uses games to teach ESL to his students.

What are the types of parts of speech?

Before learning how to teach parts of speech to ESL students, let’s have a refresher on what the parts of speech are.

I made it a goal to teach my students the parts of speech in every lesson. For the past few months, at some point in the lesson, I write “Parts of Speech” on the board. Underneath, I write the following:

• Noun: a person, place, or thing
• Verb: an action
• Adjective: describes a noun
• Adverb: describes a verb (-ly)

That’s basically all you need to know about the parts of speech as well. You don’t need to know about how they “work” in theory to effectively teach this topic. You can use these simplified definitions to teach parts of speech to most levels of students.

If necessary, you can add more complicated parts of speech:

• Prepositions:  on, after, in, etc. (shows where something/someone is)
• Pronouns: she, he, they, etc. (not a name)
• Articles : a, an, the
• Conjunctions: or, but, and, because, so, etc. (connect ideas)

These descriptions are designed for low- to intermediate-level learners and will help you to teach parts of speech in a fun and clear way. This is not an exhaustive guide, but it should help you to be able to write your objectives for a parts of speech lesson.

Get more tips on using objectives in ESL lesson plans.

How do you teach parts of speech?

Teaching parts of speech lessons to your ESL students doesn’t have to be boring. You can make it as interesting or as intricate as you need. The following activities for teaching parts of speech involve little to no prep. You can use them in your lessons frequently, as repetition builds familiarity!

1. Classroom treasure hunt

Elicit the parts of speech by giving examples for each.

Teacher: What’s a noun? (Pointing to a trash can): Oh, look! A noun! (Pointing to a chair): Oh, look! A noun! (Pointing to self): Oh, look! A noun!

Students will then be able to give more examples.

Use this as a basis for a new game. Students should be in small groups or pairs. Set a timer and have them write down as many of a certain part of speech as they can see in the classroom. Then, switch to a different part of speech and have them attempt to write more words. If you like, you can make it so that it’s harder each round or you can eliminate those who don’t write a certain number of words in a round.

• If you’re teaching online, you can still have students hunt for parts of speech in their own homes.

Learn the most popular ESL teaching methods to use in your classroom.

Teacher Juicy Mae, from the Philippines , plays a game with her ESL student online.

2. Grammar by numbers

Use a coloring sheet with a “Paint by Numbers” scheme based on words and their part of speech. This is a good lesson plan for parts of speech for young learners. This works really well for getting students to work together and makes a nice project to show parents, too! Just be aware that some English words can play many roles in a sentence.

For example:

Dream A dream: noun form To dream: verb form Dream job: adjective form

This is a good opportunity to remind your students that English grammar is not a precise science and that the “rules” they learn in school may or may not actually hold up in real life. The ambiguity may cause their heads to temporarily explode, but I promise it’s better for them in the long run. (“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ISN’T A RIGHT ANSWER???” Ahhhhhhhhhhh!”)

• Older learners can do a version of this without coloring. Simply create a worksheet that involves matching the parts of speech with words. Online teachers can email their worksheets to students and have them complete the activity for homework.

Read these top tips for creating materials for the EFL classroom.

3. Sorting race

Before class, create a table in Word, PowerPoint, or something similar. It should be a grid that has different categories for parts of speech and words that exemplify these categories. Print out the table, cut it up, and put the papers into a box or bag.

Pass out the box(es) and set a timer or play some music. The objective of this activity is for students to sort the pieces of paper correctly into the different categories.

• To make it more competitive, put the students into teams, for example, Team Noun or Team Verb. Give each team their own box and have them race to find all of the words that fit into their part of speech category.

Check out more team-based activities for the ESL classroom or online.

4. Swat words like flies

This activity requires a text in English. You can use a class textbook or article or you can prepare a text of your own to bring to class. Each person or team in the classroom needs to have a copy of the text.

There are two ways to play this game, but both involve hitting the text very hard with one’s hand. The idea is that the word they find on the page should be treated like a fly or a mosquito that they’re trying to kill. This makes it a “beat the buzzer” style game.

• In the first version, the teacher should say a word that appears in the text. The students can search the text for the word and when they find it, slap the book or paper. Whoever finds it first should tell the teacher what part of speech that word is.
• In the second version, the teacher says a part of speech. For example, the teacher might say “verb.” The students have to hit the book when they find a verb in the text and then say which word they found. This is a fast-paced activity that will help you to teach parts of speech in a fun way.
• Online teachers can send the text to the students before class via email or messaging. Rather than swatting the paper, students could raise their hand or hold something up to their webcam when they’ve found the right word.

Get ideas for last-minute EFL lesson plans.

Kindergarten ESL students play a game in China.

5. Guided discovery with vocabulary

Whenever you encounter a new set of vocabulary words in your lesson, use it as an opportunity to reinforce and teach parts of speech. Keep blank pages around the room with the labels for each part of speech you want the students to know, and ask them which parts of speech they think the new words are.

Allow time for the students to be able to explore their new vocabulary together, in pairs or individually. You can set a timer if you want to keep them on task. Students should look at the new vocabulary and attempt to sort them into the parts of speech categories. Then, add the words to the correct lists.

• You can use digital parts of speech lists in the virtual classroom. Keep them up to date via a classroom blog or other platform where you can upload documents or publish lists.

Learn more about teaching English with guided discovery for ESL.

Additional, last-minute activities for teaching parts of speech

Here are some other examples of how you can incorporate parts of speech into any lesson, even when they aren’t the focus or main topic:

• When you play Bingo, have the students shout out the part of speech every time you say a new word.
• Instead of saying, “Rock, paper, scissor!” say “Noun, verb, adjective!” in order to get more practice speaking the words out loud.
• Whenever you play a new song, ask students what parts of speech appear in the title.
• Instead of saying words that you’ve written on the board, use parts of speech. For example, say, “Noun!” Ask a student to come up to the board and touch the noun.

There you have it — how to teach parts of speech in a fun way! Keeping things lively with these activities will help your ESL students to enjoy the lesson while learning this necessary grammar topic.

Get more ideas for teaching grammar topics to ESL students in the Bridge TEFL/TESOL Grammar Advisor Certification course.

Coleen Monroe is a Colorado native who has left a trail of new homes for herself around the world. She's set foot in 30 countries and lived on four continents in the last eleven years. Her nomad homes have been in Chilean Patagonia, France, Italy, Switzerland, South Korea, England, and Iceland. Her latest travel adventures took her to Yunnan, Beijing, Jiangxi, and Southern China, where she's currently teaching.

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• Parts of speech

The 8 Parts of Speech | Definition & Examples

A part of speech (also called a word class ) is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence. Understanding the different parts of speech can help you analyse how words function in a sentence and improve your writing.

The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives , adverbs , prepositions , conjunctions , and interjections . Some modern grammars add others, such as determiners and articles .

Many words can function as different parts of speech depending on how they are used. For example, ‘laugh’ can be a noun (e.g., ‘I like your laugh’) or a verb (e.g., ‘don’t laugh’).

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Table of contents

Prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, other parts of speech, frequently asked questions.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, concept, place, or thing. Nouns can act as the subject of a sentence (i.e., the person or thing performing the action) or as the object of a verb (i.e., the person or thing affected by the action).

There are numerous types of nouns, including common nouns (used to refer to nonspecific people, concepts, places, or things), proper nouns (used to refer to specific people, concepts, places, or things), and collective nouns (used to refer to a group of people or things).

Ella lives in France .

Other types of nouns include countable and uncountable nouns , concrete nouns , abstract nouns , and gerunds .

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A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns typically refer back to an antecedent (a previously mentioned noun) and must demonstrate correct pronoun-antecedent agreement . Like nouns, pronouns can refer to people, places, concepts, and things.

There are numerous types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (used in place of the proper name of a person), demonstrative pronouns (used to refer to specific things and indicate their relative position), and interrogative pronouns (used to introduce questions about things, people, and ownership).

That is a horrible painting!

A verb is a word that describes an action (e.g., ‘jump’), occurrence (e.g., ‘become’), or state of being (e.g., ‘exist’). Verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing. Every complete sentence must contain at least one verb.

Verbs can change form depending on subject (e.g., first person singular), tense (e.g., past simple ), mood (e.g., interrogative), and voice (e.g., passive voice ).

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding’-ed’ to the end of the word (or ‘-d’ if the word already ends in ‘e’). Irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed in some other way.

‘I’ve already checked twice’.

‘I heard that you used to sing ‘.

Other types of verbs include auxiliary verbs , linking verbs , modal verbs , and phrasal verbs .

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be attributive , appearing before a noun (e.g., ‘a red hat’), or predicative , appearing after a noun with the use of a linking verb like ‘to be’ (e.g., ‘the hat is red ‘).

Adjectives can also have a comparative function. Comparative adjectives compare two or more things. Superlative adjectives describe something as having the most or least of a specific characteristic.

Other types of adjectives include coordinate adjectives , participial adjectives , and denominal adjectives .

An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or sentence. Adverbs are often formed by adding ‘-ly’ to the end of an adjective (e.g., ‘slow’ becomes ‘slowly’), although not all adverbs have this ending, and not all words with this ending are adverbs.

There are numerous types of adverbs, including adverbs of manner (used to describe how something occurs), adverbs of degree (used to indicate extent or degree), and adverbs of place (used to describe the location of an action or event).

Talia writes quite quickly.

Other types of adverbs include adverbs of frequency , adverbs of purpose , focusing adverbs , and adverbial phrases .

A preposition is a word (e.g., ‘at’) or phrase (e.g., ‘on top of’) used to show the relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used to indicate aspects such as time , place , and direction .

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

A conjunction is a word used to connect different parts of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, or clauses).

The main types of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions (used to connect items that are grammatically equal), subordinating conjunctions (used to introduce a dependent clause), and correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join grammatically equal parts of a sentence).

You can choose what movie we watch because I chose the last time.

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express a feeling, give a command, or greet someone. Interjections are a grammatically independent part of speech, so they can often be excluded from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

Types of interjections include volitive interjections (used to make a demand or request), emotive interjections (used to express a feeling or reaction), cognitive interjections (used to indicate thoughts), and greetings and parting words (used at the beginning and end of a conversation).

Ouch ! I hurt my arm.

I’m, um , not sure.

The traditional classification of English words into eight parts of speech is by no means the only one or the objective truth. Grammarians have often divided them into more or fewer classes. Other commonly mentioned parts of speech include determiners and articles.

Determiners

A determiner is a word that describes a noun by indicating quantity, possession, or relative position.

Common types of determiners include demonstrative determiners (used to indicate the relative position of a noun), possessive determiners (used to describe ownership), and quantifiers (used to indicate the quantity of a noun).

My brother is selling his old car.

Other types of determiners include distributive determiners , determiners of difference , and numbers .

An article is a word that modifies a noun by indicating whether it is specific or general.

• The definite article the is used to refer to a specific version of a noun. The can be used with all countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., ‘the door’, ‘the energy’, ‘the mountains’).
• The indefinite articles a and an refer to general or unspecific nouns. The indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns (e.g., ‘a poster’, ‘an engine’).

There’s a concert this weekend.

A is an indefinite article (along with an ). While articles can be classed as their own part of speech, they’re also considered a type of determiner .

The indefinite articles are used to introduce nonspecific countable nouns (e.g., ‘a dog’, ‘an island’).

In is primarily classed as a preposition, but it can be classed as various other parts of speech, depending on how it is used:

• Preposition (e.g., ‘ in the field’)
• Noun (e.g., ‘I have an in with that company’)
• Adjective (e.g., ‘Tim is part of the in crowd’)
• Adverb (e.g., ‘Will you be in this evening?’)

As a part of speech, and is classed as a conjunction . Specifically, it’s a coordinating conjunction .

And can be used to connect grammatically equal parts of a sentence, such as two nouns (e.g., ‘a cup and plate’), or two adjectives (e.g., ‘strong and smart’). And can also be used to connect phrases and clauses.

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Understanding the 8 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples

General Education

If you’re trying to learn the grammatical rules of English, you’ve probably been asked to learn the parts of speech. But what are parts of speech and how many are there? How do you know which words are classified in each part of speech?

The answers to these questions can be a bit complicated—English is a difficult language to learn and understand. Don’t fret, though! We’re going to answer each of these questions for you with a full guide to the parts of speech that explains the following:

• What the parts of speech are, including a comprehensive parts of speech list
• Parts of speech definitions for the individual parts of speech. (If you’re looking for information on a specific part of speech, you can search for it by pressing Command + F, then typing in the part of speech you’re interested in.) 
• Parts of speech examples
• A ten question quiz covering parts of speech definitions and parts of speech examples

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s begin!

Feature Image: (Gavina S / Wikimedia Commons)

What Are Parts of Speech? 

The parts of speech definitions in English can vary, but here’s a widely accepted one: a part of speech is a category of words that serve a similar grammatical purpose in sentences.  

To make that definition even simpler, a part of speech is just a category for similar types of words . All of the types of words included under a single part of speech function in similar ways when they’re used properly in sentences.

In the English language, it’s commonly accepted that there are 8 parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections, and prepositions. Each of these categories plays a different role in communicating meaning in the English language. Each of the eight parts of speech—which we might also call the “main classes” of speech—also have subclasses. In other words, we can think of each of the eight parts of speech as being general categories for different types within their part of speech . There are different types of nouns, different types of verbs, different types of adjectives, adverbs, pronouns...you get the idea. 

And that’s an overview of what a part of speech is! Next, we’ll explain each of the 8 parts of speech—definitions and examples included for each category. 

There are tons of nouns in this picture. Can you find them all? 

Nouns are a class of words that refer, generally, to people and living creatures, objects, events, ideas, states of being, places, and actions. You’ve probably heard English nouns referred to as “persons, places, or things.” That definition is a little simplistic, though—while nouns do include people, places, and things, “things” is kind of a vague term. I t’s important to recognize that “things” can include physical things—like objects or belongings—and nonphysical, abstract things—like ideas, states of existence, and actions. 

