Are there nine parts of speech?

So, how many parts of speech are there?

It’s hard to say how many parts of speech exist, because not all grammar experts agree on the same number. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, the exact number is still up for debate. And while many grammar style guides agree that there are eight parts of speech, they don’t exactly all agree on which ones make the cut.

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A quick overview on the general parts of speech

There are seven parts of speech that are generally not up for debate—nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, and prepositions. The passage below contains each of these parts of speech:

Mary knew she was excited to see him, but she wasn’t completely sure about her feelings.

• “Mary” and “feelings” are both nouns, which classify a person, place, or thing. In this case, “Mary” is a person, and “feelings” are things.
• “Knew”, “was”, and “see” are all verbs, which means they are actions or a state of being.
• “She”, “him”, and “her” are all pronouns, which are words that replace a noun in certain situations. “She” and “her” are used to describe Mary, and “him” is used to describe the man that Mary is about to see.
• “Excited” and “sure” are both adjectives, which are words that describe a noun or pronoun. In this case, the two adjectives describe how Mary feels.
• “Completely” is an adverb, which is used to emphasize a verb or adjective. Most adverbs, like this one, end in -ly. The adverb here is emphasizing the adjective “sure”.
• “But” is a conjunction, which brings two complete sentences together. “Mary knew she was excited” and “She wasn’t completely sure about her feelings yet” both make sense on their own but would make more sense in the same sentence. “But” is the chain that links these two sentences together to form a more complete idea.
• “About” is a preposition, which works with a noun or pronoun to modify other words. Prepositions are used to introduce objects or to indicate timing and direction. In this sentence, “about” works with “her” (which indicates Mary) to describe “feelings”.

What are the parts of speech that are usually up for debate?

Aside from the seven parts of speech mentioned above, the two parts of speech that aren’t always included in grammar style guides are articles and interjections. There are three words that make up articles—”a,” “an,” and “the.” Articles usually come before a noun to help readers understand which noun is being described. The main reason why articles aren’t always their own part of speech is because some people believe that they fall in the same category as adjectives, since both types of words are used to describe nouns.

Interjections are emotive words and phrases such as “Wow!” and “Oops.” Used to emphasize emotions or reactions, they can make your writing more interesting. A lot of onomatopoeias, or words associated with sound effects, can function as interjections as well. Most interjections are informal and cannot be included in formal writing. Interjections are not always considered as a part of speech because they are often not included in the sentence it is describing and can be separated into its own sentence.

So, are there nine parts of speech in total?

With so many differing opinions on the matter, what you classify as a part of speech is pretty much up to your discretion. If you include articles and interjections in the mix, then there’s nine parts of speech in total. But if you think either of them shouldn’t count as parts of speech, then there’s only seven. As long as you’re writing clear sentences by using each word correctly, then it doesn’t matter what’s what. Find more writing tips to help you improve your skills.