* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download brand-new television
Navajo grammar wikipedia , lookup
Udmurt grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old Irish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old English grammar wikipedia , lookup
Preposition and postposition wikipedia , lookup
Georgian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Kannada grammar wikipedia , lookup
Macedonian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Arabic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lithuanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ukrainian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Hebrew grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old Norse morphology wikipedia , lookup
Serbo-Croatian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Compound (linguistics) wikipedia , lookup
Swedish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Scottish Gaelic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Chinese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Literary Welsh morphology wikipedia , lookup
Portuguese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Romanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Spanish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Zulu grammar wikipedia , lookup
Determiner phrase wikipedia , lookup
Latin syntax wikipedia , lookup
Japanese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Sotho parts of speech wikipedia , lookup
Vietnamese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Malay grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Russian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Pipil grammar wikipedia , lookup
Dutch grammar wikipedia , lookup
Yiddish grammar wikipedia , lookup
French grammar wikipedia , lookup
Esperanto grammar wikipedia , lookup
Polish grammar wikipedia , lookup
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS Modifiers (“describing words”) Adjectives and adverbs o Modifiers can be single words or can be phrases Often prepositional phrases do double duty as adjectives and adverbs. o Some books devote special attention to modifiers that derive from verbs, calling them “participles,” which like all adjectives and adverbs can come in single words, multi-word phrases, or, if the groups of words also contain subjects and verbs, clauses. Adjectives—whether single words, phrases, or clauses--modify (or “describe”) nouns and pronouns. Adjectives tend to answer the question “Which one?” In a way, adjectives give us a way to distinguish one noun (person, place, thing) from another. Which car? The fast car…. not the slow one… or the red one… or one in the parking garage … the expensive one… but the fast one Which roses? The yellow, longstemmed roses gathered in a bunch … not the red, miniature roses collected in that vase Which dog? The black dog… not the white one… not the shaggy one… not friendly one… not the friendly, shaggy, white dog… not the one in a bad mood and is growling… the little one that my mother has owned for years… not the barking, little dog in the yard Which movie? The scary movie on the TV in the living room… not the boring movie with bad acting… not the one that had bad reviews last week… not the PG-13 movie… not the R-rated movie… The bike…. The old bike… the red bike…the bike driving by the valley …the wet bike that fell into the river …the useless bike …. the bike with the flat tire … the bike parked down the street … the one that is parked down the street Allergies… contagious allergies… temporary allergies… seasonal allergies… very, very bad allergies… allergies that are annoying… allergy relief… allergies that crop up every spring … spring-time allergies… overthe-counter allergy medicine …. Other questions that adjectives “answer:” What’s it like? What color is it? How does it look? What kind of ----? What does it sounds like? How big is it? What does it feel like? What does it taste like? In this sense, adjectives tend to provide sensory information about the words they modify. If it’s related to one of our five senses, it’s probably an adjective. Examples: John’s sloppy room, brandnew television set, an adorable dress, etc. Many adjectives are formed from other root words. Common suffixes for adjectives: -ic, -y, -istic, -ical, -ful, -iful. – iac, -ious, -ous, -ial, -able, -ish, -ive, etc. “magic” becomes “magical” “joy” becomes “joyous” or “joyful” “play” becomes “playful” “thank” becomes “thankful” “fish” becomes “fishy” “plenty” becomes “plentiful” “beauty” becomes “beautiful” “space” becomes “spatial” or “spacious” “doubt” becomes “doubtful” or “dubious” “thank” becomes “thankful” “spice” becomes “spicy” “harmony” becomes “harmonious” “courtesy” becomes “courteous” “juice” becomes “juicy” “grace” become “gracious” “gratefulness” comes from “grateful” “establish” becomes “established” and “stable” Dictionaries will give you the adjective forms of words that can be transformed o Ironically, adjectives can be overused and lead to some very non-descriptive writing, especially when they rely on opinion or perception. Examples of unhelpful adjectives: pretty girl, hard job, bad movie. Therefore, good writers use adjectives in moderation and use them in combination with details and good development. They also tend to use more verbs than adjectives. o Adjectives in yellow usually go directly in front of the word(s) they modify in blue. But they can come