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.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 4.2.1.3 · pronouns, verbs and agreement in sentences
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 Minnesota
In the Minnesota K-12 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.
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
Which word is a preposition?
- uncle
- unhappy
- unpack
- underneath
underneath
Hint: A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence, often telling where or when: under, behind, during.
Question 2
In this sentence, what part of speech is “from”?
The bird sang loudly from the top of the tree.
- verb
- noun
- pronoun
- preposition
preposition
Hint: Ask yourself what job “from” does in the sentence. A preposition links a noun to the rest of the sentence, often telling where or when: under, behind, during.
Question 3
In this sentence, what part of speech is “we”?
The sky was dark, so we stayed inside.
- adjective
- pronoun
- adverb
- verb
pronoun
Hint: Ask yourself what job “we” does in the sentence. A pronoun takes the place of a noun, like I, he, she, it, we, they or them.
Question 4
Which word in this sentence is an adverb?
Maya quietly opened the heavy door.
- opened
- heavy
- quietly
- Maya
quietly
Hint: An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.
Question 5
In this sentence, what part of speech is “but”?
Ravi wanted pancakes, but we had waffles.
- conjunction
- preposition
- adjective
- noun
conjunction
Hint: Ask yourself what job “but” does in the sentence. A conjunction joins words or ideas: and, but, or, so, yet, because.
Question 6
Which word is an adverb?
- sleepy
- slowly
- sleep
- snail
slowly
Hint: An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.