Question

Identify the part of speech of the underlined word:
Before long, my parents will return to the house
A) Adjective
B) Adverb
C) Noun
D) Verb

Answer 1

Hint: Read the given sentence and decipher what it means. Try to determine the role of the underlined word in the sentence. Now, go through the options and recall what each of them means and choose the one which best expresses the role of the word ‘long’ in the sentence

Complete answer:
‘Long’ As an adj. (i)measuring a great distance from end to end (ii)lasting or taking a great amount of time. As an adverb (i)for a long time. (ii)(with reference to the ball in sport) at, to, or over a great distance.
As a noun, (i)a long period. (ii)a long sound such as a long signal in Morse code or a long vowel or syllable. Now, let us go through the given options :
Option A- Adjective is a part of a sentence which describes the noun, For example: She looks beautiful in the kurta today, but here long is not describing any noun therefore, this is an incorrect answer.
Option B- Adverb is a part of a sentence which describes the verb, but here long is not describing any verb therefore, this is an incorrect answer.
Option C- Noun is a part of a sentence which refers to a person, thing, place and period of time. Here, the word ‘long’ refers to a period of time therefore, Option C is the correct answer.
Option D- Verb refers to the part of the sentence which shows an action, but the word ‘long’ doesn’t show any action. Therefore, this is incorrect. For example: She walks very fast.

Therefore, option ‘C’ is the correct answer.

Note:
i) Make sure that you are thorough with all the parts of speech.
ii) Adverbs end with ‘ly’ (not always). For example: She beautifully wrapped the gift. There are a few exceptions to it for example: The students sat ‘upright’ as soon as the teacher entered the class.