What's the difference between an adjective and an adverb?

Adjectives describe nouns: a careful driver. Adverbs describe verbs: she drives carefully. Have your student find the word being described. A thing means adjective; an action means adverb. This pair of sentences is worth writing on the board.

Can an adjective come after the noun?

Yes. In "The soup is hot," the adjective hot comes after the linking verb but still describes the soup. Third grade is the right time to practice this pattern, because it breaks the habit of only checking the word directly in front of the noun.

3rd grade identifying adjectives

3rd grade identifying adjectives worksheets

An adjective describes a noun or pronoun: what kind, how many, or which one. By 3rd grade, students find adjectives anywhere in the sentence, including after verbs like is and seems ("The soup is hot").

Free printable PDF worksheet, aligned to Common Core L.1.1.f.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll get

Underline every adjective in each sentence.

The librarian has organized a clever mystery reading contest.
Answer: clever
The stream gurgled quietly between mossy rocks.
Sam carried his heavy backpack up the stairs.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on a 3rd grade sheet

3rd grade sheets draw from 313 sentences, 12 to a page. 134 of the 313 aren't on 2nd grade sheets. The other 179 are. 2nd grade sheets print 10 to a page.

Some of the words to find:

wobblylovelyfirstshreddedsteepicyslychillyelegantrecovered

Identify. Underline every adjective in each sentence. 12 questions per page.
Multiple choice. Circle the letter of the word that is an adjective. 10 questions per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Keep the noun-pairing habit from earlier grades, then stretch it: give sentences where the adjective follows a linking verb ("The hallway was quiet") so students stop expecting every adjective to sit in front of its noun. When a student marks an -ly word, have them check what it describes. If it describes an action, it's an adverb, not an adjective.

Watch for: Adjectives usually come before the noun, but not always: in 'The soup is hot', hot still describes the soup. A, an, and the are their own small group (articles). We don't count them as describing words on these sheets.

Common questions about 3rd grade identifying adjectives

What's the difference between an adjective and an adverb?: Adjectives describe nouns: a careful driver. Adverbs describe verbs: she drives carefully. Have your student find the word being described. A thing means adjective; an action means adverb. This pair of sentences is worth writing on the board.
Can an adjective come after the noun?: Yes. In "The soup is hot," the adjective hot comes after the linking verb but still describes the soup. Third grade is the right time to practice this pattern, because it breaks the habit of only checking the word directly in front of the noun.

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Aligned to Common Core L.1.1.f. Reviewed by the One more sheet team. Content version 241, updated October 2026.

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