Year 2 · English · Language
Nouns and verbs
Recognising nouns as words for people, places and things, and verbs as words for actions, and using both to build sentences.
Awaiting educator review. This material was drafted by our content team with AI assistance and is waiting for review by a qualified educator. Please check it suits your child before using it. Created 10 October 2026.
These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to New Zealand year levels by age (NZ Year 1 is the first year of school). They are not yet mapped to The New Zealand Curriculum, so check them against your own learning programme.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Identify nouns as words that name people, places, animals and things.
- Identify verbs as action words.
- Build a simple sentence with a noun and a verb.
Success looks like
- I can find the naming word (noun) in a sentence.
- I can find the doing word (verb) in a sentence.
- I can write a sentence that has a noun and a verb.
The big idea
Words do different jobs in a sentence. Two of the most important jobs are naming and doing.
A noun is a naming word. It names a person (teacher, Dad), a place (beach, school), an animal (wombat, dog) or a thing (cup, hat). A quick test: can you put 'a' or 'the' in front of it? 'The cup' works, so 'cup' is a noun.
A proper noun is the special name of one person or place, such as Ava, Sydney or Uluru. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter.
A verb is a doing or action word. It tells what someone or something does: run, swim, eat, sing, sleep. A quick test: can you act it out? You can 'jump', so 'jump' is a verb.
Most sentences need at least one noun (who or what) and one verb (what they do). 'Dogs bark.' has the noun 'dogs' and the verb 'bark'.
Worked examples
Finding the noun and verb
Find the noun and the verb in: 'The koala sleeps.'
- Ask: who or what is the sentence about? The koala. 'Koala' is a noun.
- Ask: what does the koala do? It sleeps. 'Sleeps' is a verb.
Answer: Noun: koala. Verb: sleeps.
Building a sentence
Use the noun 'frog' and the verb 'hops' to write a sentence.
- Start with a capital letter: 'The'.
- Add the noun: 'The frog'.
- Add the verb: 'The frog hops'.
- Finish with a full stop.
Answer: The frog hops.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
Which word is a noun?
table — 'Table' names a thing, so it is a noun. 'Run' and 'jump' are verbs.
Which word is a verb?
swim — 'Swim' is an action you can do, so it is a verb.
In 'The baby cries.', which word is the verb?
cries — 'Cries' tells what the baby does.
Which word is a proper noun?
Brisbane — 'Brisbane' is the name of a particular city, so it is a proper noun and starts with a capital letter.
Which sentence has the noun 'bird' and the verb 'sings'?
A bird sings. — 'A bird sings.' uses both 'bird' and 'sings'.
Type the noun in this sentence: 'The ball bounced.'
ball — 'Ball' names a thing.
Type the verb in this sentence: 'Sam kicks.'
kicks — 'Kicks' tells what Sam does.
Is 'eat' a noun or a verb? Type your answer.
verb — You can do it, so 'eat' is a verb.
Watch out for
- Thinking nouns are only things you can touch. Places and people are nouns too.
- Thinking every word in a sentence is either a noun or a verb. Little words like 'the' and 'a' do other jobs.
- Forgetting capital letters on proper nouns, such as writing 'sydney'.
Tips for parents
- Play 'noun or verb?': call out a word and your child either points to something (noun) or acts it out (verb).
- When reading together, pause on a page and ask, 'What is someone doing here?' to find verbs.
- Keep explanations simple: 'naming word' and 'doing word' are fine starting points.
Go further
- Make a noun scrapbook by drawing and labelling nouns from around the house.
- Play charades with verb cards.
- Mix noun cards and verb cards in two piles and make silly two-word sentences, such as 'Penguins dance.'