Identifying Parts of Speech

The question asks us to identify the part of speech of the underlined word "They" in the sentence: "They are all going to attend the function." To answer this, let's look at what the word "They" does in this sentence.

In the sentence, "They" is performing the action of "going to attend". It acts as the subject of the sentence. A word that acts as a subject and stands in place of a noun or noun phrase is typically a pronoun.

What is a Pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. This helps avoid repeating the same noun multiple times. Pronouns can refer to people, places, things, or ideas.

Examples of pronouns include:

• I, you, he, she, it, we, they
• me, you, him, her, it, us, them
• my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
• this, that, these, those
• who, whom, whose, which, that

In the sentence "They are all going to attend the function," the word "They" is standing in for a group of people (or perhaps things) who were mentioned earlier or are understood from the context. Since it replaces a noun (or a group of nouns), "They" functions as a pronoun.

Analyzing the Options for "They"

Let's consider why the other options are not correct for the word "They" in this specific sentence:

• Noun: A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., student, park, book, happiness). "They" does not name a specific person, place, thing, or idea; it refers to one.
• Adverb: An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, often telling how, when, where, or to what extent (e.g., quickly, yesterday, here, very). "They" does not modify another word in this way; it is the subject performing the action.
• Conjunction: A conjunction is a word used to connect words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, or, because). "They" does not connect parts of the sentence.

Based on its function in the sentence and the definition of different parts of speech, the word "They" is clearly acting as a pronoun.

Revision Table: Common Parts of Speech

Additional Information on Pronouns

Pronouns are a fundamental part of English grammar. They can be categorized into several types based on their function and the type of noun they replace:

• Personal Pronouns: Refer to specific people or things (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them). "They" is a personal pronoun.
• Possessive Pronouns: Show ownership (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs).
• Reflexive Pronouns: Refer back to the subject of the sentence (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves).
• Demonstrative Pronouns: Point to specific things (this, that, these, those).
• Interrogative Pronouns: Used to ask questions (who, whom, whose, which, what).
• Relative Pronouns: Introduce relative clauses (who, whom, whose, which, that).
• Indefinite Pronouns: Refer to unspecified people or things (all, some, any, many, none, few, everybody, someone, nothing).

Understanding the different types of pronouns helps in correctly identifying them and using them properly in sentences.