Kids Learn With ConceptA naming word tells you what it is. A describing word tells you what it is like — big, small, square, blue. This is the lesson where a child's sentences stop being flat and start being interesting.
Read these words
- big house
- small cat
- square box
- blue bird
The highlighted words are describing words. They tell us more about naming words.
- The house is big.
- The cat is small.
- The box is square.
- The bird is blue.
Find the describing words in this passage
The little boy is looking out of the big window. The garden outside is colourful. It is full of red, yellow and pink flowers. The grass is green. There are white clouds in the blue sky.
Matching and filling in
Naming words and describing words, side by side
| Naming word | With a describing word |
|---|---|
| sun | hot sun |
| boy | young boy |
| grandmother | old grandmother |
| apple | red apple |
| orange | sweet orange |
| dog | cute dog |
| cat | fat cat |
| house | new house |
Remember: naming words name persons, places, animals and things. Describing words tell us more about naming words.
Naming word or describing word?
Practice from the lesson
- Match the describing words to the pictures they describe: old, grey, long, red, cold, round.
- Fill in the blanks using red | white | tall | chocolate: a) My teeth are ____. b) I like ____ cake. c) I bought a ____ balloon. d) Mini is very ____.
- Write a describing word for each naming word: ____ sky, ____ tree, ____ boy, ____ tea, ____ grass, ____ flower. (The first is done: blue sky.)
- Write N if the underlined word is a naming word and D if it is a describing word.
Answer key for grown-ups
1. old – the old man (ii) | grey – the elephant (i) | long – the snake (iii) | red – the apple (vi) | cold – the ice (iv) | round – the ball (v)
2. a) white b) chocolate c) red d) tall
3. Answers will differ. Good ones: blue sky, tall tree, good boy, hot tea, green grass, pretty flower.
4. a) rose – N b) hard – D c) angry – D d) fish – N e) cold – D f) heavy – D g) clown – N h) blue – D
A quick tip for parents
The fastest way to fix describing words is to play “add one word”. Say a plain naming word — bag — and ask your child to say it again with one word in front: heavy bag, new bag, red bag. Three rounds while walking to school and the idea is theirs for good.
English Grammar Workbook — Class 1
This lesson is one chapter. The workbook has all 15, in order, with far more practice than a single page can hold — naming words, special names, one & many, gender, pronouns, a/an, this/that/these/those, action words, describing words, opposites, prepositions, is/am/are, has/have, was/were and punctuation.
- Concept first, then practice — the rule is explained in a child's words before a single blank has to be filled.
- Colourful picture-based exercises that Class 1 children actually finish.
- A complete answer key at the back, so a parent can check the work in a minute.
Instant download · Print at home and reuse forever · Written by educator Vandana Kumari (M.Sc, LL.B).