Classes of Word [En]

           Classes of word in English are adjective, adverb, noun, pronoun, and verb. 

Adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. We can identify a word is an adjective by considering what inflections or affixes it will allow. Adjective can be modified by the intensifier very, as in The children are very happy (Quirk, 1973: 114). Adjective also shows comparative and superlative form, The children are happier now as an example (Quirk, 1973: 115). Adjective functions as attributive, as shown in The beautiful painting (Quirk, 1973: 115). Adjective functions as object complement, for example: He pulled his belt tight (Quirk, 1973: 115). And adjective also functions as head of noun phrase, as like in the following example The extremely old need a great deal of attention (Quirk, 1973: 118).

            Adverb is a word or group of words that describes or adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence. The most characteristic of the adverb is morphological; the majority of the adverbs have the derivational suffix -ly. Adverb has two characteristics (functions); those are adverbs functions as adverbial, can be seen from He spoke to me about it briefly. The second function is adverb as modifier of adjective and adverb, which can be seen from She has a really beautiful face, and They are smoking very heavily (adverb as intensifier) (Quirk, 1973: 125-127).

            Noun is a word or group of words that refers to a person, a place, a thing or activity, or a quality or an idea. Noun can be divided into two subclasses; they are Count Noun and Non-Count Noun. Count noun means the noun which must be seen as individual countable entities and cannot be viewed as an undifferentiated mass (such as: chair, word, finger, remark). And Non-Count Noun means the noun which must be seen group of things as an undifferentiated mass or continuum (such as: grass, warmth, humor). Basically, the noun is also as the noun phrase that functions as subject, object, complement of the sentence, and as complement in prepositional phrase. In The girl is Mary Smith (Quirk, 1973: 59), the girl functions as a subject.

            Pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase. Pronoun constitutes a heterogeneous class of items with numerous subclasses, like: they, we, I, you, he, she, it, etc.

            Verb is the element of sentence that expresses or describes an action, an event, experience, or a state which is performed by the subject and it stands before object. One example of verb is grew in His brother grew happier gradually (Quirk, 1973: 12). The word grewin the example above is a verb; the word here can be said as a verb because it states an action of the subject.