Parts of Speech and Nouns
Name the job each word does, then master nouns: kinds, group words, gender, plurals and possessives. This is the base for every other grammar lesson.
What it is
Every word in a sentence has a job. Grammar books call these jobs the parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection, and determiner (which includes the articles a, an, the).
The most common job is the noun: a word that names a person, place, thing or idea (clerk, Iloilo, stapler, fairness). This lesson teaches you to name a word's job and to handle nouns correctly: their kinds, group words, gender, plural spelling and possessive form.
Why it matters on the exam
Almost every grammar item on the exam is really asking "Is this word doing the right job, in the right form?" Once you can name the job, you know which rule to use. Noun forms appear directly in error-identification and sentence-correction items (churchs, informations, childrens'), and noun number decides the verb in subject–verb agreement.
At work, correct plurals, capital letters and apostrophes make memos, letters and reports look careful.
Please light the lamp in the hallway before the visitors arrive.
- noun
- verb
- adjective
- adverb
- preposition
The rest of this lesson, and every other lesson, is part of ReviewTayo.
Read moreIn the full lesson
- How to recognize it on the test
- What to look for (5 checks)
- All 7 rules and tools
- 3 worked examples, every step explained
- 6 common mistakes and how to fix them
- 3 exam techniques
- Remember: 5 key points
- Practice questions with explanations, and your progress saved
More Verbal Ability lessons
ReviewTayo has 47 lessons that follow the official scope of the exam, each with rules, worked examples, common mistakes and practice. Open one and read the first part.