In order to determine a part of speech in a sentence, look at the word being used, its context, and what meanings it brings to the sentence structure. Here are some questions you can ask about a particular word in a sentence, in order to figure out what part of speech it is.

• Is it a person, place, idea, name, or thing?   It is a noun.
• Is the word used in place of a noun?   It is a pronoun.
• Does the word convey an action, occurrence, or state of being?   It is a verb.
• Does the word modify a noun?   It is an adjective.
• Does the word modify a verb, adjective, or itself?   It is an adverb.
• Is the word placed in front of a noun to form a modifying phrase?   It is a preposition.
• Does the word link a phrase or clause?   It is a conjunction.
• Is the word a quick expression of emotion?   It is an interjection.
• Is the word placed before a noun to clarify it?   It is a determiner or an article, as explained above.