Parts department: What sentences are made of

Chances are the parts of speech are a distant memory from your schooldays. If you’ve forgotten the difference between a preposition and an adverb, here’s a quick refresher:

The glow intensified.
Let’s start with the basics: “glow” is a noun — a word for a person, place, thing or concept. “Intensified” is a verb — an action word.

The glow in the alley intensified slowly.
“In” is a preposition — a word that says where things happen. “The” is an article (aka “determiner”) that indicates the thing being referred to. “Slowly” is an adverb that qualifies the action, describing how the glow intensified. (An adverb can also qualify an adjective.)

The glow in the alley intensified slowly as the rusty dumpster burned fiercely.
“Rusty” is an adjective that tells more about the noun “dumpster”.

The glow in the alley intensified slowly as the rusty dumpster burned fiercely and brightly. “Good riddance!” she said.
“And” is a conjunction — a joining word (as celebrated in this famous Schoolhouse Rocks video, Conjunction Junction). “Good riddance!” is an interjection — a word or phrase that adds flavour or emotion but isn’t required to understand the sentence. “She” is a pronoun — a word that takes the place of a noun.

Knowing the parts of speech can help you avoid errors and write with variety and confidence.