B. Foundations of Language · Foundations of Language: Listening, Speaking, Words, Fluency and Conventions

Parts of Speech at Work: Function, Objects, Complements and Phrases

B3.2 B3.1About 65 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify a word's part of speech by the job it does in a sentence.
I can find the subject, verb, direct object and indirect object in a sentence.
I can recognize linking verbs and the predicate nouns and predicate adjectives that follow them.
I can identify prepositional phrases and tell whether they act as adjectives or adverbs.
I can use sentence roles to understand difficult sentences when I read.

Words to know

function
The job a word or group of words does in a sentence, such as subject, verb or object.

direct object
The noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb: Amira scored a goal.

indirect object
The person or thing that receives the direct object, usually before it: Dad gave me the keys.

linking verb
A verb that connects the subject to a word that renames or describes it: is, seems, becomes, tastes, feels.

subject complement
A word after a linking verb that renames the subject (predicate noun) or describes it (predicate adjective).

prepositional phrase
A preposition plus its object and any modifiers: across the frozen lake. It acts as an adjective or an adverb.

Remember from earlier grades

In Grade 7 you studied direct and indirect objects, linking verbs with predicate nouns and adjectives, and adverbial phrases. You've known the eight parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection) for years. Grade 9 is about consolidating: seeing that a word's part of speech depends on its function in a particular sentence, and using sentence roles to understand and write complex sentences.

Let's start with one word

What part of speech is light?

It depends on the sentence. The light was too bright (noun). Please light the candle (verb). Bring a light jacket (adjective). We like to travel light (adverb).

You can't tell a word's part of speech from the word alone; you have to look at the job it's doing. The same is true for down (fall down, down the hill, a down jacket), round, well and hundreds of others.

The word light doing four different jobs. Ask what it's doing in the sentence, not what it usually is.

Parts of speech by function

Noun: names a person, place, thing or idea. Can be a subject or an object.
Pronoun: stands in for a noun (she, it, they, who, this).
Verb: shows an action (scored) or a state, or links (is, seems).
Adjective: describes a noun or pronoun (which one? what kind? how many?).
Adverb: describes a verb, adjective or another adverb (how? when? where? to what degree?).
Preposition: shows a relationship (often place or time) between its object and another word (across, during, under, of).
Conjunction: joins words or clauses (and, but, because, although).
Interjection: shows emotion (Wow! Oh no!).

Sentence roles

Every sentence has a subject (who or what it's about) and a verb. Many also have:

a direct object (what receives the action): Amira scored a goal. Ask: scored what?
an indirect object (to or for whom), which comes before the direct object: Dad gave me the keys. Ask: gave the keys to whom?
a subject complement after a linking verb: a predicate noun renames the subject (My aunt is a pilot), and a predicate adjective describes it (The soup tastes salty).

Five patterns most English sentences are built on. Even a long sentence usually has one of these at its core.

Linking verb or action verb?

Some verbs can be both. Test: replace the verb with is or was. If the sentence still makes sense, it's linking.

The soup tastes salty. → The soup is salty. ✔ Linking (salty is a predicate adjective).
The chef tastes the soup. → The chef is the soup. ✘ Action (the soup is a direct object).

This matters for word choice: after a linking verb, use an adjective, not an adverb. I feel bad about it (not badly), The plan sounds good.

Prepositional phrases: adjective or adverb?

A prepositional phrase acts like a single adjective or adverb.

Adjective phrase (describes a noun): The cabin by the lake is ours. (Which cabin?)
Adverb phrase (describes a verb, telling where, when, how, why): We skated across the bay. (Skated where?)

When you read a long sentence, you can bracket the prepositional phrases to find the core: [In the spring] the students [from the Grade 9 class] planted trees [along the river]. Core: the students planted trees.

Worked example

Let's analyze a sentence by function

Identify the role of each part: During the long winter, my grandmother taught us an old card game from her childhood.

Find the verb: taught.
Find the subject (who taught?): my grandmother.
Direct object (taught what?): an old card game.
Indirect object (taught to whom?): us. It comes before the direct object.
Prepositional phrases: During the long winter (adverb phrase: when), from her childhood (adjective phrase: describes game: which game?).

Subject: my grandmother. Verb: taught. Indirect object: us. Direct object: an old card game. Prepositional phrases: During the long winter (adverb), from her childhood (adjective).

Use roles to read hard sentences

When a sentence in a textbook or older text is confusing, find the verb first, then ask who or what did it (subject) and did what to what (object). Bracket the prepositional phrases. The core usually makes sense on its own, and the rest is detail.

Hands-on activity

Word-job detective

You need: a newspaper, magazine or novel, and three coloured pencils or highlighters.

Choose five sentences of different lengths.
In each, underline the verb in one colour, the subject in another, and any object or complement in the third.
Put [square brackets] around every prepositional phrase. Label each ADJ or ADV.
Find one word that could be a different part of speech in a different sentence (like light or down). Write two sentences showing both jobs.
Explain one of your sentences to a family member: "The core is..."

Just for fun

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo is a famous grammatically correct English sentence. It uses buffalo as a city name, an animal and a verb (meaning to bully). It proves that function, not spelling, decides a word's part of speech, and that linguists have a lot of free time.

Your turn

What part of speech is down in We walked down the hill?

What part of speech is down in The power is down?

Find the direct object: The volunteers collected four hundred cans.

Find the indirect and direct objects: The coach handed Leah the trophy.

Is the verb linking or action? The forest grew quiet.

Bracket the prepositional phrases and find the core: After the game, the players from both teams shook hands at centre ice.

Choose: I feel (bad / badly) that I missed your call. Explain.

More practice: warm-up

Name the eight parts of speech.

What question finds a direct object?

Give three linking verbs.

What is a predicate noun?

Name three prepositions.

More practice: on your own

Label every part of the pattern: My cousin became a nurse.

Is by the window an adjective or adverb phrase in The plant by the window is growing? In She sat by the window?

Write a sentence with an indirect object, and label it.

Is looks linking or action? (a) The sky looks stormy. (b) Jordan looks at the sky.

Use roles to simplify: The report, which was released by the town council on Monday after months of public meetings, recommends a new bus route.

Challenge

Write three sentences using round as three different parts of speech, and label each.

Explain why The soup smells well is incorrect and The soup smells good is correct.

Analyze this sentence by function: At the end of the novel, the narrator finally tells her brother the truth about the accident.

Check your understanding

Quiz

In Please light the candle, light is a:

In Dad gave me the keys, the indirect object is:

Which sentence has a linking verb?

In The cabin by the lake is ours, by the lake is:

Which word correctly completes I feel ___ about the mistake?

The core of After school, the students from the band practised in the gym is:

For parents and teachers

Big idea: B3.2 asks students to demonstrate an understanding of the functions of parts of speech in sentences, consolidate and refine their grammar, and use this knowledge to support comprehension and communicate clearly.

How to help at home: When a sentence in homework is confusing, ask "What's the verb? Who did it?" before anything else. Play "one word, many jobs" with words like light, down, round, back.

Common difficulties:

Labelling by habit (light is always a noun) instead of by function.
Mixing up direct and indirect objects. The indirect object comes first and answers to/for whom.
Adverbs after linking verbs (feel badly, smells nicely).
Getting lost in long sentences. Bracketing prepositional phrases reveals the core.