directly after a word, something that happens fairly frequently with adjective phrases and clauses. However, adjectives can also end up several words away from the noun or pronoun it modifies. This phenomenon happens the most often with sentences with linking verbs and predicate adjectives functioning as subject complements. (More on these special adjectives in a minute.) I love my green dress. My car is making a strange sound. He bought a fancy new Lexus decked out with all sorts of expensive options and extras. The British spy was tried for treason. The spy who was tried for treason was British. He is both intelligent and interesting. Tom is small but can eat as much as Jerry. The mouse is fast and sneaky. The mouse is both curious and cunning. The mouse caught in the mousetrap cried all night long. The white mouse with the red eyes got run over. The mouse that lives in the house has to hide from the angry cat. The mouse that was caught in the mousetrap got quickly eaten by Bear Grills, the survivalist from Discovery Channel. The grey and white spotted mouse ran as fast he could from the wild dogs from the street. My neighbor’s white and grey cat is always sitting behind my garage door. The yellow cat with the angry face was chasing me. The fluffy cats at the animal shelter were cute and cuddly. There are special adjectives called possessive adjectives. They show “ownership,” or “possession,” or at least that’s the way grade school teachers explain it. o Possessive-case pronouns are “pre-done.” They don’t need apostrophes. My, mine, our, ours, his, her, hers, you, yours, their, theirs, its Her car… their third marriage… my blouse… your homework assignment… the town of his birth… o Although possessive pronouns are common, the vast majority of possessive adjectives are generally nouns that have been turned into adjectives by use of apostrophes and the letter “s.” The purpose behind the conversion is to show that something belongs to somebody. (Example: “Father” is a noun. “Father’s” is a possessive adjective. The phrase “my father’s pipe” is intended to convey the fact that the writer’s father owns a pipe.) Most possessives are created by adding –’s to a word. However, some words— like proper names and lots and lots of plurals--already end in “s,” so, in that case, usually all that’s needed is to add the apostrophe. Look this up in your book or a grammar handbook and familiarize yourself with enough examples so you see the patterns that exist. the boy’s room (one boy, one room) the boys’ room (more than one boy, one room) the boys room (incorrect) the brothers’ room (more than one brother, one room) the brothers’ rooms (more than one brother, more than one room) my brothers rooms (grammatical nonsense) my brother’s room (one brother, one room) the twins’ room (two people, one room) the twin’s room (one of the twins, one room) John’s room (one John, one room) James’ room (one James, one room) James’s room (incorrect) Smiths’ room (several people whose last name is Smith, one room) Smith’s room (one person whose last name is Smith, one room) men’s room (restroom: one room, lots of men) ladies’ room (restroom: one room, lots of ladies) Children’s Medical Center Childrens’ Medical Center (incorrect) Common mistakes! My fathers pipe (doesn’t mean anything in English)(= more than one father, one pipe, nobody owns anything) My father’s pipe’s (doesn’t mean anything in English)(=one father owning some unnamed something belonging to a pipe) (REMEMBER: You can’t create plurals with apostrophes— EVER!) My grandfather’s pipes (one grandfather, lots of pipes, all of the m belong to him) o Adjectives that follow linking verbs are given special names: predicate adjectives. Like predicate nouns and predicate pronouns, predicate adjectives fall into the larger category called subject complements, and, as such, they are said to “describe the subject.” John is an accountant. (predicate noun, “accountant” renames John, “is” is a linking verb) It was she who stole the missing necklace. (predicate pronoun, “she” renames “it” and refers to the person who stole the necklace, “was” is a linking verb) Maria is pretty in her new, sequined dress. (predicate adjective, pretty describes Maria, “is” is a linking verb) Maria looks pretty in her new, sequined dress. (predicate adjective, pretty describes Maria, “looks” is a linking verb) Linking verbs: o Forms of “to be,” forms of "to become,” and forms of "to seem” o am, is, is being, are, are being, was, was being, were, has been, have been, will have been, had been, are being, might have been, become, becomes, became, has become, have become, had become, will become, will have become, seemed, seeming, seems, has seemed, have seemed, had seemed, and will seem And others: Verbs related to the five senses when they function in the same way linking verbs do to show a condition. o grow, look, prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, turn, stay, get, appear, and feel Harry became angry when his brotherin-law started criticizing his son’s dancing. When he was filling out his unemployment application, Jason was confused about how to describe his previous position. John called the waiter over to complain that his soup tasted too salty. Because it is so windy out, we will have to postpone our kite-flying. The energy drink that I bought from 711 is ineffective. Ben became nauseous when my uncle told him what he was eating. We decided to leave the