What Are Determiners? Say these two sentences out loud: ✗ Sounds broken “I need pen.” ✓ Sounds right “I need a pen.” The first one sounds broken, even though every word in it is spelled correctly and the grammar mostly holds together. Something is missing — and that something is a tiny word sitting right…
What Is an Interjection? Picture this: you’re carrying a stack of plates to the sink, one slips, and before you even think about it, a word jumps out of your mouth. Maybe it’s “Ouch!” or “Whoa!” or something less polite. That word wasn’t planned. It wasn’t part of a sentence you were building. It just…
What Is a Conjunction? Read this sentence out loud: “I wanted to go for a run, but it started raining.” Now imagine the same sentence without the word but: “I wanted to go for a run it started raining.” Suddenly it sounds like two thoughts crashed into each other. That little word was doing real…
What Is a Preposition? “The cat is sleeping under the table.” Now take away the word under, and something breaks. You still have a cat and a table — but no idea how they relate to each other. Is the cat on the table? Next to it? Nowhere near it? That one small word is…
What Is an Adjective? Read these two sentences and notice which one actually tells you something. Just a fact “I got a dog.” True. Clear. And instantly forgettable. The full picture “I got a scruffyadjective, three-leggedadjective dognoun who howls every time the mail truck pulls up.” A picture, a sound, and almost a personality. The…
Adverb Article — Section Preview: What Is an Adverb? What Is an Adverb? Imagine someone telling you about their morning: “I woke up. I got ready. I left for work.” Now compare it with this version: “I woke up suddenly. I got ready quickly. I left for work late.” The second version presents a much…
What Is a Verb? Think about the things happening around you every day. A child laughs, a dog barks, a phone rings, and a bird flies. Words like laughs, barks, rings, and flies all show an action or something happening. That’s the basic idea of a verb, before you even learn its formal definition. Tap…
Picture this text message: “Oliver texted Sara to tell Sara that Oliver would pick Sara up at seven, but Oliver got stuck in traffic, so Oliver texted Sara again.” Painful to read, right? Now compare it with how anyone would actually write it: “Oliver texted Sara to tell her that he would pick her up…
What Is a Noun? Take a look around you. The chair you’re sitting on, the phone in your hand, the book on your desk — they all have something in common. Each one has a word that names it. And that is exactly the job a noun does. Try it Tap each object below to…
Every sentence you have ever spoken or written is made up of nine basic building blocks. These are known as parts of speech. Some of them, like nouns and verbs, play an important role in the sentence. Others, like interjections, show up only when you’re excited, surprised, or annoyed. Once you learn to recognize all…
