Every word in a sentence has a job, and the name for that job is its part of speech. Nouns name people, places, things and ideas. Verbs show actions or states of being. Adjectives describe nouns, adverbs describe verbs (often telling how, when or where), and pronouns such as she, they and it stand in for nouns so we do not repeat ourselves. Prepositions like under and across show where something is, conjunctions like and, but and so join ideas, and interjections like wow or oops show sudden feeling.
In third grade, the Common Core language standard L.3.1a asks students to explain what nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs do, both in general and in particular sentences. That second part matters: the same word can change jobs. Run is a verb in “We run home” but a noun in “She went for a run.” So the best habit is to look at what a word is doing in its sentence. This quiz mixes multiple choice with type-in answers, and each question has a short explanation you can read after you check.
Choose an option or type your answer, then press Check. Capital letters and extra spaces do not matter in typed answers, and units are optional.
Answer: C) puppy
A noun names a person, place, thing or animal. Puppy names an animal (and ball is a noun too). Chased is a verb and red is an adjective.
Answer: painted
Painted is the action Maya did, so it is the verb.
Answer: A) tall
Tall describes the noun giraffe, so it is an adjective. Slowly describes how the giraffe ate, so it is an adverb.
Answer: slowly
Slowly tells how the turtle walked. Words that describe a verb are adverbs.
Answer: C) They
Sam and Leo are two people doing the action, so we need a plural subject pronoun: They built a fort.
Answer: preposition (also accepted: a preposition)
Under shows where the cat is in relation to the bed. Words that show position or direction are prepositions.
Answer: D) but
But joins two ideas together, so it is a conjunction. Other common conjunctions are and, or and so.
Answer: interjection (also accepted: an interjection)
Wow shows a sudden strong feeling, so it is an interjection.
Answer: B) Chicago
Chicago names one particular city, so it is a proper noun and starts with a capital letter. The others are common nouns.
Answer: children
Child has an irregular plural. We do not add s: one child, two children.
Answer: B) She and him
She and him stand in for the names of people, so they are pronouns. Gave is a verb and gift is a noun.
Answer: adjective (also accepted: an adjective, adjectives)
Fuzzy tells what the sweater is like. Words that describe nouns are adjectives.
Answer: C) jump
Jump is what the frogs do, so it is the verb. Into is a preposition and frogs and pond are nouns.
Answer: ran
Run is an irregular verb. Its past tense is ran, not runned.
Many words can be more than one part of speech. Ask what the word is doing right here: naming, acting, describing or joining.
Adjectives describe nouns (a quiet room). Adverbs describe verbs (she spoke quietly). Many adverbs end in ly, but not all do, for example fast and soon.
Say “They built a fort,” not “Them built a fort.” Subject pronouns (I, he, she, we, they) do the action.
A proper noun names one particular person, place or thing, like Chicago or Maya, and always starts with a capital letter.
Turn parts of speech into a printable, differentiated worksheet with an answer key, matched to grade 3.
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Open the student portal →Most grade school lessons teach eight: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. Some books also count articles (a, an, the) as a separate group.
Ask what someone or something is doing, or what is happening. Then try changing the time: the word that changes (jump, jumped) is usually the verb.