If We Give You a Word in a Sentence, Can You Tell Us What Part of Speech It Is?

Becky

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About This Quiz

Do you remember learning about the parts of speech in school? Were you able to understand what each of them did and how to use them, or are you still a bit confused? Take this quiz to find out how much you remember about the parts of speech.

Most people know what a noun is (a person, place, or thing) and what a verb is (an action word), but after that, things start to get a bit murky for many people. We know that you've heard of adjectives and adverbs, but knowing what they do and how to use them confuses far too many of us. 

The simple explanation is that an adjective describes a noun, and an adverb describes a verb (think adVERB for VERB). So, if you think "red ball," the word "red" is the adjective because it describes the color of the "ball," which is the noun. Similarly, in the phrase "run fast," the word "fast" is the adverb, because it describes the verb, the word "run." 

Even more difficult for most people are the parts of speech called pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Although we don't have time for a full description of each one here, you can always refer back to Schoolhouse Rock for clarification.

Let's find out how well you know the parts of speech in this quiz.

"Oh, you scared me!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "oh"?

In this sentence, the word "oh" is an interjection. An interjection is a word that denotes strong emotion.

"I have two cats and a dog." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "and"?

In this sentence, the word "and" is a conjunction. A conjunction is a word that connects words or groups of words.

"He gave the gift to Julie." In this sentence, what is the word "Julie"?

In this sentence, the word "Julie" is a proper noun. A proper noun always starts with a capital letter and is the name of a person, place or thing.

"Darn, I forgot my purse!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "darn"?

In this sentence, the word "darn" is an interjection. An interjection indicates strong emotion.

"The four dogs scratched at the door until Louise let them in." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "dogs"?

In this sentence, the word "dogs" is a noun. A noun is a person, place or thing.

"My mother works hard so we can afford the things we need." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "so"?

In this sentence, the word "so" is conjunction. A pronoun connects words or groups of words.

"He gave the card to Olivia." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "he"?

In this sentence, the word "he" is a pronoun. A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

"The toys were his." What part of speech is the word "his"?

In this sentence, the word "his" is a pronoun. A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

"The owl stretched its wings." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "its"?

In this sentence, the word "its" is a pronoun. A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

"Ouch, that hurt!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "ouch"?

In this sentence, the word "ouch" is an interjection. An interjection is a word that indicates strong emotion.

"The blue sky was gorgeous." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "blue"?

In this sentence, the word "blue" is an adjective. An adjective describes a noun, just like the word "blue" describes the sky.

"I’d like a bike for exercising." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "for"?

In this sentence, the word "for" is a preposition. A preposition can indicate the use of something.

"She quickly ran into school so she wouldn't be late." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "quickly"?

In this sentence, the word "quickly" is an adverb. An adverb is used to modify or describe a verb. In this case, "quickly" describes how the girl ran.

"The house is made of stone." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "stone"?

In this sentence, the word "stone" is a noun. A noun is a person, place or thing.

"I held my hands above my head." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "above"?

In this sentence, the word "above" is a preposition. "Above my head" is a prepositional phrase.

"The school's geology museum has a large rock collection." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "rock"?

In this sentence, the word "rock" is an adjective. It is used to describe the collection.

"Balloons are so light that they seem to float." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "light."

In this sentence, the word "light" is an adjective. It describes balloons.

"Whenever the door slams, the curtains move back and forth." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "move"?

In this sentence, the word "move" is a verb. A verb is an action word.

"Please light the candles on the cake." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "light"?

In this sentence, the word "light" is an action word. Therefore, it is a verb.

"The total score of the team was 12." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "total"?

In this sentence, the word "total" is an adjective. It describes the word "score."

"Hey, that's my car!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "hey"?

In this sentence, the word "hey" is an interjection. An interjection is a word that signals strong emotion.

"Yahoo, I got an A in the class!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "yahoo"?

In this sentence, the word "yahoo" is an interjection. An interjection denotes strong emotion.

"Ouch, I tried to hit the nail, but hit my finger instead!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "but"?

In this sentence, the word "but" is a conjunction. If you're super smart, you recognized that this sentence also contains an interjection - the word "ouch."

"How much fabric will it take to make the dress?" In this question, what part of speech is the word "fabric"?

In this sentence, the word "fabric" is a noun. The word "dress" is also a noun. A noun is a person, place or thing.

"I left the book in my car." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "in"?

In this sentence, the word "in" is a preposition. A preposition is a word before a phrase that modifies a noun or verb.

"She went with the gang." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "with"?

In this sentence, the word "with" is a preposition. A preposition is positioned in front of the prepositional phrase.

"The dog is brown." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "brown"?

In this sentence, the word "brown" is an adjective. An adjective describes a noun.

"She had ten berries in her basket." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "berries"?

In this sentence, the word "berries" is a noun. The word "basket" is also a noun.

"Patty slowly approached the angry dog." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "slowly"?

In this sentence, the word "slowly" is an adverb. It describes Patty's approach.

"Claire danced a waltz." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "Claire"?

In this sentence, the word "Claire" is a noun - a proper noun, to be exact. A noun is a person, place or thing.

"Oops! I stepped on his toe!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "oops"?

In this sentence, the word "oops" is an interjection. An interjection denotes emotion.

"The cow jumped over the moon." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "jumped."

In this sentence, the word "jumped" is a verb. A verb is a word that denotes action.

"Jill ran up the hill." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "up"?

In this sentence, the word "up" is a preposition. A preposition is a word before a phrase that modifies a noun or verb.

"Wow, she really hates spiders!" In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "wow"?

In this sentence, the word "wow" is an interjection. An interjection denotes strong emotion.

"You can order an ice cream cone or a banana split." In this sentence, what part of speech is the word "or"?

In this sentence, the word "or" is a conjunction. It serves to join the two nouns.

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