Parts of speech is the classification system that tells you what grammatical job a word is doing in a particular sentence. This last phrase — "in a particular sentence" — is the most important thing to internalize before your CTET exam, because the same word can belong to different categories depending on context.
Here is the analogy that makes this stick: think of words as actors in a theatre company. The same actor can play a villain in one show and a comic in another. The word "past" can be a preposition (walking past the gate), an adverb (the bus has gone past), an adjective (past events), or a noun (forget the past). The role depends on the scene.
CTET Paper II consistently tests this contextual flexibility. You will almost never see a question asking "what part of speech is happiness?" — that is too easy. Instead, the exam picks words like past, until, yet, that, which, each — words that routinely migrate between categories. The underlined word is always one that could plausibly belong to two or three categories. Your job is to identify the grammatical function in that specific sentence.
The standard inventory has eight parts of speech:
Modern grammar adds a ninth category that CTET examiners clearly know: Determiner — words like the, a, each, every, this, some that introduce and specify nouns without replacing them. CTET 2019 already tested this. Do not treat it as an optional extra.
A noun names something. A pronoun stands in for a noun. The confusion arises with demonstrative words like that, this, which, what — they can be either, depending on the sentence.
Pronoun test: If the word stands alone as the subject or object, without a following noun, it is a pronoun.
Relative pronoun test: Which, who, whom, that, whose are relative pronouns when they introduce a relative clause and refer back to an antecedent.
The broadest category. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. For CTET, focus on the verb-modifying adverb because that is what the exam tests.
Ask: Is the word telling us how, when, where, or how often about a verb?
Do not confuse adverbs with adjectives. Adjectives answer "which" or "what kind" about a noun. Adverbs answer "how," "when," "where," "how often" about a verb (or adjective/adverb).
A preposition always takes a noun or pronoun as its object (called the object of the preposition). If you can find that object, the word is a preposition.
The trap: both past and until can function as conjunctions when followed by a full clause.
The rule: noun/noun phrase → preposition. Clause → conjunction.
Conjunctions link. Coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so — the FANBOYS) join grammatically equal elements. Subordinating conjunctions (because, although, unless, until) link a dependent clause to an independent one.
The tricky case is yet. It functions as a coordinating conjunction when it contrasts two ideas at the sentence level — similar to but. When yet appears at the start of a sentence creating a contrast with the previous sentence, it is functioning conjunctively.
This is different from yet as an adverb:
Modern grammar treats determiners as a separate category. They come before nouns (or adjective + noun sequences), specify or quantify the noun, but unlike adjectives they do not describe quality.
Sub-categories you need to know:
The CTET distinction: each before a noun is a determiner; each standing alone as subject/object is a pronoun.
For any underlined word in a CTET question, run this mental sequence:
If the word sits before a noun and specifies it without describing quality → Determiner (even if the options list it under a broader "adjective" category in traditional grammar, CTET examiners now distinguish it separately).
When the suspect word is something like past, up, down, over, through, until: look to the right. If there is a noun or pronoun directly after it, the word is a preposition (it has an object). If there is no noun/pronoun after it, the word is an adverb.
Standard approach of analyzing meaning: ~20 seconds. This positional check: ~3 seconds.
For words like that, this, each, which: cover the word with your finger and see if the noun phrase still stands. If the word is followed immediately by a noun and modifies it, it is a determiner. If it stands alone (no following noun), it is a pronoun.
Standard semantic reasoning: 15-25 seconds. This structural check: 4 seconds.
These four words (until, before, after, since) flip between preposition and subordinating conjunction. The rule is structural, not semantic:
Count: if you see a finite verb after the word, it is a conjunction. 3-step check vs. full meaning analysis saves ~15 seconds per question.
The coordinating conjunctions are: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So — FANBOYS. Memorize the set. Yet is the one CTET examiners exploit because test-takers default to calling it an adverb.
Check: Is yet creating contrast between two independent ideas (like but)? → conjunction. Is yet modifying a verb and answering "up to this time"? → adverb.
Memorizing FANBOYS as a 7-item set eliminates all doubt about yet in 2 seconds.
When you see which, who, whom, that introducing a clause, find the antecedent (the noun or idea it refers back to). If there is one, the word is a relative pronoun. The antecedent is usually immediately before the word or in the preceding sentence.
In the exam hall, a parts-of-speech question takes under 30 seconds if you follow this path:
Step 1 — Read the full sentence, not just the underlined word. Context is everything. One reading is enough.
Step 2 — Ask the function question. What is this word doing? Not what does it mean — what job is it doing structurally?
Step 3 — Apply the positional check. For the high-frequency traps:
Step 4 — Eliminate. If you are choosing between adverb and preposition, apply the object test. If choosing between pronoun and determiner, apply the stand-alone test.
Decision rule for guess: CTET PYQ data shows the most tested trap is adverb vs. preposition for movement/positional words. When uncertain, check for the noun-object to the right. If present, go preposition.
Why this question: This is the classic movement-word trap. "Past" most commonly registers as an adjective (past events) or a noun (forget the past) in students' minds. The exam puts it in a prepositional role.
Solving path:
Why this question: Relative pronouns are routinely confused with adjectives (since which can introduce a relative clause that modifies a noun). Here it modifies a whole preceding idea, not a noun, making the pronoun classification cleaner.
Solving path:
Why this question: "Ever" is one of those frequency adverbs that looks like it could do anything. This question tests whether you distinguish adverbs of time/frequency from other categories.
Solving path:
Why this question: This is the determiner question that catches candidates who only know the traditional eight parts of speech. Many would mark each as an adjective or pronoun and get it wrong.
Solving path:
Why this question: The until/preposition vs. until/conjunction distinction is one of CTET's favourite structural traps. This question makes the test clean — a noun phrase follows, not a clause.
Solving path:
Why this question: This tests the demonstrative pronoun vs. determiner split. "That" before a noun = determiner. "That" standing alone = pronoun. The sentence is a clean example of the second case.
Solving path:
Marking "past" as an adverb by default. "Past" is an adverb only when it has no object (the bus drove past). When it is followed by a noun or pronoun (past you, past the school), it is a preposition. Always check for the object.
Confusing "each/every/this/that" before a noun as a pronoun. If the word is sitting before a noun and modifying it, it is a determiner, not a pronoun. The pronoun stands alone. This is the single most common determiners error in CTET.
Treating "yet" as always an adverb. "Yet" within a clause at the end (she hasn't arrived yet) is an adverb. "Yet" connecting two independent ideas at the beginning of a sentence (Yet, we keep trying) is a coordinating conjunction. The position and function differ.
Calling relative pronouns adjectives. "Which" and "that" introduce relative clauses and refer back to antecedents. They are pronouns. They are not adjectives just because relative clauses modify nouns — the pronoun refers to the noun, it does not describe it.
Ignoring the clause/phrase distinction for "until/before/after." These words flip categories based on what follows. Noun phrase = preposition. Clause with finite verb = conjunction. Reading only the underlined word and not what follows it causes this error repeatedly.
Overthinking frequency adverbs like "ever," "often," "always." If the word answers "how often?" about a verb, it is an adverb of frequency. There is no reason to consider pronoun or adjective for these words — yet candidates waste time second-guessing because the options list them as distractors.