Since there are many different types of nouns, we’ll include several examples of nouns used in a sentence while we break down the subclasses of nouns next!

Subclasses of Nouns, Including Examples

As an open class of words, the category of “nouns” has a lot of subclasses. The most common and important subclasses of nouns are common nouns, proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, collective nouns, and count and mass nouns. Let’s break down each of these subclasses!

Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

Common nouns are generic nouns—they don’t name specific items. They refer to people (the man, the woman), living creatures (cat, bird), objects (pen, computer, car), events (party, work), ideas (culture, freedom), states of being (beauty, integrity), and places (home, neighborhood, country) in a general way. 

Proper nouns are sort of the counterpart to common nouns. Proper nouns refer to specific people, places, events, or ideas. Names are the most obvious example of proper nouns, like in these two examples: 

Common noun: What state are you from?

Proper noun: I’m from Arizona .

Whereas “state” is a common noun, Arizona is a proper noun since it refers to a specific state. Whereas “the election” is a common noun, “Election Day” is a proper noun. Another way to pick out proper nouns: the first letter is often capitalized. If you’d capitalize the word in a sentence, it’s almost always a proper noun. 

Concrete Nouns and Abstract Nouns

Concrete nouns are nouns that can be identified through the five senses. Concrete nouns include people, living creatures, objects, and places, since these things can be sensed in the physical world. In contrast to concrete nouns, abstract nouns are nouns that identify ideas, qualities, concepts, experiences, or states of being. Abstract nouns cannot be detected by the five senses. Here’s an example of concrete and abstract nouns used in a sentence: 

Concrete noun: Could you please fix the weedeater and mow the lawn ?

Abstract noun: Aliyah was delighted to have the freedom to enjoy the art show in peace .

See the difference? A weedeater and the lawn are physical objects or things, and freedom and peace are not physical objects, though they’re “things” people experience! Despite those differences, they all count as nouns. 

Collective Nouns, Count Nouns, and Mass Nouns

Nouns are often categorized based on number and amount. Collective nouns are nouns that refer to a group of something—often groups of people or a type of animal. Team , crowd , and herd are all examples of collective nouns. 

Count nouns are nouns that can appear in the singular or plural form, can be modified by numbers, and can be described by quantifying determiners (e.g. many, most, more, several). For example, “bug” is a count noun. It can occur in singular form if you say, “There is a bug in the kitchen,” but it can also occur in the plural form if you say, “There are many bugs in the kitchen.” (In the case of the latter, you’d call an exterminator...which is an example of a common noun!) Any noun that can accurately occur in one of these singular or plural forms is a count noun. 

Mass nouns are another type of noun that involve numbers and amount. Mass nouns are nouns that usually can’t be pluralized, counted, or quantified and still make sense grammatically. “Charisma” is an example of a mass noun (and an abstract noun!). For example, you could say, “They’ve got charisma, ” which doesn’t imply a specific amount. You couldn’t say, “They’ve got six charismas, ” or, “They’ve got several charismas .” It just doesn’t make sense! 

Verbs are all about action...just like these runners. 

A verb is a part of speech that, when used in a sentence, communicates an action, an occurrence, or a state of being . In sentences, verbs are the most important part of the predicate, which explains or describes what the subject of the sentence is doing or how they are being. And, guess what? All sentences contain verbs!

There are many words in the English language that are classified as verbs. A few common verbs include the words run, sing, cook, talk, and clean. These words are all verbs because they communicate an action performed by a living being. We’ll look at more specific examples of verbs as we discuss the subclasses of verbs next!

Subclasses of Verbs, Including Examples

Like nouns, verbs have several subclasses. The subclasses of verbs include copular or linking verbs, intransitive verbs, transitive verbs, and ditransitive or double transitive verbs. Let’s dive into these subclasses of verbs!

Copular or Linking Verbs

Copular verbs, or linking verbs, are verbs that link a subject with its complement in a sentence. The most familiar linking verb is probably be. Here’s a list of other common copular verbs in English: act, be, become, feel, grow, seem, smell, and taste. 

So how do copular verbs work? Well, in a sentence, if we said, “Michi is ,” and left it at that, it wouldn’t make any sense. “Michi,” the subject, needs to be connected to a complement by the copular verb “is.” Instead, we could say, “Michi is leaving.” In that instance, is links the subject of the sentence to its complement. 

Transitive Verbs, Intransitive Verbs, and Ditransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that affect or act upon an object. When unattached to an object in a sentence, a transitive verb does not make sense. Here’s an example of a transitive verb attached to (and appearing before) an object in a sentence: 

Please take the clothes to the dry cleaners.

In this example, “take” is a transitive verb because it requires an object—”the clothes”—to make sense. “The clothes” are the objects being taken. “Please take” wouldn’t make sense by itself, would it? That’s because the transitive verb “take,” like all transitive verbs, transfers its action onto another being or object. 

Conversely, intransitive verbs don’t require an object to act upon in order to make sense in a sentence. These verbs make sense all on their own! For instance, “They ran ,” “We arrived ,” and, “The car stopped ” are all examples of sentences that contain intransitive verbs. 

Finally, ditransitive verbs, or double transitive verbs, are a bit more complicated. Ditransitive verbs are verbs that are followed by two objects in a sentence . One of the objects has the action of the ditransitive verb done to it, and the other object has the action of the ditransitive verb directed towards it. Here’s an example of what that means in a sentence: 

I cooked Nathan a meal.

In this example, “cooked” is a ditransitive verb because it modifies two objects: Nathan and meal . The meal has the action of “cooked” done to it, and “Nathan” has the action of the verb directed towards him. 

Adjectives are descriptors that help us better understand a sentence. A common adjective type is color.

#3: Adjectives

Here’s the simplest definition of adjectives: adjectives are words that describe other words . Specifically, adjectives modify nouns and noun phrases. In sentences, adjectives appear before nouns and pronouns (they have to appear before the words they describe!). 

Adjectives give more detail to nouns and pronouns by describing how a noun looks, smells, tastes, sounds, or feels, or its state of being or existence. . For example, you could say, “The girl rode her bike.” That sentence doesn’t have any adjectives in it, but you could add an adjective before both of the nouns in the sentence—”girl” and “bike”—to give more detail to the sentence. It might read like this: “The young girl rode her red bike.”   You can pick out adjectives in a sentence by asking the following questions: 

• Which one? 
• What kind? 
• How many? 
• Whose’s? 

We’ll look at more examples of adjectives as we explore the subclasses of adjectives next!

Subclasses of Adjectives, Including Examples

Subclasses of adjectives include adjective phrases, comparative adjectives, superlative adjectives, and determiners (which include articles, possessive adjectives, and demonstratives). 

Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase is a group of words that describe a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. Adjective phrases can appear before the noun or noun phrase in a sentence, like in this example: 

The extremely fragile vase somehow did not break during the move.

In this case, extremely fragile describes the vase. On the other hand, adjective phrases can appear after the noun or noun phrase in a sentence as well: 

The museum was somewhat boring. 

Again, the phrase somewhat boring describes the museum. The takeaway is this: adjective phrases describe the subject of a sentence with greater detail than an individual adjective. 

Comparative Adjectives and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used in sentences where two nouns are compared. They function to compare the differences between the two nouns that they modify. In sentences, comparative adjectives often appear in this pattern and typically end with -er. If we were to describe how comparative adjectives function as a formula, it might look something like this: 

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).

Here’s an example of how a comparative adjective would work in that type of sentence: 

The horse was faster than the dog.

The adjective faster compares the speed of the horse to the speed of the dog. Other common comparative adjectives include words that compare distance ( higher, lower, farther ), age ( younger, older ), size and dimensions ( bigger, smaller, wider, taller, shorter ), and quality or feeling ( better, cleaner, happier, angrier ). 

Superlative adjectives are adjectives that describe the extremes of a quality that applies to a subject being compared to a group of objects . Put more simply, superlative adjectives help show how extreme something is. In sentences, superlative adjectives usually appear in this structure and end in -est : 

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

Here’s an example of a superlative adjective that appears in that type of sentence: 

Their story was the funniest story. 

In this example, the subject— story —is being compared to a group of objects—other stories. The superlative adjective “funniest” implies that this particular story is the funniest out of all the stories ever, period. Other common superlative adjectives are best, worst, craziest, and happiest... though there are many more than that! 

It’s also important to know that you can often omit the object from the end of the sentence when using superlative adjectives, like this: “Their story was the funniest.” We still know that “their story” is being compared to other stories without the object at the end of the sentence.

Determiners

The last subclass of adjectives we want to look at are determiners. Determiners are words that determine what kind of reference a noun or noun phrase makes. These words are placed in front of nouns to make it clear what the noun is referring to. Determiners are an example of a part of speech subclass that contains a lot of subclasses of its own. Here is a list of the different types of determiners: 

• Definite article: the
• Indefinite articles : a, an 
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
• Pronouns and possessive determiners: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• Quantifiers : a little, a few, many, much, most, some, any, enough
• Numbers: one, twenty, fifty
• Distributives: all, both, half, either, neither, each, every
• Difference words : other, another
• Pre-determiners: such, what, rather, quite

Here are some examples of how determiners can be used in sentences: 

Definite article: Get in the car.  

Demonstrative: Could you hand me that magazine?  

Possessive determiner: Please put away your clothes. 

Distributive: He ate all of the pie. 

Though some of the words above might not seem descriptive, they actually do describe the specificity and definiteness, relationship, and quantity or amount of a noun or noun phrase. For example, the definite article “the” (a type of determiner) indicates that a noun refers to a specific thing or entity. The indefinite article “an,” on the other hand, indicates that a noun refers to a nonspecific entity. 

One quick note, since English is always more complicated than it seems: while articles are most commonly classified as adjectives, they can also function as adverbs in specific situations, too. Not only that, some people are taught that determiners are their own part of speech...which means that some people are taught there are 9 parts of speech instead of 8! 

It can be a little confusing, which is why we have a whole article explaining how articles function as a part of speech to help clear things up . 

Adverbs can be used to answer questions like "when?" and "how long?"

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives (including determiners), clauses, prepositions, and sentences. Adverbs typically answer the questions how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent? In answering these questions, adverbs function to express frequency, degree, manner, time, place, and level of certainty . Adverbs can answer these questions in the form of single words, or in the form of adverbial phrases or adverbial clauses. 

Adverbs are commonly known for being words that end in -ly, but there’s actually a bit more to adverbs than that, which we’ll dive into while we look at the subclasses of adverbs!

Subclasses Of Adverbs, Including Examples

There are many types of adverbs, but the main subclasses we’ll look at are conjunctive adverbs, and adverbs of place, time, manner, degree, and frequency. 

Conjunctive Adverbs

Conjunctive adverbs look like coordinating conjunctions (which we’ll talk about later!), but they are actually their own category: conjunctive adverbs are words that connect independent clauses into a single sentence . These adverbs appear after a semicolon and before a comma in sentences, like in these two examples: 

She was exhausted; nevertheless , she went for a five mile run. 

They didn’t call; instead , they texted.  

Though conjunctive adverbs are frequently used to create shorter sentences using a semicolon and comma, they can also appear at the beginning of sentences, like this: 

He chopped the vegetables. Meanwhile, I boiled the pasta.  

One thing to keep in mind is that conjunctive adverbs come with a comma. When you use them, be sure to include a comma afterward! 

There are a lot of conjunctive adverbs, but some common ones include also, anyway, besides, finally, further, however, indeed, instead, meanwhile, nevertheless, next, nonetheless, now, otherwise, similarly, then, therefore, and thus.  

Adverbs of Place, Time, Manner, Degree, and Frequency

There are also adverbs of place, time, manner, degree, and frequency. Each of these types of adverbs express a different kind of meaning. 

Adverbs of place express where an action is done or where an event occurs. These are used after the verb, direct object, or at the end of a sentence. A sentence like “She walked outside to watch the sunset” uses outside as an adverb of place. 

Adverbs of time explain when something happens. These adverbs are used at the beginning or at the end of sentences. In a sentence like “The game should be over soon,” soon functions as an adverb of time. 

Adverbs of manner describe the way in which something is done or how something happens. These are the adverbs that usually end in the familiar -ly.  If we were to write “She quickly finished her homework,” quickly is an adverb of manner. 

Adverbs of degree tell us the extent to which something happens or occurs. If we were to say “The play was quite interesting,” quite tells us the extent of how interesting the play was. Thus, quite is an adverb of degree.  

Finally, adverbs of frequency express how often something happens . In a sentence like “They never know what to do with themselves,” never is an adverb of frequency. 

Five subclasses of adverbs is a lot, so we’ve organized the words that fall under each category in a nifty table for you here: 

It’s important to know about these subclasses of adverbs because many of them don’t follow the old adage that adverbs end in -ly. 

Here's a helpful list of pronouns. (Attanata / Flickr )

#5: Pronouns

Pronouns are words that can be substituted for a noun or noun phrase in a sentence . Pronouns function to make sentences less clunky by allowing people to avoid repeating nouns over and over. For example, if you were telling someone a story about your friend Destiny, you wouldn’t keep repeating their name over and over again every time you referred to them. Instead, you’d use a pronoun—like they or them—to refer to Destiny throughout the story. 

Pronouns are typically short words, often only two or three letters long. The most familiar pronouns in the English language are they, she, and he. But these aren’t the only pronouns. There are many more pronouns in English that fall under different subclasses!

Subclasses of Pronouns, Including Examples

There are many subclasses of pronouns, but the most commonly used subclasses are personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, indefinite pronouns, and interrogative pronouns. 

