What is an adjective?
Adjectives are words that describe nouns.
They give more detail about a person, place, or thing – such as its colour, size, or how it feels.
For example, if you had some beans, you could use adjectives to describe them.
Jack found some magic beans.
The adjective 'magic' describes the noun 'beans'.
What are adjectives?
Explore adjectives with the help of Jack, a beanstalk and…a fairy! Then, put your knowledge to the test in the quiz!
What are adjectives?
Adjectives are words that describe nouns to make them clearer.
For example, instead of just saying, 'beanstalk', you can say, 'twisted beanstalk' which adds more detail.
Adjectives like 'golden', 'terrifying', and 'enormous' make stories more exciting. Choosing the right adjectives helps you explain exactly what you mean.
Be careful – too many adjectives can make your sentences long and messy.
A few clear, strong descriptive words will help your audience picture things more clearly.
Example 1
How could you use adjectives to make this sentence more descriptive?
Jack played the harp brilliantly.
✓ The nouns 'Jack' and 'harp' could be described with adjectives.
For example:
Clever Jack played the beautiful harp brilliantly.
Example 2
What adjective could we use to describe the size of the beanstalk?
Jack climbed up the _____________ beanstalk.
- Mighty
- Tiny
- Bad
- Silly
- Messy
- Happy
✓ The ‘mighty beanstalk’ tells us that the beanstalk is large, strong and impressive, so that would be a great choice of adjective.
The beanstalk reached the sky, so it wouldn’t be right to say it was ‘tiny’.
We don’t know if it has feelings, so 'happy' wouldn’t sound right!
Jack climbed up the mighty beanstalk.
Task
Top imagination!
What kind of giant or monster would be at the top of your beanstalk?
Draw a picture and then write some amazing adjectives to describe it!
You could even write your own story using some awesome adjectives to describe your characters and settings.
Resources for teachers
There are more resources available on BBC Bitesize for Teachers, such as this song and dance routine. Children will learn how to write better stories using adjectives and adverbs. The movement routine is a great way to energise a class and improve students concentration for the school day.
BBC Bitesize for Teachers has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.
Karate Cats English game! game
Head to the dojo to become an expert in spelling, punctuation and grammar.
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