Hey there, this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
The importance of parts of speech for ESL learners is undeniable.
Imagine a beginner ESL student, let’s call her Anna. She’s staring at a simple sentence the teacher wrote on the board, “The foolishly cat ran across the road.” Her teacher told her there was a mistake in the sentence and asked if she could figure out what was wrong with it. She can’t figure it out because she’s never had any lessons on the parts of speech.
Now, picture an advanced learner, Tomasz. He’s been doing use of English exercises to prepare for the FCE. He always seems to make several mistakes on each exercise – if only there was a technique that he could deploy to help figure out what kind of word goes in each gap (sentence diagramming). He asked his teacher why the mistakes are what they are, but all the teacher can say is “You have to feel the sentence structure intuitively.”
These scenarios highlight a universal truth: understanding parts of speech is essential at every level of English language learning. Whether you’re just starting or refining advanced skills, the parts of speech provide the foundation for fluency, comprehension, and communication.
This guide will share two use-case studies – one for advanced and the other elementary. Then, we’ll explore why the parts of speech matter along with some useful resources to practice them.
By the end, you’ll see these grammatical categories not as obstacles but as tools to unlock the potential of English fluency.
2 Use-case scenarios to demonstrate the importance of parts of speech for ESL learners
This past week, I conducted two assessments involving an exercise from one of my favorite parts-of-speech workbooks – Practice and Assess: Grammar Workbook Grades 4-5.
The beginning of the workbook features a short 1-page assessment that quizzes all of the parts of speech.
If you’re looking for grammar workbooks to add to your student or teacher collection, scroll to the end to see my recommended grammar books and exercise books to practice the parts of speech.
I did this 1-pager as a test for one of my long-time and most advanced students as well as with a pair of new students having their first lesson with me on the same day.
Case Study 1: The Parts of Speech Assessment with the advanced student
The first assessment I conducted of the day was with one of my longest serving students. He’s an advanced learner who had passed the FCE some time before he began lessons with me. He works as part of an international IT team of developers and he wanted to be more fluent in his communication.
We often go deep into the verb tense aspects and even after all these years, I still manage to surprise him with my explanations. So, I tell him we’re going to do the assessment, and here’s how it went.
What happened in the assessment with the advanced student
- I asked him to state the 8 parts of speech, and he rattled them off one-by-one. However, he did name “articles” as one of the parts of speech which is not the case.
Articles aren’t a full part-of-speech. They are actually a sub-category of determiners. After I had explained this, he understood the difference, and we moved on.
- The first exercise was a true or false definitions exercise. He recognized each definition correctly, so we moved on to exercise two.
- This exercise involved labelling all the parts of speech for two short sentences. He got each one right except for the possessive adjective. He misidentified it as a pronoun. So, I queried if he knew the difference between the words “my” and “mine,” but he didn’t get the difference.
Sensing a pattern, I went into teaching mode. Articles and possessive adjectives are both determiners and he seemed to be unclear about this whole part of speech.
- Getting back to the assessment, we did a gap-fill exercise. But this wasn’t just any gap-fill exercise as he needed to identify the part of speech to fit the gap – not necessarily the missing word. However, if he needed to input a word that made sense, then identify that part of speech, I would be okay with that.
He struggled a bit with this exercise since it was a very short text with a lot of gaps in quick succession. This is where I demonstrated the sentence diagramming technique, teaching him to identify the parts of speech. When you understand what goes where in a phrase, you can easily find the missing parts of speech in these kinds of exercises.
Case 1 takeaways: The Advanced Student Concluded that he needed more practice with parts of speech
- Advanced as my student is, he still benefitted from a lesson revising the parts of speech.
- We identified a weak spot in his understanding of English sentence structure (determiners).
- Advanced ESL learners have about as good an understanding of English sentence structure and parts of speech as an American 5th – 7th grader in middle school.
- My student discovered that he can perform this sentence diagramming technique to solve gap-fill exercises for FCE style use-of-English activities.
