Guide to Grammatical Categories – TOEIC® Preparation
Flow Exam team
When starting to learn English, mastering the function of words within the sentence is a fundamental step. These classifications are known as grammatical categories (or parts of speech in English). They provide an essential framework for deciphering the architecture of utterances and understanding the relationships between elements.
The central objective of this guide is to present essential grammatical concepts in a structured and accessible manner. For each section, you will find a link to in-depth resources, specifically designed to optimize your TOEIC® preparation.
1. The Main Grammatical Families (Parts of Speech)
The English language is organized around 8 fundamental grammatical classes, supplemented by determiners which structure nominal reference. Here is a visual summary in table format:
| Category | Function | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nouns | Identify a person, place, thing, or abstract concept. | dog, Paris, freedom, computer, knowledge |
| Pronouns | Substitute a noun to avoid redundancy. | I, you, we, who, which, anyone, themselves |
| Verbs | Express an action, process, or state. | walk, become, appear, study, think |
| Adjectives | Qualify or characterize a noun (appearance, dimension, judgment, etc.). | red, tall, tasty, brilliant, modern |
| Adverbs | Modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. | slowly, extremely, rarely, perfectly, too |
| Prepositions | Establish a link by specifying a spatial, temporal, or logical relationship. | at, from, with, above, during, since, due to |
| Conjunctions | Connect words, groups of words, or clauses. | and, yet, while, if, unless, therefore |
| Interjections | Express an immediate emotional reaction. | Ah!, Ouch!, Bravo!, Yikes! |
| Determiners | Precede a noun to determine its referential scope. | the, a, these, several, each, any |
This guide offers you direct links to the detailed courses associated with each of these families, for targeted TOEIC® preparation.
2. Frequent Prefixes in English (Prefixes)
A prefix is an element placed before the root of a word to change its meaning. These additions frequently introduce negation, an inversion of meaning, or a temporal nuance.
| Prefix | Main Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| un- | Negation, antonym | kind → unkind, lock → unlock |
| dis- | Opposite, separation | appear → disappear, honest → dishonest |
| re- | Repetition, new start | read → reread, start → restart |
| mis- | Error, wrong execution | lead → mislead, judge → misjudge |
| in-/im-/il-/ir- | Negation (phonetic adaptation) | visible → invisible, patient → impatient, logical → illogical, responsible → irresponsible |
3. Suffixes and Their Impact on Grammatical Class
Suffixes are endings added to the base of a word to alter its meaning or change its grammatical nature. A verb can thus transform into a noun or an adjective thanks to these morphological markers.
| Suffix | Category obtained | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -tion / -sion / -ation | Noun (process, result) | educate → education, revise → revision |
| -ment | Noun (action, state) | improve → improvement, enjoy → enjoyment |
| -ness | Noun (quality, characteristic) | kind → kindness, weak → weakness |
| -ity / -ty | Noun (property, condition) | real → reality, certain → certainty |
| -er / -or | Noun (agent, instrument) | write → writer, direct → director |
| -able / -ible | Adjective (capacity, possibility) | predict → predictable, sense → sensible |
| -ous | Adjective (characteristic, nature) | poison → poisonous, mystery → mysterious |
| -ful | Adjective (presence of) | care → careful, wonder → wonderful |
| -less | Adjective (deprivation of) | hope → hopeless, end → endless |
| -ive | Adjective (disposition, quality) | effect → effective, attract → attractive |
| -ly | Adverb (modality) | slow → slowly, careful → carefully |
| -ize / -ise (UK) | Verb (action of making) | legal → legalize, organ → organize |
| -ify | Verb (transformation) | intense → intensify, class → classify |
| -ate | Verb (process, action) | motiv(e) → motivate, valid → validate |
These endings are valuable clues for identifying the function of a word in a sentence. If you spot an ending in -ly, it is very likely an adverb. A final in -tion generally signals a noun.
4. Common Prepositions and Their Uses
Prepositions ensure the link between different sentence constituents. They essentially express relationships of location, temporality, or manner.
| Type of Preposition | Examples | Illustrations |
|---|---|---|
| Prepositions of Place | in, on, at, behind, among, beside | The keys are in the drawer. The meeting is at the office. |
| Prepositions of Time | before, after, during, until, from, at, on, in | She arrived before noon. They've worked here since January. |
| Prepositions of Means | by, with, via, through | She contacted us via email. He fixed it with a screwdriver. |
| Prepositions of Cause/Reason | because of, due to, owing to, thanks to | The event was canceled due to bad weather. |
- 🔗 Course on prepositions for the TOEIC®
- 🔗 Course on prepositions to use after a verb for the TOEIC®
- 🔗 Course on prepositions to use after an adjective for the TOEIC®
- 🔗 Course on prepositions to use after a noun for the TOEIC®
5. Common Conjunctions and Their Roles
Conjunctions play a central role in connecting syntactic elements and establishing logical relationships between ideas.
| Type of Conjunction | Examples | Illustrations |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinating Conjunctions | and, but, or, so, yet, for, nor | She's talented and hardworking. It's expensive but worth it. |
| Subordinating Conjunctions | because, although, while, if, unless, as, since | We left early because the weather was bad. Unless you hurry, you'll be late. |
Conclusion
These visual summaries offer a global and immediate understanding of the main grammatical classes. They will allow you to construct correct sentences and limit common errors. Do not hesitate to explore each resource to access detailed explanations and targeted exercises.
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