Contents

nouns prepositions

pronouns conjunctions

verbs interjections

adjectives determiners

adverbs articles
Nouns
Used to name people, animals, things, places or ideas.

Common nouns Proper nouns Abstract nouns Collective nouns

ballet dancer Lionel Messi butterfly

Eiffel Tower

flock of sheep apple teamwork Return to

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Common Nouns
The names given to ordinary things, such as a butterfly, apple or ballet
dancer.

a butterfly an apple the ballet dancer

Identified by the, a, an preceding them

e.g. the ballet dancer, a butterfly, an apple. Return to nouns
Proper Nouns
The names of specific people, places or things.
Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.

Eiffel Tower Lionel Messi Spain

Return to nouns
Abstract Nouns
Something we cannot see, touch or measure rather than an object.
It can be an idea, concept, feeling, emotion or personality trait, such as courage,
kindness, embarrassment, teamwork or danger.

danger embarrassment teamwork

Can you think of any other

examples of abstract nouns? Return to nouns
Collective Nouns
The name of a collection or group of things.
It is a descriptive way of saying ‘lots of…’
e.g. a flock of sheep, a bunch of grapes or a swarm of bees.

swarm of bees flock of sheep bunch of grapes

Can you think of any other

examples of collective nouns? Return to nouns
Pronouns
Take the place of nouns and are used to avoid repetition.

Personal Relative Interrogative Indefinite

pronouns pronouns pronouns pronouns
Possessive Reflexive Demonstrative
pronouns pronouns pronouns

this that these mine one

I you my it hers

whom myself which she they

Pronouns will change depending on whether they Return to

are used as a subject or an object. contents
Personal Pronouns
Used instead of the name of a person or thing. Personal pronouns can directly
replace the noun in a sentence.

I you us

it they he

them she her

we me him

Examples of how personal pronouns can be used:

Jim eats ice cream. ⇨ ⇨ ⇨ He eats ice cream.
Shall I take the cakes? ⇨ ⇨ ⇨ Shall I take those? Return to
pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Used to show who owns, or can be linked to, an item.
Possessive pronouns are sometimes used on their own or with a noun.

their/theirs your/yours

mine his hers

our/ours whose

my its

Examples of how possessive pronouns can be used:

Ahmed’s bag ⇨ His bag
That pencil case belongs to me. ⇨ That pencil case is
mine. Return to
pronouns
 Relative Pronouns
Join one part of a sentence to another (they work like a conjunction).
Relative pronouns replace nouns or pronouns.

who whom whose

refers to people

that which what

refers to animals or inanimate objects

Examples of how relative pronouns can be used:

I am proud of my niece. She won a bronze medal. ⇨ I am proud of my niece
who won a bronze medal.
Did you see the letter? It came today. ⇨ Did you see the letter that came
today?
Return to
pronouns
 Reflexive Pronouns
Words ending in -self or -selves and are used when the subject and object of a
sentence are the same.

myself yourself

himself herself

itself oneself ourselves

yourselves themselves

Example of how a reflexive pronoun can be used:

I hurt myself when I tripped over. Return to

pronouns
 Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns allow a question to be asked about a noun.

who whom whose

refers to people

which what
refers to things

Examples of how interrogative pronouns can be used:

Who is talking to Amina?

What have you got in your sandwich?

Return to
pronouns
 Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are words that show distance (in time or space)
between a noun and the speaker. They can also show whether the noun is
singular or plural.

this that these those

Used when Used when Used as plural Used as a plural
something something when near. when far away.
(singular) is near. (singular) is far
away.

This book That book These books Those books

Return to
pronouns
 Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are used when the noun is not specific.

nothing nobody none

no one anything

anybody anyone something

somebody someone

Examples of how indefinite pronouns can be used:

Does anybody know the answer?

Something has gone wrong. Return to

pronouns
Verbs
Doing or action words, including ‘to be’ and ‘to have’.
Past tense Present tense Future tense
simple I played They I play They play I will play They will
tennis. played tennis. tennis. tennis. play tennis.
tennis.
progressive I was They were I am They are I will be They will
playing playing playing playing playing be playing
tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis.
perfect I had They had I have They have I will have They will
played played played played played have played
tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis.
perfect I had They had I have been They have I will have They will
progressive been been playing been been have been
playing playing tennis. playing playing playing
tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis. tennis.

Verbs carry Verbs can be Return to

tense singular or plural contents
Verbs
Doing or action words, including ‘to be’ and ‘to have’.

might/might not Modal verbs

Modal verbs have many uses. In
may/may not
most cases, they work with
could/could not another verb to describe the
possibility of something
will/will not happening or to describe what
degree of certainty something is
should/should not known.
would/would not
Examples of how modal verbs are used in this
ought/ought not way:
The netball team might win the tournament.
shall/shall not
Humpty Dumpty could fall off the wall.
must/must not
Return to
can/cannot contents
Verbs
Modal verbs can also express the obligation for someone to do something

You must go
and see the
headteacher.

Modal verbs can also express an ability to perform the action of another
verb. For example, I cannot play the ukulele yet but I am learning or
Yasmin can expertly dribble around defenders. Return to
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Adjectives
Describe nouns or pronouns by giving more information.

