71. Grandma smiled and looked out of the window. It had been such a good day. Which of the following parts of speech best describes the underlined word in the sentence shown?
Answer: B
Grandma smiled and looked out of the window.
The underlined word "and" in the sentence functions as a conjunction, connecting the two actions performed by Grandma.
A) Interjection
An interjection is a part of speech that expresses a strong emotion or sudden burst of feeling, such as "wow" or "ouch." In this context, "and" does not convey any emotion or exclamation; therefore, it is not an interjection.
B) Conjunction
A conjunction is used to connect clauses or sentences, or to coordinate words in the same clause. In this case, "and" serves to link the two actions of smiling and looking, making it a conjunction.
C) Preposition
Prepositions are words that indicate relationships between nouns or pronouns and other elements in a sentence, such as "in," "on," or "at." The word "and" does not indicate a spatial or temporal relationship, thus it cannot be classified as a preposition.
D) Adjective
Adjectives are descriptive words that modify nouns, providing additional information about them, such as color or size. Since "and" does not describe a noun, it is not an adjective.
Conclusion
The correct identification of "and" as a conjunction is crucial, as it plays a key role in joining two actions in the sentence. All other options fail to accurately describe the function of "and," making it clear that option B is the only correct choice. Understanding parts of speech is essential for grasping sentence structure and meaning.