Nouns, verbs and adjectives
English · Key Stage 1 · The School
The three workhorses
A NOUN names a thing: dog, city, kindness. A VERB is what happens: ran, is, thinks. An ADJECTIVE describes a noun: enormous, quiet, blue. Test them: you can put "the" in front of a noun; you can put "I" or "she" in front of a verb; an adjective fits into "the ___ dog".
Every sentence needs a verb
"The enormous grey elephant with the torn ear" is not a sentence — nothing happens. Add a verb and it becomes one: "The enormous grey elephant with the torn ear SLEPT." When your writing feels broken, hunt for the verb first; usually it is missing or hiding.
Stronger words, not more words
Weak: "The man walked quickly to the big house." Strong: "The man hurried to the mansion." Two words gone, picture sharper. Good writers change the verb and the noun rather than piling up adjectives — "hurried" beats "walked quickly", "mansion" beats "big house". Precision, not decoration.
Start with: "The dog went to the box." Find the parts: dog and box are NOUNS, went is the VERB, and there are no adjectives at all. Now improve one word at a time. Stronger verb: "The dog CREPT to the box." Add an adjective: "The frightened dog crept to the box." One more: "The frightened dog crept to the RATTLING box." Same shape of sentence, and now it is a scene.