Introduction to STASS: assessment of language skills
presented on 19 March 2008
Course handout - Word classes in English
| Word class | What it means | How can I recognise it? | Examples |
Determiner Det |
They tell you more information than a noun | They go in front of nouns the / a are called articles |
the, a, this, that, these, those, all some, any, no, every, each, either, neither, one several, enough, such, many much, more, most, few |
Conjunction Cj |
Linking words | Sometimes the link phrases: bread and butter They often link parts of sentences. |
and, but, or, nor, neither after, although, as because, before, but if, how, however, like, once, than, when, while, as far as, rather than |
Preposition Prep |
They tell you more about place, time, ownership. | You see a noun phrase after it. Many of these same words can also be adverbs |
above, across, after, along, among, as, at, before, below, beside, between, by, down, during, for, from, in, on, outside, past, round, via, with |
Pronoun Pron |
They stand in the place of a noun. | You can work out the meaning by reading the sentences before and finding the noun. Some pronouns can also be determiners |
I, me, mine, my, we, us, ourselves, you, your, he, him, she, herself, it, its, them, their, this, that, those, all, some, any, none, either, one, several, everybody, few, whichever, which, what, whose |
Enumerator 1, 2 |
The are numbers or they put things in order. | one, two, three, first, second, third, next, last, other, further | |
Interjection ! |
The show feelings. | swear words, greetings, sounds people make | ugh!, hello, yes, OK, ouch!, oh, mm, ah |
Noun N |
A name for a thing, a person, a feeling, a country etc | Will it fit into this sentence? Do you know about...? | Manchester, Helen, table, mouse, rainforest, independence, love |
Verb V |
An action word. It shows movement or existence. | Can you change it to past tense? | fly, run, seem, cry, climb, have, be |
Auxiliary verb Aux |
A helping verb used with a main verb. | There are only a few of them. They show how a verb happens. Auxiliaries are used to make the perfect, the passive, the continuous, questions and negatives. | be, have, do, can, will, may, shall, could, would, might, should, must, ought to |
Adjective Adj |
The tell you more about a noun. | Can it fit in this phrase: very .... Or this sentence: He/ it is a ... person / thing |
red, hairy, quiet, clever, tall, well-known, tired, fantastic |
Adverb Adv |
They tell you more about the time, place or way that something happened. | They can answer the question how? where? when? how long? how often? how much? Sometimes they tell you more about an adjective. Sometimes the comment on a whole sentence. |
well, cleverly, here, there, up, home, then, once, tonight, soon, long, always, weekly, often, rather, quite, much very, fairly, quite actually, frankly |