Here is the single most important truth about Parts of Speech that most students miss: a word does not have a fixed word class — it has a function in a sentence. The word "swimming" can be a verb ("She is swimming"), a gerund/noun ("Swimming is healthy"), or an adjective ("a swimming pool"). The question NDA asks is always about what the word is doing in that specific sentence, not what it typically is.
Parts of Speech — or word classes — are categories we assign to words based on the grammatical role they play in a sentence. There are eight traditional classes: Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, and Interjection. Modern grammar adds a ninth — Determiner — which NDA has explicitly tested. You need to know all nine.
Think of it this way: a word is like a person at a wedding. The same person can be a guest, a photographer, a speaker, or a caterer — depending on what they are doing at that moment. Similarly, "fast" is an adjective in "a fast car", an adverb in "he drives fast", and a verb in "she will fast tomorrow". Context is everything.
The analogy that works for exam purposes: treat every underlined word as a suspect. Before you decide its identity, ask: what is it doing in this sentence? Is it naming something (noun)? Describing a noun (adjective)? Modifying a verb (adverb)? Connecting clauses (conjunction)? Showing relationship to a noun (preposition)?
NDA's Parts of Speech questions are not testing whether you know the definition of "adjective." They are testing whether you can correctly identify function in context — especially when a word looks like one class but functions as another. The traps are always the same: -ing words (gerund vs. verb vs. adjective), demonstratives like "those/this" (determiner vs. adjective), and multi-word phrases like "by dint of" (preposition vs. adverb).
1. Noun Names a person, place, thing, quality, or idea. Test: can you put "the" or "a" before it? Can it be pluralised or made possessive? "Abode", "control", "perseverance" — all nouns. Watch for abstract nouns (happiness, control) which students sometimes misread as adjectives.
2. Pronoun Stands in for a noun. "He", "I", "you", "those" (when standalone, not before a noun). The key exam trap: "those" before a noun is a determiner; "those" standing alone is a pronoun. "Those are mine" (pronoun) vs. "those books" (determiner).
3. Verb
Shows action or state of being. "Succeeded", "is", "needed" — all verbs. The trap: -ing forms. "Swimming is healthy" — here "swimming" is NOT a verb. There is no auxiliary ("is swimming" would be a verb). When an -ing word stands alone as subject or object, it is a gerund.
4. Adjective Describes or modifies a noun. Answers: which one? what kind? how many? "Humble abode" — "humble" is an adjective. "Half share" — "half" modifies "share", so it is an adjective in that context. The test: remove the word. If the noun still stands but loses a descriptor, the word was an adjective.
5. Adverb
Modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Answers: when? where? how? how often? "Now and again" (meaning "occasionally") modifies the verb "have told" — it is an adverbial phrase. Many adverbs end in -ly, but not all (fast, hard, now, again).
6. Preposition Shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence. Always followed by a noun phrase (its "object"). "Beyond our control" — "beyond" governs "our control", so it is a preposition. "By dint of perseverance" — "by dint of" is a compound/group preposition.
7. Conjunction Joins words, phrases, or clauses. Two subtypes matter for NDA:
The "except" trap is classic: "except the manager" — preposition (followed by noun). "Except that I needed the money" — conjunction (followed by clause). NDA has tested exactly this.
8. Interjection An exclamation: oh, ah, wow. Rarely tested directly in NDA.
9. Determiner Comes before a noun to specify which one, how many, or whose. Includes articles (a, an, the), demonstratives (this, that, these, those), possessives (my, your, his), quantifiers (some, many, each). The critical exam distinction: when "those/this/that" precedes a noun, it is a determiner, not an adjective. Traditional grammar calls these demonstrative adjectives; modern grammar (which NDA follows) calls them determiners.
A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun. It can be:
How to identify it: find the main verb of the clause. If the -ing word is NOT part of the main verb group (no auxiliary before it), and it occupies a noun position (subject, object), it is a gerund.
Compare:
Some prepositions are multi-word units. NDA underlines the whole phrase and asks you to classify it. Common ones:
These are prepositional phrases functioning as prepositions — they introduce a noun phrase and show relationship. In NDA answer choices, this is usually listed as "Prepositional phrase."
