Action Words
Jump! Clap! Giggle! Every one of those words makes you picture someone DOING something. Words that tell us what someone or something does are called action words, or verbs, and you already use dozens of them every single day without even thinking about it.
What You'll Learn
- How to spot an action word in a sentence - Why every complete sentence needs an action word - How to use action words to make your own sentences come alive
What Makes a Word an Action Word
An action word tells what someone or something does. Run, hop, sing, eat, and laugh are all action words. If you can act it out with your body, it's probably an action word! Try it: can you hop right now? Can you sing a little tune? That's the test. In the sentence 'The dog barks at the mail carrier,' the action word is barks -- that's the thing the dog is doing. In 'Maria paints a picture,' the action word is paints.
When you're not sure if a word is an action word, try acting it out. You can act out jump, clap, and swim. You can't act out happy or blue -- those describe things instead, so they aren't action words.
Action Words Make Sentences Move
Every complete sentence needs an action word (or a word like 'is' or 'are' that shows being). Without one, a sentence feels unfinished. 'The cat' isn't a full sentence -- but 'The cat pounces' is, because pounces tells us what the cat does. Strong action words also make writing more exciting. Compare 'The boy went to the store' with 'The boy raced to the store.' Raced paints a much more exciting picture than went!
Which word in this sentence is the action word? "The children skip down the hallway."
Why isn't "happy" considered an action word?
Match each action word to something that could do it.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
Action Word Charades
Write five action words on separate small pieces of paper (examples: hop, clap, wiggle, spin, wave). Take turns picking a paper and acting out the word without speaking while a partner guesses it. After all five rounds, write one full sentence using each action word, like 'The bunny hops across the yard.'
Flashcards — click each card to reveal the answer
Want to keep learning?
Sign up for free to access the full curriculum — all subjects, all ages.
Start Learning Free