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All English activities

Activities: “How to use nouns to describe other nouns in English?”

By: revel arroway, Isabel McKay

Activity 1: Name the objects

Look at the pictures below. These are everyday things. Use a noun to describe each object!

Here are some nouns you can use. Use each noun just once:

baseball
cherry
china
chocolate
coffee
flour
measuring
picture
plastic
police
silk
sports
story
water
wool

  1. It’s a mug.

    A drawing of a white coffee cup filled with black coffee.

  2. It’s a cup.

    A drawing of a small blue and white tea cup in a saucer with a teaspoon.

  3. It’s a cup.

    A drawing of a red plastic solo cup.

  4. It’s a book.

    A drawing of a book of stories.

  5. It’s a car.

    A drawing of a yellow modern sporty car.

  6. It’s a car.

    A drawing of a gray sedan labeled "police."

  7. It’s a piece of pie.

    A slice of cherry pie.

  8. It’s a piece of cake.

    A drawing of a slice of a three-tier chocolate cake.

  9. It’s a bag.

    A drawing of two bags full of flour. The one on the left says "100% white flour" and the other says "whole-wheat flour."

  10. They are bottles.

    A drawing shows the bottom shelf of the open door of a small fridge, containing four bottles of water.

  11. It’s a cup.

    A glass cup with a handle for measuring liquids.

  12. They are blankets.

    A drawing of a stack of five hunter green woolen blankets.

  13. They are frames.

    A drawing of two ornate gold picture frames. They are empty and overlap.

  14. It’s a cap.

    A purple cap like you would wear to play baseball.

  15. It’s a blouse.

    A drawing of a red shiny blouse

Activity 2: Make your own nouns

Rewrite phrases below by using a noun to describe another noun. For example:

a garden for flowers = flower garden

Part 1: Easy (2 nouns only)

  1. boots for wearing in the rain

  2. a hat that protects you from the sun

  3. a theater where you also eat dinner

  4. a party to celebrate someone’s graduation

  5. the time when you eat breakfast

  6. a spoon for soup

  7. a reporter who writes for a newspaper

  8. a slipper made of glass

  9. a movie about superheroes

  10. a dance at a school

Part 2: More difficult

  1. a dress made out of cotton that is designed to be worn in the sun

  2. a shop that sells scarves that are made out of silk

  3. the act of washing windows

  4. something that cleans windows

  5. someone who trims trees

  6. a factory for making dye for hair