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns are probably the most familiar type of pronoun. Personal pronouns include I, me, you, she, her, him, he, we, us, they, and them. These are called personal pronouns because they refer to a person! Personal pronouns can replace specific nouns in sentences, like a person’s name, or refer to specific groups of people, like in these examples: 

Did you see Gia pole vault at the track meet? Her form was incredible!

The Cycling Club is meeting up at six. They said they would be at the park. 

In both of the examples above, a pronoun stands in for a proper noun to avoid repetitiveness. Her replaces Gia in the first example, and they replaces the Cycling Club in the second example. 

(It’s also worth noting that personal pronouns are one of the easiest ways to determine what point of view a writer is using.) 

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate that something belongs to or is the possession of someone. The possessive pronouns fall into two categories: limiting and absolute. In a sentence, absolute possessive pronouns can be substituted for the thing that belongs to a person, and limiting pronouns cannot. 

The limiting pronouns are my, your, its, his, her, our, their, and whose, and the absolute pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, ours, and theirs . Here are examples of a limiting possessive pronoun and absolute possessive pronoun used in a sentence: 

Limiting possessive pronoun: Juan is fixing his car. 

In the example above, the car belongs to Juan, and his is the limiting possessive pronoun that shows the car belongs to Juan. Now, here’s an example of an absolute pronoun in a sentence: 

Absolute possessive pronoun: Did you buy your tickets ? We already bought ours . 

In this example, the tickets belong to whoever we is, and in the second sentence, ours is the absolute possessive pronoun standing in for the thing that “we” possess—the tickets. 

Demonstrative Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, and Indefinite Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns include the words that, this, these, and those. These pronouns stand in for a noun or noun phrase that has already been mentioned in a sentence or conversation. This and these are typically used to refer to objects or entities that are nearby distance-wise, and that and those usually refer to objects or entities that are farther away. Here’s an example of a demonstrative pronoun used in a sentence: 

The books are stacked up in the garage. Can you put those away? 

The books have already been mentioned, and those is the demonstrative pronoun that stands in to refer to them in the second sentence above. The use of those indicates that the books aren’t nearby—they’re out in the garage. Here’s another example: 

Do you need shoes? Here...you can borrow these. 

In this sentence, these refers to the noun shoes. Using the word these tells readers that the shoes are nearby...maybe even on the speaker’s feet! 

Indefinite pronouns are used when it isn’t necessary to identify a specific person or thing . The indefinite pronouns are one, other, none, some, anybody, everybody, and no one. Here’s one example of an indefinite pronoun used in a sentence: 

Promise you can keep a secret? 

Of course. I won’t tell anyone. 

In this example, the person speaking in the second two sentences isn’t referring to any particular people who they won’t tell the secret to. They’re saying that, in general, they won’t tell anyone . That doesn’t specify a specific number, type, or category of people who they won’t tell the secret to, which is what makes the pronoun indefinite. 

Finally, interrogative pronouns are used in questions, and these pronouns include who, what, which, and whose. These pronouns are simply used to gather information about specific nouns—persons, places, and ideas. Let’s look at two examples of interrogative pronouns used in sentences: 

Do you remember which glass was mine? 

What time are they arriving? 

In the first glass, the speaker wants to know more about which glass belongs to whom. In the second sentence, the speaker is asking for more clarity about a specific time. 

Conjunctions hook phrases and clauses together so they fit like pieces of a puzzle.

#6: Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that are used to connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences in the English language. This function allows conjunctions to connect actions, ideas, and thoughts as well. Conjunctions are also used to make lists within sentences. (Conjunctions are also probably the most famous part of speech, since they were immortalized in the famous “Conjunction Junction” song from Schoolhouse Rock .) 

You’re probably familiar with and, but, and or as conjunctions, but let’s look into some subclasses of conjunctions so you can learn about the array of conjunctions that are out there!

Subclasses of Conjunctions, Including Examples

Coordinating conjunctions, subordinating conjunctions, and correlative conjunctions are three subclasses of conjunctions. Each of these types of conjunctions functions in a different way in sentences!

Coordinating Conjunctions

Coordinating conjunctions are probably the most familiar type of conjunction. These conjunctions include the words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (people often recommend using the acronym FANBOYS to remember the seven coordinating conjunctions!). 

Coordinating conjunctions are responsible for connecting two independent clauses in sentences, but can also be used to connect two words in a sentence. Here are two examples of coordinating conjunctions that connect two independent clauses in a sentence: 

He wanted to go to the movies, but he couldn’t find his car keys. 

They put on sunscreen, and they went to the beach. 

Next, here are two examples of coordinating conjunctions that connect two words: 

Would you like to cook or order in for dinner? 

The storm was loud yet refreshing. 

The two examples above show that coordinating conjunctions can connect different types of words as well. In the first example, the coordinating conjunction “or” connects two verbs; in the second example, the coordinating conjunction “yet” connects two adjectives. 

But wait! Why does the first set of sentences have commas while the second set of sentences doesn’t? When using a coordinating conjunction, put a comma before the conjunction when it’s connecting two complete sentences . Otherwise, there’s no comma necessary. 

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are used to link an independent clause to a dependent clause in a sentence. This type of conjunction always appears at the beginning of a dependent clause, which means that subordinating conjunctions can appear at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle of a sentence following an independent clause. (If you’re unsure about what independent and dependent clauses are, be sure to check out our guide to compound sentences.) 

Here is an example of a subordinating conjunction that appears at the beginning of a sentence: 

Because we were hungry, we ordered way too much food. 

Now, here’s an example of a subordinating conjunction that appears in the middle of a sentence, following an independent clause and a comma: 

Rakim was scared after the power went out. 

See? In the example above, the subordinating conjunction after connects the independent clause Rakim was scared to the dependent clause after the power went out. Subordinating conjunctions include (but are not limited to!) the following words: after, as, because, before, even though, one, since, unless, until, whenever, and while. 

Correlative Conjunctions

Finally, correlative conjunctions are conjunctions that come in pairs, like both/and, either/or, and neither/nor. The two correlative conjunctions that come in a pair must appear in different parts of a sentence to make sense— they correlate the meaning in one part of the sentence with the meaning in another part of the sentence . Makes sense, right? 

Here are two examples of correlative conjunctions used in a sentence: 

We’re either going to the Farmer’s Market or the Natural Grocer’s for our shopping today. 

They’re going to have to get dog treats for both Piper and Fudge. 

Other pairs of correlative conjunctions include as many/as, not/but, not only/but also, rather/than, such/that, and whether/or. 

Interjections are single words that express emotions that end in an exclamation point. Cool!

#7: Interjections 

Interjections are words that often appear at the beginning of sentences or between sentences to express emotions or sentiments such as excitement, surprise, joy, disgust, anger, or even pain. Commonly used interjections include wow!, yikes!, ouch!, or ugh! One clue that an interjection is being used is when an exclamation point appears after a single word (but interjections don’t have to be followed by an exclamation point). And, since interjections usually express emotion or feeling, they’re often referred to as being exclamatory. Wow! 

Interjections don’t come together with other parts of speech to form bigger grammatical units, like phrases or clauses. There also aren’t strict rules about where interjections should appear in relation to other sentences . While it’s common for interjections to appear before sentences that describe an action or event that the interjection helps explain, interjections can appear after sentences that contain the action they’re describing as well. 

Subclasses of Interjections, Including Examples

There are two main subclasses of interjections: primary interjections and secondary interjections. Let’s take a look at these two types of interjections!

Primary Interjections  

Primary interjections are single words, like oh!, wow!, or ouch! that don’t enter into the actual structure of a sentence but add to the meaning of a sentence. Here’s an example of how a primary interjection can be used before a sentence to add to the meaning of the sentence that follows it: 

Ouch ! I just burned myself on that pan!

While someone who hears, I just burned myself on that pan might assume that the person who said that is now in pain, the interjection Ouch! makes it clear that burning oneself on the pan definitely was painful. 

Secondary Interjections

Secondary interjections are words that have other meanings but have evolved to be used like interjections in the English language and are often exclamatory. Secondary interjections can be mixed with greetings, oaths, or swear words. In many cases, the use of secondary interjections negates the original meaning of the word that is being used as an interjection. Let’s look at a couple of examples of secondary interjections here: 

Well , look what the cat dragged in!

Heck, I’d help if I could, but I’ve got to get to work. 

You probably know that the words well and heck weren’t originally used as interjections in the English language. Well originally meant that something was done in a good or satisfactory way, or that a person was in good health. Over time and through repeated usage, it’s come to be used as a way to express emotion, such as surprise, anger, relief, or resignation, like in the example above. 

This is a handy list of common prepositional phrases. (attanatta / Flickr) 

#8: Prepositions

The last part of speech we’re going to define is the preposition. Prepositions are words that are used to connect other words in a sentence—typically nouns and verbs—and show the relationship between those words. Prepositions convey concepts such as comparison, position, place, direction, movement, time, possession, and how an action is completed. 

Subclasses of Prepositions, Including Examples

The subclasses of prepositions are simple prepositions, double prepositions, participle prepositions, and prepositional phrases. 

Simple Prepositions

Simple prepositions appear before and between nouns, adjectives, or adverbs in sentences to convey relationships between people, living creatures, things, or places . Here are a couple of examples of simple prepositions used in sentences: 

I’ll order more ink before we run out. 

Your phone was beside your wallet. 

In the first example, the preposition before appears between the noun ink and the personal pronoun we to convey a relationship. In the second example, the preposition beside appears between the verb was and the possessive pronoun your.

In both examples, though, the prepositions help us understand how elements in the sentence are related to one another. In the first sentence, we know that the speaker currently has ink but needs more before it’s gone. In the second sentence, the preposition beside helps us understand how the wallet and the phone are positioned relative to one another! 

Double Prepositions

Double prepositions are exactly what they sound like: two prepositions joined together into one unit to connect phrases, nouns, and pronouns with other words in a sentence. Common examples of double prepositions include outside of, because of, according to, next to, across from, and on top of. Here is an example of a double preposition in a sentence: 

I thought you were sitting across from me. 

You see? Across and from both function as prepositions individually. When combined together in a sentence, they create a double preposition. (Also note that the prepositions help us understand how two people— you and I— are positioned with one another through spacial relationship.)  

Prepositional Phrases

Finally, prepositional phrases are groups of words that include a preposition and a noun or pronoun. Typically, the noun or pronoun that appears after the preposition in a prepositional phrase is called the object of the preposition. The object always appears at the end of the prepositional phrase. Additionally, prepositional phrases never include a verb or a subject. Here are two examples of prepositional phrases: 

The cat sat under the chair . 

In the example above, “under” is the preposition, and “the chair” is the noun, which functions as the object of the preposition. Here’s one more example: 

We walked through the overgrown field . 

Now, this example demonstrates one more thing you need to know about prepositional phrases: they can include an adjective before the object. In this example, “through” is the preposition, and “field” is the object. “Overgrown” is an adjective that modifies “the field,” and it’s quite common for adjectives to appear in prepositional phrases like the one above. 

While that might sound confusing, don’t worry: the key is identifying the preposition in the first place! Once you can find the preposition, you can start looking at the words around it to see if it forms a compound preposition, a double preposition of a prepositional phrase. 

10 Question Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Parts of Speech Definitions and Examples

Since we’ve covered a lot of material about the 8 parts of speech with examples ( a lot of them!), we want to give you an opportunity to review and see what you’ve learned! While it might seem easier to just use a parts of speech finder instead of learning all this stuff, our parts of speech quiz can help you continue building your knowledge of the 8 parts of speech and master each one. 

Are you ready? Here we go:  

1) What are the 8 parts of speech? 

a) Noun, article, adverb, antecedent, verb, adjective, conjunction, interjection b) Noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, determiner, clause, adjective, preposition c) Noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, conjunction, interjection, preposition

2) Which parts of speech have subclasses?

a) Nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs b) Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions c) All of them! There are many types of words within each part of speech.

3) What is the difference between common nouns and proper nouns?

a) Common nouns don’t refer to specific people, places, or entities, but proper nouns do refer to specific people, places, or entities.  b) Common nouns refer to regular, everyday people, places, or entities, but proper nouns refer to famous people, places, or entities.  c) Common nouns refer to physical entities, like people, places, and objects, but proper nouns refer to nonphysical entities, like feelings, ideas, and experiences.

4) In which of the following sentences is the emboldened word a verb?

a) He was frightened by the horror film .   b) He adjusted his expectations after the first plan fell through.  c) She walked briskly to get there on time.

5) Which of the following is a correct definition of adjectives, and what other part of speech do adjectives modify?

a) Adjectives are describing words, and they modify nouns and noun phrases.  b) Adjectives are describing words, and they modify verbs and adverbs.  c) Adjectives are describing words, and they modify nouns, verbs, and adverbs.

6) Which of the following describes the function of adverbs in sentences?

a) Adverbs express frequency, degree, manner, time, place, and level of certainty. b) Adverbs express an action performed by a subject.  c) Adverbs describe nouns and noun phrases.

7) Which of the following answers contains a list of personal pronouns?

a) This, that, these, those b) I, you, me, we, he, she, him, her, they, them c) Who, what, which, whose

8) Where do interjections typically appear in a sentence?

a) Interjections can appear at the beginning of or in between sentences. b) Interjections appear at the end of sentences.  c) Interjections appear in prepositional phrases.

9) Which of the following sentences contains a prepositional phrase?

a) The dog happily wagged his tail.  b) The cow jumped over the moon.  c) She glared, angry that he forgot the flowers.

10) Which of the following is an accurate definition of a “part of speech”?

a) A category of words that serve a similar grammatical purpose in sentences. b) A category of words that are of similar length and spelling. c) A category of words that mean the same thing.

So, how did you do? If you got 1C, 2C, 3A, 4B, 5A, 6A, 7B, 8A, 9B, and 10A, you came out on top! There’s a lot to remember where the parts of speech are concerned, and if you’re looking for more practice like our quiz, try looking around for parts of speech games or parts of speech worksheets online!

What’s Next?

