CCEA GCSE English Language

Writers choose words and build sentences to shape what a reader notices and feels. Naming the word class or sentence form precisely is only the first step: the useful part is saying what the choice does in that place. ## Word classes A **noun** names a person, place, thing or idea. A **concrete noun** can be seen or touched (the harbour, a rusted gate), an **abstract noun** names a quality or idea (loneliness, freedom) and a **proper noun** names a particular person or place and takes a capital letter. A text full of abstract nouns often sounds serious or argumentative, while concrete nouns anchor description in the physical world. **Verbs** carry action and state. Strong, specific verbs ("she stumbled", "he glared") give more than a general verb with an adverb ("she walked badly"). The tense matters too: the present tense makes events feel immediate, the past tense suits a story told from a distance, and the future tense is common in promises and persuasion ("you will feel the difference"). **Modal verbs** (can, could, will, would, must, should, might) show how certain or necessary something is. "We must act now" is a demand; "we might act" is a possibility. An advert or a politician who writes "will" rather than "could" is claiming certainty. **Adjectives** describe nouns and **adverbs** describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They build the picture and the attitude. "A cold, unlit room" tells the reader how to feel in a way "a room" does not. A string of positive…