Which part of speech is used in the underlined word? He takes after his father.

Answer: Preposition — in the sentence "He takes after his father," 'after' is a preposition.

Explanation:

The verb phrase "take after" is a phrasal verb meaning "to resemble." Grammatically, 'after' introduces the noun phrase "his father" and therefore functions as a preposition (it has an object).

• How to tell: if 'after' is followed by a noun phrase (for example, "his father"), it is acting as a preposition.

• If 'after' is followed by a clause (for example, "after he left"), it is a conjunction.

• If 'after' modifies a verb without taking an object (for example, "He arrived shortly after"), it is an adverb.

• Adjectives modify nouns; 'after' does not perform that role in this sentence.

• Examples:

• "He takes after his mother." — 'after' is a preposition (object: 'his mother').

• "After he left, we talked." — 'after' is a conjunction (introduces a clause).

• "He arrived shortly after." — 'after' is an adverb (no object).

Therefore, the correct part of speech for 'after' in the sentence is preposition.