use and understand the function of the following parts of speech in the context of reading, writing, and speaking:

1. verbs (irregular verbs and active voice);
2. collective nouns (e.g., class, public);
3. adjectives (e.g., descriptive, including origins: French windows, American cars) and their comparative and superlative forms (e.g., good, better, best);
4. adverbs (e.g., frequency: usually, sometimes; intensity: almost, a lot);
5. prepositions and prepositional phrases to convey location, time, direction, or to provide details;
6. indefinite pronouns (e.g., all, both, nothing, anything);
7. subordinating conjunctions (e.g., while, because, although, if); and
8. transitional words (e.g., also, therefore);