Download Using Adjectives and Adverbs

Using Adjectives
and Adverbs
Correctly
What are adjectives?
 Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns
 These words are all adjectives
 A hot day
 A happy camper
 A silly twit
 A big, smelly mess (both “big” and “smelly” modify
“mess”)
 She is creative (“creative” is a subject complement
that follows the linking verb “is”)
 A boring course (present participle used as an
adjective
Adjective – a word that
describes a noun or
pronoun.
Adjectives are
modifiers. They
change, or modify, the
meaning of nouns or
pronouns.
Answers These
Questions
• What kind?
• Which ones?
• How many?
• How much?
Demonstrative
• this
Articles
• that
•a
• these
• an
• those
• the
So what are adverbs?
 Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and
other adverbs
 Many adverbs end with ly
 Many adverbs answer the question
“How?”
 These are adverbs
 Eating quickly (modifying a verb)
 Trying very hard (modifying an adverb)
 A really big show (modifying an adjective)
Draw the umbrella
& take notes:
CLUE!
Most
end
with
ly
Answers These
Questions
• Where?
Adverb – a word that
modifies a verb, adjective,
or another adverb.
Adverbs are modifiers.
They change, or modify, the
meaning of another word.
• When?
• In what way?
• To what extent?
 when modifying
adj. and other
adv.
Recognizing Adjectives &
Adverbs
 Many words have both an adjective and adverb form
Adjective
Adverb
Happy kids
Playing happily
Smooth jazz
Running smoothly
Good night
Eating Well
Efficient workers
Working efficiently
Casual dress
Dressing casually
Quick meeting
Talking quickly
Hopeful children
Waiting hopefully
Real butter
Really hot
Comparatives and Superlatives
 Most adverbs and adjectives also have a
comparative and superlative form
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Hot
Hotter
Hottest
Good
Better
Best
Exciting
More exciting
Most exciting
Careful
Less careful
Least careful
 Use the comparative form to compare two things
 Sally is the larger of the twins. (not largest)
 Use the superlative form to compare three or more
 August was the hottest month of the year.
Double Comparatives
 Don’t use “more” or “most” with –er or –est
 Yesterday was more hotter than today.
 That was the most dirtiest story I ever heard.
 You are the bestest teacher.
Absolute Concepts
 Don’t use comparatives or superlatives with
absolute concepts
 Absolutes have only two possibilities, on or off,
yes or no, with nothing in between
 The most perfect student in the class
 A very unique idea (say “very unusual” instead)
 These words express absolute concepts that
cannot be modified
More priceless
Sort of dead
Quite on
A little bit confident
Very unanimous
Extremely perfect
Quite unique
Completely anonymous
Don’t use adjectives when
adverbs are needed
 You did a real nice job.
 (an adjective can’t modify another adjective)
 You did a really nice job.
 (the adverb “really” modifies “nice”)
 He did good.
 He did well.
or
He did a good job.
 Fuel injection helps the car run efficient.
 Fuel injection helps the car run efficiently.
 Come quick!
 Come quickly!
 Hopefully, it won’t rain.
 (an adverb explains how something will happen
 I hope that it won’t rain.
Compound Adjectives
 Two or more adjectives often appear together
separated with commas
 Brad’s shiny, brown toupe flapped in the wind.
• The words “shiny” and “brown” each work
separately to modify “toupe”
• Connect the words with a hyphen when they
function together before a noun
 Brad’s gold-plated fillings stood out against his
bright-red sunburn.
• “Gold-plated” and “bright-red” are compound
adjectives
Compound Adjectives
 Do not hyphenate the words when they
come after the noun they modify
 Notice the difference in these examples
Brad was well known along
the boardwalk. (no hyphen)
Brad was a well-known jerk.
(hyphenated)
His SUV was fully equipped.
He drove a fully-equipped SUV.
Brad worked full time on his
tan.
Brad was a full-time chick magnet.
Misplaced Modifiers
 Put adjectives and adverbs close to the
words they modify
 Notice how the meaning is affected by
the improper placement




 An old pile of clothes is on the floor.
A pile of old clothes is on the floor.
 I almost believe you are finished.
I believe you are almost finished.
 The winners will only be contacted.
Only the winners will be contacted.
 I can’t quite do this as well as Fred.
I can’t do this quite as well as Fred.