Word classes

Every word in a sentence belongs to a word class, depending on the job it does. The eight main word classes are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions and determiners. The same word can be in different classes in different sentences, so always look at its job.

Key facts

  • Nouns name people, places, things and ideas: ⟦teacher⟧, ⟦Cairo⟧, ⟦idea⟧. Pronouns stand in for nouns: ⟦she⟧, ⟦it⟧, ⟦them⟧.
  • Verbs are actions or states: ⟦run⟧, ⟦think⟧, ⟦is⟧. Adverbs tell us how, when, where or how often: ⟦quickly⟧, ⟦yesterday⟧, ⟦here⟧, ⟦often⟧.
  • Adjectives describe nouns: ⟦a brave firefighter⟧. Determiners come before nouns and say which or how many: ⟦the⟧, ⟦this⟧, ⟦my⟧, ⟦some⟧, ⟦every⟧.
  • Prepositions link a noun to the rest of the sentence, often showing place or time: ⟦under⟧, ⟦across⟧, ⟦during⟧. Conjunctions join words and clauses: ⟦and⟧, ⟦but⟧, ⟦because⟧.
  • The job decides the class: ⟦I went for a run⟧ (noun), ⟦They run every day⟧ (verb); ⟦a fast car⟧ (adjective), ⟦She runs fast⟧ (adverb).

Worked examples

Example 1

What word class is ⟦carefully⟧ in ⟦Leo carefully carried the glass.⟧?

  1. ⟦carefully⟧ tells us how Leo carried the glass.
  2. Words that tell us how something is done are adverbs. Many end in ⟦-ly⟧.

Answer: An adverb

Example 2

What word class is ⟦light⟧ in ⟦The bag was light.⟧?

  1. ⟦light⟧ describes the bag: what it was like.
  2. Here it is an adjective. In ⟦Turn on the light⟧ it would be a noun.

Answer: An adjective

Example 3

Label each word: ⟦She sang beautifully at the concert.⟧

  1. ⟦She⟧ stands for a person: pronoun. ⟦sang⟧ is the action: verb.
  2. ⟦beautifully⟧ says how: adverb. ⟦at⟧ links to the place: preposition.
  3. ⟦the⟧ comes before the noun: determiner. ⟦concert⟧ names a thing: noun.

Answer: ⟦She⟧ pronoun, ⟦sang⟧ verb, ⟦beautifully⟧ adverb, ⟦at⟧ preposition, ⟦the⟧ determiner, ⟦concert⟧ noun