Introduction

One of the standard processes of any kind of language analysis is the identification and labelling of the individual words that make up a sentence or a text. Although this kind of analysis does not provide much helpful information about how texts or even sentences are constructed, a basic knowledge of ‘parts of speech’ provides the teacher with a useful tool. More useful still is to analyse the way that words group together into meaningful ‘chunks’ – or phrases.

Tasks

1 Word classes

Can you match the terms in this list with its definition below? The first is done for you.

• a These typically provide information about the manner, place or time of the action expressed by the verb: quickly, away, just, soon … = adverbs

• b These substitute for nouns: she, hers, anyone, who …

• c These precede and help identify or quantify nouns: that, some, the, many …

• d These typically name things, people or concepts, e.g. tree, teacher, style, Zen …

• e These relate nouns to other elements, typically in terms of time or place: in, after, by, under …

• f These connect words or parts of sentences: and, while, if, because …

• g These express processes, events or states: make, explode, become, weigh …

• h These describe different qualities of nouns: green, noisy, expensive, boring …

2 Word classes

Now can you identify the class of each of the underlined words in this extract:

3 Words that belong to more than one class

Some words belong to more than one class. Identify the word class of each of the underlined items in these sentences from I Left My Grandfather’s House. The first has been done for you.

• a I lay very flat and still in my bed. = adjective

• The old ladies were still there. = adverb

• b He lay on his back with his hands and legs thrown out carelessly. ‘

• You’ll have to go back to Steyning.’

• I went to the back door and knocked.

• c If I could just stay here for the night and rest.

• My aunt and Marjorie were going to help the rest of the household by clearing the table.