Descriptive Sentence Transformation Examples

A little bird sat under a tree. 1) Use one or two adjectives to describe the tree. 2) Change little for a different adjective. 3) Add some more information at the end of the sentence, using and . 4) Change this sentence so that it is happening in the present. 1

The boxes are full of old toys. 1) Can you change the sentence so that there is only one box? 2) Can you add another adjective to describe the toy? 3) Can you change this sentence so that it happened in the past? 4) Can you make this sentence into a question? 2

He looked happy. 1) Change this sentence to mean the opposite. 2) Add a word to show how happy he was looking. 3) Change this sentence so that it is happening now. 4) Can you use because to add the reason why he was happy? 3

We ate chips and drank milk. 1) What is the verb in this sentence? 2) Can you use adjectives to describe the chips and the milk? 3) Write a sentence about what happened next. 4) Can you add another thing that was eaten or drunk? 4

The black dog and the fluffy cat stared at each other. 1) Which words in this sentence are adjectives? 2) Can you change what the dog and cat are staring at? 3) Add another animal into the sentence. 4) Change stared to a different verb. 5

The automatic machine sold snacks and drinks. 2) Add adjectives to describe the snacks and drinks. 1) Which word in this sentence is a verb? 3) Add another clause to the end of this sentence. 4) Is this sentence a statement, a command, a question or an exclamation? 5) Change this sentence to the present tense. 6) Change this sentence to the present tense. 6

The table was bare. 3) Use the conjunction because to add another clause to this sentence. 1) Which word in this sentence is an adjective? 2) What type of word is was in this sentence? 5) Can you think of a word with a different meaning to replace bare ? 4) Why do you think the table was bare? 6) Add two adjectives to describe the table. 7

"Where are my socks? he asked. 2) Can you change this sentence into indirect speech? 3) Create a noun phrase to describe the socks. 1) Can you change asked for a different verb? 5) Who is this person talking to? How might they respond? 4) Add an adverb to describe how he asked. 6) Which word in this sentence is a noun? 8

It's difficult to remember when the accident happened. 1) Which word in this sentence is a contraction? What is the original form of the word? 2) Can you think of a synonym (word with the same meaning) for difficult ? 3) Can you change this sentence into the past tense? 4) Add a clause to the end of this sentence. 5) What might the next sentence be? 6) Add an adjective to describe the accident. 9

Cara said that she enjoyed learning about histroy, especially the Ancient Romans. 3) Can you change the sentence so that it is about a different subject from history? 1) Can you change the sentence to direct speech? 2) Which word in this sentence is a pronoun? 4) Can you change this sentence to the present tense? 5) Add another clause to the beginning of this sentence. 6) Can you find a spelling mistake in the sentence? 10

Carla walked over the bridge. 1) Which word in this sentence is a verb? 2) Which word in this sentence is a preposition? 3) Think of an adverb to describe how Carla walked. 4) Think of a synonym for walked . 5) Think of two adjectives to describe the bridge. 6) Add a clause to the end of the sentence. 7) Where is Carla going? 8) What happened to Carla next? 11

why did the dog chase its tail 3) Is this sentence a statement, command, question or exclamation? 1) What are the nouns in this sentence? 2) The punctuation is missing! Can you add it? 4) Can you change this sentence into the present tense? 5) Think of a specific breed of dog to add more information to the sentence. 7) Who is asking this question? What might the response be? 6) Think of three adjectives to describe the dog. 8) What happened next? 12

dont look down shouted amari 1) Which word is a contraction? What is the original form of the word? 2) The punctuation is missing! Can you add it? 3) Think of three synonyms for shouted . 4) Add a new clause to this sentence. 6) Who is Amari shouting at? Why shouldn t they look down? 5) Think of an adverb to describe how Amari shouted. 7) What might the other person say in response? 8) Write a sentence that explains what happened next. 13

The plane floo through the air, but it was a bumpy flight. 1) Can you find a spelling mistake in the sentence? 2) What is the preposition in this sentence? 3) What is the main clause in this sentence? 4) What is the adjective in this sentence? 5) Replace the subordinate clause in this sentence with a new one. 7) Add a relative clause that includes which or that . 8) Write a sentence to describe how the people on board were feeling. 6) Think of a synonym for bumpy . 14

The nite sky was dark. 1) Add another clause at the start of this sentence. 2) Add a simile to describe the colour of the sky. 3) Can you find a spelling mistake in the sentence? 4) Replace the word 'dark' with an adjectival phrase. 7) Add a clause to the end of the sentence, to describe some action that is taking place nearby. 5) Rearrange the words in the sentence to change it into a question. 8) Use this sentence as the start of an opening paragraph for a story. 6) Think of at least three synonyms for dark . 15

Answers Where questions have a set answer, these will be shown below. We have also added suggested answers for some questions, but your students may come up with other ideas. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 4) The little bird sits under a tree. OR The little bird is sitting under a tree. 1) The box is full of old toys. 3) The boxes were full of old toys. 4) Are the boxes full of toys? 1) He looked unhappy OR He did not look happy. 3) He looks happy OR he is looking happy. 1) Ate 1) Black and fluffy 1) Sold, 2) Suggestions: Stale, delicious, expensive, fizzy, healthy, ice-cold, 4) Statement, 6) The automatic machine sells snacks and drinks. 1) Table, 2) A verb, 5) Suggestions: full, destroyed, wooden, 6) Suggestions: enormous, metal, glowing, golden, filthy, low 1) Suggestions: Demanded, enquired, shouted, 2) He asked where his socks were. 3) Suggestions: my bright, stripy socks: my old, holey socks; my brand-new school socks. 4) Suggestions: wearily, angrily, softly, 6) Socks 1) It's = It is, 2) Suggestions: hard, tricky, challenging, 3) It was difficult to remember when the accident happened. 6) Suggestions: Terrible, first, minor. 10) 1) "I enjoy learning about history," she said, "especially the Ancient Romans . 2) She, 4) Cara says that she enjoys learning about history, especially the Ancient Romans. 6) Histroy. 11) 1) Walked, 2) Over, 3) Suggestions: quickly, slowly, excitedly, 4) Suggestions: sauntered, skipped, ran, 5) Suggestions: old, rickety, enormous. 12) 1) Dog and tail, 2) Why did the dog chase its tail? 3) Question, 4) Why is the dog chasing its tail? 6) old, furry, hyperactive. 13) 1) Don t = do not, 2) Don t look down! shouted Amari. 3) Suggestions: screamed, yelled, bellowed, 5) Suggestions: angrily, suddenly, repeatedly. 14) 1) Floo, 2) Through, 3) The plane floo through the air, 4) Bumpy, 6) Suggestions: jerky, rough. 15) 2) Suggestion: As dark as a dungeon, 3) nite, 4) Suggestion: unusually dark 5) Was the night sky dark?, 6) Suggestions: Black, murky, shadowy. 7) 8) 9)