English for Today
WORDS IN CONTEXT
Every word in English belongs to one word class(part of speech) or the other. But interestingly, we do not determine the actual class of any word except by paying attention to how it functions in the context of a given sentence. We should know what a noun is, and need not know the words that make up the class as any word can function as any word class depending on usage. Pay attention to how the classes of the following words change:
The HOUSE is big(noun)
I HOUSE my friends(verb)
The HOUSE boy is brilliant(adjective)
She is my LIKE(noun)
I LIKE her(verb)
She is LIKE the mum(preposition)
She talks like she know it all(conjunction)
Understanding the class of words in context is essential to effective reading and writing.