4th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 5 of 20
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.
New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 4L1 · 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 New York
In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 5 of 20 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 conjunction?
- began
- beside
- because
- beautiful
because
Hint: A conjunction joins words or ideas: and, but, or, so, yet, because.
Question 2
In this sentence, what part of speech is “She”?
She waited patiently for her turn.
- adverb
- pronoun
- noun
- conjunction
pronoun
Hint: Ask yourself what job “She” does in the sentence. A pronoun takes the place of a noun, like I, he, she, it, we, they or them.
Question 3
Which word in this sentence is an adverb?
Ana and Sam carried the box carefully.
- and
- carefully
- box
- carried
carefully
Hint: An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.
Question 4
In this sentence, what part of speech is “We”?
We can walk to the park or ride our bikes.
- preposition
- adverb
- pronoun
- adjective
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 5
Which word in this sentence is an adjective?
The very small kitten hid between two boxes.
- between
- hid
- small
- very
small
Hint: An adjective describes a noun. It tells what kind, how many or which one.
Question 6
In this sentence, what part of speech is “quickly”?
The children ran quickly across the field.
- adverb
- verb
- adjective
- pronoun
adverb
Hint: Ask yourself what job “quickly” does in the sentence. An adverb describes a verb or an adjective. It often tells how, when or where, and many end in -ly.