English Language

Parts of Speech

1,912 Questions

The parts of speech form the foundation of English grammar, categorizing words into nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and other functional classes. Identifying the correct part of speech is crucial for sentence construction and comprehension. This topic is a staple in the English language sections of SSC, Banking, and various other competitive exams.

Nouns and verbsAdjectives identificationAdverbs and modifiersWord categorization

Parts of Speech Questions

Multiple choice

What is the definition of an adverb?

  1. a word that modifies a verb, adjective or another adverb

  2. a person, place, thing, or idea

  3. an action word

  4. a word that modifies a noun
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

An adverb is defined as a word that modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Option B defines a noun, and C defines a verb.

Multiple choice parenthesis punctuation english

Choose the option that best describes the function of parenthesis.

  1. It allows a writer to provide additional information.

  2. It is used in certain mathematical expressions.

  3. It is used to enclose an email address.

  4. To provide clarification if the original material contains a noun or pronoun that is unclear.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Parenthesis are marked by these brackets ( ) which contain a word or phrase, sometimes even a sentence that provides additional information. Without these words, the sentence surrounding it is grammatically correct. For example, 'The reporter Mr. Shekhar (along with his intern) came to the press conference.' Here the information in the brackets merely provides extra information and the sentence is complete if these words 'along with his intern' are omitted. Hence the correct option is A. Braces { } (or curly brackets) are used in certain mathematical expressions and in programming languages. Parenthesis is not used for this purpose, hence option B is incorrect. Option C is a characteristic of angle brackets < > which is used to enclose an email address, like <[email protected]> and isn't a function of parenthesis ( ), hence option C is incorrect. Square brackets [ ] are used to provide clarification, for example, 'She [Susan] came to meet me yesterday.' This isn't the function of parenthesis, hence option D is incorrect.

Multiple choice position of adverbs adverb english

If both auxiliary verb and main verb come in a sentence, where is the adverb of frequency/degree put?

  1. Between auxiliary verb and main verb

  2. Before auxiliary verb and main verb

  3. After auxiliary verb and main verb

  4. In the place of auxiliary verb
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

When a sentence contains more than one verb i.e. one main verb and another is an auxiliary verb, place the adverb of frequency/degree between the verbs. E.g. They have often visited Europe. Here, 'Have' is an auxiliary verb and 'visited' is the main verb so, 'often' is placed between the two. Thus, option A is the correct answer. 

Multiple choice position of adverbs adverb english

Identify the word that the adverb modifies:

I got here early enough.

  1. got

  2. here

  3. early

  4. enough
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and sometimes other adverbs in a sentence.
In this sentence, the adverb 'early' is getting modified by the adverb 'enough'. 'Enough' states the extent to which the person gets early to a place. Hence, Option C is correct.
Option A is incorrect as the verb 'got' is not being modified by the adverb in this sentence.
Option B is incorrect as the adverb 'here' is not being modified in this sentence.
Option D is incorrect as 'enough' is the modifying adverb in this sentence.

Multiple choice position of adverbs adverb english

identify the word which the adverb modifies:

You are jumping high enough.

  1. are jumping

  2. enough

  3. you

  4. high
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and sometimes other adverbs in a sentence.
In this sentence, the adverb 'high' is being modified by the adverb 'enough'. It states the extent to which the person is jumping high. So, option D is correct.
Option A is incorrect as the verb 'are jumping' is not being modified by the adverb.
Option B is incorrect as 'enough' is the modifying adverb in this sentence.
Option C is incorrect as adverbs don't modify pronouns.

Multiple choice position of adverbs adverb english

Identify the word which the adverb modifies:

You are walking too slowly.

  1. slowly

  2. you

  3. too

  4. NO word
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and sometimes other adverbs in a sentence.
In this sentence, the adverb 'too' modifies the adverb 'slowly'. It states the extent to which the person is walking slow. Hence, option A is correct.
Option B is incorrect as adverbs don't modify pronouns.
Option C is incorrect as 'too' is the modifying adverb in this sentence.
Option D is obviously incorrect.

Multiple choice position of adverbs adverb english

Identify the word which the adverb modifies:

He was just leaving.

  1. He

  2. leaving

  3. just

  4. NO word
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and sometimes other adverbs in a sentence.
In this sentence, the adverb 'just' is modifying the verb 'leaving'. The adverb suggests the time of his leaving. Hence, Option B is correct.
Option A is incorrect because 'he' is a pronoun. Adverbs don't modify pronouns.
Option C is incorrect as 'just' is itself the adverb.
Option D is obviously incorrect.

Multiple choice position of adverbs adverb english

Identify the word which the adverb modifies:

He often makes mistakes.

  1. often

  2. makes

  3. mistakes

  4. NO word
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and sometimes other adverbs in a sentence.
In this sentence, the verb 'makes' is getting modified by the adverb 'often'. It shows the frequency at which the person is making mistakes. Hence, Option B is correct.
Option A is incorrect as 'often' is the modifying adverb in this sentence.
Option C is incorrect as adverbs don't modify nouns.
Option D is obviously incorrect.

Multiple choice forms of adverb adverb english

Identify whether the underlined word is an adverb or adjective:

Darren is a very fast runner.

  1. Adverb

  2. Adjective

  3. Adjective and adverb

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

While "fast" can be either an adjective or adverb in a given sentence, it cannot be both at the same time. Hence, option C is incorrect. Moreover, "fast" is always either an adjective or an adverb and nothing else. Therefore, option D is incorrect as well. 


Now, we know that "fast" can be acting either as an adverb or an adjective. An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. An adjective modifies a noun. In the given sentence, "fast runner" is an adjective that describes the subject (Darren who is the runner). Therefore, option B is correct while option A in wrong. The adverb in the sentence is "very".