English for Bangladesh: From Fundamentals to Fluency (3 of 20): Mastering Parts of Speech with Your Favourite Bangladeshi Cricket Team! Part3

September 26, 2025

 


The Analogy: Your Sentence is a Cricket Match

Before we meet the players, let's set the scene. Imagine a cricket match.

  • The Stadium (The Context): This is the situation you’re talking about. It could be a buzzing Shaheed Minar on Ekushey February, a crowded kitchen during Iftar, or a quiet village in Barishal.

  • The Two Teams (The Sentence): Every sentence has two basic sides: Who/What (the subject) and What’s happening (the predicate). It’s like two teams playing against each other.

  • The Players (The Parts of Speech): Each word in your sentence is a player with a specific role.

Now, let’s meet our star players!

Player 1: The NOUN (The Star Batsman - Shakib Al Hasan)

🏏 The Role:

The Noun is your star player, the foundation of your team. This is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is all about. Without a noun, you have no one to play the game. Just like you can’t have a cricket match without Shakib Al Hasan anchoring the innings, you can’t have a sentence without a noun (or its cousin, the pronoun).

Scientific Bit: A noun is a word that represents a concrete or abstract entity. It can be the subject (the doer), the object (the receiver), or the complement (completes the meaning) in a sentence.

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Scenarios & Examples:

  • Person: Shakib, the student, my ami (mother), a rickshawala.

  • Place: Dhaka, Cox's Bazar, my school, the bazaar.

  • Thing: the book, a fuchka, the cricket bat, money.

  • Idea/Feeling: shanti (peace), bhalobasha (love), swadhinata (independence).

In Action:

  • "Shakib hit a six." (The sentence is about Shakib).

  • "Dhaka is very busy." (The sentence is about Dhaka).

  • "Bhalobasha is a beautiful feeling." (The sentence is about love).

⚡ Level Up for IELTS/Job:

Basic nouns are good, but powerful nouns make your language impressive.

  • Beginner: "Dhaka is a big city."

  • Advanced: "Dhaka is a sprawling metropolis, a hub of commerce and culture."

  • Beginner: "The man is a leader."

  • Advanced: "The man is a visionary and a pioneer in his field."

See? "Metropolis," "hub," "visionary," "pioneer" are all specific, powerful nouns.

Player 2: The VERB (The Action Bowler - Taskin Ahmed)

🏏 The Role:

If the Noun is the star batsman, the Verb is the fiery fast bowler who creates all the action! The verb expresses what the noun does, what happens to it, or what state it’s in. A sentence is incomplete without a verb. It’s the engine of your sentence. Taskin Ahmed’s bowling makes things happen on the field; the verb makes things happen in your sentence.

Scientific Bit: Verbs express actions (run, eat), occurrences (happen, become), or states of being (is, seem, exist).

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Scenarios & Examples:

  • Action: plays, eats, runs, sells (like a street vendor selling cha).

  • Occurrence: becomes (e.g., "The sky becomes red during sunset.").

  • State of Being: is, am, are (e.g., "I am a Bangladeshi.").

In Action:

  • "The student studies." (What does the student do? He studies).

  • "The water is cold." (What is the state of the water? It is cold).

  • "The crowd cheered." (What happened? The crowd cheered).

⚡ Level Up for IELTS/Job:

Weak verbs create weak sentences. Strong verbs create impact.

  • Beginner: "The company made a lot of money."

  • Advanced: "The company generated substantial revenue." or "The startup secured massive funding."

  • Beginner: "He went to the meeting."

  • Advanced: "He commuted to the meeting." or "He rushed to the crucial appointment."

Player 3: The ADJECTIVE (The Coach - Chandika Hathurusingha)

🏏 The Role:

The Coach doesn’t play directly, but he describes, modifies, and improves the players. Similarly, an Adjective describes, modifies, or gives more information about a noun. It answers questions like: What kind? Which one? How many? Coach Hathurusingha tells us Shakib is an excellent all-rounder; the adjective "excellent" describes the noun "all-rounder."

Scientific Bit: Adjectives qualify or specify a noun or pronoun.

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Scenarios & Examples:

  • What kind? gorom (hot) cha, shundor (beautiful) prokriti, baje (bad) ghum.

  • Which one? oi (that) boi, prothom (first) din.

  • How many? dui (two) jon, onek (many) manush.

