Two naming words, one naming part
Here is where careful readers slow down.
“Ava feeds the fish.”
There are two naming words in that sentence. “Ava” names a person. “the fish” names an animal. Only one of them is the naming part.
Ask the question. Who or what is this sentence about? It is about “Ava” and what she does. The fish is part of what happens, so “the fish” sits in the telling part.
Where each one sits
| Sentence | Naming part | Naming word in the telling part |
|---|---|---|
| Ava feeds the fish. | Ava | the fish |
| Leo paints the fence. | Leo | the fence |
| My dog chased the ball. | My dog | the ball |
| The cat sees the bird. | The cat | the bird |
A naming word can show up anywhere in a sentence. Being a naming word does not make it the naming part.
The test that sorts them out
Find the word that tells what happens. Whoever is doing it is the naming part.
In “Leo paints the fence.” the word that tells what happens is “paints”. Who paints? Leo does. The fence does not paint anything. So “Leo” is the naming part.
A mistake to watch for
Some children pick the naming word that comes last, because it is the one they just read. Read the whole sentence first, then ask who is doing it.
If someone says the naming part of “My dog chased the ball.” is “the ball”, picture it. A ball cannot chase anything. The dog did the chasing, so “My dog” is the naming part.
Your turn
Give the naming part of each sentence.
- “Ava reads a book.”
- “The bird ate the seeds.”
- “My brother washed the cup.”
- “Six ducks left the pond.”
Check your answers
- “Ava”
- “The bird”
- “My brother”
- “Six ducks”
Remember
- A sentence can hold more than one naming word.
- The naming part is the one the sentence is about.
- Ask who or what is doing it, and picture whether that makes sense.