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Word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs Word classes (also called parts of speech) group words by the job they do in a sentence. Knowing them helps with punctuation, writing variety and learning other languages.
Ages 7+ (rough guide)
Level Foundation
Subject English
Time 15 minutes
Format Online + printable 1 Learn it2 See it worked3 Try it online4 Print it5 Check your answerBefore you start
Who it's for and what to know first Reading simple sentences.
Noun: a person, place, thing or idea — teacher, London, bike, happiness. Verb: an action or state — run, think, is, became. Test: can you put ‘I’ or ‘they’ before it and change its tense? Adjective: describes a noun — a red bike, the bike is fast. Adverb: describes a verb, adjective or another adverb — ran quickly, very tall. Many end in -ly, but not all (often, soon, very). Pronoun: replaces a noun — she, it, they. Preposition: shows position or time — under, after, on. The same word can change class: ‘a fast car’ (adjective) vs ‘they fast for a day’ (verb). Always look at its job in that sentence. Worked example 1
Label each word: ‘The tired dog slept peacefully.’ ‘dog’ is a thing → noun. ‘tired’ describes the dog → adjective. ‘slept’ is what the dog did → verb. ‘peacefully’ describes how it slept → adverb. ‘The’ is a determiner. Answer: tired = adjective, dog = noun, slept = verb, peacefully = adverb
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Practice questions Foundation · ages 7+
Word classes Name Date
Write the word class of the underlined (capitalised) word: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun or preposition.
1. The CAT sat on the mat. 2. She SWIMS every morning. 3. We bought a SHINY new kettle. 4. He spoke QUIETLY in the library. 5. The keys are UNDER the sofa. 6. Maya lost her coat, so SHE borrowed mine. 7. Honesty is IMPORTANT. 8. They arrived VERY late. Write the word class of the underlined (capitalised) word: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun or preposition.
1. The CAT sat on the mat. noun 2. She SWIMS every morning. verb 3. We bought a SHINY new kettle. adjective 4. He spoke QUIETLY in the library. adverb 5. The keys are UNDER the sofa. preposition 6. Maya lost her coat, so SHE borrowed mine. pronoun 7. Honesty is IMPORTANT. adjective 8. They arrived VERY late. adverb Assuming every -ly word is an adverb: ‘friendly’ and ‘lovely’ are adjectives. Missing abstract nouns such as ‘courage’ or ‘idea’ because you cannot touch them. Last reviewed: 25 September 2026