You might be brushing up on your grammar so you can ace the verbal portions of the SAT or ACT. Be sure you check out our guides to the grammar you need to know before you tackle those tests! Here’s our expert guide to the grammar rules you need to know for the SAT , and this article teaches you the 14 grammar rules you’ll definitely see on the ACT.

When you have a good handle on parts of speech, it can make writing essays tons easier. Learn how knowing parts of speech can help you get a perfect 12 on the ACT Essay (or an 8/8/8 on the SAT Essay ).

While we’re on the topic of grammar: keep in mind that knowing grammar rules is only part of the battle when it comes to the verbal and written portions of the SAT and ACT. Having a good vocabulary is also important to making the perfect score ! Here are 262 vocabulary words you need to know before you tackle your standardized tests.

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Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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Much Of Usher's BET Acceptance Speech Was Inaudible — And People Are Pissed

BET Awards viewers were wondering why they got it bad as a sizable portion of Usher ’s acceptance speech wasn’t audible for those watching from home on Sunday.

The singer and Super Bowl halftime show performer was honored with a star-studded tribute before hitting the stage to accept the BET Lifetime Achievement Award at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater.

“By the way, I should caution you that I like to talk and I have a way with words,” warned Usher, who added that his remarks were unprepared because he wanted to be “present” in the moment.

Usher proceeded to declare that he still loves “this shit” as he spoke of his career and, later, appeared to be censored for cursing more — and some more— before larger portions of the speech were inaudible for those watching the broadcast.

“And I get it, I understand, sometimes you gotta go through some shit to get to something,” said the singer before his words seemed to cut out more. Although viewers wondered if the muting was due to his use of expletives, a Billboard reporter said the singer did not swear much through the speech.

In a statement Monday, a BET spokesperson, cited “an audio malfunction during the LIVE telecast” as cause for parts of Usher’s speech being “inadvertently muted.”

“We extend our sincere apology to USHER as we couldn’t be more grateful for his participation in Culture’s Biggest Night,” wrote the spokesperson, who added that those who missed the full speech can watch the uploaded speech on BET’s YouTube channel.

Social media users quickly mocked the network and weren’t feeling how it handled sound on Sunday.

The person censoring Usher’s speech: #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/PaqtdhkjPH — patweetme (@patweet_me) July 1, 2024

Are they gonna upload Usher’s unedited speech on BET+ or something, because this consistent muting is ridiculous. #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/OCHI1p2HQK — AD III 👑 (@anseldeangelo) July 1, 2024

Usher’s acceptance speech: #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/33pAU8M3zz — shannon’s breathalyzer (@johnthesecond_) July 1, 2024

they full on muted usher’s acceptance speech?? #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/QqE2eEFy64 — mikal (@fcrgiveme) July 1, 2024

They really cut Usher's whole damn speech. Cannot believe we really waited around for Usher to FINALLY get on the damn mic and #BETAwards really cut the whole damn thing other than 4 words and claps. That's that BS, Gelado!! pic.twitter.com/hRWrgwlkQT — Dr. Nicki Washington (@dr_nickiw) July 1, 2024

The censor person in the back during Usher speech #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/cVjmXMfWOO — LENA (@_sdm26) July 1, 2024

Centered the whole show around Usher just for the sound to go out during his acceptance speech? 🤨 #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/0abiPYYAUk — PleighboyBarbie ᥫ᭡ (@xlaurenlacey) July 1, 2024

me all up on my tv trying to figure out why the sound don't work during usher speech #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/E6EXBhq7lc — Trippie (@TrippieLuxxe) July 1, 2024

why tf are they muting Usher’s whole speech?????? #BetAwards pic.twitter.com/i60T7vx5eZ — justice (@justicexlambiIy) July 1, 2024

I wanna hear the uncensored version of Usher’s speech! WHO GOT IT?! pic.twitter.com/EkmA5E1rWE — Big Mama 🤌🏽 (@OriginalSonji) July 1, 2024

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After Halting Debate Performance, Biden Tries to Reassure Democrats at Rally

President Biden delivered an energetic North Carolina rally, and a campaign official said there were no plans to replace him on the ticket. Former President Donald J. Trump, in Virginia, called the debate a “big victory” for him.

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Biden Vows to ‘Get Back Up’ After Poor Debate Performance

During a rally in north carolina, president biden tried to minimize concerns about his fitness for office by reassuring the crowd that he is up for the job..

Let me close with this. I know I’m not a young man. To state the obvious. Well, I know. Crowd: “Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.” I don’t — folks, I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth. I know, I know I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done. I know, like millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien

Trump takes a victory lap as Biden seeks to quell debate anxieties. Here’s the latest.

Reactions to the first presidential debate dominated the political world Friday, with former President Donald J. Trump taking a victory lap at a Virginia rally as President Biden and his surrogates sought to contain the damage from his shaky performance Thursday night.

While Democratic leaders have publicly backed Mr. Biden — including former President Barack Obama, who on Friday offered a strong statement of support for his former vice president — a wide range of lawmakers, activists and pundits were publicly discussing the possibility of replacing him at the top of the ticket. Some urged him to step aside, to allow a new candidate to ascend at the August convention.

But on Friday, Michael Tyler, the director of communications for the Biden campaign, said there were no internal conversations about replacing Biden on the ticket “whatsoever.”

Here’s what else to know:

Trump hammers Biden on debate performance. Mr. Trump seized on the debate right from the start of a roughly 90 minute campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., on Friday afternoon. “Hello Virginia, did anybody last night watch a thing called the debate?” Mr. Trump said. “The question voters should be asking themselves today is not whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute debate performance, but whether America can survive four more years of crooked Joe Biden in the White House.”

Biden tries to quell anxieties. Mr. Biden gave an energetic speech at an afternoon rally in Raleigh, N.C., as he sought to dispel widespread panic among Democrats about his debate performance. “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” Mr. Biden told the enthusiastic crowd. “But I know what I know. I know how to tell the truth. I know how to do this job.” Later Friday, Mr. Biden arrived in New York for more events, including an appearance at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan’s West Village.

Can Democrats replace Biden? Even as Democratic leaders pledged confidence in Mr. Biden on Friday, pundits and political strategists openly expressed doubt in his ability to see the election through, in some cases calling for him to make way for a new nominee. Indeed, the only way for Democrats to replace Mr. Biden is for him to step aside and surrender the delegates pledged to him. At this point in the race, his replacement would be decided on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in August.

Trump’s own debate performance: attacks and falsehoods. The format of Thursday night’s debate, in which candidates were blocked from interrupting each other and not subjected to fact-checking, appeared to serve Mr. Trump, who seemed content to sit back and let Mr. Biden struggle. When he spoke, he delivered relentless attacks, wild accusations riddled with falsehoods , portraying a nation under violent siege from undocumented immigrants — a claim unsupported by broader crime statistics — as well as grandiose exaggerations about his accomplishments.

How many people watched? The numbers are in: 51.3 million Americans watched last night’s Biden-Trump debate live on TV. And that figure doesn’t even include millions more who likely followed along on digital sites and social media. The summertime audience was down 30 percent from the first presidential debate in 2020. But the debate, hosted by CNN, was still the most-watched television broadcast of 2024, outside of sporting events.

Trump celebrates a critical Supreme Court ruling. In addition to the debate buoying his spirits, Mr. Trump hailed a the Supreme Court ruling on Friday that held prosecutors had overstepped in their use of an obstruction charge against a member of mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Trump, whose own case could be affected by the ruling, called it “a big win” in a post online. Get full coverage of the ruling here.

Michael M. Grynbaum contributed reporting.

Katie Rogers

Katie Rogers covers the Biden administration and the Biden family and reported from Washington. She is the author of a book on first ladies.

Jill Biden could make or break Biden’s campaign. She says she’s all in.

President Biden knew immediately after stepping off the stage in Atlanta on Thursday night that the debate had gone wrong. In those first stricken moments after a raspy, rambling and at times incoherent performance, he turned to his wife, Jill Biden.

Whatever was going to happen next in Mr. Biden’s last presidential race, after perhaps the worst moment of his long political life, was always going to come down to her. His wife of 47 years had entered his life all those decades ago, reluctant to get into politics but fully embracing his dreams and his belief that he would one day reach the White House.

Now, her 81-year-old husband looked at her after a disastrous 90 minutes onstage.

The first lady’s message to him was clear: They’d been counted out before, she was all in, and he — they — would stay in the race. Her thinking, according to people close to her, was that it was a bad night. And bad nights end.

“To say they’ve been in foxholes together doesn’t even begin to explain their bond,” said Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, who has been with Mr. Biden since his Senate days.

So Dr. Biden spent the 24 hours after the debate putting her decades as a political spouse to the test, projecting confidence and normalcy while effusively praising her husband. But, like the president, she is an intuitive political messenger who can sense the mood of a crowd. She knows that along with the cheering supporters, there are legions of people suddenly accusing her of forcing an old man to put one weary foot in front of the other.

If Mr. Biden were to seriously consider departing the race, allowing a younger candidate to replace him, the first lady would be the most important figure — other than the president himself — in reaching that decision.

“Jill is the final and most important voice. She knows him and loves him with a passion. She also knows everything about him. Most big decisions are made with Valerie and Jill in the end,” said John Morgan, one of Mr. Biden’s top donors, referring to the president’s younger sister, who has run nearly all of his political campaigns.

Indeed, as major Democratic Party donors connected Friday, by text, by phone or in person, one of the most immediate questions they asked one another was whether any of them knew how to get a meeting or a conversation with the first lady.

After nearly a half-century in politics, the Bidens view themselves as long-game people. And right now, neither wants the story of the president’s long political career — one defined by tragedy, resilience and unceasing ambition — to end on a stage in Atlanta, across the podium from former President Donald J. Trump, a man they both revile.

“He wants to win and she wants that for him, and for the country,” Ms. Alexander said. “She’s his biggest supporter and champion, because she believes in him, and she fears for the future of our country if it goes the other way.”

In front of supporters on Friday, the first lady embraced the talking points espoused by Democratic Party leaders, including the vice president, Kamala Harris , that Mr. Biden’s bad performance did not erase years of successful legislating.

“As Joe said earlier today, he’s not a young man,” Dr. Biden told a group of donors assembled in Manhattan on Friday afternoon, her third stop since leaving Atlanta. “After last night’s debate, he said: ‘You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel that great.’ I said, ‘Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president.’”

Dr. Biden understood that the debate night had amounted to a serious misstep. The president had needed to walk into the debate hall and address concerns about his age. Instead, he walked onstage after six days of preparations and mock debates at Camp David and had little other than a raspy voice to show for it. (The White House said he had a cold.)

She listened as Mr. Trump mocked him. “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence,” Mr. Trump said when Mr. Biden blundered an answer on immigration. “I don’t think he knows what he said either.”

She listened as the former president attacked Hunter Biden, Mr. Biden’s son whom she had raised since childhood and had stood by during a recent trial on gun charges, sitting front row in the courtroom as the worst moments of his addiction were recounted for the world to see.

And she watched as her husband looked wide-eyed and slack-jawed as Mr. Trump went on, angrily absorbing what was happening but largely unable to hit back.

Afterward, Dr. Biden held hands with the president, who walked gingerly down the stairs. The moment quickly went viral. At a campaign-organized watch party the Bidens visited shortly after the debate, she praised her husband for his performance. But critics elsewhere saw her giving him a virtual pat on the head for simply making it through the debate.

“You answered every question, you knew all the facts,” she said. “And what did Trump do?”

“Lie!” the crowd shouted.

Suddenly, a first lady who had skirted major controversies over the past three and a half years found herself in the cross hairs of people who believe she has been trying to hide his diminished faculties.

“What Jill Biden and the Biden campaign did to Joe Biden tonight — rolling him out on stage to engage in a battle of wits while unarmed — is elder abuse, plain and simple,” Representative Harriet M. Hageman, Republican of Wyoming, wrote in a social media post.

The Drudge Report , a prominent conservative-leaning website whose author, Matt Drudge, has soured on Mr. Trump, ran an unflattering photo of the Bidens on Friday with the headline “CRUEL JILL CLINGS TO POWER.”

The first lady and her advisers have long noticed similar claims on conservative websites, and are aware that they are leaking into the mainstream. Ms. Alexander said Dr. Biden views her “amorphous” role as “an act of service, rather than some mythical power grab invented by the dark corners of the internet.”

She added that the first lady sometimes felt hamstrung by the demands of the role , one rife with expectations and hidden trip wires.

“You have to be supportive, but not so supportive that your motives are questioned,” Ms. Alexander said, placing much of the blame on the internet, bots and a right-wing machine that fuels “every conspiracy.”

Advisers to the president and first lady downplay the idea that she has the ability to unilaterally pull the plug on the president’s re-election campaign and clear the way for another candidate four months before a presidential election. They acknowledge her unique influence and power in his life, but they say Mr. Biden is in control of his own campaign.

“There’s too much putting this on Jill,” said one of Mr. Biden’s top advisers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a family dynamic. But as long as Mr. Biden wants to run, advisers say, she will support him.

“When Joe gets knocked down, Joe gets back up,” she told the donors in New York. “And that’s what we’re doing today.”

• Biden Stumbles, Trump Pounces Courtesy of CNN
• Trading Personal Attacks Courtesy of CNN
• 'The Worst President in American History' Courtesy of CNN
• On Immigration Courtesy of CNN
• 'I Never Heard So Much Malarkey' Courtesy of CNN
• On Cognition and ... Golf Courtesy of CNN
• Kenny Holston/The New York Times
• On Roe v. Wade Courtesy of CNN
• Insults Fly Courtesy of CNN
• On Veterans Courtesy of CNN
• The Opening Courtesy of CNN

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Jazmine Ulloa

President Biden speaking at an L.G.B.T.Q. gala tonight at the Manhattan Center reminded me of covering him during some of his lowest days during the 2020 presidential campaign, just before he came in a devastating fifth place in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. He told reporters then not to count him out because he had been down before. Tonight, he seemed to echo the message: “I know what millions of Americans know, when you get down, you get back up.”

