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As a parent or caregiver, you play a vital role in supporting your child’s language development. Accordingly, one essential aspect of Year 3 grammar that might require your support is what linguists call the “eight parts of speech”.
When literacy experts talk about the eight parts of speech, they are referring to the eight fundamental categories that every word can be sorted into based on the role it plays in a sentence. Nouns (people, places, or things), adjectives (“describing” words), and verbs (“doing” words) are just three of the eight parts of speech. So what are the rest, and how are they used to construct sentences?
In this article, we will explore the eight parts of speech every Year 3 grammar student in Australia needs to know. Feel free to read the entire article, or simply use the links below to skip straight to the part of speech you are most interested in.
A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea. While nouns are a fundamental to mastering Year 3 grammar requirements, there are lots of different types. Not only that, but many nouns fall into more than one category! Nouns can be:
i) proper nouns, which refer to specific persons, places, and things, and are always capitalised.
Deborah, Paris, Catholicism, Pakistan, McDonald’s
a) Deborah visited Pakistan when she was nine years old.
ii) improper nouns, which refer to a general class of person, place, or thing, but nothing specific.
mother, son, children, desert, food, table
a) The children went to the playground.
iii) concrete nouns, which refer to physical persons, places, or things.
apple, hill, zebra, Dorothy, Australia
a) Dorothy walked up the hill.
iv) abstract nouns, which refer to non-physical things, things that cannot be touched
grammar, happiness, justice, depression
a) Year 3 grammar can even be hard for adults to understand.
v) countable nouns, which refer to things that can be counted and therefore can be preceded by an indefinite article (like “a” or “an”) or a number, and can be pluralised.
fact, dog, house
a) I own a dog.
b) I own three dogs.
vi) uncountable nouns, which refer to things that cannot be counted, and therefore should never be preceded by an indefinite article or number, and cannot be pluralised.
research, advice, courage
a) I did a lot of research.
A frequent Year 3 grammar mistake involves treating uncountable nouns as countable, either by pluralising them or preceding them with an indefinite article. Luckily, there is an easy fix: simply rephrase the sentence to remove the pluralisation, or choose a different noun that can be pluralised. For example:
✘ I read three of the professor’s researches.
✓ I read three of the professor’s studies.
✓ I read the professor’s research.
✘ I followed three of her advices.
✓ I followed three of her suggestions.
✓ I followed her advice.
vii) collective nouns, which refer to a group of people or things.
team, club, class, herd, crowd, congregation, The Beatles
a) The swarm of bees flew away.
b) Do you want to join my band?
viii) possessive nouns, which are followed by an apostrophe and “s” (‘s) to indicate ownership.
father’s, sister’s, Brenda’s
a) I enjoy spending time at my mother’s house.
ix) gerunds, which are identical to the present participle of the verb they are derived from. Gerunds are formed when a verb is transformed into a noun.
a) Writing is an enjoyable activity.
b) Is skiing dangerous?
x) attributive nouns, which are used like adjectives to modify other nouns.
carrot (cake), company (policy), work (ethic)
a) The carrot cake was delicious.
b) It is company policy to wear a collared shirt to work.
c) When does the 2023 school year end?
xi) appositive nouns, which come after a noun to provide additional information.
a) My colleague Adam is very friendly.
b) My car, a Toyota Corolla, is very reliable.
A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun, often to avoid repetition. Pronouns, like nouns, are crucial for mastering Australia’s Year 3 grammar requirements. There are many different kinds of pronouns, including:
i) personal pronouns, which refer to specific persons, places, or things.
I, you, he, she, it, us, we
a) We should get ramen for dinner.
b) Your pet lizard, does it recognise you?
c) When I looked at photos of the German countryside, it looked very cold.
d) Are you okay?
ii) possessive pronouns, which signify ownership or possession.
theirs, yours, ours, his, hers, mine
a) That toy is mine.
b) Your car is faster than hers.
Possessive pronouns REPLACE a noun, and are not to be confused with possessive adjectives, which come BEFORE a noun.
iii) reflexive pronouns, which refer back to a noun subject previously stated in the sentence.
yourself, myself, himself, herself, itself, themselves, ourselves.
a) “Kyle, that ladder is slippery; don’t hurt yourself!”
b) Asian elephants are among the few animals that can recognise themselves in a mirror.
iv) demonstrative pronouns, which refer to an item according to its position relative to the speaker. Demonstrative pronouns are deictic in nature, meaning they cannot be fully understood without context (such as the speaker’s hand gestures at the time of speaking, or the most recent subject of conversation prior to their speaking).
this, that, those, these
a) Are those dangerous?” Andrea asked, pointing at the spiders in my hand. (with context)
b) What is that? (without context)
Demonstrative pronouns REPLACE a noun, and are not to be confused with demonstrative adjectives, which modify a STATED noun.
v) interrogative pronouns, which are used to ask questions.
what, when, whose, which, whose
a) Who is coming to the party?
b) What happened yesterday?
