Which word class do 'pencil', 'window', 'carpet' and 'door' belong to?
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These are all nouns. They name everyday objects you might find in a classroom or home. Nouns are naming words for people, places, things, or ideas. ✓
11+ Word Classes Practice
(GL Assessment)
In the GL Assessment 11+ English paper, word class questions ask your child to name the job a word is doing: is it a noun, a verb, an adjective, an adverb, a preposition, and so on? They sit inside the comprehension section, always testing words in context rather than in isolation, and we estimate two to three of these per paper. Nouns (including sub-types such as common, proper, collective and abstract) are the most frequently tested class, an estimated 25 to 30% of word class questions. These weightings are our research estimates from analysing GL papers, not figures GL publishes.
This page is about identifying and labelling parts of speech, which makes it different from our two neighbouring pages. Our grammar page tests whether words are used correctly (tenses, agreement, sentence structure), and our vocabulary page tests what words mean. Word class is the labelling skill: working out the function of a word in this particular sentence. GL asks it three ways: "what type of words are these?" (a shared class across several words), "which word is a [class]?" (pick the word from a quoted line), and occasionally identifying a sentence type. All are multiple choice with five options (A to E).
The reassuring news for parents is that word class rewards a single, teachable habit: ask "what job is this word doing here?" rather than "what does this word usually look like?" GL's traps almost all spring from surface appearances (an "-ly" word that turns out to be an adjective, a state verb that does not feel like a doing word), so a child who checks function over appearance handles them calmly.
What the GL 11+ Tests on Word Classes
Word class questions are always multiple-choice, five options (A to E), and always set in the context of the comprehension passage. GL does not publish exact weightings, so the order below is our informed estimate. In rough order of frequency:
- Nouns, including sub-types (around 25 to 30%): common, proper, collective, abstract and concrete. GL loves making children tell these sub-types apart.
- Verbs (around 20 to 25%): including state and linking verbs (was, seemed, appeared) that do not feel like doing words.
- Adjectives (around 15 to 20%): including "-ly" adjectives such as friendly, lovely and lonely that look like adverbs.
- Adverbs (around 15 to 20%): including non-"-ly" adverbs such as soon, often, very and quite.
- Prepositions (around 10 to 15%): one of the hardest areas, especially dual-function words (round, before, by).
- Pronouns, conjunctions and determiners (around 5 to 10% combined): the less commonly tested classes.
Difficulty runs from obvious cases (a clear action verb, a "-ly" adverb) at D1, through abstract nouns, state verbs and prepositions at D2, up to dual-function words used in their less common class at D3 (for example "run" as a noun, "light" as an adjective, "the running water" as a participle acting like an adjective). The terminology is built up across Years 2 to 6 of the National Curriculum.
Sample Word Classes Questions
Five questions drawn from PrepStep’s word classes bank, spanning Foundation to Challenging. Tap “Show worked explanation” to see the full method after you’ve had a go. The correct answer is highlighted on each question so you can check immediately.
What type of words are these: river, forest, village, island?
Show worked explanation
These are all nouns that name places or geographical features. A river, forest, village, and island are all things we can name. ✓
What type of words are these: January, Easter, Christmas, Diwali?
Show worked explanation
These are all proper nouns. Months and festivals are specific names, so they are proper nouns and always start with a capital letter. ✓
What type of words are these: kindness, honesty, patience, wisdom?
Show worked explanation
These are all abstract nouns. They name qualities or ideas that you cannot physically touch. Abstract nouns often end in suffixes like -ness, -ty, -ence, or -dom. ✓
What type of words are these: loyalty, generosity, bravery, intelligence?
Show worked explanation
These are all abstract nouns naming personal qualities. They cannot be seen or touched. Notice the suffixes: -ty, -ity, -ery, and -ence are common endings for abstract nouns. ✓
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Common mistake 1 of 4
Thinking verbs are only "doing" words.
Tip: State and linking verbs (is, was, seemed, appeared, became) are still verbs, even though nothing is being "done". Teach your child that a verb can describe a state of being, not just an action, so "seemed" is a verb, not an adjective.
Common mistake 2 of 4
Assuming any "-ly" word is an adverb.
Tip: Many "-ly" words are adjectives: friendly, lovely, lonely, lively, likely, costly. The ending is not the test. Ask what the word is describing: if it describes a noun (a friendly dog) it is an adjective, if it describes a verb (ran quickly) it is an adverb.
Common mistake 3 of 4
Not recognising abstract nouns as nouns.
Tip: Words like joy, freedom, courage and sadness name ideas and feelings rather than objects, so children mistake them for adjectives. The test is whether you can put "the" in front and treat it as a thing ("the courage"), which marks it as a noun.
Common mistake 4 of 4
Judging a word by its usual class, not its job here.
Tip: Many words change class with context: "run" is usually a verb but is a noun in "a quick run", and "light" can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. Always decide the class from the word's job in this exact sentence, not from how it normally behaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are word class questions in the GL 11+?
They ask your child to identify the job a word is doing in a sentence, such as noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition or conjunction. In GL papers they sit within the comprehension section and always use words taken from the passage, so the word must be judged in context. Each question is multiple choice with five options (A to E).
Which word classes does GL test most?
Nouns are the most frequently tested, including sub-types such as common, proper, collective and abstract, an estimated 25 to 30% of word class questions. Verbs come next, especially state verbs that do not feel like doing words, followed by adjectives and adverbs. Prepositions are less frequent but among the hardest, because so many are dual-function words.
Why is "friendly" an adjective and not an adverb?
Because it describes a noun, not a verb. We say "a friendly dog" (describing the dog), so "friendly" is an adjective, even though it ends in "-ly". The "-ly" ending is a common trap: many "-ly" words (lovely, lonely, lively, costly) are adjectives. The reliable test is what the word is describing, not how it ends.
What year are word classes taught for the 11+?
The terminology is built up across the National Curriculum from Year 2 onwards: nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs early on, prepositions and conjunctions in Year 3, determiners and pronouns in Year 4, and modal and relative terms in Years 5 and 6. By the 11+ year all of it is assumed knowledge, so word class questions are fair game in full.
How is this different from the grammar questions in the GL 11+?
Word class is about labelling: naming the job a word does (noun, verb, adjective, and so on). The grammar questions are about correctness: choosing the right tense, agreement or connecting word to make a sentence work. They are closely related, and word class knowledge does help with grammar, but the skills are tested separately, so it is worth practising both.
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