Word classes: the jobs words do

Tests: 2 of 11 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 12 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 27 of the english course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗

«quickly's an adjective, it describes stuff, innit». What's the best reply?

1. It's an adverb: it tells how something is done — ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. It's a verb, because it's about moving fast — score 6
3. It's a noun, because it ends in -ly — score 7
4. Yes, all describing words are adjectives — ← Mova's choice · score 12

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 12, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 3: «Lily lists adjectives: big, red, happy, quickly. Quickly is the odd one out: it describes how something is done, so it's an adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly, bu…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «words» (+5); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «adverbs» (+1). The right option, 1, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · right ✓

★★ «The early bird got there early.» What word class is each «early»?

1. First an adjective, then an adverb — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Both adjectives — score 6
3. Both adverbs — no support
4. First a noun, then a verb — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 27, line 2: «A word's class depends on its job in THIS sentence. Theo asks, «So run is a verb?» In «I run every day», yes. In «I went for a run», run is a noun: it comes af…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «noun» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★ «friendly ends in -ly so it's an adverb, easy». Is it?

1. No, friendly describes a noun, so it's an adjective — ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Yes, every word ending in -ly is an adverb — ← Mova's choice · score 10
3. No, it's a noun — no support
4. Yes, but only when it is used in a friendly, kind sentence — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 10, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 3: «Lily lists adjectives: big, red, happy, quickly. Quickly is the odd one out: it describes how something is done, so it's an adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly, bu…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «end» (+5); the same place «ly» (+4); the same doer «words» (+1). The right option, 1, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ In «Mine is the red one, but hers is blue», which words are pronouns?

1. Mine and hers — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. one and the — no support
3. but and is — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. red and blue — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 27, line 4: «Pronouns stand in for nouns: «Sam said he would bring his dog», where he stands in for Sam. Conjunctions join: «I was tired but I kept going.» Proper nouns nam…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «little words» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ «Before lunch, I tidied up. I'd never seen it before.» What word class is each «before»?

1. First an adverb, then a noun that names a time — no support
2. Both prepositions — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. First a preposition, then an adverb — ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Both conjunctions — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 27, line 18: «Words like before and after are prepositions when a noun follows them («before lunch») and adverbs when they stand alone («I'd seen it before»).», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «preposition» (+2); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-6). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

★★★ How many nouns are in «Gran gave Tom a cake and a card on Friday»?

1. Three — no support
2. Six — score 1
3. Four — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. Five — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 26, line 3: «There are four types. A statement tells you something: «The bus is late.» A question asks and ends with a question mark: «Where is my hat?» A command tells som…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); the number the lesson gave for it (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, Captain Grammar says «every word is born a noun or a verb and stays that way for ever». What's true?

1. Only nouns can change — score 3
2. A word's class depends on its job in the sentence — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Every word has only one class for ever — no support
4. Words have no classes, only spellings — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 4, line 16: ««ir», «ur» and «er» make the same sound (bird, burn, her), but each word has its own usual spelling.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «word» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); the same thing acted on «own usual spelling» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

«yeah nah, arvo isn't a real word». What's true?

1. It's a verb meaning to say yes — score 3
2. It's a made-up sound with no meaning at all — score 5
3. It's Australian for afternoon, a real noun — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
4. It's a swear word — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 5: «Slang has word classes too. Kayla in London says, «Bare words have jobs, innit» (bare is London slang for lots of). Freya in Melbourne asks, «Arvo is a noun, y…», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «arvo» (+4); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if a sentence had no verb at all, like «The big red bus»?

1. It would be a command — score 4
2. It wouldn't be a full sentence — ✓ the right answer · score -2
3. It would be a question — score 4
4. It would be more exciting — ← Mova's choice · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 26, line 9: «A sentence needs a verb; a group of words without one, like «The dog», is a phrase.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «sentence» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 2, scored -2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Mum shouts, «Proper noun, love, capital letter!» Which words need capitals in «tom went to paris on tuesday»?

1. All of the words — ← Mova's choice · score 10
2. went and to — score 5
3. Only tom, at the start — score 10
4. Tom, Paris and Tuesday — ✓ the right answer · score 10

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 14, line 4: «In British English some pairs split by job. Advice and practice (with c) are nouns, things; advise and practise (with s) are verbs, doing words: «Take my advic…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «take» (+5); the same thing acted on «advice» (+5). The right option, 4, scored 10. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

«that film was well good». Which word is working like «very» here?

1. that — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. good — no support
3. film — no support
4. well — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the word class of «run» in the sentence «I went for a run».

1. Adverb — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Noun — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Verb — no support
4. Preposition, since it indicates the direction of the movement undertaken — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises an adverb?

1. A word that joins two clauses — score 4
2. A word that names a person or place — score 4
3. A word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
4. A word that stands in for a noun — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 10: «An adverb describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb: she ran quickly, very tall, super fun.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «verb» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «adverb» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the word «my» in «my dog».

1. It functions as a possessive determiner — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. It functions as a proper noun — score 3
3. It functions as a verb — score 3
4. It functions as a conjunction — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 27, line 3: «Lily lists adjectives: big, red, happy, quickly. Quickly is the odd one out: it describes how something is done, so it's an adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly, bu…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same doer «nouns» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain which of the following words is an adjective notwithstanding its terminal «-ly».

1. lovely — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. slowly — no support
3. happily — no support
4. quickly — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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