Download Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, while adverbs

Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, while adverbs modify verbs
and adjectives.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Differentiate between adjectives and adverbs, and give examples of the usage of each
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Adverbs are modifiers or descriptive words, phrases, orclauses that add detail to your sentences.
Adjectives describe, quantify, or identify pronouns and nouns and answer the following
questions: what kind? how many? how much? and which one?
Adverbs add detail to verbs and answer the following questions: when did something happen?
how often did it occur? how was the action performed? and where did it take place?
An adverb modifies a verb an answers the questions: "when? ", "how often? " and "where? "
TERMS [ edit ]
adjectival phrase
The term adjectival phrase, adjective phrase, or sometimes phrasal adjective may refer to any one
of several types of grammatical phrase.
adverb
A word that modifies a verb, adjective, other adverbs, or various other types of words, phrases, or
clauses.
adjective
A word that modifies a noun or describes a noun's referent.
EXAMPLES [ edit ]
Additional examples: Descriptive adjective: I would like a purple plum. Quantifying adjective: I
would like six plums. Demonstrative adjective: I would like that plum. Possessive pronoun
adjective: I would like his plum. Adjectival phrase: I would like a crate full of plums. Adjectival
prepositional phrase: I would like the plum on the counter. Ambiguous adjectival phrase: The
dogs and the rabbits with the brown spots were here yesterday. Clarified: The rabbits with the
brown spots and the dogs were here yesterday. Clarified: The dogs with brown spots and the
rabbits with brown spots were here yesterday.Adverb: I ate a plum yesterday. Adverb: I eat plums
frequently. Adverb: I always eat plums. Adverb: I eat plums quickly. Adverbial phrase: I would like
plums tomorrow morning. Adverbial prepositional phrase: I ate a plum at the beach.Two
adverbial phrases: I ate a plum yesterday afternoon at the beach. Conjunctive adverb: I ate a
plum; therefore, I owe you fifty cents. Ambiguous adverb: I drove to the market and bought
groceries quickly. Clarified: I drove quickly to the store and bought groceries. Clarified: I drove to
the story and quickly bought groceries.
Descriptive adjective: I would like a purple plum.
Quantifying adjective: I would like six plums.
Demonstrative adjective: I would like that plum.
Possessive pronoun adjective: I would like his plum.
Adjectival phrase: I would like a crate full of plums.
Adjectival prepositional phrase: I would like the plum on the counter.
Ambiguous adjectival phrase: The dogs and the rabbits with the brown spots were here yesterday.
Clarified: The rabbits with the brown spots and the dogs were here yesterday.
Clarified: The dogs with brown spots and the rabbits with brown spots were here yesterday.
Adverb: I ate a plum yesterday.
Adverb: I eat plums frequently.
Adverb: I always eat plums.
Adverb: I eat plums quickly.
Adverbial phrase: I would like plums tomorrow morning.
Adverbial prepositional phrase: I ate a plum at the beach.
Two adverbial phrases: I ate a plum yesterday afternoon at the beach.
Conjunctive adverb: I ate a plum; therefore, I owe you fifty cents.
Ambiguous adverb: I drove to the market and bought groceries quickly.
Clarified: I drove quickly to the store and bought groceries.
Clarified: I drove to the story and quickly bought groceries.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [ edit ]
Grammatical modifiers add detail to sentences. There are two primary types: adjectives,
which modify nouns and pronouns, and adverbs, which modify verbs or adjectives.
Modifiers can significantly improve your writing. They enhance the quality of information
you provide, making your work more precise. However, you don't want to overwhelm your
reader with unnecessary or excessive description. Try to strike a balance.
Adjectives
Adjectives describe, quantify, or identify pronouns and nouns. They also answer the
following questions:
­ What kind? ­ How many? ­ How much? ­ Which one?
Descriptions about "What kind? " add detail about the qualities of the noun or pronoun being
described: the yellowdress, the sad clown, the smart pupil. This ranges from details
regarding physical characteristics to emotional states.
Descriptions answering "How many? " and "How much? " specify the amount of whatever
noun or pronoun you are modifying. Quantifying adjectives can be specific (ten candles,
three hundred pages) or vague (several minutes, a few people, some candy).
Answering "Which one? " increases specificity by confirming exactly which object the writer
is referring to. Examples include phrases such as "that novel," "this writer," or
"thosestudents. " Most adjectives that serve this purpose are called determiners
or demonstrative pronouns.
Other Uses for Adjectives
Adjectives are also used to compare items. This usually involves using a combination of
identifying and descriptive adjectives:
This year's graduating class was smaller than last year's class. These books are the best we've
read so far.
Sometimes, pronouns can be used as adjectives. In addition to demonstrative pronouns,
possessive pronouns can also identify specific objects within a set. For example:
Which car should we drive? We should drive her car. Whosehouse is closest? Your house is
closest.
Prepositional phrases can be used as adjectives, normally modifying the noun that precedes
them. Like pronouns, they normally act as identifiers:
Which books should we read? The books on the curriculum.Whose stories did we listen to in
class? Those of the teacher.
Lastly, in addition to single words, you can use adjectival phrases. These are phrases that
begin with an adjective but then have a noun that adds further detail, such as "full of toys"
instead of just "full. " They are most frequently used as a modifier placed right after a noun
or as a predicate to a verb. For example, you could say "The child loved his bin full of toys,"
or "That bin is full of toys. "
Adverbs
Adverbs perform a similar function to adjectives, but they modify verbs or, (less frequently)
other adjectives or adverbs. Secondly, they answer different questions than adjectives do.
You can easily identify many adverbs because they often end in "­ly. " Adverbs are used to
provide the following details:
­ When did something happen? ­ How often did it occur? ­ How was the action performed? ­
Where did it take place?
Describing when: The last time I went shopping was a while ago. Describing how often: I
visit my friends frequently. Describing how: He ran quickly in the race. Describing where:
She sat down nearby.
You can also use adverbial prepositions, phrases that start with a preposition and modify a
nearby verb. For example, in the sentence "You cannot judge a book by its cover," the phrase
"by its cover" describes the conditions under which you cannot judge a book.
Drive Slow(ly)!
This is a common used grammatical mistake. "Slowly" would be the correct form here.
Which Should You Use: Adjectives or Adverbs?
One way to choose whether you need to use an adverb or an adjective is simply to figure out
whether the word you want to modify is a noun or a verb. A better approach, though, is not to
think about the words you could modify but the information you want to convey. You do not
need to describe every noun or verb, just the ones whose details are important to the
sentence. Remember, adjectives and adverbs can be separated by which types of information
they provide. Think about the details that are necessary enough to include, and then choose
your modifiers accordingly.
The sled glided smoothly over the snow.
The title contains an adverb 'smoothly' which describes the verb 'glided'. When deciding to use
adverbs or adjectives, think about what information is important to your sentence. Then, if needed,
you can add an adjective to modify a noun or an adverb to modify a verb.
Where to Place Adverbs and Adjectives
Writers should be careful where they place adjectives and adverbs in sentences, because
most readers assume that modifiers refer to whichever word they are closest to. If you
separate modifiers too far from the nouns and verbs they are supposed to modify, the reader
may not understand what you mean.
Above all, it should always be clear to the reader which word an adjective or adverb is
modifying. By paying attention to placement and making sure that if you want to modify a
verb you use an adverb instead of an adjective, you will make it much easier for your reader
to pick up on your intended meaning.