bar because it was so crowded that we couldn’t watch the game. Because her cup was empty, Bree called the waitress over to ask for a refill. I was unable to think of a sentence to present quickly enough for the teacher. I shook John’s hand, and it was very sweaty. A police officer was annoyed about the old lady’s disrespectful words. Harry Potter sakes John’s sweaty hand, and he looks calm. Jamie’s mom is coming next week to visit her family in McKinney, and Jaime is so excited about her visit. She looks wonderful for her birthday party, so she will get all the attention tonight. The smart candidate became president of the USA after winning the last presidential election, and his supporters were happy. I was getting ready to wash my face with cold water, and I reached over to touch the water, but it was hot. I was ready to go to soccer practice, but they told me it was canceled. Sometimes, writers will use two or three adjectives in a row to describe something. Depending on his or her choice of descriptions, he or she may need commas to separate the adjectives. o Grammar books provide rules for when to use a comma in between coordinate adjectives and when not to. Most will advise writers to apply a test: if the words can be reversed or interchanged or used with “and,” a comma should be used. If they cannot be reversed or interposed with “and,” then no comma is used. It’s a bit of a judgment call. Most people have an instinctive sense for the answer, though, based on a lifetime’s worth of hearing things described. o Example where comma is needed: movie (noun) long (adjective) movie (noun) dull (adjective) movie (noun) Saying a “long, dull movie” is pretty much the same as saying a “dull, long movie.” It sounds okay to say “the movie was both long and dull.” It was a long, dull movie. It was a dull, long movie. o Example where comma is not needed: park (noun) dog (adjective) park (noun) popular (adjective) park (noun) Saying a “popular dog park” is not the same as saying a “dog popular park.” It doesn’t sound okay to say “the park was both dog and popular.” Sometimes, the adjective closest to the noun cannot be moved. “Dog” in this example has to come in front of “park” if readers are to understand what sort of park is meant. I took my beagle to a popular dog park. o Example where one comma is needed but another is not: system (noun) stereo (adjective) system (noun) brand new (adjective) system (noun) expensive (adjective) system (noun) Saying a “brand new stereo system” is not the same as saying a “stereo brand new system.” It doesn’t sound okay to say “the system was both stereo and brand new.” Hence, no comma is needed between “brand new” and “stereo.” However, the test now needs to be applied to “expensive.” It is pretty much the same to say “the brand new, expensive stereo system” as it is to say “the expensive, brand new stereo system.” And a stereo system can be both “brand new” and “expensive.” I love my brand new, expensive stero system. o Other examples: I want to replace my broken down, worthless car with an expensive race car. I went for a long, relaxing walk along the lonely, dusty [no comma] hiking trail. I went for a long and relaxing walk along the lonely, dusty [no comma] hiking trail. I went for a long, relaxing, and inspiring walk along the lonely, dusty [no comma] hiking trail. She wore a flashy, blue satin Gloria Vanderbilt gown while her date wore a worn out, frazzled rented tuxedo. The energy drink that I bought was flat, nasty, and ineffective. I decided to take a long, soothing drive in the country after working all day in hot, cramped office building. Should I get the black, yellow, and white Nikes or the purple, black, and yellow pair of Jordans? The expensive, red car had all the high tech, modified parts on it. The expensive red sports car had all the high tech modified parts on it. The lady used to live in a rusty, old, blue and white house; she now lives in a red brick house. The haunted house I went to was old, rusty, and boring. Yesterday, I went for a long, serene walk around the lake on the winding concrete path with no worry at all. It was such a hot, steamy day that Adrian decided to wear shorts; however, her father disapproved her outfit, saying no daughter of his would be allowed to wear such over sexualized, inappropriate clothing. The big, scraggly tree is what most people would call an oak tree. I ate the whole bag of fresh, sweet strawberry cookies. I had a long, tiring day. I bought a clean, new, fancy watch at the store. We spent eight long hours in traffic on our way to Mexico. We spent a long eight hours in traffic on our way to Mexico. The beautiful, intelligent, and polite Puerto Rican model was named Miss Congeniality. When I got home from work today, I took a long, cold shower to help me stay awake. The small car had red, white, and blue racing stripes. The girl wanted to trade in her old, dusty, beat up Honda for a brand new, shiny Camaro. I’m from Barranquilla, Colombia, and my city is a friendly, beautiful, and historical place, where I would like to live again. The American flag is red, white, and blue. The French flag is blue, white, and red. Comparative adjectives We use the comparative for comparing two things and the superlative for comparing three or more things. (There is a so-called “positive” form, but it’s just the usual word, and it tends to be used for descriptions that don’t involve comparisons at all, and