NDA examiners have clearly adopted the modern grammar framework. Here is how to decide:
| Word | Before a noun? | Standalone? | Classification | |---|---|---|---| | those | Yes | No | Determiner | | those | No | Yes | Pronoun | | half | Yes (modifying) | No | Adjective | | humble | Yes | No | Adjective |
The rule of thumb: if the word is from the set {this, that, these, those, my, your, his, her, its, our, their, a, an, the, some, any, each, every}, and it appears immediately before a noun — classify it as Determiner. If it describes a quality or attribute of the noun (colour, size, shape, opinion), classify it as Adjective.
The nine word classes in order: Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Pronoun, Preposition, Conjunction, Interjection, Determiner. Mnemonic: "No Visitor Arrives Alone — Parents Pick Children Instead, Daily." Standard recall time: 8-10 seconds vs. scrambling through a mental list: 30+ seconds. This chain ensures you do not forget Determiner, which is the class most students omit.
When you cannot decide between adjective and adverb, ask three questions in sequence:
Apply this to any underlined word in under 10 seconds. Standard method (trying to recall definitions): 40-50 seconds of hesitation. This eliminates two wrong options immediately in most NDA questions.
Words like "except", "before", "after", "until", "since", "beyond" can be either preposition or conjunction depending on what follows.
This single test resolves the "except/before/after" family of NDA questions in 5 seconds. Without it, students guess and lose marks on one of the most reliably recurring question types.
When you see an -ing word underlined, immediately look left. Is there an auxiliary verb (is, are, was, were, have been, will be)?
-ing → Verb (progressive or passive)-ing in noun position (subject/object) → Gerund-ing word before a noun → Adjective (participial adjective or compound modifier)This test reduces a 35-second analysis to a 6-second scan. It directly resolves the most common NDA Parts of Speech trap.
Adjectives come from an open set — you can always invent a new adjective (tall, taller, iridescent). Determiners come from a closed set — a fixed list of words. If the underlined word before a noun belongs to this closed set — {this, that, these, those, my, your, his, her, its, our, their, a, an, the, some, any, each, every, which, what, no, enough} — classify it as Determiner, not adjective.
Standard method: students remember "demonstrative adjective" from school grammar and pick "Adjective". NDA marks it wrong. This fingerprint check takes 3 seconds and prevents that specific error.
When the NDA question gives you an underlined word or phrase and asks for its word class, run this decision tree in order:
Step 1 — Locate the word's position. Is it before a noun? After a verb? Standing alone as subject or object?
Step 2 — Apply the Closed-Set Check. Is it from the determiner list (this, those, my, the, some...)? If yes and it is before a noun → Determiner. Stop.
Step 3 — Check for -ing. Apply the Auxiliary Test. Auxiliary present → Verb. No auxiliary, noun position → Gerund. Before noun → Adjective.
Step 4 — Check for multiple words underlined. Is it a group/compound preposition (by dint of, in spite of)? Does it connect two clauses? → Prepositional phrase or Conjunction.
Step 5 — Apply the Three-Question Test (adjective vs. adverb). What does the word modify? Noun → Adjective. Verb/adjective/adverb → Adverb.
Step 6 — Eliminate options systematically. If two options remain, construct a substitution. Replace the word with a known example of each class and see which sentence remains grammatically identical in meaning.
Total time per question with this framework: 15-25 seconds.
Why this question: "Half" is one of those chameleon words — it can be an adjective, adverb, noun, or determiner depending on context. This question tests whether you read function, not form.
Solving path: Locate "half" in the sentence — it comes before "share" (a noun) and describes what kind of share: half, not a quarter, not the whole. It is modifying a noun by specifying quantity/type → Adjective. Note: "Determiner" is tempting, but "half" is not in the closed determiner set the same way "those" or "the" is — in standard exam grammar, quantity-descriptors like "half" modifying a specific noun are classified as adjectives. Apply Step 5 of the framework.
Why this question: The gerund vs. verb distinction is the single most tested -ing trap in NDA English. This question is the textbook example.
