## Word Classes and Their Functions

Understanding word classes (or parts of speech) helps you understand how words work together in sentences. Each word has a job to do.

Nouns

Nouns are naming words. They name people, places, things, or ideas.

• Common Nouns: general names (e.g., *dog, city, table*)
• Proper Nouns: specific names, always start with a capital letter (e.g., *London, Sarah, Christmas*)
• Abstract Nouns: ideas, feelings, qualities (e.g., *happiness, freedom, courage*)
• Collective Nouns: groups of things (e.g., *flock, team, audience*)

*Function:* Can be the subject (who or what does the action) or object (who or what receives the action) of a sentence.

Verbs

Verbs are doing or being words. They show an action, state, or occurrence.

• Main Verbs: show the main action (e.g., *run, eat, think*)
• Auxiliary Verbs (or helping verbs): help the main verb (e.g., *is, have, do* in "*She is running*")
• Modal Verbs: show possibility, ability, permission, or obligation (e.g., *can, will, should, must*)

*Function:* The core of the predicate, showing what the subject does or is.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. They tell us more about them (e.g., *big, red, happy, beautiful*).

*Function:* To modify (describe) nouns or pronouns.

Adverbs

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They tell us *how, when, where,* or *to what extent* something happens (e.g., *quickly, yesterday, here, very*).

*Function:* To modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Pronouns

Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition (e.g., *he, she, it, they, we, you, I*).

• Personal Pronouns: *I, you, he, she, it, we, they* (subject); *me, you, him, her, it, us, them* (object)
• Possessive Pronouns: show ownership (e.g., *mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs*)
• Reflexive Pronouns: refer back to the subject (e.g., *myself, yourself, himself*)

*Function:* To replace nouns.

Prepositions

Prepositions show the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence, often indicating position, time, or direction (e.g., *on, in, under, with, before, after*).

*Function:* To show relationship and form prepositional phrases.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses.

• Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS): *for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so* (join equal parts)
• Subordinating Conjunctions: join a dependent clause to an independent clause (e.g., *because, although, while, if, when*)

*Function:* To connect parts of a sentence.

Determiners

Determiners come before nouns to specify or quantify them (e.g., *a, an, the, my, some, this, those*).

*Function:* To introduce and give information about a noun.

## Clauses, Phrases and Sentence Types

Understanding Phrases

A phrase is a group of words that makes sense together but does *not* contain a finite verb. This means it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. Phrases add detail to sentences.

• Noun Phrase: A group of words built around a noun (e.g., *the very old house*, *a fluffy white cat*).
• Prepositional Phrase: Starts with a preposition and includes its object (e.g., *under the table*, *after the game*).

Understanding Clauses

A clause is a group of words that contains a finite verb and its subject. Unlike a phrase, a clause can sometimes form a complete sentence on its own.

• Main Clause (Independent Clause): This is the most important part of a sentence. It makes complete sense on its own and can stand alone as a simple sentence (e.g., *The dog barked loudly.*). Every sentence must have at least one main clause.
• Subordinate Clause (Dependent Clause): This clause adds extra information but does *not* make complete sense on its own. It relies on a main clause to complete its meaning. Subordinate clauses are often introduced by subordinating conjunctions (like *because, although, when, if, since*) or relative pronouns (like *who, which, that, whose*).
• Adverbial Clause: Acts like an adverb, telling *how*, *when*, *where*, *why*, or *under what condition* something happened (e.g., *When the bell rang*, we packed our bags. - tells when).
• Relative Clause: Acts like an adjective, giving more information about a noun or pronoun in the main clause. It usually starts with a relative pronoun (e.g., The girl *who won the race* smiled. - describes the girl).

Sentence Types

Understanding clauses helps us identify different sentence types:

• Simple Sentence: Contains only one main clause. It expresses a single complete thought (e.g., *The cat slept.*).
• Compound Sentence: Contains two or more main clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction. The main clauses are equally important. Common coordinating conjunctions are FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So (e.g., *The sun shone, and the birds sang.*).
• Complex Sentence: Contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. The subordinate clause adds detail to the main clause (e.g., *Although it was raining, we went for a walk.*).