Descriptive Adjectives of Comparative and Proper

adjectives quantity superlative adjectives
adjectives

handsome shiny August round pink

sparkling several two loud prettier

honest many prettiest Roman

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Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives can be used:

• Before a noun they are describing, e.g.

The honest/intelligent/creative child.

• After the verb ‘to be’ when describing a

noun, e.g. The child was
honest/intelligent/creative.

honest bright handsome

young long sparkling

Return to
adjectives
Adjectives of Quantity
Adjectives of quantity describe an amount or quantity of a noun.

two many several

few some most

each every neither

Examples of how adjectives of quantity can be used:

There were ten clues to find.
I will only take some of the clothes back to the shop.
Return to
adjectives
 Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Comparatives compare the noun to
something else and are usually formed by
adding -er.

Superlatives say the noun is the most of a

particular quality and are usually formed by
adding –est.

taller louder prettier funnier runnier

tallest loudest prettiest funniest runniest

Examples of how comparative and superlative adjectives can be used:

Big Ben is tall. adjective
The London Eye is taller than Big Ben. comparative
The Shard is the tallest. comparative Return to
adjectives
 Proper Adjectives
An adjective that comes from a proper noun.

August Jewish

Roman Swiss Italian

Proper adjectives always begin with a capital letter.

Examples of how proper adjectives can be used:

It was a warm August night.
Brenda gobbled up the Swiss chocolate.
Italian food is my favourite Return to
adjectives
Adverbs
Modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
They can make a sentence more interesting by telling us how, when, where, how
often or how much.

How
How? When? How often? Where? much?

nervously today always above completely

She got The shapes were
quickly
dressed soon annually downstairs partially
partially
buried in
quickly. He would go to The Easter eggs the sand.
hungrily the park
tomorrow never were hidden
outside totally
tomorrow. They regularly ate outside.
safely never fish and chips. wherever
regularly almost

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Prepositions
Link nouns, pronouns and phrases and are used to show the location, time or
movement of nouns or pronouns.

Prepositions of Prepositions of Prepositions of

location time movement

The sand is in No talking during the The pig jumped into

the bucket. performance. the pond.

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 Prepositions of Location
Prepositions of location show the place or position of a noun
or pronoun.

beside between

in front of behind

near far

above below

inside outside

Examples of how prepositions of location can be used:

The tools were inside the garden shed.
Harry sat under the shady tree. Return to
prepositions
 Prepositions of Time
Words that show and signal time.
The three most commonly used time prepositions are at, on and in.

at during

on until

in past

since by

before after

Examples of how prepositions of time can be used:

At the weekend, I am going to the cinema.
I go to swimming lessons on Thursdays. Return to
prepositions
 Prepositions of Movement
Words that show movement or direction.

down into along across on

up out of through towards off

Examples of how prepositions of movement can be used:

I took them to the fair.
The penguin waddled towards the sea. Return to
prepositions
Conjunctions
Connecting words that join two or more sentences or clauses into a single
sentence.

Co-ordinating Subordinating Conjunctions of Conjunctions of

conjunctions conjunctions time cause and effect

and because although as a result since

therefore for but yet so

I like chocolate and ice cream, but I

should not eat too much of them.
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 Co-ordinating Conjunctions
Joins two or more sentences, main clauses or words of equal weight.
Both parts of the sentence have equal importance.

for yet

and so nor

or but

Examples of how co-ordinating conjunctions can be used:

I like strawberries but I prefer apples.
She completed the course and received a certificate. Return to
conjunctions
 Subordinating Conjunctions
Join a subordinate clause to a main clause. Subordinate clauses need a main
clause for it to make sense.

if as

since although

until while

after before

when because

Examples of how subordinating conjunctions can be used:

After I eat lunch, I will play football.
They went out for a walk, although a storm was threatening. Return to
conjunctions
 Conjunctions of Time
Linking words to tell you when something happens.

after as before since

during until when while

Examples of how conjunctions of time can be used:

Simone could play the ukelele before she was six.
Ruth listened to music while she cleaned her bedroom. Return to
conjunctions
Conjunctions of Cause and Effect
Conjunctions that give a reason why something happened.

for this reason

because since therefore

hence thus so

as a result

Examples of how conjunctions of cause and effect can be used:

That boy is wearing gloves because it is snowing today.
I am feeling unwell today, therefore I will spend the day resting in
bed. Return to
conjunctions
Interjections
Express emotions, feelings or a reaction.
Anyone for a
brussle sprout Eww! Aah
cake?
Oh no! Eh! Gosh!

Wow! Hey!

Oi! Yuck! Ouch!

Yuck! No Eek! Boo!

thanks!

Interjections are often followed by an exclamation mark. Return to

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 Determiners
Go before a noun to clarify which particular example of the noun you are
referring to.

a one their

twenty which

what hers his

my those

the many whose

Can you give me those bananas?
all several
The boy sat on a chair

some
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 Articles
Usually precede nouns or adjectives.

Definite article ⇨ the Indefinite article ⇨ a/an

Refers to something specific or Refers to something non-specific
definite, e.g. the shoe, the short or indefinite, e.g. a pencil or an
ladder. onion

a is used for words beginning with

a consonant sounds, e.g. a harbour

an
an is used for words with open vowel
sounds,
the
e.g. an hour or an apple

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contents