Interrogative pronouns REPLACE a noun, and are not to be confused with interrogative adjectives, which modify a STATED noun.
vi) relative pronouns, which are used to introduce a relative clause that offers more information about the noun subject.
who, which, whose, that
a) The house that I grew up in is now for sale.
b) The girl who I met yesterday is really kind.
vii) indefinite pronouns, which refer to non-specific or unidentified things, or even the absence of a noun entirely.
anyone, everyone, someone, something, no one, nothing
a) No one in the class liked Cherry Ripe chocolate.
b) Everyone deserves a second chance.
c) There is nothing inside the box.
A verb is a word that expresses action (what things do) and states of being (what things are). Every sentence needs a verb, so it is important Year 3 grammar students get the hang of using them early! There are many different kinds of verbs, including:
i) action verbs, which describe physical or mental actions.
run, jump, think, swim, dream, imagine
a) She runs every morning.
b) Mrs Nilar jumped when the mouse scurried across her foot.
c) I love imagining my own episodes of my favourite TV shows.
ii) stative verbs, which describe a state or condition, rather than an action.
is, was, believe, weigh, looks, need, feel, resemble, have
a) The mansion has five bedrooms.
b) I prefer ice-cream over frozen yogurt.
c) Wendy became angry.
d) The coin weighed twelve grams.
e) Jessica is bored.
f) Don’t be so upset.
g) That watch looks expensive.
h) I like hamburgers.
iii) helping/auxiliary verbs, which assist the main verb by providing additional information about its tense, mood, or modality.
can, will, may, have
a) I will go running tomorrow. (indicates future tense)
b) I was hungry last night. (indicates past tense)
c) You may be excused. (indicates permission)
d) We ought to arrive early. (indicates responsibility)
e) You must attend class. (indicates a demand)
f) I might go to the party. (indicates uncertainty)
g) Zhu Li started laughing (indicates beginning of action)
iv) transitive verbs, which are linked to a specific object. In other words, transitive verbs require an object to receive the action they are describing (in the form of a noun that appears shortly after).
enjoy, read, throw, master
a) I enjoyed the Dracula movie.
b) She had mastered her tennis serve.
c) Can you throw the ball?
v) intransitive verbs, which can stand alone and do not require an object to receive the action.
laugh, cry, stand, wait
a) We should wait.
b) Amanda started crying.
An adjective is a word that describes and/or modifies a noun or pronoun. Adjectives allow Year 3 grammar students to add detail and imagery to their writing. This is particularly crucial in NAPLAN, when they are expected to compose creative and imaginative responses. There are many different kinds of adjectives, including:
i) attributive adjectives, which occur before a noun.
a) The delicious dessert was served at 9pm.
b) Never eat soggy Weet-Bix.
ii) predicative adjectives, which occur after a noun.
a) The dessert that was served at 9pm was delicious.
While most adjectives can be attributive and predicative, depending on how they are used, there are some exceptions (like “alone”, or “main”). For example:
✓ The man was alone when he left the house.
✘ The alone man left the house.
✓ Yes, that’s the main reason.
✘ Yes, that reason is main.
iii) comparative adjectives, which are used to compare two things. They are usually preceded by the word “more” or “less”, or end in the suffix “er” or “ier”).
faster, stronger, lighter, smarter, easier, more hurtful, less hurried
a) I have never met someone more compassionate than you.
b) She was stronger than she was last year.
c) Staying and fighting was the more honorable thing to do, but running was definitely less dangerous.
iv) superlative adjectives, which are used to indicate something has the most or least of a certain quality. They are usually preceded by the word “the” and end in the suffix “est” or “iest”, or they are simply preceded by the clause “the most” or “the least”.
strongest, fastest, most irrational, least concerned
a) The nominee from Sri Lanka was the most strategic chess player in the international tournament.
b) Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
c) The Sydney funnel web is the deadliest spider in the world.
v) absolute adjectives, which are used to indicate an absolute state (something that simply is or isn’t, rather than having varying degrees of amount, quality, or intensity. For example “dead” is an absolute adjective, because something either is or isn’t dead; it is not possible to be “more dead” than something else).
empty, perfect, pregnant, finished
a) Last night’s soup was finished.
b) I looked everywhere for it, but my purple jacket was missing.
