Adjective and AdverbNOTES

Adjectives

• An adjective is a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun

• They answer the questions:– What kind?– Which one or ones?– How many or much?

Articles are Adjectives

•Articles: a, an, and the–Indefinite Articles: a and an–Definite Article: the

Forming Adjectives

Adjectives can be formed from nouns.– It was a stormy night.

– The boy acted very childish.

– The teacher is musical.

– The scenery is beautiful.

Forming Adjectives

• Proper Adjectives can be formed from proper nouns.

• The Shakespearean author was proud of his work.

• The Asian population in the United States has increased in the last twenty years.

• The Islamic tradition is recognized each year.

Predicate Adjectives

• Predicate Adjective-an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the verb’s subject.

– The airplanes were strange.• What is the linking verb in this sentence?

– Sam felt anxious about the airplane flight.• What is the linking verb in this sentence?

Pronouns as Adjectives

ALL OF THESE PRONOUNS CAN BE USED AS ADJECTIVES:

• Demonstrative Pronouns: This, that, these, those

• Possessive Pronouns: My, our, your, her, his, its, and their

• Indefinite Pronouns: All, each, both, few, most, and some (just to name a few)

Label the Pronouns used as Adj.

1. Velcro was invented in 1955, long before its widespread use.

2. George de Mestral spent some years creating Velcro, which makes our lives more comfortable.

3. He found many burs with their tiny hooks clinging to his pants.

4. Perhaps someday most fasteners will be made of Velcro.

Adverbs• An adverb modifies a verb, an

adjective, or another adverb.• They answer the questions how,

when, where, and to what extent.

Examples

• How?: patiently, loudly, carefully• When?: sometimes, daily, always• Where?: inside, there, everywhere• To what extent?: extremely, nearly,

almost

Location of Adverbs

• Adverbs can be located:–After the verb (The rocket

ascended suddenly.)–Before the verb (The rocket

suddenly ascended.)–At the beginning of a sentence

(Suddenly, the rocket ascended.)

Intensifiers

• Intensifiers- adverbs that modify adjectives or other adverbs. They usually answer the question, to what extent.

• Examples of Intensifiers include:– almost --really– especially --so– extremely --too– nearly --usually– quite --very

Examples of adverbs and the words they modify:

The history of invention is full of extremely embarrassing events. (adj.)

John Baird made highly important contributions to inventions. (adj.)

Making Comparisons

• The comparative form of an adjective or adverb is used when you compare a person or thing with one other person or thing.

– John ran faster than Michael.

– The bear was larger than the dog.

Making Comparisons

• The superlative form of an adjective or adverb is used when you compare someone or something with more than one other thing.

– The Titanic was the largest ship of all.

– That book was the most mysterious book in the library.

REGULAR FORMS OF COMPARISONOne-Syllable Modifiers: can usually be formed by

adding –er to the comparative and –est to the superlative.

ONE-SYLLABLE MODIFIERS

BASE FORM COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

ADJECTIVES smallshiny

smallershinier

smallestshiniest

ADVERBS soonclose

Soonercloser

soonestclosest

REGULAR FORMS OF COMPARISONTwo-Syllable Modifiers: can be formed by adding –er to the comparative and –est to the superlative adjective

OR by adding the words more and most.

TWO-SYLLABLE MODIFIERS

BASE FORM COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

ADJECTIVES easycheerful

easiermore cheerful

easiestmost cheerful

ADVERBS brightlyswiftly

more brightlymore swiftly

most brightlymost swiftly

REGULAR FORMS OF COMPARISONUse more and most with adjectives and adverbs having

three or more syllables.

THREE-SYLLABLE (OR MORE) MODIFIERS

BASE FORM COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

ADJECTIVES powerfulenergetic

more powerfulmore energetic

most powerfulmost energetic

ADVERBS peacefullycomfortably

more peacefullymore comfortably

most peacefullymost comfortably

IRREGULAR FORMS OF COMPARISONSome comparative and superlative forms of adverbs

and adjectives are irregular.

IRREGULAR MODIFIERS

BASE FORM COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

ADJECTIVES goodbad

betterworse

bestworst

ADVERBS wellmuchlittle

bettermoreless

bestmostleast

Guidelines for Candy Essay

• All adjectives must be underlined.• You must circle or box all adverbs.• All comparative forms of words should be in

one color, and superlative forms should be in another color.

• This should be ¾ of a page to 1 page in length.

Example (just a “snapshot”)

My three pieces of candy are a grape Jolly Rancher, a bag of Skittles, and a Kit Kat bar. In comparing the sweetness of the candy, the Skittle is sweeter than the Kit Kat bar, but the jolly rancher is the sweetest of all. The Skittles are much more colorful than both other candies.