- My student explained to me that he had never had any direct lesson or explanation on the full parts of speech. He learned them the non-native speaker way – through lots of exercises that focus on verb tenses. Eventually, you pick up the sentence structure, but it’s not really taught here formally.
Case 2: The new couple at pre-intermediate (A2) level
A bit later that afternoon, I had a brand-new lesson with a married couple. They switched to me after they had been with another language school. Since it was our first lesson, I wanted to use this part-of-speech assessment to see where they were grammatically. That way, I could make some decisions about what book to choose for them.
I displayed the text box on screen that showed the 9 parts of speech.
The husband said, “What’s the first one? I don’t know that word.”
It read “noun.” I can understand when people don’t know the modifiers or determiners, but the core pieces? I was at a loss.
I’m not criticizing my students either. It’s not their fault that their previous school nor any other English instructor taught them the grammatical words. I was just shocked that the only one out of 9 that they recognized were verbs.
Needless to say, it wasn’t really an assessment. It turned out to be a “lesson” on the parts of speech.
At this point, I brought out my sentence building flip chart with parts of speech. I showed them a sentence and began breaking it down for them.
Case 2 Takeaways: Although communicative, Pre-Intermediate Learners especially need to learn the parts of speech.
1. The first takeaway is this is a common situation in Poland. I can’t speak to the ESL teaching priorities in other countries, but in Poland, the clear priority is verb tenses. When students start and continue their journey in English with the primary focus always being on verb tenses, it tends to impress on people that the verb tenses are the primary focus of English grammar.
2. The assessment probably saved me from starting my new students off at the wrong level. When I spoke with them the first time, I got the impression that they were communicative and could probably learn at the intermediate level. The problem is that student learners can be more communicative than their actual level of understanding. If I teach them at too high a level than they are ready for, it could discourage them, leaving them with another bad experience with English.
3. My trusty flipchart saved the day! I often use this flipchart as a warmup with my younger students. However, in times like this, it’s not just a tool for children. If you’re a private teacher or language school, you need more than just book in your classroom. You need teaching tools, devices, manipulatives, and more to engage your students and give them a better experience.
4. This assessment clearly demonstrates how English grammar in Poland is built around the wrong set of priorities. More teachers here should attempt to build the parts of speech into their teaching curriculum.
Understanding the Building Blocks: What Are the Parts of Speech?
Every word in English belongs to a category called a part of speech.
These categories determine how words function in a sentence and interact with one another.
For ESL learners, mastering the parts of speech is an important first step toward building clear and accurate sentences in English.
Understanding the parts of speech involves breaking them into four distinct categories based on their roles in sentence construction:
The Core Parts of Speech: Nouns, Pronouns, and Verbs
These are the elements a sentence cannot do without. A basic sentence with a normal verb pattern consists of a subject, verb, and an object. In my book, English Grammar Explained, I dub this as the “Who + doing + what.
A sentence tells a mini story while the parts of speech tell us who the cast and crew are behind the scenes.
They core parts of speech (the stars of the production) include:
- Nouns: Representing the subject or object, these words name people, places, things, or ideas. Examples: teacher, freedom.
- Pronouns: Substitutes for nouns (a stunt double for the main characters). Examples: he, they.
- Verbs: Express actions or states of being (they represent the plot). Examples: run, is. Together, these form the essential sentence structure: the subject, verb, and object—what we might call the “Who + doing + what.”
The Modifiers: Determiners, Adjectives, Adverbs, and Prepositions
Modifiers provide additional information or description (this is the movie set and props).
- Determiners: Introduce and specify nouns in terms of indefiniteness or definiteness, specificity, possession, number, or amount. Examples include: a, the, this, that, my, your, two, three, some, much, every.
- Adjectives: Describe nouns. Examples: tall, interesting.
- Adverbs: Modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Examples: quickly, very.
- Prepositions: Indicate relationships in time, place, or direction. Examples: on, by.
The Connectors: Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions
Conjunctions link words, phrases, or clauses to create complex ideas.
