Classifying Nouns, Verbs, or Adjectives Worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s solve this step by step.

We need to sort each word into one of three categories: nouns, verbs, or adjectives.

First, let’s remember what each category means:

- Nouns are people, places, things, or animals. (Example: dog, school, car)
- Verbs are action words — something you do. (Example: run, jump, eat)
- Adjectives describe nouns — they tell us more about them, like color, size, or feeling. (Example: red, happy, tall)

Now, let’s go through each word one by one and decide where it belongs.

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List of words:

run → action → verb
box → thing → noun
red → describes color → adjective
sing → action → verb
chicken → animal/thing → noun
write → action → verb
happy → feeling → adjective
old → describes age → adjective
tree → thing → noun
sad → feeling → adjective
mouth → body part → noun
fly → action → verb
new → describes condition → adjective
silly → describes personality → adjective
laugh → action → verb
car → thing → noun
pencil → thing → noun
push → action → verb
fork → thing → noun
lost → describes state → adjective (like “I am lost”)
stand → action → verb
ball → thing → noun
tall → describes height → adjective
smile → can be a verb (“I smile”) or noun (“a big smile”), but in this context, since we’re sorting basic parts of speech and “smile” is often taught as a verb at this level, we’ll put it under verbs. But wait — actually, looking at common elementary classifications, “smile” is often listed as both, but here we have to pick one. Let’s check the other verbs: run, sing, write, fly, laugh, push, stand — all clear actions. “Smile” is also an action you do with your face → so verb. However, some might argue it’s a noun too. But since we have limited space and must choose, and given that “smile” is commonly used as a verb in early grammar (“She smiles”), we’ll classify it as a verb. BUT — let’s double-check: if we look at the list, we already have many verbs. Maybe we should consider if “smile” fits better elsewhere? No — it’s primarily an action. So verb.

Wait — let’s count how many words we have total: 24 words.

Let’s group them carefully.

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Let’s make three lists:

Nouns: box, chicken, tree, mouth, car, pencil, fork, ball → that’s 8

Wait, did I miss any?

box, chicken, tree, mouth, car, pencil, fork, ball → yes, 8 nouns.

But let’s list all again:

From the word list:

run – verb
box – noun
red – adj
sing – verb
chicken – noun
write – verb
happy – adj
old – adj
tree – noun
sad – adj
mouth – noun
fly – verb
new – adj
silly – adj
laugh – verb
car – noun
pencil – noun
push – verb
fork – noun
lost – adj
stand – verb
ball – noun
tall – adj
smile – verb? or noun?

Actually, “smile” can be both, but in most elementary worksheets like this, when paired with words like “run”, “sing”, etc., it’s treated as a verb. Also, note that “lost” is an adjective (describing someone who doesn’t know where they are), not a verb here (though “lose” is the verb).

So let’s finalize:

Nouns: box, chicken, tree, mouth, car, pencil, fork, ball → 8 words

Verbs: run, sing, write, fly, laugh, push, stand, smile → 8 words

Adjectives: red, happy, old, sad, new, silly, lost, tall → 8 words

Perfect — 8 in each category.

Let’s verify each:

Nouns:
- box ✔
- chicken ✔
- tree ✔
- mouth ✔
- car ✔
- pencil ✔
- fork ✔
- ball ✔

Verbs:
- run ✔
- sing ✔
- write ✔
- fly ✔
- laugh ✔
- push ✔
- stand ✔
- smile ✔ (yes, you can “smile” — it’s an action)

Adjectives:
- red ✔
- happy ✔
- old ✔
- sad ✔
- new ✔
- silly ✔
- lost ✔ (as in “a lost puppy” — describes the puppy)
- tall ✔

All accounted for.

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Final Answer:

nouns: box, chicken, tree, mouth, car, pencil, fork, ball
verbs: run, sing, write, fly, laugh, push, stand, smile
adjectives: red, happy, old, sad, new, silly, lost, tall