Download Chapter 4: Modifiers - St. John the Beloved School

Chapter 4
Modifier: A word that describes
Modifiers
Adjectives:
describe nouns
Articles:
definite &
indefinite
Adverbs: describe
verbs, adjectives
and other adverbs
How, When,
Where, What
Extent
Intensifiers are adverbs that tell to what
extent (really, very, quite, rather)
*ALL INTENSIFIERS ARE ADVERBS, BUT NOT
ALL ADVERBS ARE INTENSIFIERS*
Negatives modify
words to mean
“no” or “not”
Adjectives
•
Adjective: describes a noun
– Ex: red marker
– Marker is the noun; red is describing it
Articles are types of adjectives
Definite Articles: “the” or “that”
“Hand me that book.” – Describes which book
Indefinite Articles: “a” or “and”
Predicate Adjective: always follows a linking verb, serves as both a predicate and an
adjective
“I am tired.”: Subject is “I”; Verb is “am”; “Tired” is both the predicate and the adj.
describing me
Adverbs
•
Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs
– I ran quickly. (Quickly describes the verb “run”
– The bright, red, marker (“Bright” describes the adjective red)
Adverbs tell us:
-How: “I ran quickly.” How did I run? Quickly.
-When: “We learned this yesterday.” When did we learn this? Yesterday
-Where: “My books are everywhere.” Where are my books? Everywhere
-To What Extent: “I am very relieved.” How relieved am I? Very.
Intensifiers
•
Intensifiers are types of adverbs that tell us “to what extent”
•
ALL intensifiers are adverbs, but not all adverbs are intensifiers!
Examples of Intensifiers
•
•
•
•
Really
Very
Many
Rather
•
•
•
•
Awfully
Quite
Almost
Only
“I had to do only one hour of homework!”
It would be sufficient to say “I had to do one hour of homework.”
But, saying “only one” intensifies the meaning of “one”
Comparing Adjectives/Adverbs
As a general rule…
• One syllable modifiers get “er” or “est” added to the end
– sweet > sweeter > sweetest
– Soon > sooner > soonest
• Two syllable or more modifiers will get “more”, “most”, “less”, or “least”
• Famous > more famous > most famous
• Skillful > more skillful > most skillful
• An exception is modifiers that end in “y” (drop the “y” and add “-ier- or “
• Happy > Happier > Happiest
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Soon
Sooner
Soonest
Badly
Worse
Worst
Good
Better
Best
Early
Earlier
Earliest
Skillfully
More/Less Skillfully
Most/Least Skillfully
Quickly
More/Less Clearly
Most/Least Cleary
Negatives
•
Negatives are modifiers that mean “no” or “not”
– None, won’t, don’t, nobody, not
A “double negative” are two negatives used next to each other. It is grammatically
incorrect.
“I ain’t have no money.”
In math, two negative make a positive.
In English, they do too.
This literally translates to mean “I have money.”
Correction: “I have no money” or “I don’t have any money.”
Using Adverbs vs. Adjectives
Good = Adjective
Well = Adverb
After a linking verb, use an adjective.
(Linking Verbs > Intransitive > Predicate
Adjective)
“I am Good.” “You look good.”
After an action verb, use an adverb.
“They played poorly.” “She sang well.”
Dangling Modifiers
In English, the subject of the main cause should
be the doer of the modifying statement.
That means…
The modifying phrase and the subject of the
sentence should match.
Correct:
“Having finished the assignment, Jill turned the TV on.”
- Jill is the subject. She finished her assignment and then
turned the TV on.
Incorrect:
“Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.”
- The TV is the subject. This implies the TV was the one to
finish the assignment.
How To Fix a Dangling Modifier
INCORRECT: After reading the original study,
the article remains unconvincing.
REVISED: After reading the original study, I find
the article unconvincing.
INCORRECT: Relieved of your responsibilities at
your job, your home should be a place to relax.
REVISED: Relieved of your responsibilities at
your job, you should be able to relax at home.
INCORRECT: The experiment was a failure, not
having studied the lab manual carefully.
REVISED: They failed the experiment, not
having studied the lab manual carefully