It functions as a conjunction and subordinating conjunction in adverb clause. If a word is subordinating conjunction, it’ll certainly be conjunction.) (Note that subordinating conjunction is a subcategory of conjunction. Is ‘when’ a conjunction or subordinating conjunction?

In the next three sections, let’s examine if when belongs to any of these three parts of speech. Conjunctions, relative pronouns, and prepositions are the most common grammatical tools to connect one part of a sentence to the other. But when can also connect parts of a sentence. In the first section, we looked at when in its role of asking questions. May 12, last year, was the day when I was on top of the world after getting admission to my dream college. When can also be used as relative adverb where it’s not a question word. You never know when an unexpected need might arise. (Comments that go with examples are in square brackets.) This has been covered later (under conjunction or subordinating conjunction subcategory) because it doesn’t belong to the direct question category. Note that when can also act as interrogative adverb in sentences where it’s not a question word. “When did you last see him?” My friend asked.

The most common interrogative adverbs are when, where, why, and how. If you recall, adverbs convey information about time, place, manner, degree, reason, etc. It can function as an interrogative adverb: interrogative because it is in the form of a question and adverb because it conveys information about time. The first section looks at when in its role of asking questions. We’ll also look at few parts of speech it doesn’t belong to, but few erroneously think it does. In this post, we’ll analyze the word when grammatically, looking at the four parts of speech it belongs to: adverb (two types), conjunction, noun, and pronoun. But, like down, they function as quite a few parts of speech. People find it hard to associate question words such as when with any part of speech, as they think that question words are made just to ask questions and do nothing else in a sentence. The team was little down after yesterday’s close loss. For example, word down can be an adverb, a verb, a preposition, or an adjective: Depending on how it is used in a sentence, a word can belong to more than one part of speech. A word doesn’t necessarily belong to a particular part of speech.

What part of speech is the word but