INTRODUCTION TO

WORD CLASSES
Metalanguage
• Metalanguage: a language to describe
language.
• Isit necessary to teach metalanguage at
school? Why?
• Did you learn using the official labels? Was
it helpful for you?
Problems to define the word class
• Blue – what it the class of this word?
• Blue as an adjective – because it is a
descriptive word.
• Blue as a noun – because it is the name of a
color.
• It is not simple to define even the most
elemental blocks of grammar. A further
complication for ESL/EFL students is that
sometimes there are cross-linguistic
differences.
Parts of speech
• Theparts of speech are usually grouped into 2
categories: the major and minor word classes.
• Major word classes: nouns, verbs,
adjectives, and adverbs. They carry most of
the content of a sentence. They are “open” in
that new words are added.
Parts of speech
• Minor word classes: auxiliary verbs,
prepositions, pronouns, determiners, and
conjunctions. They play a more structural role
in a sentence, and they are “closed” because
normally no new words are added.
• Traditionally, auxiliary verbs are not included
in the list of word classes because they are not
prominent in Greek and Latin grammar as
they are in English and other languages.
Parts of speech
• Compare:

(1) The ___ for ___ the ___ in the ___. (Content
words deleted)
(2) ___ broom ___ sweeping ___ floor belongs
___ closet. (Function words deleted)
Parts of speech
• The minor word classes (function words) do
convey some meaning. Furthermore, not all
the major word classes are truly open. Only
certain adverbs can be added to the adverb
class, the “manner adverbs”.
• Many words appear to belong to more than
one category. E.g.: ‘few’ as a determiner
(There were few objectives) or a pronoun
(There were few).
Nouns
•A noun is the name of a person, a place, a
thing or an idea.
• Common, proper and collective nouns.
• Theyare frequently preceded by determiners,
such as articles.
• They serve functionally as subjects, objects or
predicates of verbs.
Nouns
• Gender is not an important feature of English
grammar as it is in other languages. It is only
marked in certain pairs of nouns
(actor/actress).
• Whatabout gender in Brazilian Portuguese?
Is it important or not important as in
English? Cite examples.
Verbs
•A word that denotes an action or state of
being.
• Verb morphology is richer than noun
morphology in English.
Verbs
• Four inflections:
1) -s 3rd person singular present tense.
2) -ed past tense verbs.
3) -en past participle.
4) -ing present participle.
Verbs
• Adding a verb to a noun is enough to complete
a sentence.
E.g.: Pauline snores.
• Verbs have tense and aspect.
• Tense: refers to time (present, past and
future).
• Aspect: whether or not the event has occurred
(perfect -en) or is in progress (progressive –ing).
Verbs
E.g.: John has written his paper.
Now he is studying for his final exams.
• Verbsare marked for number, but only with
subjects in the 3rd person singular in the
present tense or verb ‘be’.
E.g.: Josh loves chocolate.
I am surprised. / Jack is reading. / We are
friends.
Adjectives
• Describe or denote the qualities of something.
• Theydo not agree in number or gender with
nouns in English.
E.g.: The smart girl finished the test.
The smart boys finished the test.
• What about BrP? What is the translation?
What about agreement in number and
gender?
Adjectives
• Two adjective types: attributive and
predicative.
E.g.: The old bucket sprang a leak.
(Attributive)
He became angry. (Predicative)
Adverbs
• They modify verbs.
• Direction,
manner, location, time, frequency
and degree (intensifiers).
E.g.: Soon Rachel will retire. (Time)
Ben was very late. (Degree)
• Adverbs can modify a whole sentence.
E.g.: Fortunately, they arrived home before too
much damage had been done.
Pronouns
• They replace nouns and noun phrases.
E.g.: My aunt > she.
• They refer to an outside situation.
E.g.: What was that?
• Different kinds of pronouns: subject, object,
reflexive, possessive, and demonstrative.
Determiners
• They limit the nouns that follow them.
• Articles,demonstratives, and possessive
determiners.
E.g.: The student.
This house.
My notebook.
Prepositions
• They connect words to other parts of a
sentence.
E.g.: Marge gave a donation to charity.
Conjunctions
• They are words that join.
• Coordinating conjunctions – and, but, or.
• Subordinating conjunctions – e.g.: because,
although.
Phrase X clause
• Phrase: a group of words that function
together.
E.g.: The first group arrived late. (Noun
phrase)
The students may be studying now. (Verb
phrase)
• Clause: subject – verb relationship.
E.g.: The dog slept.
Phrase X clause
• Divide the segment in phrases or clauses:
The impatient customer was acting very
cranky by the time he was served.

The impatient customer / was acting / very

cranky / by the time [he was served].
Exercises
1) Identify the word class of each word in the following
sentences.
a) John and Paul were fighting.
b) John gave Paul a black eye.
c) The principal sent them to his office immediately.
d) Paul and his wife decided to have kids.
e) I went to the movies with Lucy.
f) My back, it hurts.
g) If I were a bird, I wouldn’t eat worms.
1) Identifythe word class of each word in the following
sentences.
a) John and Paul were fighting.
N conj N Aux V
b) John gave Paul a black eye.
N V N D Adj N
c) The principal sent them to his office immediately.
D N V P prep P/D N Adv
d) Paul and his wife decided to have kids.
N conj P N V prep V N
1) Identifythe word class of each word in the following
sentences.
e) I went to the movies with Lucy.
P V prep D N prep N
f) My back, it hurts.
P/D N P V
g) If I were a bird, I wouldn’t eat worms.
conj P V D N P Aux(Adv) V N