Solving path: Apply the Auxiliary Test immediately. Look left of "Swimming" — there is no auxiliary ("is", "was", "has been"). "Swimming" is the subject of the verb "is". Noun position, no auxiliary → Gerund. Option A (Verb) is wrong because there is no auxiliary and "swimming" is not the predicate verb. Option C (Adjective) is wrong because it is not before a noun. Option D (Adverb) is wrong — it does not modify a verb here. Answer: Gerund.
Why this question: Adverbial phrases — especially idiomatic ones like "now and again" — are tested because students confuse them with conjunctions (since "and" appears inside the phrase).
Solving path: First, treat the phrase as a unit. "Now and again" = "occasionally" — this is a fixed idiomatic expression of frequency. Ask: what does it modify? It modifies "have told" (a verb), answering "how often?" → Adverb (adverbial phrase). It does not join two clauses (not a conjunction), does not show relationship to a noun (not a preposition), and is not a naming word (not a noun). Answer: Adverb.
Why this question: This tests compound prepositions — a category students rarely study but NDA returns to repeatedly. "By dint of" sounds complex but the classification logic is clean.
Solving path: The phrase "by dint of" introduces the noun phrase "perseverance and sheer hard work". It shows the means/instrument of the action "succeeded". The structure: Preposition + Noun + Preposition = compound/group preposition. Even though it modifies the verb (adverbial in function), the structural classification NDA asks for here is Prepositional phrase — it is a preposition group that introduces a noun phrase. Do not confuse functional role (adverbial) with structural class (prepositional phrase). Answer: Prepositional phrase.
Why this question: The determiner vs. adjective question is the most reliably recurring trap in recent NDA papers. "Those" is the prototype example.
Solving path: Apply the Closed-Set Check first. "Those" is in the closed determiner list (this, that, these, those). It appears immediately before "books" (a noun), specifying which books — pointing to specific books the speaker lent. In modern grammar, this is a demonstrative determiner. Option D (Adjective) is the trap — traditional grammar called these "demonstrative adjectives", but NDA examiners use the modern framework. The giveaway in the options: "Determiner" is listed, which means the paper expects modern classification. Answer: Determiner.
Why this question: "Except" is a classic dual-class word. This question demonstrates the Clause-Test for conjunction vs. preposition.
Solving path: Apply the Clause-Test. What follows "except"? The clause "that I needed the money" — this is a full clause with subject ("I") and verb ("needed"). When "except" is followed by a clause, it functions as a subordinating conjunction, connecting the main clause ("I didn't tell him anything") with the subordinate clause ("that I needed the money"). If it were followed by a noun ("except the money"), it would be a preposition. Answer: Conjunction.
Classifying gerunds as verbs. Students see an -ing word and immediately mark "Verb." Always check: is there an auxiliary before it? If not, and if it sits in a noun position (subject or object), it is a gerund. This mistake costs marks on one of NDA's most repeated question types.
Marking "those/this/these/that" as Adjective. Traditional school grammar taught "demonstrative adjective," but NDA uses the modern framework where these are Determiners. When "Determiner" appears as an option and the underlined word is from the demonstrative set before a noun, choose Determiner.
Confusing preposition with conjunction for "except/before/after/until." The word class changes based on what follows. Noun phrase following → preposition. Clause (subject + finite verb) following → conjunction. Never classify these dual-class words without checking what comes after them.
Treating compound prepositions as adverbial phrases. "By dint of", "in spite of", "on account of" look like they might be adverbial (they modify verbs), but structurally they are prepositional phrases. When these multi-word units appear underlined, the correct classification is almost always "Prepositional phrase."
Ignoring the difference between an adverb and a noun. Words like "now", "today", "here" can be adverbs OR nouns. "I will do it now" — adverb. "Now is the time" — noun (subject). Always check the grammatical position, not just the word itself.
Forgetting that adjectives follow linking verbs. "The food tastes good" — "good" is an adjective (predicate adjective), not an adverb, even though it follows a verb. Students often mark it as adverb because it seems to relate to the verb "tastes." If the word describes the subject (food is good), it is an adjective.