Grammar Categories Guide – TOEIC® Preparation
Flow Exam team
Grammatical categories (parts of speech) refer to the function of a word within a sentence: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.
For the TOEIC®, you must be able to identify them in seconds to choose the right answer in Parts 5 and 6. For example, if a sentence contains "The manager spoke ___", you must recognize that an adverb (directly, clearly) is missing, not an adjective (direct, clear).
The main pitfall: words belonging to the same family (success / successful / successfully) that look alike but have different functions.
The goal of this guide is to present the fundamentals of English grammar in a concise way. For each concept covered, you will find a cross-reference to an in-depth resource, which will allow you to optimize your TOEIC® preparation.
Parts of Speech: 8 Categories + Determiners
The English language is structured around 8 major grammatical categories, supplemented by determiners that structure the utterance. Here is a summary organized in a table:
| Category | Function | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nouns | Identify a person, place, object, or abstract concept. | dog, Paris, joy, laptop, data |
| Determiners | Precede a noun to specify its reference or quantity. | the, a, this, these, several, much |
| Adjectives | Qualify a noun (appearance, size, quality, etc.). | gorgeous, tiny, tasty, clever |
| Pronouns | Substitute for a noun to avoid redundancy. | I, you, we, who, which, anything, ourselves |
| Verbs | Express an action, process, or state. | walk, become, appear, study, think |
| Adverbs | Modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. | rapidly, extremely, rarely, perfectly, too |
| Prepositions | Establish a spatial, temporal, or logical relationship between words. | at, by, during, beneath, since, despite |
| Conjunctions | Connect words, groups of words, or clauses. | and, yet, while, unless, therefore |
| Interjections | Express a vivid or spontaneous emotion. | Wow!, Ah!, Ouch!, Hooray! |
In this guide, you will find links to detailed courses for each of these categories to deepen your TOEIC® preparation.
Common Prefixes for the TOEIC®
Prefixes are particles placed at the beginning of a word to change its meaning. They often allow the expression of negation, opposition, or iteration.
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| un- | Negation, opposite | kind → unkind, lock → unlock |
| in- / im- / il- / ir- | Negation (varies by consonant) | complete → incomplete, mature → immature, literate → illiterate, relevant → irrelevant |
| dis- | Opposition, opposite, separation | appear → disappear, like → dislike |
| mis- | Error, improper execution | inform → misinform, judge → misjudge |
| re- | Repetition, starting again | do → redo, start → restart |
Suffixes and Their Impact on Grammatical Category
Suffixes are endings added to the end of a word to change its meaning or shift its grammatical nature. A verb can thus be transformed into a noun, an adjective, or an adverb using an appropriate suffix.
| Suffix | Resulting Category | Meaning / Function | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ize / -ise (UK) | Verb | To make, to transform into | standard → standardize, visual → visualize |
| -ify | Verb | To make, to transform | pure → purify, intense → intensify |
| -ate | Verb | Action, transformation | motiv → motivate, origin → originate |
| -tion / -sion / -ation | Noun | Action, result, process | educate → education, discuss → discussion |
| -ment | Noun | State, result | improve → improvement, enjoy → enjoyment |
| -ness | Noun | Quality, state | kind → kindness, weak → weakness |
| -ity / -ty | Noun | Property, characteristic | similar → similarity, honest → honesty |
| -er / -or | Noun | Agent (person or thing) | write → writer, invent → inventor |
| -able / -ible | Adjective | Ability, possibility | comfort → comfortable, convert → convertible |
| -ous | Adjective | Characteristic, nature | mystery → mysterious, glory → glorious |
| -ful | Adjective | Abundance, presence of | care → careful, power → powerful |
| -less | Adjective | Absence, lack of | fear → fearless, hope → hopeless |
| -ive | Adjective | Tendency, disposition | product → productive, attract → attractive |
| -ly | Adverb | Manner, way | slow → slowly, careful → carefully |
These endings allow you to deduce the function of an unknown word in a sentence. If you spot a word ending in -ly, it is very likely an adverb. Similarly, a suffix like -tion generally indicates a noun.
Essential Prepositions and Their Usage Contexts
Prepositions are used to link various elements within a sentence. They primarily express spatial, temporal, or instrumental relationships.
| Preposition Type | Examples | Illustrations |
|---|---|---|
| Time Prepositions | before, after, during, until, from, in, on, at | We'll meet before noon. She's been here since Monday. |
| Place Prepositions | in, on, at, above, beside, near | They work in an office. The keys are on the desk. |
| Cause Prepositions | because of, due to, owing to, thanks to | The event was canceled due to bad weather. |
| Means Prepositions | by, with, through, via | He sent the file by email. She opened the door with a key. |
- 🔗 Course on Prepositions for the TOEIC®
- 🔗 Course on Prepositions to Choose After a Verb for the TOEIC®
- 🔗 Course on Prepositions to Choose After an Adjective for the TOEIC®
- 🔗 Course on Prepositions to Choose After a Noun for the TOEIC®
Frequent Conjunctions and Their Syntactic Role
Conjunctions play a crucial role in connecting different elements in a sentence and establishing logical relationships between them.
| Conjunction Type | Examples | Illustrations |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinating Conjunctions | and, but, or, so, yet, nor, for | She speaks French and Spanish. The project was challenging but rewarding. |
| Subordinating Conjunctions | because, although, if, when, while, since, unless, until | I'll attend the meeting if I finish on time. Although it rained, we enjoyed the trip. |
Summary and Next Steps
These summary tables provide you with a structured and accessible overview of English grammatical categories. They form a solid foundation for constructing correct sentences and limiting grammar errors. Feel free to explore each link provided to access in-depth and targeted courses.
Additional Resources for the TOEIC®
Ready to practice?
The past continuous tense is one of the most tested tenses in Parts 5 and 6. It often appears in sentences with "when" or "while" which play on interruption or simultaneity. The challenge is recognizing the clues quickly so you don't waste time on test day.
On Flow Exam, you can practice directly on each of the themes covered previously (Prepositions, Nouns, ...) in Part 5, with thousands of questions in the same format as the official TOEIC® exam.
Some superpowers of the Flow Exam platform:
- 150 truly exclusive tips based on the experience of over 500 candidates who scored +950 on the TOEIC®: clear, concrete, tested, and validated in the field.
- Intelligent practice system that adapts exercises to your profile and drills you directly on the topics where you make the most mistakes. Result → 3.46x faster progress compared to traditional platforms.
- Ultra-personalized learning path: targeted practice only on the questions and topics causing you to lose points → continuously adjusted to match your evolving level.
- Personalized statistics for over 200 specific topics (adverbs, pronouns, linking words, etc.)
- Real Condition Mode exactly like Test Day (reading instructions during Listening, timer, etc.) → You can activate it anytime.
- Flashcards automatically generated from your own mistakes, and optimized by the Leitner system (spaced repetition) for lasting memory and zero forgotten items.
- +300 TOEIC® points guaranteed. Otherwise, a full refund.