Corey Johnson, the former speaker of the New York City Council, left President Biden’s fundraiser early, before the president had finished speaking. He said the state of the presidential race had left him with real fear: “I think he’s a great man who’s had a great career, who has been a great president, who defeated Donald Trump," he said of Biden. "But I am so scared. We cannot have a second Trump presidency. And so I don’t know what the answer is.”

Michael Gold

Reporting from Chesapeake, Va.

A gleeful Trump, fresh from Thursday’s debate, rallies in Virginia.

The day after a presidential debate in which his opponent’s stumbles took the focus, former President Donald J. Trump returned to the campaign trail on Friday afternoon, clearly gleeful as he strode onstage in front of thousands of people in a field in Virginia and gloated about his performance.

Fresh off a debate in which his attacks, falsehoods and exaggerations largely went unchecked in the face of a halting performance by President Biden, Mr. Trump used the rally to bolster now familiar arguments that Mr. Biden was not fit to remain in office.

“The question every voter should be asking themselves today is not whether Joe Biden can survive a 90-minute debate performance,” Mr. Trump said, “but whether America can survive four more years of crooked Joe Biden in the White House.”

Seizing on reports that Democrats panicking about the debate were eager to push Mr. Biden off the ticket, Mr. Trump opined that Democrats had no better candidates than his opponent, with whom he has been engaged in yearslong hostility and whom he confidently says he will defeat despite his loss to him in 2020.

And Mr. Trump seemed equally buoyed by the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday that federal prosecutors misused an obstruction law to prosecute some of his supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn Mr. Biden’s victory and keep Mr. Trump in the White House.

To Mr. Trump, the court’s decision — facilitated in part, he pointed out, by the justices he appointed — lent credence to his frequent insistence that his supporters who marched on the Capitol, some of them turning to violence, were engaging in a political protest and were now being wrongfully prosecuted solely because they backed him over Mr. Biden.

Mr. Trump told the crowd before him, which gathered in the summer heat in Chesapeake, Va., that the court had decided that Mr. Biden’s “department of injustice has wrongfully prosecuted hundreds of Americans for peacefully protesting on Jan. 6.”

The comment elicited one of the crowd’s most energized cheers during Mr. Trump’s 90-minute speech. Then, in unison, his supporters began to chant, “U.S.A.”

Mr. Trump had spent less time talking about his views on Jan. 6 in recent weeks, particularly as he made campaign stops in cities like Philadelphia and Detroit, where he has been courting Black voters. In the wake of the debate, he made another pitch to expand his coalition, saying, “whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, young or old, Black, brown or white, we welcome you to our movement.”

Mr. Trump, who has a history of making racist statements, continued his efforts to win over Black and Hispanic voters by asserting, without providing evidence, that the surge of migrants coming across the border illegally were taking “Black jobs.” And as he tries to win union workers in key battleground states, Mr. Trump seemed to openly court the president of the Teamsters union, Sean O’Brien, whom Mr. Trump invited to speak at the Republican National Convention next month.

“I don’t want to throw around names,” Mr. Trump said after mentioning Mr. O’Brien, “but he’s a good man.”

But with the debate behind him, Mr. Trump revived forceful language that he had dialed back only slightly in recent weeks, including his false claims of widespread election fraud in 2020 and his depiction of Mr. Biden as mentally unfit to run the country.

Mr. Trump was sharply critical of Mr. Biden’s leadership, knocking his debate performance repeatedly and using it as evidence that four more years of a Biden administration would steer the country in the wrong direction. And as he stood in Virginia, which has not voted for a Republican president since 2004 but which Mr. Trump hopes to flip, he argued that Mr. Biden’s poor performance in the debate was grounds to oust Democrats from power across the ballot.

“We don’t just need to fire Biden,” Mr. Trump said, as Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, looked on. “As you saw yesterday, the whole Democratic Party needs to get voted out of office.”

Mr. Trump argued that he would be “very happy” if Vice President Kamala Harris somehow became the nominee because he polled better against her. And he joked, insultingly, that Mr. Biden was wise to pick her because nobody wanted Ms. Harris to be president, an attack that his campaign made in an advertisement it aired during the debate.

At times, Mr. Trump — who during the debate agreed to accept the results of the 2024 election only if he found them to be fair — seemed to act as if the presidential race were wrapped up. He repeatedly referred to a “transition period,” a seeming reference to the period after the election but that he extended to include the months leading up to the election.

“We have a five-month transition period, and I want our enemies to know, don’t play around with us.”

Yet Mr. Trump once again repeated his contention that America was more threatened by “the enemy from within” — a reference to his political opponents — than from foreign powers like China, Russia and North Korea, which he said were “not really enemies if you have a smart president.”

Mr. Trump repeated some of the false claims he made during Thursday’s debate, again accusing Democrats of supporting abortions up until “after a baby is born.” No state has passed laws that would allow that, and Mr. Biden did not endorse it during the debate.

And he again argued that Mr. Biden had allowed a surge of migrants across the U.S. border with Mexico, which in turn had caused a surge of violent crime. Available statistics show that violent crime has declined, and there is no evidence of a spike in crime caused by migrants.

Mr. Trump’s supporters lined up for hours in the heat to hear him speak. At least three people needed medical attention as they waited for the former president to arrive.

Still, the mood seemed jubilant. Ahead of Mr. Trump’s arrival, several speakers — largely a parade of Republicans who at various points occupied the governor’s mansion in Virginia — asked the crowd whom they thought won the debate.

Unsurprisingly, each time the resounding answer was “Trump.”

Jeffrey Omura, a former city council candidate in New York who attended the Manhattan Center fundraiser, left before President Biden even spoke. “Everybody feels the same way — that it is up to the people who are close around him, his friends and his closest confidants, to nudge him out of this race,” Omura said. He added that he had told the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison, during the fundraider: “This is your job. You are, you are the one to do this. And the whole country is counting on you to do this.”

Inside Mr. Biden’s Manhattan Center fundraiser, his poor debate performance was “definitely the main topic of conversation,” one attendee said. Another, Jonathan Rakiec, said that in the cheap seats — which cost $250 a head — people were chatting in small groups about the debate. With the stakes so high, he said, people were reassuring themselves that “the best minds in the country” must be working “on solving what happened yesterday.”

At the Manhattan Center, where President Biden is expected to make an appearance tonight at the 25th Annual LGBTQ+ Gala, the mood is energetic as the actor Alan Cumming warms up the crowd with a denunciation of fascism. “Everything we have fought for is on the line,” he says.

What’s a ‘Black job’? Trump’s anti-immigration remarks draw pushback and derision.

Former President Donald J. Trump claimed during the presidential debate on Thursday that immigrants entering the United States illegally were taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs,” a claim with little basis that Democrats immediately seized on as evidence that Mr. Trump and Republicans were not serious about cultivating support from voters of color.

It also touched off a host of internet jokes and memes over what, exactly, a “Black job” is.

“They’re taking Black jobs and they’re taking Hispanic jobs and you haven’t seen it yet but you’re going to see something that’s going to be the worst in our history,” Mr. Trump said on Thursday, speaking of migrants crossing the southern U.S. border. He then repeated the reference during a campaign rally in Virginia on Friday, adding that Black Americans who have had jobs “for a long time” are losing employment to immigrants.

Black political strategists, elected officials and heads of organizations quickly joined hundreds of social media users to post photos of themselves at their workplaces and to crack jokes about the reductive and racist nature of the former president’s comments.

Among them was, Stacey Plaskett, the Democratic House delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, who posted a photo on X alongside two women in her congressional office on Friday that was captioned, “Another day in Congress doing our ‘Black jobs.’”

Malcolm Kenyatta, a Black Pennsylvania Democrat and surrogate for Mr. Biden’s campaign, quipped : “Did we ever figure out what a ‘Black job’ is? Asking for me.”

And Derrick Johnson, the president of the N.A.A.C.P., also criticized Mr. Trump’s remarks, writing on X that Black Americans “are not confined to any one #BlackJob.”

Republicans, who have sought to take advantage of President Biden’s softening support among Black voters, have made the issue of immigration a cornerstone of their appeals to the bloc, whose turnout in November could decide the election. Mr. Trump has said migrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country, and has repeatedly claimed that the migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are escapees from prisons and mental institutions, something the evidence does not support.

Immigrants have made up an increasingly large portion of the American labor force in recent years, but economic experts say their presence has been healthy for the nation’s economy . And while Mr. Trump claims that migrant workers are taking jobs from American citizens, the population of foreign-born workers in the country is not large enough to offset the job creation of the last three years .

Democrats have increasingly gone on the offensive. In a statement, Mr. Biden’s communications director Michael Tyler pointed to the online fray of responses to Mr. Trump’s comments, saying Black voters “dragged Trump throughout the night for his racist rant.”

“They know Trump has done nothing for Black communities, so he tries to pit communities of color against one another as a distraction,” he said. “We aren’t distracted. We see Trump’s racism clearly, and it’s why Black voters will reject him this November.”

N.Y.P.D. officers have begun arresting pro-Palesintian protesters across the street from Biden’s L.G.B.T.Q. fund-raising gala in Midtown Manhattan. Officers and protesters are shoving each other on the sidewalk. Across the street, a Trump protester shouts a vulgarity and homophobic slur at the crowd.

Simon Levien

At a Biden Victory Fund event in Park City, Utah, Vice President Harris addressed a crowd of donors with a twinge of anxiety in the room. She said — for at least the fourth time since the debate — that Biden had a “slow start” but a “strong finish” on stage. She added that she thought Biden was a “profound thinker” and that the list of the administration’s accomplishments was like a CVS receipt because, “It just goes on and on.”

Michael D. Shear

Reporting from Raleigh, N.C.

In two appearances, two starkly different Bidens emerge.

Millions of Americans saw one Joe Biden on Thursday night: halting, hesitant, meandering and looking burdened by every one of his 81 years. Democrats were aghast.

Fourteen hours later, a smaller number of television viewers saw a different Joe Biden: forceful and confident, landing political punches on former President Donald J. Trump with ease. Democrats in the room cheered.

During the presidential debate on Thursday, President Biden repeatedly stumbled when speaking.

And I’m going to continue to move until we get the total ban on the — the total initiative. And then you think he’ll stop there? Do you think he’ll stop when — if he takes Ukraine? What do you think happens to Poland? What do you think Belarus? What do you think happens to those NATO countries? For the ability — for the — us to be able to negotiate drug prices with the big Pharma companies. Eligible for what I’ve been able to do with the — with the COVID — excuse me, with — everything we have to do with — look — if — we finally beat Medicare. “Thank you, President Biden. President Trump?” He was right. He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death, and he’s destroying Medicare.

Mr. Biden and his allies no doubt wished the appearances had been delivered in reverse order. The tepid and weak debate performance by Joe Biden One caused an immediate freak-out among those determined to see Mr. Trump lose in November. Some publicly broached the unthinkable: a new candidate.

The afternoon appearance in a fairground warehouse in North Carolina was seen by far fewer people, and seemed unlikely to immediately quell the hand-wringing among Washington consultants, media pundits and ordinary voters.

And yet, in the middle of the panic, Joe Biden Two showed that, even after five decades in public life, he can still pump his fist in the air, stir a crowd to cheer and perhaps inspire an unwieldy coalition to vote for him one more time.

But questions remain. Could that Mr. Biden have handled the rigid rules of the debate, which mandated no notes, no teleprompter and no audience for 90 minutes? And even if he had shown up on Thursday night, could he appear day after day for the remaining four months of the campaign?

The Republican answer was no even before Thursday’s debate. That part of Mr. Trump’s attacks on Mr. Biden is certain to only intensify in the days ahead. And some Democrats who had long worried in private that the answer was no showed that they were more willing to say so publicly, at least for now.

Early Friday morning after the debate, Mr. Biden gave reporters a hardly inspiring “I think we did well.” On Friday afternoon, he acknowledged his age and its impact on his ability to perform on the largest political stage.

“I know I’m not a young man,” he told his supporters, adding, “I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to.”

But the differences in the two appearances could not have been more stark.

On Thursday night, Joe Biden One struggled to deliver sharp and cogent critiques of Mr. Trump despite having spent more than a week hunkered down at Camp David, surrounded by a revolving cast of aides and provided plenty of time to rest up.

He started to answer a question about debt by mixing up trillionaires and billionaires and then bragged about “what I’ve been able to do with the, with, with the Covid — excuse me, with dealing with everything we have to do with.” And after trailing off and pausing, he ended with a blunt statement: “We finally beat Medicare.”

That gave Mr. Trump one of his many openings: “Well, he’s right. He did beat Medicare. He beat it to death.”

Joe Biden Two provided a stark contrast. Over about 20 minutes — and with the help of a teleprompter and an enthusiastic crowd — he rarely missed a beat.

“He set, and I mean this sincerely, a new record for the most lies told in a single debate,” Mr. Biden said of Mr. Trump.

Accusing Mr. Trump of being one of two presidents to leave office with fewer American jobs than he began with, Mr. Biden said, “That’s why I call him Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump.”

After listing the legal cases filed against his rival, Mr. Biden said: “I thought to myself, Donald Trump is not just a convicted felon. Donald Trump is a one-man crime wave.”

All three were the kind of zingers that could have paid enormous political benefits had they been delivered with the same verve on Thursday night.

Joe Biden Two gave clear and concise descriptions of his positions on abortion, immigration, taxes and race. Joe Biden One confusingly conflated the issues, sometimes in the same sentence. Joe Biden Two was clear about Mr. Trump’s threat to democracy. Joe Biden One left viewers scratching their heads about the topic that the president has long said motivated his run in 2020.

