Word Class Sorter
Free grammar game for Years 2 to 4 — nouns, verbs and adjectives, past and present tense, and pronouns, matched to the national curriculum. No account needed.
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Sort words by the job they do
Practise nouns, verbs and adjectives in sentences with Word Class Sorter. Other challenges revisit tense and pronouns. This supports grammar work in Years 2 to 4; it is additional word-class practice, rather than the main expanded-noun-phrase game.
How to play
- Read the challenge name and the whole sentence before sorting the highlighted word.
- Use the instructions and answer controls for the selected challenge. The available word classes depend on that challenge.
- Check the feedback, then explain the word’s job in that sentence. A word can do a different job when the sentence changes.
The sentence tells you the word class
Compare “We paint the fence” with “The paint is blue”. In the first sentence, paint is a verb: it tells us what we do. In the second, paint is a noun naming the material.
In “The bright kite flew”, kite is a noun, bright is an adjective describing it, and flew is a verb. “The bright kite” is a noun phrase containing more than one word; a noun and a whole noun phrase are not the same thing.
A mistake to look out for
Sort the highlighted word in its sentence. Do not sort a whole phrase as though all its words must belong to the same word class.
After a round
If you are working on expanded noun phrases, return to the lesson to find the main noun and add useful detail. Choose Noun Phrase Builder for the matching phrase activity. Use this sorter when you need more practice identifying word classes.
Return to the expanded noun phrases lessonTry the matching worksheet
Questions about this game
Can the same word be a noun and a verb?
Yes. Read its job in the particular sentence. In “We paint”, paint is a verb; in “The paint is blue”, paint is a noun.
Is every word ending in -ly an adverb?
No. A word’s ending alone does not establish its word class. Read how it is used in the sentence.
Does sorting words practise writing a noun phrase?
It supports identifying word classes. Use the expanded noun phrases lesson and Noun Phrase Builder for the phrase-building task, then try writing your own example.
Curriculum context
England’s English programme introduces and develops grammar terminology through primary school. This Years 2–4 practice supports naming word classes in context. Department for Education programme of study.
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