In Action:

  • "She bought a red sari." (What kind of sari? A red one).

  • "It was a long journey." (What kind of journey? A long one).

  • "Give me five takas." (How many takas? Five).

⚡ Level Up for IELTS/Job:

Adjectives add color. Vivid adjectives create a picture.

  • Beginner: "Dhaka is a big city."

  • Advanced: "Dhaka is an overwhelmingly massive, densely populated, and relentlessly energetic hub."

  • Beginner: "The food was good."

  • Advanced: "The Iftar platter was exquisite, flavorful, and utterly delicious."

Player 4: The ADVERB (The Commentator - Athar Ali Khan)

🏏 The Role:

The Commentator doesn’t play or coach, but he tells us how the action is happening! He adds flavor to the game. "Shakib batted brilliantly!" The Adverb does the same. It describes a verb, an adjective, or even another adverb. It tells us how, when, where, or to what extent something happens. Athar Ali Khan’s commentary ("Oi hoye gelo! What a shot!") is the adverb of the cricket match.

Scientific Bit: Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or even whole sentences.

🇧🇩 Bangladeshi Scenarios & Examples:

  • How? (Manner): fasta fasti (quickly), oste (slowly), bhalo (well) - "She sings **bhalo**."

  • When? (Time): akhon (now), kal (yesterday/tomorrow), sokale (in the morning).

  • Where? (Place): eikhane (here), oikhane (there), baire (outside).

  • To what extent? (Degree): khub (very), otho (extremely), ektu (a little).

In Action:

  • "He ran quickly." (How did he run? Quickly).

  • "She will come tomorrow." (When will she come? Tomorrow).

  • "The tea is very hot." (To what extent is it hot? Very).

⚡ Level Up for IELTS/Job:

Adverbs add sophistication and precision.

  • Beginner: "He spoke loudly."

  • Advanced: "He argued passionately and articulated his points exceptionally clearly."

  • Beginner: "The economy grew."

  • Advanced: "The economy grew remarkably and consistently over the decade."

The Supporting Players: Completing the Squad

A great team needs more than just four players. Here are the crucial supporting roles.

Player 5: The PRONOUN (The Substitute Fielder - Najmul Hossain Shanto)

🏏 The Role:

What if Shakib gets tired? You send in a substitute, like Najmul Hossain Shanto. A Pronoun is a word that substitutes for a noun to avoid repetition. Instead of saying "Shakib" again and again, we say "he."

Types: I, you, he, she, it, we, they (Personal Pronouns); this, that (Demonstrative); who, which (Relative).

🇧🇩 Example: "Rahim is a good boy. He studies hard." ("He" replaces "Rahim").

Player 6: The PREPOSITION (The Field Position - Silly Point, Third Man)

🏏 The Role:

Prepositions show the relationship between a noun/pronoun and other words in a sentence. They often indicate position, time, or direction. Think of them as the fielding positions on the cricket ground. They tell you where the action is happening in relation to something else.

🇧🇩 Examples:

  • Place: The book is on the table. He is in Dhaka. She stood under the umbrella during the boishakhi storm.

  • Time: Meet me at 3 PM. We eat biryani on Eid day.

Player 7: The CONJUNCTION (The Team Captain - Tamim Iqbal)

🏏 The Role:

The Captain connects the players and builds the strategy. A Conjunction is a connector. It joins words, phrases, or clauses together. It’s the glue of your sentence.

Types:

  • Coordinating (FANBOYS): For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

    • "I like tea and coffee."

    • "I wanted to go to the Pohela Boishakh mela, but it was raining."

  • Subordinating: because, although, if, when.

    • "I stayed home because it was raining."

Player 8: The INTERJECTION (The Cheering Crowd at Mirpur Stadium!)

🏏 The Role:

This is the emotion! The crowd’s reaction! An Interjection is a word or phrase that expresses strong emotion or surprise. It stands alone, often followed by an exclamation mark.

🇧🇩 Examples:

  • Wah! (Wow!) - Wah! Ki shundor dokan! (Wow! What a beautiful shop!)

  • Oi! (Hey!) - Oi! Eikhane eso! (Hey! Come here!)

  • Haye! (Oh no!/Alas!) - Haye! Amar phone ti pore geshe! (Oh no! My phone fell!)

  • Ki je bhalo! (How nice!) - Ki je bhalo lagche! (It feels so good!)

