4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 5 of 13
Parts of Speech
Pronouns, adverbs and more
What your child practices
Naming the job each word does in a sentence, with a focus on Grade 4's pronouns, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Easier levels stick to nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns.
Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 4.L.1 · pronouns, adverbs and other parts of speech
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Nouns name things. Verbs show action. Adjectives describe nouns.
- Pronouns replace nouns (he, it, they). Adverbs describe verbs (quickly, later).
- Prepositions show position (under, across). Conjunctions join ideas (and, but, so).
Example: “It rained, so we stayed inside.” What part of speech is “so”? “So” links two ideas. Joining words are conjunctions. Answer: conjunction
Parts of Speech in Arizona
In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 5 of 13 in 4th grade English Language Arts, after Point of View and before Super Sentences.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 4th grade guide for Arizona parents
- Printable 4th grade English Language Arts sheet
- Arizona report cards explained
Source: Arizona Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
In this sentence, what part of speech is “loudly”?
The bird sang loudly from the top of the tree.
- adjective
- adverb
- noun
- verb
adverb
Hint: Ask yourself what job “loudly” does in the sentence. An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.
Question 2
Which word in this sentence is an adjective?
The sky was dark, so we stayed inside.
- stayed
- we
- dark
- sky
dark
Hint: An adjective describes a noun. It tells what kind, how many or which one.
Question 3
Which word is a conjunction?
- beside
- because
- beautiful
- began
because
Hint: A conjunction joins words or ideas: and, but, or, so, yet, because.
Question 4
Which word in this sentence is a pronoun?
She painted a bright rainbow.
- painted
- She
- rainbow
- bright
She
Hint: A pronoun takes the place of a noun, like I, he, she, it, we, they or them.
Question 5
In this sentence, what part of speech is “and”?
Ana and Sam carried the box carefully.
- verb
- conjunction
- preposition
- adverb
conjunction
Hint: Ask yourself what job “and” does in the sentence. A conjunction joins words or ideas: and, but, or, so, yet, because.
Question 6
In this sentence, what part of speech is “gently”?
Zoe gently placed the kitten in the basket.
- pronoun
- adverb
- conjunction
- noun
adverb
Hint: Ask yourself what job “gently” does in the sentence. An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.