Name every word
You learn to name every word of a sentence with its word class.
How to do the test
- Find the verb first.
- Find the nouns with the, a or an in front of them.
- Name each word that is left with its own test.
A worked example
Name every word. The small dog barked loudly.
- Find the verb first: barked.
- Then find the noun with the, a or an in front of it: dog.
- Name each word that is left with its own test.
- The = determiner, small = adjective, dog = noun, barked = verb, loudly = adverb.
More examples
Name every word. She hid under the big bed.
- Find the verb first: hid.
- Then find the noun with the, a or an in front of it: bed.
- Name each word that is left with its own test.
- She = pronoun, hid = verb, under = preposition, the = determiner, big = adjective, bed = noun.
Name every word. The birds sang beside our house.
- Find the verb first: sang.
- Then find the noun with the, a or an in front of it: birds and house.
- Name each word that is left with its own test.
- The = determiner, birds = noun, sang = verb, beside = preposition, our = determiner, house = noun.
Watch out
You name a word by how it looks, such as calling every word that ends in -ing a verb.
Use the test for each class: change the time for a verb, the in front for a noun, swap in a name for a pronoun.
Tips
- Start with the verb and the nouns. The words that are left name themselves.
Why it works
Naming every word shows that you know all eight word classes at once. Find the verb first, because the rest of the sentence hangs on it. Then find the nouns, and the words that are left are easier.