## Verb Tenses and Standard English

Verbs are 'doing' words that tell us what is happening, what has happened, or what will happen. Verb tenses tell us *when* an action takes place. Understanding and using tenses correctly is crucial for clear communication.

Common Verb Tenses

• Present Simple: Describes actions that happen regularly, habitually, or are general facts.
• Example: I walk to school every day. The sun rises in the east.
• Past Simple: Describes actions that happened and finished at a specific time in the past.
• Example: She walked to the shop yesterday. They ate pizza last night.
• Future Simple: Describes actions that will happen in the future. We often use 'will' or 'going to'.
• Example: I will walk home later. She is going to eat dinner soon.
• Present Progressive (Continuous): Describes actions happening right now, or around the present time. It uses 'am/is/are' + verb-ing.
• Example: He is walking the dog. They are eating lunch.
• Past Progressive (Continuous): Describes actions that were ongoing in the past when something else happened. It uses 'was/were' + verb-ing.
• Example: I was walking when it started to rain. They were eating when I arrived.
• Present Perfect: Describes actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or actions completed in the past with a result that is relevant now. It uses 'has/have' + the past participle of the verb.
• Example: I have lived here for five years. She has finished her homework.

Standard English

Standard English is the form of English that is widely accepted and understood, especially in formal writing and speech. It follows specific grammar rules and uses correct vocabulary. In your SATs, you should always use Standard English.

• Subject-Verb Agreement: The verb in a sentence must agree with its subject in number (singular or plural).
• Standard: He walks quickly. (Not: He walk quickly.)
• Standard: They are happy. (Not: They is happy.)
• Correct Verb Forms: Use the correct past tense and past participle forms of irregular verbs.
• Standard: I saw the film. (Not: I seen the film.)
• Standard: He has done his work. (Not: He has did his work.)
• Avoiding Double Negatives: Do not use two negative words in the same sentence to express a single negative idea.
• Standard: I don't have any money. (Not: I don't have no money.)
• Pronoun Usage: Use the correct pronouns, especially after 'is' or 'was'.
• Standard: It was I. (Not: It was me.)
• Standard: She gave the book to him and me. (Not: She gave the book to he and I.)
• Avoiding Non-Standard Words: Do not use words like 'ain't' or informal slang in formal writing or exams.

## Punctuation: Commas, Apostrophes, and Inverted Commas

Mastering punctuation is crucial for clear and accurate writing in your Year 6 SATs. This section focuses on three key punctuation marks: commas, apostrophes, and inverted commas.

## Commas (,)

Commas are versatile and have several important uses:

• Separating items in a list: Use commas to separate three or more items in a list. For example: "I bought apples, bananas, and oranges."
• Separating clauses: When a subordinate clause starts a sentence, a comma separates it from the main clause. For example: "Although it was raining, we still went for a walk." You generally don't use a comma if the main clause comes first.
• Setting off fronted adverbials: A fronted adverbial is a word or phrase that appears at the beginning of a sentence and describes the verb. It should always be followed by a comma. For example: "Suddenly, the door burst open." or "In the morning, we'll go to the park."
• Adding extra information: Commas can be used to set off extra, non-essential information within a sentence. For example: "My teacher, who loves reading, recommended this book."

## Apostrophes (')

Apostrophes have two main functions:

• Contraction (showing omission): An apostrophe replaces missing letters in a shortened word. For example: "don't" (do not), "it's" (it is or it has), "can't" (cannot).
• Possession (showing ownership):
• For singular nouns, add 's. For example: "the boy's hat" (one boy owns the hat).
• For plural nouns ending in 's', add the apostrophe after the 's'. For example: "the boys' hats" (multiple boys own the hats).
• For plural nouns not ending in 's', add 's. For example: "the children's toys."
• Crucial distinction: Remember that 'it's' means 'it is' or 'it has', while 'its' is a possessive pronoun (like 'his' or 'hers') and does not use an apostrophe. For example: "The dog wagged its tail." vs. "It's a lovely day."

## Inverted Commas (" " or ' ')

Also known as speech marks, inverted commas are used to enclose direct speech (the exact words spoken).

