There are eight main parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Nouns are words that represent people, places, things, or ideas. Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. Verbs are words that show action or state of being. Adjectives describe or modify nouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Prepositions show the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses. Interjections express strong feelings or emotions.