- Conjunctions: Examples: and, because.
The "Disconnected" Part of Speech: Interjections
- These stand apart from sentence structure but add emphasis or emotion.
- Interjections: Examples: wow, ouch.
For a deeper dive into why the number of parts of speech is nine, refer to my article on this topic.
The Importance of Parts of Speech for ESL Learners: A 6-Point Explanation
1. Parts of speech help enable language acquisition
It is a pre-requisite for learning English and grammar.
It is important on the first day of lessons with a beginner of English to start with basic classroom vocabulary such as “a handout”, “a page”, “a whiteboard”, and so on. Equally, it’s important to learn some baseline terminology.
This enables the student(s) to learn more about the grammar structure earlier.
2. The Parts of Speech help you Classify New Words
Provides a framework to classify words you have learned. When you learn a new word, you label it by the part of speech. If you have an understanding of how the piece fits, you can begin using it in phrases and sentences.
3. You understand the Roles in a Sentence and the relationships to other parts of speech.
Each layer of benefit builds upon the next. In this case, learning how the pieces fit together in phrases and sentences helps you put those new words you’ve just classified to the test.
4. Knowing how the puzzle pieces fit helps you identify parts of speech.
When you know the part-of-speech roles, functions, and relationships, it empowers you to identify parts of speech. You understand the “gravity” within the phrase or sentence, helping you to know how each word fits into the structure.
5. Parts of Speech help you troubleshoot a sentence and solve advanced grammar exercises.
With this understanding, you can troubleshoot sentences and solve advanced grammar exercises. When encountering grammar mistakes or tricky exercises, parts of speech act as a guide. With the practice of sentence diagramming, learners can analyze sentences, pinpoint issues, and apply rules to correct them, building confidence and accuracy.
This sort of analysis will not help learners in the moment of speaking. It’s more of a corrective or guiding activity that steers English learners toward more accurate outcomes in the long term.
For more information about sentence diagramming, you can read my full tutorial here.
6. You understand how English sentences work.
The Parts of speech help you understand how English sentences work.
Not everyone needs the parts of speech or a sentence diagram to see how the parts fit.
However, for those who struggle to form sentences or make lots of common mistakes, the parts of speech give students a tool to eliminate those mistakes and construct better sentences.
The importance of Parts of Speech to combat Mother-Tongue Pull
Understanding the parts of speech is like learning to navigate with a compass. In English, the parts of speech guide how words interact in a sentence, helping learners steer toward clear and natural communication. However, for ESL learners, the pull of their mother tongue often disrupts this navigation.
This is called mother tongue influence.
Imagine placing a magnet next to a compass—it pulls the needle away from true north, leading the captain of the ship to steer off course. Similarly, the influence of a learner’s native language can mislead them into translating directly, rather than using English as they’ve learned it.
This results in common mistakes, such as incorrect word order or awkward phrasing.
Why does this matter?
As the captain of your English journey, you need an accurate understanding of the parts of speech to stay on course.
By mastering how nouns, verbs, modifiers, and connectors work together, and by practicing natural English, you can counteract the magnet’s pull and confidently navigate the language better, reducing your mother tongue’s influence.
Further reflections on mother-tongue pull
For ESL learners, the need to communicate often comes before the learner has mastered the basic relationships.
In the absence of knowing which words relate accurately to other words, a learner will translate.
If their mother tongue does not translate accurately to English, it will lead to common mistakes.
For example, take the following words: “other” and “another.”
Many of my Polish English learners make common mistakes with “another.”
When you learn indefinite adjectives, you learn that there are several classifications that these determiners fit into. Those classifications determine which kind of nouns go with the class of determiners.
The problem with the example lies between singular and plural nouns.
“Another” means an + other or one + other, so this determiner only associates with singular nouns. On the other hand, “other” associates with plural nouns.
This is but one example of how English learners make common mistakes in English. If you want to learn about additional common mistakes, check out my full post explaining 17 Common Mistakes with Parts of Speech.