• Enclosing speech: Place inverted commas around the words that are spoken. You can use single (' ') or double (" ") inverted commas, but be consistent.
• Punctuation inside: All punctuation belonging to the direct speech (commas, full stops, question marks, exclamation marks) goes inside the closing inverted comma. For example: ""I love ice cream!" exclaimed Sarah." or ""Where are you going?" he asked."
• Reporting clause: Use a comma to separate the direct speech from the reporting clause (e.g., 'she said', 'he asked'), unless a question mark or exclamation mark is already present. For example: ""I'm hungry," said Tom."
• New speaker, new line: Start a new line each time a different person speaks.

## Prefixes, Suffixes and Word Families

Understanding how words are built using prefixes and suffixes is a key part of the Year 6 English curriculum. It helps you to understand new words, improve your spelling, and expand your vocabulary.

Prefixes

A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a root word. It changes the meaning of the root word. Prefixes do not usually change the word class (e.g., a noun stays a noun).

• Examples of common prefixes and their meanings:
• un-: means 'not' or 'opposite of' (e.g., unhappy, undo)
• re-: means 'again' or 'back' (e.g., rewrite, return)
• dis-: means 'not' or 'opposite of' (e.g., disagree, dislike)
• mis-: means 'wrongly' or 'badly' (e.g., misspell, misunderstand)
• pre-: means 'before' (e.g., preview, prepaid)
• inter-: means 'between' (e.g., international, interact)

Suffixes

A suffix is a group of letters added to the end of a root word. Suffixes can change the meaning of the word, but they often also change the word class (e.g., from a verb to a noun, or an adjective to an adverb).

• Examples of common suffixes and their effects:
• -er: often forms a noun meaning 'person who does' or 'thing that does' (e.g., teacher, runner)
• -tion: often forms a noun meaning 'the act of' or 'state of' (e.g., information, creation)
• -ment: often forms a noun meaning 'action' or 'result' (e.g., enjoyment, movement)
• -ful: often forms an adjective meaning 'full of' (e.g., careful, wonderful)
• -less: often forms an adjective meaning 'without' (e.g., hopeless, careless)
• -able: often forms an adjective meaning 'can be done' (e.g., enjoyable, readable)
• -ly: often forms an adverb meaning 'in a ... way' (e.g., quickly, softly)

Word Families

A word family is a group of words that share a common root word and are related in meaning. These words are formed by adding different prefixes and suffixes to the root word.

• Example: The root word 'act' can form a word family including: act, action, actor, active, activity, react, enact, inactive.
• Example: The root word 'agree' can form: agree, agreement, disagree, disagreement, agreeable.

Recognising word families helps you to see patterns in language and understand how words are connected.

## Formal and Informal Language

Understanding the difference between formal and informal language is essential for effective communication. Your choice depends on your audience (who you are communicating with) and your purpose (why you are communicating).

## Formal Language

Formal language is used in serious, official, or respectful situations (e.g., school reports, official letters, essays, presentations). It is used when addressing people you don't know well or those in authority.

Key characteristics:

• Standard English: Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Full sentences: Sentences are complete and well-structured.
• No contractions: Avoids "don't," "can't," "it's." Use "do not," "cannot," "it is."
• Precise vocabulary: Uses specific, often more sophisticated words. Avoids slang or colloquialisms.
• Objective tone: Focuses on facts and information, not personal feelings.
• Polite and respectful: Maintains a professional tone.

## Informal Language

Informal language is used in relaxed, casual, and personal situations (e.g., text messages, personal emails, diaries, talking to friends/family).

Key characteristics:

• Relaxed tone: More conversational and casual.
• Contractions are common: "Don't," "can't," "it's" are acceptable.
• Slang and colloquialisms: May include everyday expressions or slang words (e.g., "gonna," "wanna").
• Simpler vocabulary: Uses common, everyday words.
• Shorter sentences: Sentences can be shorter or even incomplete.
• Subjective tone: Can include personal opinions and feelings.

## Choosing the Right Language

Always consider your audience and purpose. Using the correct style ensures your message is understood and appropriate. Switching between formal and informal styles is a valuable communication skill.