While speaking about abortion at the presidential debate, President Biden interrupted himself by mentioning immigration and crime. The day after, at a campaign rally in Raleigh, N.C., he attacked former President Donald J. Trump’s stance on abortion with apparent ease.

Look, there are so many young women who have been — including a young woman who just was murdered, and he went to the funeral. And the idea that she was murdered by an immigrant — coming in to talk about that. But here’s the deal. There’s a lot of young women who are being raped by their in-laws, by their spouses. Donald Trump says he thinks overturning Roe v. Wade was a beautiful thing. [crowd booing] I think it was a nightmare. [crowd yelling] No, I really mean it. A nightmare. And I made it clear again last night that if you elect me and Kamala, you give us a Democratic Congress, we will make Roe v. Wade the law of the land again. [crowd cheering]

It remains to be seen whether Mr. Biden’s remarks on Friday will take off on social media or be repeated by the press enough to make a difference.

But either way, the president’s supporters were confronting a difficult reality: The only way any candidate named Joe Biden will defeat Mr. Trump for another four years in the White House is to make sure that the version who shows up every day is Joe Biden Two.

Reid Hoffman, one of the Democratic Party’s biggest donors, seemed to hold out such a hope in emailing his network on Friday to try to tamp down talk of replacing Mr. Biden.

“I tuned into Biden’s rally in North Carolina this afternoon. He was energized and brutally effective in taking down Trump’s vitriol and lies,” he wrote, adding: “I wish we’d had that Biden last night, but that’s the nature of Joe Biden. When he does poorly, he tends to bounce back — and then win.”

Zolan Kanno-Youngs

There are ‘no conversations’ about replacing Biden on the ticket, a campaign official said.

There have been no discussions among President Biden’s campaign advisers about whether the president should step down as the Democratic nominee following his disastrous performance in Thursday’s debate, a senior Biden campaign official said on Friday.

“No conversations about that whatsoever,” Michael Tyler, the campaign’s director of communications, told reporters on Air Force One when asked about calls for Mr. Biden to step aside and whether there had been any consideration to do so.

“The Democratic voters elected, nominated, Joe Biden,” Mr. Tyler said. “Joe Biden’s the nominee.”

He acknowledged that Mr. Biden “didn’t have the best night on the debate stage” but highlighted how frequently former President Donald J. Trump lied during it.

“You’d rather have one bad night than a candidate with a bad vision for where he wants to take the country,” Mr. Tyler said.

But Mr. Biden’s debate performance plunged his party into crisis, with some Democrats openly questioning whether a change was needed in order to defeat Mr. Trump.

Still, Mr. Tyler sought to project a positive spin on the debate, adding that the campaign raised $14 million on Thursday.

“That is Democratic voters tuning in, telling Joe Biden that they’ve got his back for the fight ahead because they understand he’s fighting for them,” Mr. Tyler said.

He also said that Mr. Biden was still committed to participating in the presidential debate in September.

“Joe Biden will be there on Sept. 10,” Mr. Tyler said. “We’ll see what Donald Trump does.”

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One that the president had a cold during the debate and that he had tested negative for the coronavirus.

“He had a sore throat,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “He had a strong debate prep week, and he got a cold. It’s not something unusual.”

L.G.B.T.Q. donors streamed into a Biden fund-raiser at Manhattan Center on 34th Street, near Penn Station in the chaotic heart of midtown Manhattan. Soon after the event began, a march of several hundred pro-Palestinian demonstrators also arrived, followed by riot police who filled the street in front of the gala.

Chris Cameron

Obama defends Biden, saying ‘Bad debate nights happen.’

Former President Barack Obama, who recovered from a disastrous debate performance to win re-election in 2012, publicly backed President Biden after his poor performance in Thursday’s debate against former President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Obama also sought to allay concerns among Democrats about keeping Mr. Biden as their presidential nominee.

“Bad debate nights happen,” he said in a social media post . “Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself.”

Mr. Obama continued, linking to Mr. Biden’s campaign website, “Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”

Mr. Obama, who served as president for eight years with Mr. Biden as his vice president, played a significant role in unifying the party behind Mr. Biden during the Democratic presidential primaries in 2020. Now, fearing the consequences should Mr. Biden lose to Mr. Trump in November, he has advised Mr. Biden’s team to help the president get re-elected.

The circumstances are somewhat different, but Mr. Obama faced a similar crisis of confidence in his re-election campaign in 2012. Underestimating his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, Mr. Obama turned in a performance at the first presidential debate that was widely panned — with just a month to go before Election Day.

The episode set off a reassessment of Mr. Obama’s debate strategy. He returned to confront Mr. Romney twice on a more combative and assertive footing , settling a nervousness that had grown within the Democratic Party after he was caught off guard in his first outing against Mr. Romney.

Mr. Obama was not the only former president throwing his support behind Mr. Biden on Friday. In a statement, former President Bill Clinton vouched for the president, saying on social media that Mr. Biden had given the United States three years of “solid leadership.”

Erin Griffith and Theodore Schleifer

Reid Hoffman, one of the most influential donors in the Democratic Party, said in an email to his network of friends on Friday that he believed a pressure campaign to get President Biden to step down “would be a bad idea.” He wrote that Biden’s poor debate performance was simply “the nature of Joe Biden,” and noted that the president tends to bounce back from such situations. Hoffman, a Silicon Valley investor, concluded that he was “doubling down” on his support for Mr. Biden.

Alan Blinder

Alan Blinder has interviewed Donald J. Trump along golf courses in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia.

In an unpredictable debate, a tussle over golf was par for the course.

It was a surreal detour during a presidential debate already filled with peculiar exchanges and meandering remarks. On Thursday night, after squabbles about the economy, abortion and the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump tussled over … golf.

“I just won two club championships — not even senior, two regular club championships,” Mr. Trump boasted as he answered a question tied to how he would be 82 years old at the end of a second presidential term. “To do that, you have to be quite smart, and you have to be able to hit the ball a long way. And I do it. He doesn’t do it. He can’t hit a ball 50 yards.”

Mr. Biden, 81, declared that he would be “happy to have a driving contest” with Mr. Trump.

“I got my handicap, when I was vice president, down to a six,” the president said, referring to a system by which golfers compare their abilities. The lower the number, the better the player.

“And by the way, I told you before, I’m happy to play golf if you carry your own bag,” Mr. Biden continued, addressing Mr. Trump. “Think you can do it?”

Mr. Trump, 78, routinely uses a cart. He did not respond to that particular challenge, but scoffed, “That’s the biggest lie — that he’s a six-handicap — of all.”

Perhaps it was unsurprising that golf — a cherished ritual for many presidents, but especially Mr. Trump — would surface during the debate. But the bickering was also widely panned as an unserious exercise between two aging men trying vainly to outdo one another.

Few presidents have been as closely connected to the game as Mr. Trump. His family company controls an enviable portfolio of courses, a fact that he often crows about when he plays events tied to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series that has hosted tournaments at Trump properties. (He has been much less eager to talk about how some in professional golf have shunned him in recent years , particularly after the Jan. 6 riot.)

Mr. Trump has long reveled in playing with major tournament winners like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods and talking up his own prowess even on days when he did not exactly adhere to the game’s rules or courtesies.

“Not bad, right?” Mr. Trump asked me at his course in Doral, Fla., in 2022. “Like, right around that level of, you know what? Pretty good. Anyway, let me finish off this victory.”

Long before Thursday’s debate, despite his own record of twisting golf’s rules to his whims , he was eyeing and doubting Mr. Biden's golf skills.

“Can Biden do that?” Mr. Trump muttered to me after he played a shot on his course in Bedminster, N.J. “He says he’s a six-handicap. He’s not a six-handicap.”

Mr. Biden has played for years but has lately hit courses more sparingly than his predecessor and has often adopted a more humble posture. (“The course record is still intact,” he told reporters after his first round as president.)

For what it’s worth, U.S. Golf Association records, which generally rely on self-reported scores, show Mr. Biden’s handicap as 6.7 in 2018 and Mr. Trump’s as 2.5 in 2021.

Marc Santora

Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine

In Ukraine, Biden’s debate performance fuels uncertainty about American support.

The list of uncertainties Ukrainians face every day is long and daunting. Will their sons and daughters fighting on the front come home alive? Will nightly Russian missile and drone attacks hit their homes? When they wake, will they have power?

To survive 28 months of war, many have learned to try not to be paralyzed by things beyond their control. Even so, the American presidential election — and its potential to affect the level of support Ukraine has received from the United States in its defense against Russia — is a source of deep worry.

So Thursday’s debate and the calls among some Democrats for President Biden to bow out of the race reverberated across this war-torn country.

“His main task was to convince the voters of his energy and readiness to rule,” Bogdan Butkevych, a popular radio host, wrote on social media. “He wasn’t able to do it.”

Ukraine has worked diligently to try and keep support for its fight for survival a point of bipartisan agreement in Washington. And if the debate meant that it was more likely that Donald J. Trump would reclaim the White House, Ukrainian media commentators said Kyiv should make connections with those who hold influence with the former president.

Some took a measure of solace in Mr. Trump saying during the debate that he did not accept Russia’s demands that it be allowed to keep the Ukrainian lands it has occupied.

But almost as soon as Mr. Trump answered the moderator’s question on the topic, he returned to familiar talking points, saying the war wouldn’t have happened under his presidency and criticizing the amount of support the United States was providing.

He also repeated his claim — made without any details — that he would end the war as soon as he came into office.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has been asked many times what he makes of Mr. Trump’s claim that he can bring peace to Ukraine and has sought to remain diplomatic in his response, saying he had yet to hear specific proposals.

“If I have such an opportunity I will, with pleasure, listen to them, and then we can discuss the topic,” Mr. Zelensky told CNN recently.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, told the BBC this week that Ukraine would respect the will of the American voters and work with any future Trump administration.

He noted that the government in Kyiv is building “bridges” with multiple political forces in other countries, as long as they do not accept “Putin’s narratives.” He cited recent elections in the Netherlands, where a party opposing military aid to Ukraine won but the governing coalition decided to continue supporting Ukraine.

“Everyone complained that the Netherlands would turn its back on Ukraine, but this did not happen,” he said, adding: “Pessimism is an irresponsible thing for a minister whose country is at war.”

For the most part, Ukrainian officials did not comment directly on the debate, saying they wanted to respect the American political process.

Andrij Dobriansky, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, a group that represents Ukrainian Americans, told Voice of America that the debate did little to inform the discussion around U.S. support for Ukraine.

“We didn’t really get a clear explanation of the future policy of both presidential administrations toward Ukraine,” he said.

Ron Reynolds, a state representative in Texas and a Biden delegate to the nominating convention in August, posted a call on social media for Democrats to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris, not Biden. There are some 3,900 delegates to the convention , but this is one of the only instances where an elected Democratic official has called for Biden’s ouster at the top of the ticket.

Kellen Browning

Downballot Republicans seize on Biden’s halting debate performance.

Republicans running for the U.S. Senate and House gleefully seized on President Biden’s stumbles in Thursday’s debate, betting they could use his performance to drag down their Democratic opponents.

Many have spent months trying to tie their foes to the president. But even as Mr. Biden trails in swing-state polls, Democratic incumbents in those states have proved resilient against their Republican challengers, sometimes outrunning the president by a dozen percentage points in surveys.

Now Republicans are sensing an opening with voters by questioning how Democrats could stand behind a president whose halting and raspy performance on Thursday reignited questions about his age and acuity.

David McCormick, the Republican businessman trying to oust Senator Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, called out Mr. Casey’s support for Mr. Biden in a post on X.

“Bob Casey has said over and over that his ‘close friend’ Joe Biden, with whom he votes 98 percent of the time, is fit to be president,” Mr. McCormick wrote. “What we all saw last night proves Casey is lying.”

In Arizona, where the Trump acolyte Kari Lake is trying to stop Representative Ruben Gallego from picking up the seat held by Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat turned independent who is not seeking re-election , Ms. Lake has tried repeatedly to compare Mr. Gallego to Mr. Biden. She has derided him as Mr. Biden’s “mini-me” and has said he is essentially the same as Mr. Biden, but 40 years younger.

A senior adviser to Ms. Lake’s campaign, who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal data, said the campaign had found that the closer it tied Mr. Gallego to Mr. Biden, the more skeptical independent voters grew of Mr. Gallego.

“Last night, the entire nation witnessed how unfit Joe Biden is,” Ms. Lake said in a statement. “As more voters discover that Ruben is nothing more than an extension of Joe, they will join our movement.”

Sam Brown, an Army veteran and Republican who is trailing Senator Jacky Rosen in polls of Nevada even as Mr. Trump is leading Mr. Biden there, wrote that during the debate, “Nevadans saw with their own eyes what a Joe Biden/Jacky Rosen ticket will look like in November, and it is disastrous.”

The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the Senate, hammered Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, for standing by Mr. Biden after initially being slow to do so.

“Tammy Baldwin is playing cleanup after dodging the president’s disturbing performance in last night’s debate,” said Tate Mitchell, a spokesman for the N.R.S.C. “The debate only sowed more doubt in his ability as president. Why can’t Tammy Baldwin admit that?”

Friday afternoon, the group released a video featuring clips of several Democrats voicing their support for the president. “Democrats 2024: Don’t believe your lying eyes,” it was captioned.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee downplayed the debate. “Senate campaigns are candidate vs. candidate battles, and Republicans have a roster of deeply flawed recruits,” David Bergstein, a D.S.C.C. spokesman, said in a statement.

Jeremy Hughes, a Republican strategist who works on Nevada races, said Republicans needed to keep working hard to overcome their Democratic opponents. They “must resist the urge to dance on Biden’s political grave,” he said. “They shouldn’t be measuring the drapes.”

“Of course” Mr. Biden is a drag on down-ballot Democrats, he said. Republicans should “pray that Joe Biden is so self-absorbed and narcissistic that he stays in the race,” Mr. Hughes said.

