Parts of Speech

What are Parts of Speech?

Think of Parts of Speech as the "building blocks" of a sentence. Just like you need different types of bricks to build a house (some for the walls, some for the windows, some for the roof), you need different types of words to build a sentence!

There are many parts of speech, but these are the four most important ones to know:

1. Nouns (The Naming Words) A noun names a person, place, thing, or animal.

• Examples: Teacher, school, pencil, dog.
• Sentence: The cat sat on the mat.

2. Verbs (The Action Words) A verb tells you what is happening or what someone is doing.

• Examples: Run, jump, sleep, think.
• Sentence: The cat sat on the mat.

3. Adjectives (The Describing Words) An adjective tells you more about a noun. It describes color, size, or feelings.

• Examples: Red, big, happy, soft.
• Sentence: The orange cat sat on the flat mat.

4. Pronouns (The Shortcut Words) A pronoun takes the place of a noun so we don't repeat names.

• Examples: He, she, it, they, we.
• Sentence: It sat on the mat.

Putting It All Together Look at how a sentence grows when we add different parts of speech:

1. Noun + Verb: Dogs bark.
2. Adjective + Noun + Verb: Loud dogs bark.
3. Adjective + Noun + Verb + Noun: Loud dogs bark at mailmen.
4. Pronoun + Verb: They bark.

The "Sentence Builder" Game Can you label the words in this sentence?

"The brave hero saves the city."

• Brave is an... Adjective (describes the hero).
• Hero is a... Noun (a person).
• Saves is a... Verb (the action).
• City is a... Noun (a place).

Why Do We Learn This?

• Better Writing: When you know your parts of speech, you can add adjectives to make your stories more exciting!
• Reading Help: It helps you understand how sentences are put together so you can read bigger books.

Lesson Summary

• Nouns name it.
• Verbs do it.
• Adjectives describe it.
• Pronouns replace it.