Why English learners from Poland Make this mistake
The Polish language uses the word “inny” or its gender forms to mean “different.” That is one word translates to both English forms.
Therefore, Poles do not differentiate any difference between these two words. As a result, they are surprised when I explain that “another people” or “another countries” is a mistake.
When you are teaching the parts of speech to ESL learners, it is important to go through the classifications and point out any inconsistencies such as this.
For more tips on how to teach the parts of speech, you can refer to my full post on the subject [coming soon].
The Importance of the Parts of Speech concerning brain development
The parts of speech isn’t just about constructing diagrams of sentences. It also develops your brain by creating new neural pathways. But don’t take my word for it, here is a summary based on findings from articles published by Science Daily and the National Library of Medicine.
Building New Neural Pathways
· Learning parts of speech is not just about grammar; it actively engages the brain in creating new neural pathways.
· This process enhances cognitive functions related to language acquisition, making language patterns more accessible.
· Research indicates that different areas of the brain play distinct roles in language learning, with both hemispheres contributing to various aspects of processing sounds and grammar.
· For instance, studies have shown that while the left hemisphere is traditionally associated with language processing, the right hemisphere is vital in early stages, particularly in recognizing phonological elements
So, learning language and the parts of speech develops your brain and keeps you sharp. Even if you develop common mistakes, they can be fixed through repeated practice. This practice helps your brain rewrite its “network,” allowing you to eventually fix common mistakes.
If you would like to study more on this, stay tuned for my upcoming post on why you need to make more of the same mistake to fix it.
Now you know the Importance of Parts of Speech for ESL learners, what resources can you find to teach or practice the parts of speech?
ESL and EFL coursebooks and grammar exercise books are pretty weak options when it comes to teaching the parts of speech. Sure, many of these resources have exercises on adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and more.
Yet, these books do not teach the parts of speech from the “big picture” viewpoint.
If you’re a teacher, you want to add some resources to your library that will get your students to “connect the dots” not just learning collocations.
Here are some recommended workbooks that teach parts of speech in the native speaker style as they are used in American primary and middle school contexts:
You should start with an English Grammar Explainer
Most grammar books give you lots of exercises but are short on explanations. I mean the explanations are literally one or two sentences long.
A good grammar explainer will cover the following:
- starts with the parts of speech,
- teaches you sentences structure,
- warns against the trouble spots,
- teaches you complex sentence types,
- and focuses on developing grammatical flexibility.
The verb tenses are important, but they are higher level concepts. We’re focusing on the parts of speech here, and my book does it better than most other resources out there. It was written with non-native speakers in mind.
The Best English Grammar Workbooks for Teaching and Learning the parts of speech
The parts of speech are mostly taught in primary and secondary schools in native English speaking countries. Naturally, there is where you’ll find the best resources to teach, learn, and exercise the parts of speech.
The templates and lessons in this book help make teaching grammar skills like sentence building, clauses, parts of speech, and punctuation into a hands-on experience.
This book allows students to make cut out cards to past into their notebook. It’s great for active, hands-on learning.
The Best English Grammar Workbooks for Parts of speech Exercises
Part of speech exercises are often recognition exercises. They focus the learner on identifying the part of speech in the sentence and connecting it to the other parts of speech it associates with.
Here, I will recommend at three levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
What I like about these workbooks is that they progressively unlock more categories within each part of speech. They also give a great deal of exercises you will find useful for the mechanical parts of the language. I’m talking about worksheets to practice:
- auxiliary verbs
- regular and irregular verbs
- subject-verb agreement
- and more!
Elementary
Intermediate
Advanced
Final Thoughts and Reflections
Whether you’re an English teacher or an English learner somewhere abroad, the parts of speech are an important but often overlooked form of grammar. If you’re in need of resources, these books are an excellent choice as each one is part of my eBook collection.
Furthermore, if you would like to explore more knowledge on the parts of speech, check out my main post on the subject.
What about you? I’d love to hear your thoughts on why the parts of speech are important. Please share your thoughts and stories as a comment below.
