How to tell which job a word is doing in a sentence
HESI A2 topic: Parts of speech
- English sorts words into eight parts of speech.
- A word's job in the sentence decides its part of speech.
- Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
- The coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
- A clause has a subject and a verb; a phrase does not.
Key facts
- Nouns name people, places, things or ideas, and pronouns stand in for nouns.
- Verbs show an action (run, write) or a state of being (is, seems).
- Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns; adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs and often answer how, when, where or why.
Show all 7 key factsShow fewer
- A preposition comes before a noun or pronoun and shows how it relates to another word, often in time or place (after lunch, near the window).
- The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so; words such as because, although, when and after can begin a dependent clause.
- A clause has a subject and a verb; a phrase is a word group without a subject-verb pair; an independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.
- A word's part of speech depends on its job in the sentence, so the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb in another.
Quick check1 question · 2 more at the end
In the sentence "The aide quietly closed the door," what part of speech is the word quietly?
Correct answer: A.
An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb, and it often answers how, when, where or why. Here quietly tells how the aide closed the door, so it describes the verb closed. Many adverbs end in -ly, but always confirm by asking what the word describes.
A Correct: quietly tells how the aide closed the door, so it is an adverb describing the verb closed.
B A preposition comes before a noun or pronoun to link it to the sentence, and quietly has no noun after it.
C The verb in this sentence is closed; quietly only describes how that action was done.
D An adjective describes a noun, but quietly describes the action closed, not a person or thing.
Full lesson
Each part starts with its main idea. Open a part when you want the details.
The short answer: English sorts words into eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. A word's part of speech depends on the job it does in that sentence, so sign is a noun in Read the sign and a verb in Sign the form. Subjects, predicates, objects, phrases and clauses describe how words group.
1 What are the eight parts of speech?Every word in a sentence does one of eight jobs, and that job is its part of speech. 1 min
Every word in a sentence does one of eight jobs, and that job is its part of speech. Elsevier's HESI A2 review book covers all eight, so learn this table first.
| Part of speech | Job | Example (bold word) |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | Names a person, place, thing or idea | The nurse checked the schedule. |
| Pronoun | Stands in for a noun | She checked it twice. |
| Verb | Shows an action or a state of being | The clinic opens at eight. Dr. Ruiz is busy. |
| Adjective | Describes a noun or pronoun | The new aide looks tired. |
| Adverb | Describes a verb, adjective or adverb; tells how, when, where or why | He answered very calmly. |
| Preposition | Comes before a noun or pronoun and shows a relationship, often of time or place | The forms are on the desk by the door. |
| Conjunction | Joins words, phrases or clauses | Bring a pen and your badge. |
| Interjection | Shows emotion; rare in formal writing | Oh, I forgot my badge! |
The traditional list counts articles (a, an, the) as adjectives. Some guides, including Purdue OWL, list articles separately instead of interjections.
2 Why can one word be a different part of speech?A word's part of speech comes from its job in the sentence, not from the word itself. 1 min
A word's part of speech comes from its job in the sentence, not from the word itself. Read the whole sentence before you label a word.
| Word | Job here | Example |
|---|---|---|
| sign | noun | Read the sign by the door. |
| sign | verb | Please sign the consent form. |
| near | adjective | the near end of the hall |
| near | preposition | a chair near the sink |
| after | preposition | after lunch |
| after | conjunction | after the storm passed |
Endings give hints: -tion, -ness and -ment often mark nouns; -ize and -fy, verbs; -ous, -ive, -ful and -able, adjectives; -ly, usually adverbs. Confirm by the job.
3 How can you name a word's part of speech quickly?A few short questions let you name a word's job in seconds. 1 min
A few short questions let you name a word's job in seconds.
- Does it answer who or what? It is probably a noun (or a pronoun standing in for one).
- Does it describe a noun? It is an adjective.
- Does it tell how, when, where or why, or describe an adjective or adverb? It is an adverb.
- Is it followed by a noun or pronoun that it ties to the rest of the sentence? It is a preposition.
- Does it join words, phrases or clauses? It is a conjunction. The seven coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so; words such as because, although and when start a dependent clause.
4 Which grammar terms should you know?Six terms describe how words group together into sentences. 1 min
Six terms describe how words group together into sentences. Elsevier's review book also covers important grammar terms, and these are the core ones.
| Term | Meaning | Example (bold part) |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Who or what the sentence is about | The new aide restocked the cart. |
| Predicate | The verb plus the words that tell about the subject | The new aide restocked the cart. |
| Direct object | Receives the action of the verb | The aide restocked the cart. |
| Indirect object | Tells to whom or for whom the action is done | Ana gave the visitor a map. |
| Phrase | Word group with no subject-verb pair | The gloves are on the top shelf. |
| Clause | Word group with a subject and a verb | When the shift ends, we will leave. |
An independent clause expresses a complete thought and can stand alone as a sentence. A dependent clause also has a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone. It often begins with because, although or when. Punctuating clauses is covered in our punctuation lesson.
Common mistakes
The traps students fall into most. Read these before you practice.
Watch out: Decide by the word's job, not by how it looks: near is an adjective in the near end of the hall but a preposition in near the sink.
Watch out: After, before and since are prepositions when only a noun follows (after lunch) but conjunctions when a whole clause follows (after the storm passed).
Watch out: A long word group is not automatically a clause; on the top shelf by the door has no subject-verb pair, so it is a phrase.
Watch out: The subject is not always the first noun; in There are two forms to sign, the subject is forms, not there.
Watch out: Articles (a, an, the) count as adjectives in the traditional eight-part list; some guides, such as Purdue OWL, list articles separately instead of interjections.
How to remember it
Think of the eight parts of speech as job titles that a word can switch between. They are the namer (noun), stand-in (pronoun), doer (verb), noun describer (adjective), everything-else describer (adverb), linker (preposition), joiner (conjunction) and feeler (interjection). Judge a word only inside its sentence.
Self-check:
- Name the part of speech of early in "She left early."
- Is before a preposition or a conjunction in "before the meeting started"?
- Is "on the top shelf" a phrase or a clause, and why?
Show answers
- Adverb.
- Early tells when she left.
- It describes the verb left, so it is an adverb.
- Conjunction.
- A whole clause follows it: the meeting (subject) started (verb).
- Before is a preposition only when just a noun follows, as in before lunch.
- A phrase.
- It has no subject-verb pair.
- A clause needs both a subject and a verb.