⚡ The Grand Interactive Task: Let's Build Sentences!

Now, let's put our Word Warrior XI to the test. We'll start with a simple idea and build it into a powerful sentence, just like you would for an exam or a job application.

Theme: Pohela Boishakh (Bengali New Year)

Step 1: The Basic Idea (The Pitch)
We want to talk about the celebrations.

Step 2: Choose Your Core Players (Noun & Verb)

  • Noun (Who/What?): People, crowd, everyone.

  • Verb (What do they do?): Celebrate, enjoy, gather.

Basic Sentence: "People celebrate."

Step 3: Add an Adjective (The Coach) to describe the Noun.

  • Adjective: Colorful, joyful, thousands of.

Improved Sentence: "Colorful people celebrate."

Step 4: Add an Adverb (The Commentator) to describe the Verb.

  • Adverb: Joyfully, enthusiastically, together.

Better Sentence: "Colorful people celebrate joyfully."

Step 5: Add a Prepositional Phrase (The Field Position) for context.

  • Prepositional Phrase: in the streets, at Ramna Batamul, with great enthusiasm.

Strong Sentence: "Colorful people celebrate joyfully in the streets of Dhaka."

Step 6: Use a Conjunction (The Captain) to connect another idea.

  • Conjunction: and, while, because.

Advanced Sentence: "Colorful people celebrate joyfully in the streets of Dhaka, and the air is filled with the sound of songs."

Step 7: Maybe start with an Interjection (The Crowd) for emotion!

  • Interjection: Wow! What a sight!

Final, Powerful Sentence:
"Wow! A vibrant sea of colorful people celebrates joyfully in the bustling streets of Dhaka, and the festive air resonates with traditional Bengali songs."

See the transformation?
From a boring "People celebrate" to a vivid, descriptive, and impressive sentence. This is the power of knowing your Word Warriors!

Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (The DRS Review!)

Even the best players make mistakes. Let's review some common errors using our cricket analogy.

  1. The Run-Out (Missing a Verb):

    • Incorrect: "The beautiful sari of the woman." (Where's the action? This is just a phrase, not a sentence).

    • Correct: "The woman is wearing a beautiful sari." (Ah, we added the verb "is wearing" – now the sentence is complete!).

  2. The No-Ball (Wrong Adjective/Adverb Use):

    • Incorrect: "She sings beautiful." (You're using an adjective "beautiful" to describe the verb "sings". The coach can't commentate!).

    • Correct: "She sings beautifully." (Use the adverb "beautifully" to describe how she sings).

  3. The Mismatched Substitute (Wrong Pronoun):

    • Incorrect: "Everyone should bring their own book." (Traditionally, "everyone" is singular, so it should be "his or her" book, though "their" is becoming widely accepted in informal English).

    • Correct (Formal): "Everyone should bring his or her own book."

    • Correct (Common): "All students should bring their own books."

Conclusion: You are the Captain Now

Congratulations! You’ve just met your Word Warrior XI. You now understand that:

  • Nouns are your star players.

  • Verbs are your action heroes.

  • Adjectives are your coaches, adding detail.

  • Adverbs are your commentators, adding flair.

  • Pronouns, Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections are your essential support staff.

This isn't just knowledge; it's a new way of seeing language. From now on, when you speak or write, think like a cricket captain. Which player do I need? How can I make my sentence stronger?

This is just the beginning. In our next article, we’ll dive into The Power of Articles (A, An, The) – the tiny but mighty players that can change the entire meaning of your sentence.

📝 Your Homework (The Net Practice)

To truly become a Word Warrior, you must practice. Here are three tasks for you:

  1. The Commentator: Watch a clip of a Bangladesh cricket match on YouTube (with the sound off). Write three sentences describing the action, consciously using Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs. (e.g., "The enthusiastic crowd cheers loudly as the talented bowler runs in quickly.")

  2. The Storyteller: Write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) describing your last visit to a Bangladeshi mela (fair) or a relative's house in the village. Underline each Part of Speech in a different color.

  3. The IELTS Warrior: Take this simple sentence and level it up using our step-by-step process: "The river is wide." Try to make it as descriptive and impressive as you can. Post your best version in the comments below!

Share your answers in the comments! Let’s learn together. And don’t forget to subscribe to get the next article in this series directly in your inbox.

Happy Learning, Future Champions!

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