Privately, a handful of Democratic strategists across swing states expressed alarm about Mr. Biden’s performance and how it might weigh on their candidates’ chances. But some hoped that with campaigns and voters having long considered his age, the debate would not greatly affect down-ballot races.

Conor O’Callaghan, one of the Democratic front-runners vying to challenge Representative David Schweikert, a Republican, in a competitive Arizona House district, said he would stand by the president. But securing a Democratic majority in Congress is now even more vital, he said.

“That’s the only way we’ll be able to support President Biden’s agenda” Mr. O’Callaghan said. “And God forbid Trump wins, we will need a Dem-controlled Congress to keep him and Project 2025 in check.”

Others privately admitted to deep consternation. The worries were particularly acute in Montana, a deeply red state where Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat, has been navigating how to take credit for the Biden administration’s accomplishments while keeping the president himself at arm’s length.

A Democratic strategist in Montana who insisted on anonymity in order to discuss private conversations said that a dozen of the state’s Democrats had expressed fear that Republicans could use Mr. Biden’s stumbles to nationalize the race in a way that could damage Mr. Tester, who has survived past elections by leaning on his local roots.

Mr. Sheehy is aiming to do just that.

“After Joe Biden’s abysmal debate performance tonight, remember this, Montana — Jon Tester loves Joe Biden,” Mr. Sheehy posted on X. “Tester thinks Biden is ‘100 percent with it’ and votes with Biden 95 percent of the time!!”

Former President Donald J. Trump has finished a roughly 90-minute speech. He concluded by arguing that the United States has “lost its way” and by claiming his return to the White House would fix “every problem” in the nation.

In a speech to a rally in Las Vegas, Vice President Harris spent a large part of her remarks defending President Biden. As she did during her Thursday night appearance on CNN, she acknowledged that Biden was not at peak performance during the debate. But, she said, “in a real leader, character matters more than style. Trump does not have the character to be the president.”

In a statement, former President Bill Clinton vouched for President Biden, hours after former President Barack Obama issued a similar supportive statement. Clinton focused on the president’s record, saying on social media that Biden had given the United States three years of “solid leadership.”

I’ll leave the debate rating to the pundits, but here’s what I know: facts and history matter. Joe Biden has given us 3 years of solid leadership, steadying us after the pandemic, creating a record number of new jobs, making real progress solving the climate crisis, and launching… — Bill Clinton (@BillClinton) June 28, 2024

Michael Grynbaum

The numbers are in: 51.3 million Americans watched last night’s Biden-Trump debate live on television. And that figure doesn’t even include millions more who likely followed along on digital sites and social media. The summertime audience was down 30 percent from the first presidential debate in 2020. But the debate, hosted by CNN, was still the most-watched television broadcast of 2024, outside of sporting events.

Trump’s campaign had suggested ahead of the debate that the former president would face biased moderators on CNN. But in his speech in Virginia, Trump said that the moderators, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, had been “very fair.”

Downballot Republicans in competitive congressional races were quick to pounce on President Biden’s poor debate performance as they face resilient Democratic incumbents. The National Republican Senatorial Committee released a video Friday afternoon featuring clips of several Democrats voicing support for Biden. “Democrats 2024: Don’t believe your lying eyes,” the group wrote.

Shawn McCreesh

At Donald J. Trump’s rally in Virginia, by far the loudest applause came an hour in, when he mentioned the Supreme Court decision regarding those prosecuted for their activities on Jan. 6. “Free the J6 hostages now,” he said to more applause.

Biden’s remarks were brief. He appeared less energetic than at his rally in North Carolina earlier today. But his tone was low, somber and emphatic as he shared stories of his father and underscored the stakes of the election. To loud applause, he introduced musician Elton John.

“He’s the best,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand shouts at the audience as President Biden gives her a warm embrace after taking the stage near the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan. The president describes Stonewall as a “symbol of leadership in the L.G.B.T.Q.+ community” and says, “We remain in a battle for the soul of America.”

Alyce McFadden

There’s a modest crowd bunched behind police barricades near the Stonewall National Monument in the West Village in Manhattan where President Biden is expected to arrive any minute. Most passers-by were not aware the president was in town. A small group of protestors are here too, holding signs against the war in Gaza.

Trump opened his speech by declaring a “big victory” in Thursday’s debate, but he said that he did not expect President Biden to leave the race. “He does better in polls than any of the Democrats they’re talking about,” Trump said of Biden, a claim that conflicts with some public opinion polling data.

Trump’s use of ‘Palestinian’ as an insult raises alarms for some.

During the presidential debate on Thursday in Atlanta, former President Donald J. Trump raised eyebrows by using the word “Palestinian” as an insult to President Biden.

Accusing Mr. Biden of not wanting Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza, Mr. Trump said: “He’s become like a Palestinian. But they don’t like him because he’s a very bad Palestinian. He’s a weak one.”

Mr. Biden — a staunch supporter of Israel throughout the war who has frequently called on Israel to limit civilian casualties — offered little in the way of a response.

At a rally in Virginia on Friday afternoon, Mr. Trump again used the word “Palestinian” in trying to demean a Democratic opponent, this time directing his comments at the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer.

“Look at a guy like Senator Schumer,” he said. “He’s become a Palestinian. He’s a Palestinian. Congratulations. He was very loyal to Israel and to Jewish people. He’s Jewish. But he’s become a Palestinian because they have a couple of more votes or something. Nobody’s quite figured it out.”

Mr. Trump’s use of the word “Palestinian” as a slight, and Mr. Biden’s lack of response during Thursday’s debate, raised alarm bells for some Palestinians, Arab Americans and other opponents of Israel’s war in Gaza, which has so far killed more than 37,000 people, according to local health authorities, and destroyed much of the territory’s civilian infrastructure.

“The fact that he called President Biden a Palestinian, a bad Palestinian, was an insult to me,” Mosab Abu Toha, a poet from Gaza, wrote on social media .

Mr. Abu Toha, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker and whose book “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear” was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2022, fled with his family to Egypt last year after a fraught struggle to leave Gaza. He posted on Friday that they had arrived in the United States.

“I woke up today still feeling the insult from yesterday’s ‘debate.’” Mr. Abu Toha wrote . “The racism and warmongering make my flesh creep.”

Lorraine Ali, a news and cultural critic at The Los Angeles Times, said on Friday that Mr. Biden’s “ineffectual or totally absent responses also allowed racist remarks from his opponent to go unchallenged.”

“The casual racism against Arabs and more specifically, Palestinians, was one of many moments that went unchallenged in a poorly designed debate that allowed for misdirection to stand as truth,” she wrote.

She compared the exchange, unfavorably, to a high-profile incident during the 2008 presidential campaign, when Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, gently pushed back on a supporter who said she did not trust Barack Obama because he was “an Arab.” In response, Mr. McCain told the supporter: “No, ma’am. He’s a decent family man.”

“Not a great answer,” Ms. Ali wrote, “but enlightened in comparison to today’s G.O.P.”

Mr. Biden’s efforts to pressure Israel to minimize civilian casualties have frustrated Israel’s supporters and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while doing little to quell the fury of the war’s opponents, who resent the U.S. government for providing Israel with some of the arms that it uses in Gaza.

Mr. Trump was a strong supporter of Israel as president and was close to Mr. Netanyahu. During his term, he moved the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, fulfilling a long-desired Israeli goal.

But soon after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, which started the war in Gaza, Mr. Trump publicly attributed the invasion to Mr. Netanyahu’s lack of preparation and praised the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as “very smart.”

Since then, he has said little about the divisive, bloody war beyond using it to attack Mr. Biden.

Rebecca Davis O’Brien contributed reporting.

Politics latest: Starmer and Sunak take on new roles in Commons as parliament returns

Parliament is sitting for the first time since the general election, with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak having swapped seats.

Tuesday 9 July 2024 16:12, UK

• General Election 2024

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Parliament returns

• Starmer speaks in Commons for first time as PM
• Sunak vows 'professional and effective' opposition
• More highlights: Farage makes debut with dig over Brexit | No stunts here for Lib Dem leader | Commons Speaker re-elected
• Sam Coates analysis: A spirit of unity - but still moments of politics
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler
• 'Positive' meeting between health secretary and junior doctors
• PM vows to give more power to mayors at Downing Street summit
• Braverman under fire for 'disgusting' criticism of Progress Pride flag

Election fallout

• Starmer's challenges: Tackling exhausted NHS | Looming chaos abroad | Defence to dominate early days | Small boats plan? | Rift with scientists needs healing
• Read more:  Find our must-read election features
• Results in full: What happened in every constituency

In the last few hours, the House of Commons has opened its doors to a new cohort of MPs - and a brand new prime minister.

The Speaker of the House has been elected - with Sir Lindsay Hoyle taking on the role again - and Sir Keir Starmer has made his first address in the chamber as prime minister.

We've also heard from Tory leader Rishi Sunak, and various other party leaders - including Nigel Farage, Adrian Ramsay and Sir Ed Davey.

But there is plenty more to come today - here's a brief overview:

• MPs are now being sworn in as members of the House of Commons, starting with Sir Keir Starmer's new cabinet ;
• They will be followed by Rishi Sunak's shadow cabinet , which was only confirmed last night; 
• Backbenchers will then have their turn, but it's unlikely all 650 members will be sworn in today - it will probably spill to tomorrow;
• Elsewhere, the selection process for a new chair of the 1922 Committee will get under way. You can read more about this in our 3.42pm post .

We'll keep you updated with any significant developments.

There was a "spirit of unity" in the Commons this afternoon, as parliament returned for the first time since the election.

That's how our deputy political editor Sam Coates saw things, as the prime minister led other party leaders in paying tribute to the re-elected Speaker and the arrival of hundreds of new MPs.

But there were still "moments of politics", says Sam - from Keir Starmer "almost looking for forgiveness" with a tribute to Diane Abbott, to the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey saying the new government had been left with a "mess" to deal with.

And "there was something of a murmur" when Nigel Farage spoke.

The Reform UK leader chose to sit in the back row as he made his Commons debut, and used his moment to speak to "make clear his unhappiness" about former Speaker John Bercow.

Mr Farage wasn't keen on how he handled debates around Brexit following the 2016 referendum.

So not all in the spirit of unity, then.

We spotted Sir Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak having a chat as they made their way out of the Commons chamber.

They've both made the walk a few times, though never in their current roles of course - what could they have been talking about?

They followed the Speaker-elect out of the chamber, trailed by the cabinet and shadow cabinet.

They've headed to the House of Lords, which will formalise the Speaker's re-election, and then they'll all head back to the Commons.

With parliament being back in action, a new chairman of the Tories' backbench 1922 Committee will likely be in place by the end of today.

The committee, previously led by Sir Graham Brady, will play a significant role in organising the process to elect the new leader of the Conservative Party.

Rishi Sunak confirmed last week that he will resign as Tory leader as soon as a process for electing a successor is in place.

Candidates to become chairman will take part in hustings with members this afternoon, in what we believe will be a quick selection process.

It is thought that a winner will be announced tonight.

When elected, the chair will lead a powerful group of backbench MPs, and be responsible for collecting letters of no confidence.

But who is in the running to lead the group?

In short, we don't really know.

Our political reporter Jennifer Scott  has heard numerous members point to the widely reported names of Geoffrey Clifton-Brown and Bob Blackman as contenders. 

Other Tories told her there was rumour Mark Garnier might run, and perhaps even Sir John Whittingdale.

However, she was also told by one Tory member that Mr Blackman is the only person they know who is actively asking for support.

Before Nigel Farage spoke, we heard from Sir Ed Davey.

And no, he didn't parachute into the Commons.

The Liberal Democrats are back to being the third-largest party in parliament, and he vowed they would "hold the government to account".

Sir Ed continued: "We will focus on the health and care crisis, we will focus on ending the sewage scandal, we will focus on helping people with the cost of living crisis."

As noticed by our Politics Hub reporter  Ben Bloch , who is in the Chamber, Tory MPs looked furious and grumbled rather noticeably as Sir Ed talked about the "mess" the new Labour government has inherited.

There was "quite the eye-roll" from Oliver Dowden, who then muttered something to Rishi Sunak as Sir Ed was speaking...

Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, is next up, describing his party of five MPs as "the new kids on the block".

"We have no experience in this parliament whatsoever even though some of us have tried, many times, over the years," the MP says.

"So we can't judge you from working in this place, but we can judge you from the way the outside world sees you."

Mr Farage says he doesn't just mean the UK - but the world.

He goes on to endorse Sir Lindsay Hoyle as Speaker of the Commons.

But it isn't without a dig at his predecessor John Bercow.

"It is, I must say, in marked contrast to the little man that was there before you and besmirched the office so dreadfully in doing his best to overturn the biggest democratic result in the history of the country.

"We support you fully."

Addressing the Commons, new Mother of the House Diane Abbott notes how the number of female MPs has ballooned since she first took a seat in the House.

She says: "When I was a new member in 1987, there were only 40 female members of parliament - today we have 264.

"And some of us are glad that we have lived to see this.

"I can't speak about the increased numbers of female members of parliament without referencing my predecessor Baroness Harriet Harman, who did so much to work to have an equal and diverse House.

"We are going into very tumultuous times, and historically this House has played a role in these events both nationally and internationally - and I'm sure it will be the same going forward."

Rishi Sunak, for the first time as leader of the opposition, is on his feet in the Commons and welcomes back the Commons Speaker.

He congratulates Sir Keir Starmer on his election victory and wishes him well with the "formidable task" ahead.

"He and his family deserve the good wishes of all of us," he says.

"Whatever disputes we may have in this parliament, I know everyone in this House will not lose sight of the fact we are all motivated by our desire to serve our constituents, our country, and advance the principles that we honourably believe in."

Tories will serve 'professionally' in opposition

The Tory leader also offers his welcome and congratulations to parliament's new MPs, and says he is looking forward to continuing to represent his Richmond constituency.

