Parts of Speech — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. In "The squirrel hid acorns inside the hollow log," the preposition is inside.
"Inside" tells where the squirrel hid the acorns in relation to the log, and showing location is the main job of a preposition.
2. In "She nervously opened the envelope," the adverb is nervously.
"Nervously" describes how she opened the envelope -- it modifies the verb "opened" by showing the manner of the action, so it is an adverb.
3. In "Yikes, that spider is huge!" the word yikes is an interjection.
"Yikes" is an exclamation of surprise or alarm that stands on its own at the start of the sentence, making it an interjection.
4. In "He and I built a treehouse," the word I is a pronoun.
"I" refers to the speaker without using their name, which makes it a first-person pronoun.
5. In "The cold wind rattled the windows," the adjective is cold.
"Cold" describes what the wind feels like, and since it modifies the noun "wind," it is an adjective.
6. In "The teacher explained the lesson, so everyone understood," the conjunction is so.
"So" links the cause (the teacher explained) to the result (everyone understood), connecting the two ideas as a conjunction.
7. In "The horse galloped across the meadow," the verb is galloped.
"Galloped" names the action the horse performed -- it tells what the horse did, which is the role of a verb.
8. In "Honesty is the best policy," the word honesty is a noun because it names a quality.
"Honesty" names a quality or value, and nouns can name abstract ideas like honesty, courage, or kindness -- not just physical objects.
9. In "They quietly crept past the sleeping guard," the word past is a preposition.
"Past" shows the spatial relationship between the people creeping and the guard -- they moved by the guard's position, which is what prepositions express.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
graceful
→ adjective
pronoun
toward
→ preposition
verb
she
→ pronoun
preposition
explored
→ verb
adjective
Correct matches: graceful → adjective; toward → preposition; she → pronoun; explored → verb.