Describing Words
📖 Learn
Describing words help us tell more about people, places, animals, and things. They make our sentences more interesting!
What Are Describing Words?
Describing words tell us what something is like. They can tell us about:
- Size: big, small, tiny, huge
- Color: red, blue, green, yellow
- Shape: round, square, long, short
- How it feels: soft, hard, smooth, rough
- How it sounds: loud, quiet, noisy
Key Words to Know
- Describing Word (Adjective): A word that tells more about a noun (person, place, or thing)
- Noun: A word for a person, place, animal, or thing
Where Do Describing Words Go?
Describing words usually come before the noun:
- The fluffy cat
- A red apple
- The tall tree
Or they come after "is" or "are":
- The cat is fluffy.
- The apple is red.
- The trees are tall.
💡 Examples
Look at these examples of describing words in sentences.
Example 1: Describing Size
Look at this sentence:
"The tiny mouse ran fast."
Describing word: tiny
What it tells us: The mouse is very small.
Example 2: Describing Color
Look at this sentence:
"I ate a yellow banana."
Describing word: yellow
What it tells us: The color of the banana is yellow.
Example 3: Describing How Something Feels
Look at this sentence:
"The soft pillow is nice."
Describing word: soft
What it tells us: How the pillow feels when you touch it.
Example 4: Two Describing Words Together
Look at this sentence:
"The big, brown dog barked."
Describing words: big, brown
What they tell us: The size (big) and color (brown) of the dog.
Example 5: Describing Word After "Is"
Look at this sentence:
"The ice cream is cold."
Describing word: cold
What it tells us: The temperature of the ice cream.
✏️ Practice
Find the describing word in each sentence.
Problem 1
"The happy girl smiled."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
happy - It tells us how the girl feels.
Problem 2
"I see a blue bird."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
blue - It tells us the color of the bird.
Problem 3
"The loud thunder scared me."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
loud - It tells us how the thunder sounded.
Problem 4
"My book is heavy."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
heavy - It tells us about the weight of the book.
Problem 5
"We played in the deep snow."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
deep - It tells us how much snow there is.
Problem 6
"The round ball bounced high."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
round - It tells us the shape of the ball.
Problem 7
"The old car drove slowly."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
old - It tells us the age of the car.
Problem 8
"This soup is hot."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
hot - It tells us the temperature of the soup.
Problem 9
"The fuzzy kitten purred."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
fuzzy - It tells us how the kitten feels when you touch it.
Problem 10
"I drank the sweet juice."
What is the describing word?
Show Answer
sweet - It tells us how the juice tastes.
✅ Check Your Understanding
Answer these questions to see how well you understand describing words.
Question 1
What does a describing word do?
Show Answer
A describing word tells us more about a person, place, animal, or thing. It tells us what something is like (its size, color, shape, how it feels, sounds, or tastes).
Question 2
Where can describing words go in a sentence? Give an example.
Show Answer
Describing words can go before a noun (like "the tall tree") or after "is" or "are" (like "The tree is tall").
Question 3
Find two describing words in this sentence: "The little, white rabbit hopped."
Show Answer
little and white - "Little" tells us the size, and "white" tells us the color of the rabbit.
Question 4
Can you use more than one describing word for the same thing? Give an example.
Show Answer
Yes! You can use many describing words together. Example: "The big, fluffy, gray cat" uses three describing words (big, fluffy, gray) to tell us about the cat.
🚀 Next Steps
- Play a describing game: Pick something in your room and use three describing words to tell about it.
- Read and find: When you read a book, look for describing words that tell about the characters or places.
- Write your own: Draw a picture and write a sentence with a describing word about it.
- Keep learning: Move on to the Action Words lesson to learn about words that tell what things do!