Language and Grammar: Describe People and Places

Class Story Tell a story about someone lost in a scary place. Have one person start. Take turns adding a sentence. Use adjectives. Continue around the room until the story ends.

It is a stormy night.

A tall girl runs through a dark village.

Writing and Grammar: Write About a Creepy Situation

Study the Models When you write a story or a description, include interesting, descriptive adjectives. Adjectives help your readers picture what you are writing about.

Just Ok

My brother and I follow a path through the woods. It is a cold night. Suddenly, I hear a sound behind me. My brother whispers, “What was that noise?” We turn around and see a pair of eyes in the bushes. It is a wolf!

This story is a little dull. The writer uses only one descriptive adjective.

Better

My brother and I follow a narrow, winding path through the dark woods. It is a cold night. Suddenly, I hear a growling sound behind me. My brother whispers, “What was that noise?” We turn around and see a pair of silver eyes in the bushes. It is a large, gray wolf! We are terrified!

The writer uses adjectives to describe how things look, sound, and feel. The reader thinks: “I can really picture the scene.”

Revise It Work with a partner to revise the following passage. Add adjectives. Include one predicate adjective.

A woman lives in this mansion. Every evening she walks in her garden. She wears a cape and carries a candle. A bird sits on her shoulder. At midnight the woman goes inside her house. She puts the candle in that window up there.

A candle sits in the dark, creepy house.

A candle sits in the dark, creepy house.

Illustration of a pen icon WRITE ON YOUR OWN Imagine a creepy situation and describe it. Use descriptive adjectives in your writing.

    Remember

  • • Adjectives usually come before nouns.

  • • Predicate adjectives come after forms of be.

    The wolf is scary.

  • • Demonstrative adjectives signal where things are.

    These creatures live here.