The following is intended to be a list, not so much a lesson. Entire lessons will be devoted to the
terms below later in this book. For now, just read and learn the terms. If you finish and feel a
little confused, just be patient!
1. The English language divides its words into nine classes: noun, adjective, pronoun, verb,
verbal, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection. This section will give an overview of the
classes, but a detailed study will be left for later in the text. It should be noted that this
classification is somewhat arbitrary. Some texts will arrange things differently, but this list will
at least give you the general idea.
2. A noun names some entity, such as person, place, or thing. A noun in this sense is merely a
name, whether specific or common. Examples: Bartholomew, Bethlehem, baptistery.
3. An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. By modify, I mean that the adjective describes or
distinguishes the noun or pronoun it modifies. For instance, the noun “car” includes all that falls
under the classification “car”. However, “fast car”, where the adjective “fast” modifies the noun
“car”, limits the noun under consideration to just those cars that are fast. Examples: tall, small,
red.
4. A pronoun replaces a noun, usually for convenience sake. Rather than repeat the noun,
“establishmentarianism”, in every related sentence, one could simply insert the pronoun “it” in
the place of the noun. Examples: he, she, it.
5. A verb expresses action. The action does not have to be physical or even pertain to motion.
A verb can describe spiritual or mental processes. Verbs can also express being or state, as with
the verb “is”. Example: be, hit, repent.
6. A verbal is a word that comes from a verb, but it has the properties of another part of speech.
The three kinds of verbals are gerunds, infinitives, and participles. A gerund acts as a noun. An
infinitive acts somewhat like a noun as well. However, the participle is a modifier relates an
action to whatever word it modifies. For instance, I can show that a person wrote his lesson after
studying hard by saying, “Having studied hard, he wrote the lesson.” Here the participle,
“having”, shows a completed action on the part of the noun prior to the main verb. Examples:
singing, having, dangling.
7. An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. As with the adjective modifier, the
adverb describes or distinguishes a word that it modifies. The adverb often describes how a
thing is. Example: very, happily, often.
8. A preposition shows a relationship between the preposition’s object and something else.
They can show location, time, means, or nature. Example: in, after, by, of.
8
9. A conjunction is used to connect thoughts together. It can be used in a variety of ways.
Conjunctions often have a definite logic value in the Bible that will be discussed later in this text.
Example: and, or, but.
10. An interjection expresses emotion. They are rarely used in formal writing, though are
prevalent in dialogues. They often come with exclamation marks. This is the only part of
speech that will not be discussed further in this text. Example: oh, ah, alas.
9
Exercise I: Parts of Speech
Instructions:
Take a shot at identifying to which parts of speech the following words belong. If you don’t do
too well, don’t fret! This is just an introductory quiz. More will be said about the parts of
speech as we go.
Bonus: If the word could be more than one part of speech depending on context, put that answer
down as well.
1. adversary
2. deity
3. holy
4. holily
5. or
6. alas
7. ye
8. unto
9. sing
10. singing
Instructions:
Find the parts of speech in Bible verses. Site the verse below and list the word. One verse for
each part of speech will suffice. Don’t make it harder than it is!
Noun
Adjective
Pronoun
Verb
Participle
Adverb
Preposition
Conjunction
Interjection