so most grammar books don’t make much mention of it.) How we form comparatives and superlatives is largely a matter of how many syllables are in an adjective. There are some exceptions, but the usual patterns have us adding the suffixes -er and -est suffice to form most comparatives and superlatives. However, when a two-syllable adjective ends in a ”y,” we drop the -y and add ier and -iest (as with “happier” and “happiest”). Some adjectives , especially ones with three or more syllables use more and most when an adjective has more than one syllable. Examples: It is colder today than it was yesterday. (regular comparative)(two days) Today was the coldest day of the year. (regular superlative)(365 days) He is the tallest boy in his class. (regular superlative) I’ve never encountered anyone more honest than he. He is the most honest guy I know. Harold was voted the friendliest senior, but his expression in his photograph in the high school year book made him look the surliest. It was the most ingenious plan, and in it, he suggested using small trucks and even smaller cars to transport the cargo across enemy lines. **Notice that the word than frequently accompanies the comparative and the word the generally precedes the superlative. Of course, in the frustrating way that English has of confusing the issue, some words can follow either the –er and –est pattern, or they can follow the “more”/”most pattern. Examples: Big dogs are gentler than small dogs. Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs. Of all the breeds in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest. Of all the breeds in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle. If you are ever in doubt, a dictionary will tell you what options you have in constructing comparative and superlative adjectives. There are some adjectives that receive irregular treatment, and among these are some very common words: “good,” “bad,” “far,” “little,” and “many.” Irregular Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form good better best bad worse worst far farther farthest little less least many more most Examples: o In my opinion, Italian food is the better choice for the reception than Chinese food. o In my opinion, Italian food is the best choice for the reception. o I know everyone thinks so, but my dog is the best dog in the world. o My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking. o Of all of my sister’s boyfriends, Max is the least annoying. o John was mad when his mother said that he couldn’t go to a Spurs game until she explained that San Antonio is much farther away than he realized, and the trip up and back would take nearly twelve hours! Be aware that some adjectives already imply a condition that cannot be compared or expressed in degrees and so shouldn’t really be expressed in comparative or superlative form. “Pregnant” is such a word. A woman cannot be “more pregnant” or “less pregnant.” She is either “pregnant” or “not pregnant.” There are more words like this than you might imagine. Here are a few more: “absolute,” “impossible,” “chief,” “unanimous,” “irrevocable,” “entire,” “final,” and “unique.” Logically speaking, these words should not be used in a comparative way, but writers and speakers often do so anyway because they want to exaggerate their points or emphasize. For example, a film critic might describe the boring script in a movie as dead, and then, just to make the film sound even worse, he might say, “The dialogue was even deader.” Most readers can sense the sort of exaggeration in the last example, but they would balk if you were to write, “He is deader than the wounded soldier.” JFK was shorter than George Washington, Teddy Roosevelt was fatter than Clinton, and Lincoln had the coolest hat. Of all the past presidents, Barack Obama would be considered the best from some people’s view. His health care policy was more efficient than that of his competition. I could not think of a sentence about a politician, so this is probably worse than my sentence on Monday, but still not my worst sentence ever. California has a cool governor, much cooler than our governor here in Texas. Barack Obama had the biggest margin of victory since Ronald Reagan and became the first African-American to be elected president. Barack Obama is one of the youngest presidents in recent history. He is the most intelligent candidate in the last five years. o Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. They tend to answer the questions When? Where? Why? How often? In what fashion? With whom? For what reason? To what degree? How ____ is it? Common suffixes for adverbs transformed from other root words: -ly “slow” (adjective) becomes “slowly” “fashion” (noun) becomes “fashionable” (adjective) becomes “fashionably” (adverb) “quick” is an adjective; “quickly” is an adverb “extreme” becomes “extremely” “friend” (noun) “friendly (adjective) “in a friendly way” (adverb) “order”(noun) “orderly” (adjective) “in an orderly fashion” (adverb) “week” (noun) “weekly” (adjective—weekly schedule-- or an adverb—I mow my lawn weekly) “sudden” (noun/adjective) become “suddenly” (adverb) “rapid” becomes “rapidly” “fair” becomes “fairly” “calm” becomes “calmly” “love” (verb) “lovely” (adjective) “lovable” (adjective) loveliness (noun) “lover” (noun) “loving” (gerund/verb/adjective) “lovingly” (adverb) “in a loving way” (adverb phrase) Special adverbs: “too,” “very,” “really,” “so,” “way,” “far,” “rather,” “quite,” “extraordinarily,” “extremely,” and “especially .” These special adverbs are called intensifiers. They are adverbs that go with adjectives. A joke might be described “funny” (an adjective) or “incredibly funny” (an adverb + adjective) if it went over with an audience very well. The soup was salty. The soup was so salty that I spit it out. The soup was overly salty. The soup was rather salty. The soup was extremely salty. The soup was a little salty. The soup was unbearably salty. The soup was very salty. The soup was too salty. The soup was not salty at all. The soup was grossly salty. (grammatically okay but odd sounding) The soup was really salty. The soup was barely salty at all. The soup was very, very salty. The test was hard. The test was extremely hard. The test was super hard. The test was quite hard. The test was somewhat hard. The test was very hard. The test was not hard. The test was really hard. The test was way test. The test was very, very hard. The test was too hard. The test was ridiculously hard. The test was a little hard. The test was painfully hard. The test was terribly hard. The test was super-duper hard. The test was awfully hard. The test was partially hard. The test was bloody hard. ( The tests Professor Smith gives are famously hard, so I’d advise you to study. The test was fairly hard. The test was unbelievably hard. The test was sort of hard. The test was brutally hard; almost everyone in the class failed. -ly is the most common suffix for adverbs but lots of adverbs go beyond one word in length and are, for that reason, called adverbial phrases. (Examples: “around the corner,” “every day after school,” and “once or twice a day”) Adverbs in yellow often go directly before or after the word(s) they modify in blue. The children played chess quietly. The children quietly played chess. The children played chess in the living room. The children quietly played chess in the living room. The children played chess quietly in the living room. Yesterday, the children played chess without fighting, but today, they bickered endlessly about whose turn it was. Since it was too hot to play outdoors, the children stayed indoors and quietly played chess. Early this morning, an old lady, who was driving erratically, was in the wrong lane. Mary likes to drive so slowly around the school zone during school time. Late last night, texting while driving, John ran through the stop sign and over the ravine. The police officers drove by me so quickly during a high-speed chase. Early this morning, on the way to the hospital, a cop passed me on the right shoulder going very fast. Yesterday, police officers quickly drove to catch the speedy, deranged driver to prevent any accidents. The cops always seem to drive responsibly, but I’ve seen them speed through school zones and blow through lights without their sirens on. Yesterday, in the evening, the polite checker at Kroger’s gave me a fiftypercent discount on groceries. Last night, I went to the grocery store for shopping; I barely was able to find a spot to park my car because the parking lot was so busy. I hardly go grocery shopping during the weekend because the long lines at the register take too much time. Tonight, after my class, I need to stop at the grocery store because I am completely out of milk that I terrribly need for my coffee early in the morning. Find all the adjectives and adverbs: 1. A Pentagon spokesman announced that, last month, three Army squadrons in the northern part of Iraq rapidly deployed south in the direction of Baghdad in support of the police forces there, who are battling heavily armed militants, who were threatening a sacred mosque. pentagon (adjective) spokesman (noun) announced (verb) last month (adverbial phrase) three Army (both adjectives) squadrons (noun) squadrons (noun) in the northern (adjective) part (noun) of Iraq (adjective phrase) rapidly (adverb) deployed (verb) deployed (verb) south (adverb) in the direction of Baghdad (adverb) deployed (verb) in support of the police (adjective) forces (noun) (adverbial phrase) there (adverb) who are battling heavily (adverb) armed (adjective) militants (noun) (adjective phrase) forces (noun) who were threatening a sacred (adjective) mosque (noun) (adjective phrase) militants (noun) 2. The yellow race car driven by Al Uncer swerved into the left lane and completely knocked two other vehicles off the track and into the pit area where two quick mechanics barely managed to jump out of the way. yellow race (both adjectives) car (noun) into the left lane (adverbial phrase) swerved (verb) driven by Al Uncer (adjective phrase) car (noun) completely (adverb) knocked (verb) pit (adjective) area (noun) quick (adjective) mechanics (noun) barely (adverb) managed (verb) out of the way (adverbial phrase) to jump (verb) off the track (adverb phrase) knocked (verb) two (adjective) mechanics (noun) two other (both adjectives) vehicles (noun) left (adjective) lane (noun) into the pit area (adverbial phrase) knocked (verb) Often, in the western sky, one can see the planets rise from the horizon toward the ascending moon. Crouched underneath a small table in the back corner of the garage, a young boy about five or six years old was hiding, nervous that he would be discovered by his older brother who had threatened to beat him to a pulp because, earlier in the day, the boy had accidently spilled ink on his brother’s science project report.