Why know about parts of speech?
Parts of speech are categories of words like noun or adjective which tell us how a word behaves in general, rather than its role in a specific sentence (like subject or object ). They are important because without them it would be impossible to learn how a language works. Take, for example, the following rule about how to write words expressing nationality: • A noun relating to nationality begins with a capital letter: Les Français sont très fiers de leur cuisine The French are very proud of their cuisine • An adjective relating to nationality, however, begins with a small letter: La grammaire française est difficile French grammar is difficult It is difficult to understand this rule without understanding the words noun and adjective!
