Action Verbs online exercise for Grade 2 - Free Printable

Explanation:
We need to choose the correct action verb for each sentence from the word bank:

Word bank:
kick, play, catch, sing, jump, dance, hit, built, take, run

Let’s go sentence by sentence and think about what makes sense:

1. “We ________ the football on the field.”
→ You *play* football (or sometimes *kick*, but “play football” is the standard phrase).
✔ play

2. “Can you ________ the ball?”
→ If someone throws a ball, you *catch* it.
✔ catch

3. “Pam can ________ very fast.”
→ To move quickly on foot = *run*.
✔ run

4. “Don ________ over the rock.”
→ Jumping *over* something is common. *Jump* fits perfectly.
✔ jump

5. “Sam ________ the baseball.”
→ In baseball, you *hit* the ball with a bat.
✔ hit

6. “Mary and Paul ________ nice photos with their cameras.”
→ You *take* photos (not “built”, “dance”, etc.).
✔ take

7. “My dad ________ a bird house.”
→ You *build* something like a birdhouse. Note: “built” is past tense, but the sentence has no time marker — however, subject is “My dad” (singular), and we need present tense unless specified. Wait — let’s check: The verb list includes *built*, which is past tense. But all other sentences use base form (except maybe #9). Let’s look again:
Sentence 7: “My dad ________ a bird house.”
If it's general truth or habit, we’d use *builds*, but *builds* isn’t in the word bank. Only *built* is there. That suggests this sentence expects past tense. Maybe it’s describing something already done. Since *built* is the only option related to constructing, and others don’t fit, we choose built.
✔ built

8. “Mike ________ to junkanoo music.”
→ You *dance* to music.
✔ dance

9. “Lisa ________ happy birthday to Don.”
→ You *sing* “Happy Birthday”.
✔ sing

10. “Let’s ________ basketball!”
→ We *play* basketball. (Same as #1 — “play” is used for sports like basketball, football, etc.)
✔ play

Wait — now we see a conflict: “play” appears twice (sentences 1 and 10), and the instruction says “Drag the verbs for the sentences. Then drop the word on the line.” It implies each verb is used once — but the word bank has 10 verbs and 10 sentences, so likely one-to-one.

Let’s list the word bank again:
kick, play, catch, sing, jump, dance, hit, built, take, run
→ Exactly 10 words, 10 sentences. So each word is used exactly once.

That means we cannot use “play” twice. So we must re-evaluate.

Let’s match uniquely:

Sentences:
1. We ________ the football on the field.
Options that fit: *play*, *kick*
But if “play” is needed elsewhere, maybe *kick* fits better here? Actually, both are possible, but in everyday English, we say “play football”, not usually “kick football” (unless specifying the action). However, since we must use each word once, and “play” may be needed for #10 (“Let’s ________ basketball!”), which strongly requires *play* (you don’t “kick basketball”), then #1 should be kick? Wait — no, you don’t “kick basketball” either. You *play* basketball. So #10 must be *play*.

Then #1 must be something else. Is *kick* acceptable for football? Yes — in American English, “kick the football” is a specific action (like a kickoff), but the sentence says “the football on the field” — vague. However, in many ESL worksheets, they accept *play* for team sports and *kick* for the action of kicking. But since only one *play* exists, and #10 is “Let’s ________ basketball!” — definitely *play*.

So assign:
10. play ✔
Then 1. must be kick — even if slightly less natural, it's the only remaining sport-action verb that fits.

Let’s try full unique assignment:

Words: kick, play, catch, sing, jump, dance, hit, built, take, run

Assign:
1. We kick the football on the field. → possible (e.g., during practice)
2. Can you catch the ball? ✔
3. Pam can run very fast. ✔
4. Don jump over the rock. → needs “jumps”, but base form after “Don” should be *jumps* — but worksheet uses base form for all? Wait — look at sentence 4: “Don ________ over the rock.” Subject is third person singular, but the worksheet seems to ignore -s endings (common in beginner grammar sheets). So we use base verb: jump
5. Sam hit the baseball. → again, should be *hits*, but they’re using base form; and *hit* is in list. OK.
6. Mary and Paul take nice photos… ✔ (plural subject, base form okay in this style)
7. My dad built a bird house. → past tense, fits.
8. Mike dance to junkanoo music. → should be *dances*, but again, worksheet uses base form. *dance* is in list.
9. Lisa sing happy birthday… → should be *sings*, but they’ll accept base form *sing*.
10. Let’s play basketball! ✔ (let’s + base verb)

Now check if all 10 words are used once:
- kick → #1
- play → #10
- catch → #2
- sing → #9
- jump → #4
- dance → #8
- hit → #5
- built → #7
- take → #6
- run → #3

Yes! All used exactly once.

So final answers:
1. kick
2. catch
3. run
4. jump
5. hit
6. take
7. built
8. dance
9. sing
10. play

Final Answer:
1. kick
2. catch
3. run
4. jump
5. hit
6. take
7. built
8. dance
9. sing
10. play