To determine whether an adjective is absolute or not, Year 3 grammar students are encouraged to add the word “more” or “less” in front of it, and see if it makes sense.
vi) denominal adjectives, which are adjectives that are formed from a noun. They often end with the suffix “ish”, “ly”, “esque”, or “ic”.
childish, cowardly, oceanic, picturesque
a) The spoon had a metallic taste.
b) The view of the sunset was picturesque.
vii) nominal adjectives, which are adjectives that function as a noun. Nominal adjectives are usually preceded by the word “the”.
elderly, French, poor
a) One should respect the elderly.
b) The French are known for their tasty cuisine.
c) It is the responsibility of the rich to take care of the poor.
viii) possessive adjectives, which signify ownership or possession.
Your, my, our, his, her
a) Do you want to pet my rabbit?
b) Our dinner will arrive shortly.
c) It was her dad’s birthday yesterday.
ix) demonstrative adjectives, which describe to an item according to its position relative to the speaker. Demonstrative adjectives, like demonstrative pronouns, are deictic in nature, meaning they cannot be fully understood without context (such as pointing or other hand gestures).
this, that, these, those.
a) Can you pass me that book?
b) Are those cookies gluten free?
c) It’s important you look after this plate.
x) proper adjectives, which are adjectives formed from proper nouns. Proper adjectives are commonly used to suggest something is related to the proper noun from which it is derived.
African, Australian, Shakespearean
a) Macbeth is difficult to read because it is written in Shakespearean English.
b) These cookies are flavoured with 100% Haitian cocoa.
xi) participial adjectives, which are adjectives formed from verbs.
impressive, swimming, reading
a) The gymnast’s leap was very impressive.
b) I enrolled my child in swimming lessons.
c) I get through my books faster when I’m wearing my reading glasses.
xii) quantitative adjectives, which describe the amount or quantity of something. These are sometimes also referred to as “determiners”.
some, many, three, several, few, numerous
a) There were only nine days left before my exam.
b) Can you get some eggs while you’re at Coles?
c) I only have a few concerns.
xiii) interrogative adjectives, which are used to ask questions.
what, which, when
a) Which shirt should I buy?
b) Whose car fits the most people?
An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, or an entire sentence. It provides information about the time, duration, frequency, place, manner, or degree.
quickly, very, here
a) You ran very quickly. (very = degree, quickly = manner)
Here, the adverb “very” is modifying another adverb (“quickly”), while the adverb “quickly” is modifying a verb (“ran”)!
b) I’m finding this question slightly difficult. (degree)
c) He clenched his jaw aggressively. (manner)
d) Come here! (place)
e) The chocolate sauce went everywhere. (place)
f) Let’s talk tomorrow. (time)
g) Dinner will be served shortly. (duration)
h) I wish this moment would last forever. (duration)
i) I’ll always be here for you. (frequency)
j) I sometimes like to go jogging. (frequency)
k) Where do you like to go ice-skating? (place; interrogative)
A preposition is a word that shows a relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in a sentence (often a verb or another noun).
for, with, on, in, to, of, during, until, by, near, between
a) The cat climbed up the tree.
b) The woman stood between the emu and her daughter.
c) The child hid inside of the cabinet.
d) All the animals finished the race, including the tortoise.
e) The coffee with sweetener is mine.
f) Let’s meet at the library.
g) I don’t know what to do regarding the missing ruler.
A conjunction is a word that connects clauses. There are two types of conjunctions, including:
i) coordinating conjunctions, which combine independent clauses together to make a compound sentence.
for, and, but, nor, or, yet
a) I complained, so they remade my food.
b) You cannot run, nor can you hide.
c) We can stay here, or we can go home.
d) My phone ran out of battery and I didn’t know what to do.
ii) subordinating conjunctions, which link a dependent clause to an independent clause.
since, because, as, although
a) You should buy clothes because they are comfortable.
b) Since you like the ocean, have you thought about joining a swimming team?
c) I get very excited whenever I hear the Avatar: The Last Airbender theme song.
d) I love the cake that you bought for my birthday.
e) Although he’d never admit it, Sudip loves his younger brother.
Articles are words that, like adjectives, modify nouns. However, unlike adjectives, of which there are thousands, there are only two articles in the English language: “a/an”, and “the”. This makes articles among the easiest part of speech for Year 3 grammar students to master!
a) Do you want an apple?
b) We are going to miss the bus.
c) You need to work hard in school if you want to get into a good university.
“The” is considered a definite article. It suggests that the identity of the subsequent noun is both specific and known to the reader/listener. Conversely, “a” and “an” are considered indefinite articles. These articles suggest the subsequent noun is general and bears no specific or known identity.
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