Parts of Speech / Word Formation Questions for CDS

The Eight Parts of Speech

Every English word belongs to a category based on the job it does in a sentence. The eight parts of speech are Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Adverb, Preposition, Conjunction, and Interjection. The same word can belong to different categories depending on context. For example, 'fast' can be an adjective (a fast car), an adverb (he runs fast), a verb (to fast during Navratri), or a noun (a religious fast).

• Noun: names a person, place, thing, or idea — Soldier, Delhi, Courage
• Pronoun: replaces a noun — he, she, they, who, which
• Adjective: describes a noun — brave, three, this
• Verb: shows action or state — run, is, seem, become
• Adverb: modifies verb, adjective, or another adverb — quickly, very, quite
• Preposition: shows relationship between noun and rest of sentence — in, on, at, by, despite
• Conjunction: joins words or clauses — and, but, although, because
• Interjection: expresses sudden emotion — Oh! Alas! Bravo!

How Words Change Their Part of Speech

CDS frequently tests whether you can identify the correct form of a word for a given blank. A root word like 'beauty' transforms into beautiful (adjective), beautify (verb), beautifully (adverb), and beautification (noun). This process is called derivation. The exam will give you one form and expect you to slot in the correct derived form. Always look at what the blank needs — a subject or object needs a noun, a descriptor before a noun needs an adjective, a descriptor after a verb needs an adverb.

• Noun to Adjective: adding -ful, -less, -ous, -ic, -al — joy to joyful, harm to harmless
• Adjective to Adverb: adding -ly — quick to quickly, extreme to extremely
• Verb to Noun: adding -tion, -ment, -ance, -er — govern to government, perform to performance
• Adjective to Noun: adding -ness, -ity — happy to happiness, real to reality
• Noun or Adjective to Verb: adding -ise/-ize, -en, -fy — modern to modernise, wide to widen

Prefixes and Suffixes for Word Formation

Prefixes are added at the front to change meaning, often to opposite or negative. Suffixes are added at the end to change the part of speech. CDS tests both in vocabulary and error-spotting questions. Knowing a handful of high-frequency prefixes saves you when you see an unfamiliar word — you can guess the meaning from parts.

• Negative prefixes: un- (unhappy), dis- (disagree), in-/im-/il-/ir- (incorrect, impossible, illegal, irregular), mis- (misuse), non- (nonviolent)
• Prefixes of degree or position: over- (overestimate), under- (undermine), super- (superb), sub- (submarine), pre- (preview), post- (postwar)
• Common noun suffixes: -tion/-sion (action, tension), -ness (darkness), -ity (clarity), -ment (movement), -er/-or (teacher, actor)
• Common adjective suffixes: -able/-ible (readable, visible), -ous (dangerous), -ful (careful), -less (careless), -ive (attractive)
• Common verb suffixes: -ise/-ize (organise), -fy (clarify), -en (strengthen), -ate (educate)

Conversion — Zero Derivation

Conversion means using a word as a different part of speech without any change in spelling or adding any suffix. This is a major trap in CDS error-spotting. The word looks correct but is being used in the wrong grammatical role. Common conversions include nouns used as verbs (to bottle water, to google something), adjectives used as nouns (the poor, the blind), and verbs used as nouns (a run, a jump).

• Noun used as verb: police (to police an area), email (to email someone), water (to water plants)
• Verb used as noun: a run, a drive, a hit — context and article placement confirm this
• Adjective used as noun: the rich, the elderly, the accused — note no plural -s added
• Watch for incorrect conversion in error spotting: He did a suggest (wrong — suggestion is the noun form needed here)

Identifying Part of Speech in Sentence Context

CDS questions in the Spotting Errors and Fill in the Blanks sections test your ability to identify what part of speech a position in a sentence demands. Use positional clues: after an article (a, an, the) you need a noun or adjective-noun group; after a linking verb (is, seems, appears) you need an adjective or noun; after to in an infinitive you need a base verb. If a word comes before a noun and is not an article, it is likely an adjective. If it modifies the verb in a sentence, it is an adverb.

• Article + blank + Noun = blank must be an adjective (a brave soldier)
• Blank + verb = blank is likely a noun or pronoun acting as subject
• Verb + blank (no noun after) = blank is likely an adverb (he spoke clearly)
• Preposition + blank = blank must be a noun or pronoun (in spite of the rain)
• Linking verb + blank = blank is a subject complement, so adjective or noun (she looks tired)

• Confusing adverb and adjective: writing 'He is a highly talent person' instead of 'highly talented' — the suffix changes everything
• Using noun where adjective is needed: 'a beauty girl' instead of 'a beautiful girl' — always check what comes right before the noun
• Forgetting that -ly does not always make an adverb — lovely, friendly, lively, elderly are adjectives, not adverbs
• Applying a negative prefix incorrectly: using 'incapable' when 'unable' is needed, or mixing un- with words that take dis- — there is no shortcut, these must be memorised
• Treating converted words as errors: seeing 'the police the area' and correcting it unnecessarily — context determines if conversion is valid

• NPAVCAPI to remember the eight parts: Noun, Pronoun, Adjective, Verb, Conjunction, Adverb, Preposition, Interjection — think No Problem At Venue, Come And Party Inside
• AEIOU suffix rule for adjectives: Able, -Ent/-Ant, -Ive, -Ous, -fUl — if a blank before a noun needs filling, try one of these
• The FAST trick: the word FAST can be all four main parts — Fast car (adjective), Run fast (adverb), To fast (verb), A fast (noun) — remind yourself that position, not spelling, decides the part of speech
• Suffix ladder: ROOT gives you verb (beautify), add -tion for noun (beautification), add -al for adjective (beautificational is wrong — go back to beautiful), add -ly for adverb (beautifully) — always climb back to the right rung for the blank

• In CDS Fill in the Blanks, four options are often the same root word in four different forms — noun, verb, adjective, adverb. Read the surrounding sentence for positional clues before even looking at options.
• Spotting Errors questions frequently place an adjective where an adverb is needed or vice versa, especially with words like hard/hardly, high/highly, near/nearly, late/lately — know these pairs cold.
• Vocabulary questions sometimes ask for the word formed by a specific prefix or suffix. Negative prefix questions (il-, im-, in-, ir-) appear almost every paper — categorise them by the starting letter of the root word.
• CDS does not test obscure grammar labels — you will never be asked to name a gerund or a present participle by term. You will be tested on whether the word form fits the sentence. Focus on function, not terminology.
• Time-saving tip in the exam: if you are unsure about a Parts of Speech error, read the sentence aloud mentally and note where it sounds unnatural — your ear often catches adjective-adverb mix-ups faster than analysis.