What part of speech is "a "?

To determine the part of speech of "a",we have to know the types of parts of speech.

There are eight types of parts of speech.These are noun,pronoun,verb,adverb,preposition, conjunction and interjection.Remember that determiners are a special type of adjective.

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Both determiners and adjectives are related in such a way that they both modify a noun.

However,the first difference between a determiner and  an adjective is that a determiner is placed before a noun and introduce that noun to audiences,while an adjective modify a noun by providing additional information about it.

For example,we have seen two students there.The(Determiner) first one is black and the second one is white.


●He is a black(Adjective) student.




The second difference between the two is that a determiner cannot be graded unlike an adjective,which can be expressed in different intensities.For example,an object can be small,smaller or smallest.But a determiner(that,the etc.)cannot be "the-est,that-est".

To find out the part of  speech of "a",we need to  remember that a single word in different sentences can functions as different parts of speech.



Now analyse the following example(Identify the parts of speech in the following sentence):



●The teacher of my school gave me an A for my good essay.

Explanation:

●Noun Phrase:Determiner+Noun
                            
                               my+ essay
                                an + A


●Noun Phrase=Determiner+Adjective+Noun=my +good+ essay



●The teacher of my school gave me an A for my good essay.

In the above sentence, the part of speech of "a" is a noun. Look at the structure of noun phrase.


●Noun Phrase:Determiner+Noun
                            
                               my+ essay

                                an + A


Before "A",we have determiner an.This is the sign of noun.Again,give a transitive verb.It can take two objects as nouns or pronouns.Here me and A is the object of the transitive verb give.So,"A" is a noun.At last,A has occupied the place of a object of a verb.So,the part of speech of "A" is a noun.




●Consider the following example:

●You should take one tablet two times a day.

●You should take one tablet a day.



Explanation:Here"a" has been used as a preposition.Let me prove that the part of speech of "a" is a preposition here. Here"a" is making relationship between two nouns:tablet and day.You know that a preposition can make relationship between two  nouns.So,the part of speech of "a" here is a preposition.


●Noun Phrase:Determiner+Noun=one tablet


●Prepositional Phrase: Preposition +Noun=a day

A prepositional phrase can functions as an adjective."Here' a day ' is modifying the noun tablet.So,a day is a adjective prepositional phrase.



Remember that an adverb can modify a verb.Here two times is modifying the verb take.So,two times is an adverb.

      

Now consider the following example:


●We have a big problem.

In this sentence, the part of speech of big is adjective as it is modifying the noun problem.



●We have a  problem.

Here "a" is indicating the noun problem.Here "a"is functioning like an adjective.Here "a"is a determiner.You can say "a" is an indefinite article.All determiners are special types of adjectives.

Conclusion:We are getting four parts of speech for a:Noun, Preposition, Adjective (Determiner) and verb. 

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