Grammar & Word Types
Identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns and understanding sentence structure.
What is Grammar & Word Types?
Grammar is the set of rules that governs how we put words and sentences together. In the 11+ exam, you may need to identify word types, correct grammatical errors, change tenses, or understand sentence structures.
Step-by-Step Method
Know the main word types
Noun (thing/person), verb (action/being), adjective (describes a noun), adverb (describes a verb – often ends in -ly), pronoun (replaces a noun), preposition (shows position – in, on, under, between).
Check subject-verb agreement
The subject and verb must match: “The dogs run” (plural) not “The dogs runs”.
Understand tenses
Past (walked), present (walk/walks), future (will walk). Keep tenses consistent within a piece of writing.
Know sentence types
Simple (one clause), compound (two clauses joined by and/but/or), complex (main clause + subordinate clause).
Active vs passive voice
Active: “The cat chased the mouse.” Passive: “The mouse was chased by the cat.”
Worked Examples
Identify the word types: “The brave knight quickly rode his horse.”
Working
- The = determiner, brave = adjective, knight = noun, quickly = adverb, rode = verb, his = pronoun/determiner, horse = noun.
Change to present tense: “The children played in the garden and laughed loudly.”
Working
- played -> play, laughed -> laugh.
Rewrite in the passive voice: “The chef cooked the meal.”
Working
- The object (meal) becomes the subject.
- The verb becomes “was cooked”.
- The original subject becomes “by the chef”.
Common Mistakes
Confusing adjectives and adverbs (“She ran quick” instead of “She ran quickly”).
Adjectives describe nouns. Adverbs describe verbs. Most adverbs end in -ly.
Incorrect subject-verb agreement (“The dogs was barking”).
Plural subjects need plural verbs: “The dogs were barking.”
Mixing tenses within a piece of writing.
Stay consistent. If you start in the past tense, continue in the past tense throughout.
Top Tips
- To find the verb, ask “what is happening?” To find the noun, ask “who or what?”
- Adverbs often end in -ly (quickly, carefully, slowly), but not always (fast, well, very).
- A preposition usually tells you WHERE something is: in the box, on the table, under the bed.
- To check subject-verb agreement, identify the subject and make sure the verb matches (singular or plural).
Ready to practise?
Put these techniques into action with our free practice papers.
Practise English Questions