Every word has a job
Words are sorted into groups called parts of speech according to the job they do in a sentence. If you know the group, you know where the word can go and how it can change. Teachers usually list eight or nine of them.
- nouncake, Sara, love
- verbeat, write, be
- adjectivebig, happy, red
- adverbquickly, very, here
| Part of speech | Job | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | names a person, place, thing or idea | teacher, London, book, happiness |
| Pronoun | takes the place of a noun | he, she, it, they, mine |
| Verb | shows an action or a state | run, think, is, have |
| Adjective | describes a noun | tall, cold, interesting |
| Adverb | describes a verb, adjective or other adverb | slowly, very, often |
| Preposition | shows place, time or direction | in, on, at, to, under |
| Conjunction | joins words or sentences | and, but, because, or |
| Determiner / article | comes before a noun to say which one or how many | a, the, my, this, some |
| Interjection | shows a sudden feeling | wow, oh, ouch, hooray |
Thedeterminer
youngadjective
teachernoun
speaksverb
clearlyadverb
inpreposition
class.noun
Spot the parts of speech
- Maria (noun) lives (verb) in Madrid (noun).Names and an action.
- She (pronoun) is very (adverb) kind (adjective).Pronoun + adverb + adjective.
- I like tea and (conjunction) coffee.And joins two nouns.
- The cat is under (preposition) the table.Place.
- Wow (interjection)! That’s amazing!Interjections show emotion.
- He runs fast. (adverb)How does he run?
- He is a fast runner. (adjective)Same word, different job.
- My (determiner) brother has two (determiner) dogs.Possessive and number.
- They work (verb) hard. Their work (noun) is difficult.Work can be a verb or a noun.
- It was a beautiful (adjective) day, so (conjunction) we went out.Describing and linking.
Don’t say / Say
Don’t sayShe sings beautiful.
SayShe sings beautifully.Why: We need an adverb to describe the verb.
Don’t sayHe is a quick runner and runs quick.
SayHe is a quick runner and runs quickly.Why: Adjective before a noun; adverb after a verb.
Don’t sayI am interesting in music.
SayI am interested in music.Why: Interested = feeling; interesting = makes you feel interest.
Don’t sayShe is very beauty.
SayShe is very beautiful.Why: After be we need an adjective, not a noun.