Google is basically a giant, sophisticated linguistics professor with a trillion-dollar budget. If you've ever wondered why some pages sit at the top of the SERPs while others rot on page ten, the answer often boils down to a single linguistic concept: the part of speech.
It sounds boring. Like middle school grammar boring. But for SEO, it's everything.
When you type a query into a search bar, Google doesn't just look for matches. It tries to figure out if you're looking for an action, a person, a place, or a thing. This is called Intent Classification. If you search for "running," Google thinks you want a verb—the act of running, maybe some tips, or a local club. If you search for "running shoes," it pivots to the noun. The part of speech you target in your headers and meta tags acts as a signal flare for Google’s BERT and MUM algorithms.
Why Nouns Own the Featured Snippet
Nouns are the heavy lifters. Most of the time, when we talk about a part of speech in the context of Google Discover or search, we are talking about entities. Entities are almost always nouns or proper nouns.
Think about how Google Discover works. It’s a push-based system. It doesn’t wait for you to ask; it suggests things based on what it thinks you like. It builds a "Knowledge Graph" around you. This graph is composed of nodes. Every node is a noun. If you’ve been reading about "Tesla," "Elon Musk," or "SpaceX," Google is tracking those nouns.
Lily Ray, a well-known SEO expert, often discusses how E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) isn't just a vibe—it's tied to how these entities are connected. If your article focuses on a specific part of speech like a concrete noun (e.g., "iPhone 15 Pro Max") rather than an abstract concept, you have a much higher chance of appearing in the "Interesting Finds" or "Discover" feed.
Why? Because nouns are easy to categorize.
Verbs are harder. "How to fix a bike" is a verb-heavy intent. It’s instructional. Google will show you a video or a list. But "Bike repair kits"? That’s a noun. That’s where the shopping ads live. That’s where the money is. If you want to rank, you have to decide if your page is a "How-to" (Verb) or a "What-is" (Noun).
The Secret Power of the Adjective in Discover
If nouns get you into the Knowledge Graph, adjectives get you the clicks in Google Discover.
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Discover is an emotional beast. It’s more like social media than traditional search. When a user scrolls their feed, they aren't looking for "Weather in Chicago." They are looking for "Dangerous Storms Heading to Chicago." That word—"Dangerous"—is the part of speech that triggers the dopamine hit.
In a 2023 study by Backlinko, it was noted that headlines with high emotional sentiment (often driven by powerful adjectives) had a significantly higher Click-Through Rate (CTR) in Discover. But there’s a catch. If you overdo it, you hit "clickbait" territory. Google’s manual actions team hates that.
The trick is using adjectives that provide context, not just hype. Instead of "Amazing SEO Tips," try "Scalable SEO Frameworks." "Scalable" is an adjective that defines a specific business need. It tells Google this isn't just a generic list; it’s a professional resource.
Search Intent and the Grammar of Queries
Honestly, most people get search intent wrong because they ignore the grammar of the query.
Google uses Natural Language Processing (NLP). It looks at the part of speech distribution to decide what kind of layout to show the user.
- Query: "Best laptops" (Adjective + Noun). This triggers a commercial investigation intent. You get listicles.
- Query: "Buy laptop" (Verb + Noun). This triggers a transactional intent. You get product grids.
- Query: "Laptop" (Noun). This is ambiguous. Google will show a mix of Wikipedia, news, and shopping.
If your content is a long-form essay but your title is just a single noun, you’re fighting an uphill battle. You’re telling Google you’re a general resource, but your content is specific. You’ve got to align your primary part of speech with the user's likely goal.
The Role of Prepositions
Don’t sleep on prepositions. "With," "For," and "Against" are the bridge-builders of SEO.
When you see "X vs Y" articles, the "vs" (a preposition) is what defines the entire search landscape. These are high-intent keywords. If you’re writing about a part of speech that ranks, you need to look at how these tiny words change the meaning. "Sunscreen for kids" is a totally different market than "Sunscreen with zinc." One is audience-focused; the other is ingredient-focused. Google knows the difference.
