Adjectives (Describing Words): Free KS1 Year 2 English Worksheet

What is on the worksheet

The worksheet shows one large, characterful picture — a fluffy cat curled up asleep — chosen because it invites lots of describing words. Your child looks carefully at the picture and writes two adjectives that describe it, for example fluffy and soft, or sleepy and round. On the last line they write both words in front of the noun cat to make an expanded noun phrase. A word bank offers eight describing words so that less confident writers have a starting point, while children who are ready can think of their own. Once the writing is finished, the same picture is there to be coloured in.

How to use it at home or in the classroom

Begin by talking about the picture together before any writing happens. Ask open questions such as 'What does the cat look like?', 'How does its fur feel?' and 'What is it doing?'. Each answer is usually an adjective in disguise. Encourage your child to say a full phrase out loud — 'the fluffy cat', 'the sleepy cat' — so they hear how the describing word sits in front of the noun. Then they choose their two favourite words to write down. There is no single correct answer: any word that describes the cat is a good answer. A common slip is writing a noun such as whiskers or tail. A quick check is to say it in the gap: ‘the ___ cat’. If it sounds right there, it is working as a describing word.

From adjectives to expanded noun phrases

The real purpose of describing words in Year 2 is to build expanded noun phrases — short groups of words built around a noun, such as 'the soft, fluffy cat'. The last line of the sheet asks your child to do exactly this, joining their two adjectives to the noun: 'the fluffy, sleepy cat'. Two adjectives before a noun are usually separated by a comma, which also links to the Year 2 work on commas in lists. In Year 4, children expand noun phrases further with a preposition phrase, such as 'the fluffy cat on the rug'.

A note for teachers

This sheet introduces the grammatical term adjective and supports pupils in selecting vocabulary for description, in line with the Year 2 requirements in English Appendix 2. It works well as a shared modelling task on the board, an independent follow-up, or an early-finisher activity. To extend, ask pupils to use their noun phrase in a full sentence on the back of the sheet, or to add a third describing word. To support, narrow the word bank to two or three options and model writing the first adjective together.

Frequently asked questions