Word classes and sentences
Clear notes with worked examples, then 4 practice questions with answers. Written by Beyond Tutors tutors for the KS3 National Curriculum.
Word classes
- Noun: a person, place or thing (Maya, school, courage)
- Verb: an action or state (run, is, decided)
- Adjective: describes a noun (tired dog, steep hill)
- Adverb: describes a verb, often ends in -ly (slowly, quietly, soon)
- Pronoun: replaces a noun (she, it, they)
- Preposition: shows where or when (under, after, through)
- Conjunction: joins clauses (and, but, because, although)
Sentence types
- Simple: one main clause. "The cat slept."
- Compound: two main clauses joined by and/but/or. "The cat slept and the dog barked."
- Complex: a main clause + a subordinate clause. "Although it was late, the cat refused to sleep."
Active and passive
Active: The chef cooked the meal.
Passive: The meal was cooked by the chef.
Use the passive to put the focus on what happened, not who did it.
Write better sentences
Vary how you start: with an adverb (Slowly, …), a subordinate clause (When the bell rang, …) or a verb ending in -ing (Clutching her bag, …).
Practice questions
Try each one, then tap to see the answer and why.
- Question 1 · Word classes
Which word is a pronoun? "Maya gave it to them yesterday."
- Athem
- Bgave
- CMaya
- Dyesterday
Show the answer
A: them
'Them' replaces a noun, so it is a pronoun (as is 'it').
- Question 2 · Word classes
Which word is a preposition? "The cat hid under the table."
- Acat
- Bhid
- Cunder
- Dtable
Show the answer
C: under
'Under' shows where the cat is in relation to the table.
- Question 3 · Sentence types
Which is a compound sentence?
- AThe dog barked.
- BBarking loudly.
- CBecause the dog barked, the baby woke up.
- DThe dog barked and the baby woke up.
Show the answer
D: The dog barked and the baby woke up.
Two main clauses joined by 'and' make a compound sentence.
- Question 4 · Word classes
What word class is "happiness"?
- AAdjective
- BAdverb
- CVerb
- DAbstract noun
Show the answer
D: Abstract noun
Happiness is a feeling you cannot touch: an abstract noun.