Identifying Noun, Pronoun, Adjective and Verb
Identifying Noun, Pronoun, Adjective and Verb
This topic supplies two questions and at the qualifying level only identification is asked — which word in the given sentence is a noun and which is a verb. There is no need to go into the depth of the sub-classes, so only the tests for recognition are given here.
Identifying the Four
| Class | What it states | Test question |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | a name | who? what? |
| Pronoun | stands for a noun | in place of whom? |
| Adjective | a quality of a noun | of what kind? how much? |
| Verb | an action or a state | what was done? |
The test is simply to put a question to the sentence. In सुंदर लड़का दौड़ रहा है — who? लड़का, a noun. Of what kind? सुंदर, an adjective. What is he doing? दौड़ रहा है, a verb.
Main Kinds of Noun
- Vyaktivachak — the name of one particular thing: राम, पटना, गंगा.
- Jativachak — the name of a whole class: लड़का, नदी, नगर.
- Bhavvachak — the name of a quality or state: मिठास, बुढ़ापा, वीरता.
At this level questions come from these three alone. Bhavvachak nouns are asked most often, because they can be formed from an adjective or a verb — मीठा gives मिठास and लिखना gives लिखावट.
✗ बुढ़ापा is a jativachak noun | ✓ It is bhavvachak, because it names a state
Pronoun and Adjective
| Class | Examples |
|---|---|
| Purushvachak pronoun | मैं, तुम, वह |
| Prashnvachak pronoun | कौन, क्या |
| Gunvachak adjective | सुंदर, काला, अच्छा |
| Sankhyavachak adjective | दो, दस, पहला |
| Parimanvachak adjective | थोड़ा, बहुत, दो किलो |
The noun whose quality an adjective describes is called the visheshya. In सुंदर लड़का, सुंदर is the adjective and लड़का the visheshya. That pair is asked directly.
The Verb
At this level only two things are asked about the verb — the difference between transitive and intransitive, and the tense. A transitive verb has an object, as in राम पत्र लिखता है; an intransitive one does not, as in राम हँसता है. Put क्या to the verb — if an answer comes it is transitive, if none comes it is intransitive.
पूरा विषय एक ही आदत पर टिका है — वाक्य से प्रश्न पूछना। कौन, कैसा, कितना, क्या किया — चार प्रश्नों से चारों शब्द भेद पहचान में आ जाते हैं।
TRE pointer: The qualifying paper asks for identification, not definition, so hold the four-question formula: who, of what kind, how much, what was done. Forming a bhavvachak noun and the adjective-visheshya pair are two settled questions. Build the habit of putting क्या to a verb.
60-Second Recap
- Who or what is answered by a noun; of what kind by an adjective.
- Nouns are of three main kinds at this level.
- A bhavvachak noun can be formed from an adjective or a verb.
- The noun described by an adjective is called the visheshya.
- If क्या put to the verb yields an answer, the verb is transitive.
- मैं, तुम and वह are purushvachak pronouns.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to identify a word class?
Put a question to the sentence. Asking who or what gives the noun, asking of what kind or how much gives the adjective, and asking what was done gives the verb. This habit of four questions settles almost every identification question at the qualifying level.
What is a bhavvachak noun?
A noun that names a feeling, a quality or a state, such as मिठास, बुढ़ापा and वीरता. It can be formed from an adjective, as मीठा gives मिठास, and from a verb, as लिखना gives लिखावट. That is why it is asked most often.
What is the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs?
Put क्या to the verb. If an answer comes, the verb is transitive, as in राम पत्र लिखता है where what he writes is पत्र. If no answer comes, it is intransitive, as in राम हँसता है. The test works every time.
What is the difference between visheshan and visheshya?
The visheshan is the word that describes and the visheshya is the noun being described. In सुंदर लड़का, सुंदर is the visheshan and लड़का the visheshya. The two appear together in the same phrase, so both terms should be held.