Lesson 1 of 46

Parts of speech

Name the eight word types so every other rule makes sense.

The rules

  1. 1.Noun: a person, place, thing, or idea (teacher, city, idea). Verb: an action or state (write, is). Adjective: describes a noun (fast, useful). Adverb: describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb (quickly, very).
  2. 2.Pronoun replaces a noun (she, it, them). Preposition shows a relationship (in, on, with). Conjunction joins ideas (and, but, because). Article: a, an, the.
  3. 3.The same word can change type when its ending changes: success (noun), successful (adjective), successfully (adverb).
  4. 4.Adjectives ending in -ed describe how a person feels (bored); adjectives ending in -ing describe what causes the feeling (boring).

Common mistakes and fixes

Incorrect: He is a success man.

Correct: He is a successful man.

Before a noun you need the adjective, not the noun.

Incorrect: I am interesting in this job.

Correct: I am interested in this job.

-ed describes your feeling.

Incorrect: She speaks very quick.

Correct: She speaks very quickly.

Describing a verb needs an adverb.

Watch out: When a sentence sounds wrong, check the word type first: does this slot need a noun, adjective, or adverb?

Quick quiz

1. In "She works carefully", the word "carefully" is a/an…
2. The lecture was ___.
3. Which is a conjunction?

Practice on your own writing

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