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What Are Words? Words are words are words are words. But, of course, we ALL know that is and is not the case! While some words can sometimes stand in for other words, every word is unique.

What Is Your Favorite Word? Why? What color is it? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? What does it like to do in its spare time? (By answering these questions, you are helping to distinguish what it is that makes one word so unique from other words that may be somewhat similar to it.)

How Many Words Are There? Have you ever tried to find out how many words there are in your language? How might you find an answer? Here’s another question: how many words do you know? Have you ever tried to count them all? If you could (and most of us can’t), you’d know the total number of words in your vocabulary.

Why Aren’t All Words The Same? Well, that is not an easy question to answer! But one way to think about this question is to try to ask the question in a more specific way. Do you mean: Why don’t all words mean the same thing? (I think you can answer that question!) Or possibly: Why are there different types of words? (This is a better question. Words not only mean things themselves, but also mean things in relation to one another. Depending on a word’s relationship to another word, it will have a certain function and therefore be of a certain type.

How Many Types of Words Are There? As you know, there are many types of words! There are big words and small words and loud words and quiet words. However, in terms of the major classes of words, there are only eight (8): Nouns Verbs Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Pronouns Conjunctions Articles

How Do I Remember All of These? Well, let’s go back to your favorite word. What kind of word is that word? You can find out by using the word. My favorite word is cat. By saying something about a cat, I can figure out what type of word it is. A cat is black. A cat is happy. A cat is smart. A cat is sleepy. A cat is pretty. I can keep going. Can you? I’m sure you can!!! Could your word replace “cat” in each of these sentences? If so, your word is the same type of word as cat!

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Thank You To my students, to the teachers and scholars who have written about writing instruction over the last 150 years, to you for buying this book, to Donald, of course, to Jill Magi, to my parents, to my aunt, to friends, the list of whose names would add many pages to this book, to all of my teachers and professors, and to many technology providers.

© 2014 Johannah Rodgers All rights reserved. Material may be reprinted only with express written permission of the author.