What are adjectives?

Watch: What is an adjective?

Using adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes a noun (the name of a thing or a place).

It was a terrible book.

The word 'terrible' is an adjective. It tells us what the book (the noun) was like.

The book she read on holiday was terrible.

or

She read a terrible book on holiday.

Adjectives can come before or after a noun.

Try putting adjectives in different places in your sentences to make your writing more interesting.

She had a mouldy, smelly, overpriced sandwich.

If you want to describe a noun in detail, you can use more than one adjective.

When you have a list of adjectives like this, separate them with commas.

Activity 1

Activity 2

Activity 3

Watch this video to hear a story about The Magic Faraway Tree.

In the video, there are lots of different lands at the top of the tree. There was 'The Land of Toys', 'The Land of Topsy-Turvy' and 'The Land of Goodies'.

1. Write a sentence for each land describing what you think each one is like. Try to use lots of adjectives (describing words). For example:

'I think the Land of Toys was magical, noisy and bright.'

2. Once you've written one sentence for each land, think about a new land that you would like to create. You can be really imaginative!

Choose a name for your land and write six sentences to describe what it looks like. Make sure you keep including lots of describing words (adjectives) in all of your sentences.

Resources for teachers

There are more resources available on BBC Teach, 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 Teach has thousands of free, curriculum-linked resources to help deliver lessons - all arranged by subject and age group.