He also again offers his apology to Conservative colleagues who lost their seat last week.

"It is important that after 14 years in government, the Conservative Party rebuilds," he says.

Mr Sunak vows the party will serve in opposition "professionally, effectively, and humbly".

Sir Keir Starmer is now on his feet in the House of Commons for the very first time as prime minister.

He begins by congratulating Sir Lindsay Hoyle as his re-election as Commons Speaker, as we have just witnessed.

Sir Keir then welcomes all the new members in the House, and pays tribute to Sir Edward Leigh - the new Father of the House.

He also hails the election of the largest number of LGBT+ MPs of any parliament in the world.

Politics 'a force for good', says PM

"And given all that diversity... I hope you will not begrudge me with a slight departure from convention to also pay tribute to the new Mother of the House, Diane Abbott," Sir Keir says.

"Who has done so much in her career over so many years to fight for a parliament that truly represents modern Britain.

"We welcome her back to her place."

Sir Keir goes on to say that the House now has an opportunity - and a responsibility - to show that politics can be "a force for good".

He says the "politics of performance" must be replaced with a "politics of service".

A House of Commons official reminded the rather excited new Labour members who have taken their seats in a rammed chamber for the opening of parliament not to clap, writes our political correspondent Darren McCaffrey .

The excited government benches had very jubilantly been clapping most of the senior government minister as they arrived in the chamber, with the loudest reserved for Angela Rayner and then Keir Starmer. 

I suspect for today, the clapping won’t stop and the Commons officials will let the unorderly behaviour continue. 

And wow, what a different parliament it is. The Labour benches are heaving. There is simply no room. Many Labour members are crammed on their benches, others are forced to stand. More still are in the gallery overlooking the chamber.

The Conservatives, in contrast, look rather glum and at one stage were being told to bunch together to make it appear a little busier. 

And extraordinary, too, to see Nigel Farage enter the chamber. A broad smile on his face. He’s wanted to become an MP for decades. His dream has finally come through. 

Parliament today is very much like the first day of school. For most, it’s an exciting start, others might well be dreading the months ahead.

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'Sense of shock': Democrats melt down over Joe Biden's debate disaster

WASHINGTON − Democrats and other opponents of Donald Trump melted down as President Joe Biden struggled during Thursday' s debate, with some suggesting he should bow out to allow another Democrat to run instead.

Biden's voice was hoarse and raspy from the start. He stumbled over words and had to correct himself with numbers. He was sometimes hard to follow. On one occasion , the president appeared to lose his train of thought, stopped speaking and concluded − confusingly − with the line, "we finally beat Medicare."

"That's a good man. He loves his country. He's doing the best that he can," said Van Jones, a Democratic political analyst for CNN. "But he had a test to meet tonight to restore confidence in the country and of the base, and he failed to do that."

Jones added: "We're still far from our convention. And there is time for this party to figure out a different way forward if he will allow us to do that."

Biden, 81, entered the debate badly needing to energize his campaign, unite his party and answer skepticism about his age and ability to serve another term. Although he improved during the debate after an especially rocky start, Biden did not silence the concerns.

One House Democrat, who spoke to USA TODAY on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, described the debate as a "disaster." 

"Trump lied and Biden played all defense," the Democrat said.

Another former Democratic member of Congress, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a conversation needs to happen privately with Biden about allowing someone else to run as the Democratic nominee. The lawmaker said he turned off the debate after the first hour because he couldn't stand watching Biden not stand up to Trump.

“It's not enough to be decent and honest and right on the issues," the Democrat said. "You have to be able to persuade, to defend your values forcefully and clearly, to command respect and to be able to take on liars and bullies like Trump to be the leader of this country."

Biden's struggles made him lack forceful responses to Trump's repeated attacks and his downplaying of his role surrounding the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. While Trump talked, Biden often looked his way with a blank stare and his mouth open.

David Axelrod, a former adviser to President Barack Obama , said there was a "sense of shock" with how poorly Biden started the debate.

"He seemed a little disoriented. He did get stronger as the debate went on," Axelrod said on CNN. "But by that time, I think the panic had set in. And I think you're going to hear discussions that − I don't know will lead to anything − but there is going to be discussions about whether he should continue."

Maria Shriver, former first lady of California, a Biden supporter and member of the famed Democratic Kennedy family, shard her concerns in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"I love Joe Biden. I know he’s a good man. I know his heart is good. I know he’s dedicated to our country and is surrounded by good people. Tonight was heartbreaking in many ways," Shriver wrote. "This is a big political moment. There’s panic in the Democratic party. It’s going to be a long night."

Addressing Democratic concerns, a Biden campaign adviser told USA TODAY: "President Biden is the only person who has ever beaten Donald Trump. He will do it again. Donald Trump did not give voters any reason to vote for him tonight. On the issues, the American people are with Joe Biden."

Vice President Kamala Harris also defended Biden's performance.

"What we saw tonight is the president making a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all of the issues that matter to the American people," Harris said. "Yes, there was a slow start but it was a strong finish.

"Listen, people can debate on style points, but ultimately this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance − and the contrast is clear," Harris said.

Sen. Rafael Warnock, D-Ga., when asked whether he was concerned about Biden's chances in November, responded: “I would be concerned if the president didn’t have a record to run on."

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, in an interview on MSNBC, called the Democratic criticism of Biden's performance "unhelpful" and "unnecessary."

"We've got to go in and got to keep our head high, and we've got to have the back of this president. You don't turn your back because of one performance. What kind of party does that? He's been a master class."

Others disagreed.

"Guys, the Dems should nominate someone else - before it’s too late," businessman Andrew Yang, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination in 2020 and backed Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., in the Democratic primary this year. He added the hashtag "#swapJoeout."

Trump seemed to sense Biden's difficulties. "I really don't know what he said at the end of that sentence," Trump said during one exchange on immigration during the debate. "And I don't think he knows what he said either."

"Sorry, I’m voting for President Biden but a disaster so far," Republican strategist Mike Murphy, a Trump critic, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, shortly into the debate. "On a 1 to 10 point scale − if this continues − the panic explosion inside the Democratic Party will hit 28 tomorrow."

Elise Jordan, an MSNBC contributor and an aide in President George W. Bush's administration, said on X, "If President Biden cares about preserving American democracy, he should drop out of the election."

Geoff Garin, a Biden pollster, downplayed the Democratic unrest , however. "The freak out over the debate is way overwrought," he said in a post on X. "Biden got off to a slow start but he had a strong finish. Trump was increasing incoherent and deranged as the debate went on, and Trump's extremism was on full display."

Garin added: "At the end of the day Joe Biden will win because he builds America up while Donald Trump consistently tears it down."

Contributing: Ken Tran. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

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Rahul Gandhi's stand on Lok Sabha speech: Everything is expunged in PM's world

Rahul gandhi on monday slammed the bjp for communal divisiveness during a parliamentary debate, leading to some of his statements being expunged from the record amidst significant backlash from the ruling party..

Listen to Story

• Rahul Gandhi attacks BJP in Lok Sabha
• Accuses the BJP of communal division
• Says Agniveer Scheme not of the Indian Army, but of the PMO

In response to some of his remarks in the Lower House yesterday that were expunged, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said "everything is expunged in PM Modi's world".

#WATCH | On portions of his speech expunged, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, "In Modi ji's world, truth can be expunged. But in reality, the truth can't be expunged. I said what I had to say, that is the truth. They can expunge as much as they want. Truth is truth." pic.twitter.com/AcR3xRN6d5 — ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2024

Later, the Congress leader also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla , requesting him to restore his expunged speech.

As Rahul Gandhi's remarks triggered an uproar from the treasury benches, it further led to the Chair striking it off record.

The statements by Gandhi that got expunged from the Parliament proceedings were his accusations on the BJP, stating that the party is treating minorities unfairly, his remarks on industrialists Adani and Ambani, his accusations that the NEET exam is for rich people and there is no place in it for meritorious students, and that the Agniveer Scheme is not of the Indian Army , but of the PMO (Prime Minister's Office).

Besides PM Modi, who intervened twice, at least five cabinet ministers interjected during Gandhi's speech, which lasted for about an hour and 40 minutes, with Home Minister Amit Shah demanding an apology from him.

"It is not just one religion that talks about courage. In fact, all our religions talk about courage," Gandhi said in his debut speech as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, as Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra watched from the visitors' gallery.

As the treasury bench members stood up in protest, Gandhi slammed the BJP, saying, "Aap Hindu ho hi nahi" (You are not Hindus). It is clearly written in Hinduism that one should stand with the truth and not back down from the truth or be scared of it," he said.

Modi, intervening in his speech, said, "This issue is very serious. Calling the entire Hindu community violent is a serious issue."

In his concluding remarks, Gandhi asked the ruling party not to spread fear or hatred.

PARTS OF MALLIKARJUN KHARGE's SPEECH ALSO EXPUNGED

Portions of the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, were also expunged from the Parliament records.

According to an official document, words including 'Satyanash' ( annihilate), ' Ghamand ' (arrogance), ' Mujra' (a dance performance by women that emerged during Mughal rule in India) were expunged from Kharge's Parliament speech records.

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1. Parts of Speech for the word Young)

   Parts of Speech for Young)Young)

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   Dive deep into the multifaceted usage of the word young in English. Discover how it functions as an adverb, pronoun, noun, interjection, and adjective, complete with definitions and illustrative examples. ... Learn words and related parts of speech through practical exercises

3. Parts of Speech: Explanation and Examples

   The 9 parts of speech are adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, determiners, interjections, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs. (These are also known as "word classes.") A Formal Definition. A "part of speech" is a category to which a word is assigned in accordance with its syntactic functions. In English, the main parts of speech are noun ...

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   This comes before a noun or a noun phrase and links it to other parts of the sentence. These are usually single words (e.g., on, at, by ,…) but can be up to four words (e.g., as far as, in addition to, as a result of, …). I chose to interview teachers in the district closest to me. The recorder was placed next to the interviewee.

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   A part of speech (also called a word class) is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence.Understanding the different parts of speech can help you analyze how words function in a sentence and improve your writing. The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns, pronouns, verbs ...

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   I asked for pie. (preposition) 1. Just below the word that you look up, you'll find a listing for a part of speech. The first listing is usually the most common way that the word is used. For is most commonly used as a preposition . 2. Next, you'll find definitions of the word for each part of speech.

7. Parts Of Speech: Breaking Them Down With Examples

   Every word you speak or write is a part of speech. In the English language, there are 8 parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and articles (determiners). These parts of speech represent categories of words according to their grammatical function.

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   The parts of speech explain how a word is used in a sentence. There are eight main parts of speech (also known as word classes): nouns, pronouns, adjectives ... Examples: big, happy, green, young, fun, crazy, three. Example sentences: The little girl had a pink hat. VERB - (Action Word) A verb shows an action or state of being. A verb shows ...

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    Words with More Than One Job. Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one part of speech. For example, "work" can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be a conjunction and a preposition; "well" can be an adjective, an adverb and an interjection.

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    The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary. 1. NOUN

12. Parts of Speech for Kids: The Ultimate Guide

    Explore the world of parts of speech for kids through this comprehensive guide. Drawing on my expertise in Montessori education, this resource simplifies nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections for young learners. As you navigate this guide, you'll notice the Montessori influence, making ...

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    The parts of speech refer to categories to which a word belongs. In English, there are eight of them : verbs , nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Many English words fall into more than one part of speech category. Take the word light as an example.

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    These nine parts of speech are namely: Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives, Determiners, Adverbs, Pronouns, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections. Another additional classification is used as a part of speech, i.e., Articles, a subprogram of determiners. To comprehend the meaning and use of each word in the English language, it is essential to ...

16. Parts of Speech and Sentences

    OBJECT: A word or group of words which receives the action of a verb or that completes the description or statement being made about the subject. Lots of confusing possibilities here; here are a few major ones. Direct Objects: a word or group of words that follow transitive verbs (see above), and name the receiver of the action.

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    The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary. 1. NOUN

18. The Parts of Speech

    6. Conjunction. A conjunction is a word that binds words, clauses, and phrases. "And," "but," "because," and "consequently" are some examples of conjunctions. Conjunctions make it easy to construct more complex sentences because you can easily add new clauses. The category distinctions of this part of speech are: Coordinating ...

19. Word Families

    Word Families. Nouns and adverbs and verbs, oh my! Parts of speech are the building blocks for English sentences, and studying them early on can be beneficial for English language learners. Along with common sentence patterns, learning the parts of speech (nouns, verbs, prepositions, etc.) can help students form English sentences more easily.

20. How to Teach Parts of Speech: ESL Lesson Tips and Activities

    In the first version, the teacher should say a word that appears in the text. The students can search the text for the word and when they find it, slap the book or paper. Whoever finds it first should tell the teacher what part of speech that word is. In the second version, the teacher says a part of speech.

21. The 8 Parts of Speech

    The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Some modern grammars add others, such as determiners and articles. Many words can function as different parts of ...

22. Understanding the 8 Parts of Speech: Definitions and Examples

    In the English language, it's commonly accepted that there are 8 parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, interjections, and prepositions. Each of these categories plays a different role in communicating meaning in the English language. Each of the eight parts of speech—which we might also call the "main ...

23. Parts of Speech for the word Youth

    Search for Parts of Speech. Parts of Speech for Youth. Youth is used as a ...

24. Biden says he's 'first black woman to serve with a black ...

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26. Much Of Usher's BET Acceptance Speech Was Inaudible

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29. Democrats melt down over Joe Biden's disastrous presidential debate

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    parts of mallikarjun kharge's speech also expunged Portions of the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, were also expunged from the Parliament records. According to an official document, words including 'Satyanash' ( annihilate), ' Ghamand ' (arrogance), ' Mujra' (a dance performance by women that emerged during ...

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