Head office, Rana Pratap Bagh, Delhi011 2721 1512+91 97116 99511

Describing people, places and things

Use describing words for colour, size, shape and feel so that your reader can see and touch what you write about.

Get the whole book: English for classes 3 to 5 (5 lessons, free to print)

Let us begin

The big idea

A good writer makes you see a picture in your mind. The trick is to use describing words. Let us learn to describe things so well that anyone can picture them.

Describing words tell us more about a noun. They answer questions such as: What colour? How big? What shape? How does it feel?

We can use our five senses to find describing words. We can see (red, round), touch (soft, rough), hear (loud, quiet), smell (sweet, sour) and taste (salty, sweet).

A plain sentence says: I ate a mango. A better sentence says: I ate a sweet, juicy, yellow mango.

Try not to use the same word again and again. Instead of saying big many times, we can say huge, tall, giant or wide.

Describing with the sensesA mango in the centre with four labels around it: see, touch, smell and taste, each with a describing word. mango See: yellow Touch: smooth Smell: sweet Taste: juicy
Each sense gives us describing words.

Worked examples

See how it works

  1. Describing a place

    My grandmother has a small, green garden. The roses are red and soft. The air smells sweet, and the birds make a happy sound.

  2. Describing a person

    My teacher is tall and kind. She has long black hair and a warm smile. Her voice is gentle and clear.

  3. Describing a thing

    My school bag is blue and heavy. It has two big pockets and a shiny zip. The straps are soft and wide.

Try it at home

Mystery object

You will need

  • A paper bag
  • A small household object, such as a spoon or a sock
  • Paper and a pencil

What to do

  1. Ask a family member to put an object in the bag without showing you.
  2. Feel the object through the bag. Do not look inside.
  3. Write five describing words for it, using touch only.
  4. Now take the object out and add two words about colour and shape.
  5. Write three sentences describing the object.

Ask a grown-up: An adult can choose a safe object without sharp edges.

Practice sheet

Check what you learned

Write your answers in a notebook, or print this sheet and write on it. When you finish, mark your work with the answer key.

Practice sheet: Describing people, places and things (Classes 3-5, English)

  1. What kind of words tell us more about a noun?
  2. Name three questions that describing words can answer.
  3. Add two describing words: I saw a ___ ___ dog.
  4. Which sense do we use to find the word soft?
  5. Which sense do we use to find the word loud?
  6. Make this sentence better: I ate a mango.
  7. Find the describing words: The tall, kind teacher smiled.
  8. Give two words we can use instead of big.
  9. Write two describing words for a lemon.
  10. Write three sentences describing your school bag.

Answer key

Answers: Describing people, places and things

Do the practice sheet first, then check here. If an answer is different from yours, read the lesson again and try once more.

  1. Describing words (adjectives).
  2. Sample answers: What colour? How big? What shape? How does it feel?
  3. Sample answer: I saw a small brown dog.
  4. Touch.
  5. Hearing.
  6. Sample answer: I ate a sweet, juicy, yellow mango.
  7. tall and kind.
  8. Sample answers: huge, giant, large, tall.
  9. Sample answer: yellow and sour.
  10. Sample answer: My bag is blue. It is heavy and has two big pockets. The zip is shiny.

What next

Keep learning

Get the whole book

All 5 english lessons for classes 3 to 5 on one page, with every practice sheet and answer key, ready to print.

English for classes 3 to 5

All 136 lessonsAll printable books

WhatsApp us