Naming words and doing words
Class 2 English · Nouns and verbs · 36 questions with answers
Class 2 meets the words 'noun' and 'verb' for the first time, usually as 'naming words' and 'doing words'. The useful test at this age is not the definition but whether a child can point at the right word in a sentence they have just read.
- Picks the naming word out of a simple sentence
- Picks the doing word out of a simple sentence
- Uses a naming word and a doing word together to build a sentence of their own
Exercise 1 of 3 · 12 questions
Circle the naming word in each sentence.
Circle the answer · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
The dog barked loudly. → Ask 'who or what is this sentence about?' The answer is the dog, so dog is the naming word. Barked is what it did, so that is the doing word - we will come to those next.
- 1)The dog barked loudly.
- 2)My sister reads every night.
- 3)The kite flew over the trees.
- 4)Amma cooked rice.
- 5)The bus stopped near the gate.
- 6)A frog jumped into the pond.
- 7)The baby laughed at the puppy.
- 8)Ravi opened his book.
- 9)The cow ate the grass.
- 10)My friend lives near the park.
- 11)The bell rang loudly.
- 12)A bird built its nest.
Answers
- 1) dog
- 2) sister
- 3) kite
- 4) Amma
- 5) bus
- 6) frog
- 7) baby
- 8) Ravi
- 9) cow
- 10) friend
- 11) bell
- 12) bird
Exercise 2 of 3 · 12 questions
Circle the doing word in each sentence.
Circle the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
The baby sleeps in the cot. → Ask 'what is happening?' Sleeping is happening, so sleeps is the doing word. Note it is sleeps, not sleep - the word changes to match the baby, and your child does not need to know why yet.
- 1)The baby sleeps in the cot.
- 2)Ravi kicked the ball.
- 3)The birds sing at dawn.
- 4)She painted a picture.
- 5)The train stopped at the station.
- 6)We ate mangoes.
- 7)The children ran in the field.
- 8)Amma washed the clothes.
- 9)The fish swims in the tank.
- 10)He climbed the tree.
- 11)The kettle boiled quickly.
- 12)They danced at the festival.
Answers
- 1) sleeps
- 2) kicked
- 3) sing
- 4) painted
- 5) stopped
- 6) ate
- 7) ran
- 8) washed
- 9) swims
- 10) climbed
- 11) boiled
- 12) danced
Exercise 3 of 3 · 12 questions
Use the naming word and the doing word to write one sentence.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
cat / ran → The cat ran across the road. Any sentence using both words is correct - these answers are examples, not the only right ones. What must be there is a capital letter at the start and a full stop at the end.
- 1)cat / ran
- 2)boy / laughed
- 3)rain / fell
- 4)teacher / wrote
- 5)monkey / climbed
- 6)bird / sang
- 7)baby / slept
- 8)dog / barked
- 9)girl / danced
- 10)bus / stopped
- 11)fish / swam
- 12)bell / rang
Answers
- 1) The cat ran across the road.
- 2) The boy laughed at the joke.
- 3) The rain fell all evening.
- 4) The teacher wrote on the board.
- 5) The monkey climbed the tree.
- 6) The bird sang on the branch.
- 7) The baby slept for two hours.
- 8) The dog barked at the postman.
- 9) The girl danced on the stage.
- 10) The bus stopped at the corner.
- 11) The fish swam around the tank.
- 12) The bell rang at nine o'clock.
While your child works
- Accept any sensible sentence in the last exercise. The answers given are examples - marking a different correct sentence wrong is the fastest way to make a child stop trying.
- If your child circles two words, ask them to read the sentence aloud and say who it is about. Saying it aloud almost always resolves it.
- Do not introduce 'noun' and 'verb' if the school is still saying naming and doing words. Two sets of names for one thing is harder, not more advanced.