What You Need to Know

An action word (also called a verb) tells us what someone or something is doing. Every sentence needs a verb — without it, the sentence is not complete. Action words can describe physical actions like jump, run, eat or mental actions like think, dream, remember. They can also be state verbs like is, are, was.

Key Concepts

Physical Actions

jump, run, swim, climb

Mental Actions

think, dream, know, feel

Everyday Actions

eat, sleep, read, play

Verb (Grammar)

The grammar name for action words

Finding the action word in a sentence:

The dog barks at the postman.

She jumped over the puddle.

We eat lunch at noon.

The bird sings in the morning.

Key Vocabulary

Verb

The grammar name for an action word. Every sentence needs a verb to tell us what happens.

Action Word

A word that tells us what someone or something does, e.g. run, eat, sleep, grow, fly.

Subject

The person or thing doing the action in a sentence, e.g. in "The cat runs", the cat is the subject.

Sentence

A complete thought with a subject and a verb — e.g. The bird flew away.

Knowledge Check

Select the correct answer for each question. Click "Check Answer" to see if you are right.

Question 1

Which word is an action word in this sentence: "The rabbit hops across the field."

hops across rabbit field

Question 2

Which of these is an action word?

blue swim table happy

Question 3

Choose the action word to complete the sentence: "The children ___ in the park."

happy loud play green

Question 4

Why does every sentence need an action word?

To make it longer Because action words are the most fun words To add colour to the writing To tell us what is happening — without it the sentence is incomplete

Action Words (Verbs)