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.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Language 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 Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, 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 Maine parents
- Printable 4th grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine 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 “under”?
The cat slept under the warm blanket.
- preposition
- pronoun
- noun
- adjective
preposition
Hint: Ask yourself what job “under” does in the sentence. A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence, often telling where or when: under, behind, during.
Question 2
Which word in this sentence is an adverb?
Ana and Sam carried the box carefully.
- carried
- carefully
- box
- and
carefully
Hint: An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.
Question 3
Which word is a preposition?
- unpack
- uncle
- underneath
- unhappy
underneath
Hint: A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence, often telling where or when: under, behind, during.
Question 4
In this sentence, what part of speech is “stayed”?
The sky was dark, so we stayed inside.
- conjunction
- pronoun
- verb
- adjective
verb
Hint: Ask yourself what job “stayed” does in the sentence. A verb is an action word, like run, eat or laughed.
Question 5
In this sentence, what part of speech is “quietly”?
Maya quietly opened the heavy door.
- preposition
- noun
- adjective
- adverb
adverb
Hint: Ask yourself what job “quietly” 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 6
An adverb often tells…
- what kind of thing a noun is
- how, when or where something happens
- which two ideas are joined together
- the name of a person, place or thing
how, when or where something happens
Hint: Adverbs like quickly, soon and outside describe actions.