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Google Discover and the "Trigger" Phrase
Google Discover doesn't use keywords in the traditional sense. It uses "interests." These interests are derived from your search history, but the way they are surfaced depends on the phrasing of your headlines.
I’ve seen sites lose 90% of their Discover traffic because they switched from conversational headers to "SEO-optimized" headers.
A conversational header often uses pronouns. "Why you need this" or "How I fixed my car." This part of speech—the personal pronoun—creates a connection. It signals to Google that this is first-hand experience, which is a core part of the "E" in E-E-A-T.
Google’s 2022 "Helpful Content Update" explicitly started rewarding content that felt like it was written by a human for a human. Humans use pronouns. Bots usually don't—or they use them in weird, repetitive ways.
How to Audit Your Content’s Grammar for SEO
You don't need to be a linguist. You just need to be observant.
Look at your top-performing pages. What is the dominant part of speech in your H1? Is it a "How-to" verb-led title? Or is it a "The 10 Best" adjective-led title?
- Check your headers. If they are all just nouns, you’re likely missing out on long-tail traffic.
- Analyze your snippets. Are you using active verbs? "This guide shows" is better than "This guide is about."
- Watch your modifiers. Adverbs like "quickly," "effectively," or "cheaply" can narrow down your audience.
I once worked with a client who couldn't rank for "Project Management Software." We changed their focus to "Agile Project Management Tools." By adding the adjective "Agile" and switching "Software" to the plural noun "Tools," we hit a more specific search intent. Traffic tripled in two months.
The Nuance of "Part of Speech" in Local SEO
For local businesses, the part of speech that matters most is the proper noun (the city or neighborhood name) and the preposition "near."
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Google has gotten incredibly good at understanding "near me" searches without the user actually typing "near me." If you’re a plumber in Chicago, you don't just want to rank for "plumber." You want to rank for "Emergency plumber in Logan Square."
Here, the part of speech interaction is:
- Adjective: Emergency
- Noun: Plumber
- Preposition: In
- Proper Noun: Logan Square
This string tells a complete story. It tells Google the urgency, the service, and the location.
The Downside of Over-Optimization
Don't go crazy. If you start stuffing your text with specific parts of speech just to please the algorithm, you’ll end up with unreadable garbage. Google’s MUM (Multitask Unified Model) is smart enough to see through "keyword stuffing 2.0."
The goal isn't to manipulate the part of speech count; it's to use the right language to describe your topic accurately. If you're writing about a complex scientific process, you'll naturally use more nouns and passive voice. If you're writing a fitness guide, you'll use more imperative verbs.
Authenticity wins.
Actionable Steps for Your Content Strategy
Start by looking at the "People Also Ask" (PAA) boxes for your target keyword.
Notice the grammar. Are the questions starting with "What" (seeking a noun/definition)? Or "How" (seeking a verb/process)?
- If the PAA is "What" heavy: Focus your article on definitions, history, and entity-relationships. Use clear, declarative sentences.
- If the PAA is "How" heavy: Create a step-by-step guide. Use imperative verbs at the start of your instructions (e.g., "Click the button," "Download the file").
- For Google Discover: Experiment with "curiosity gap" headlines that use intriguing adjectives or personal pronouns.
- Audit your metadata: Ensure your Meta Description uses an active verb to encourage the click. Instead of "A post about dogs," try "Discover why these 5 dog breeds are perfect for small apartments."
Google is no longer just a keyword matcher. It is a language engine. By understanding how a simple part of speech can change the entire context of a page, you're not just doing SEO—you're communicating more effectively with both the machine and the human behind the screen.
Review your last three blog posts. Identify the primary intent. If the grammar of your title doesn't match the intent of the searcher, change it. Sometimes a single word—a verb changed to a noun, or an adjective added for flavor—is the only thing standing between you and the first page.