In front of the naming word
Most of the time a describing word sits right in front of the word it tells about.
“a red kite”
“the tall tree”
“my small bowl”
Little words like “a” and “the” and “my” come first, then the describing word, then the naming word.
After the words is and are
There is a second place a describing word can go, and it looks completely different.
“The kite is red.”
The word “red” is doing the same job. It still tells you about the kite. It just sits at the end after the word “is”.
| In front | After is or are |
|---|---|
| a red kite | The kite is red. |
| the tall tree | The tree is tall. |
| wet shoes | My shoes are wet. |
| a huge wave | The wave is huge. |
Both columns say the same thing. The right column makes a whole sentence and the left column does not.
Why this matters
Students who only ever see the first pattern miss the describing word in a sentence like “The soup is hot.”
The word “hot” is a describing word. It comes after “is” instead of in front of “soup”, and that is the only difference.
Using more than one
You can stack describing words in front of a naming word.
“a big round red balloon”
Three describing words and one naming word. English puts them in a set order that your ear already knows. Size, then shape, then color.
Say “a red round big balloon” out loud and you can hear that something is off.
A mistake to watch for
Two or three describing words is plenty. Piling on six makes a sentence hard to read.
Pick the ones that help the reader see the thing.
Your turn
Name the describing word in each sentence.
- “The rope is long.”
- “Ava has a round plate.”
- “My hands are cold.”
- “A tiny frog sat there.”
Check your answers
- “long”
- “round”
- “cold”
- “tiny”
Remember
- A describing word usually sits in front of the naming word.
- It can also come after is or are.
- Size comes before shape and shape comes before color.