Transcript Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives
“Much maligned by professional writers, adjectives and adverbs
do have their place. A powerful verb is better than a weak one
paired with an adverb. A list of features that make some thing
beautiful or ugly is better than the simple adjectives. Yes, a
precise adjective or deftly used adverb sings.”
-Jeff Anderson
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun.
 They make nouns more specific
 They are often called modifiers – they modify or change the
meaning of a noun or pronoun
 You can use more than one adjective to modify a noun or
pronoun
EXAMPLES: old-fashioned game
new video game
children’s word game
first baseball game
Adjectives continued…
Adjectives answer questions about nouns and pronouns




What kind?
Which one?
How many?
How much?
WHAT KIND?
WHICH ONE?
HOW MANY?
HOW MUCH?
brick house
that judge
one daffodil
no time
white paper
each answer
several roses
enough raisins
serious argument
those sisters
both brothers
many hobbies
colorful shirts
this student
four books
some teams
Adjectives continued…
An adjective usually comes before the noun it modifies;
sometimes they come after the nouns they modify
EXAMPLES:
modifies
The legal system, serious and complex, is sometimes hard to understand.
noun
adjective
adjective
modifies
The room, narrow and dark, frightened us.
noun
adjective
adjective
modifies
Graphics, large and colorful, covered the screen.
noun
adjective
adjective
Adjectives continued…
Adjectives that modify pronouns usually come after linking verbs;
sometimes adjectives may come before the pronoun
AFTER:
modifies
They were quiet and thoughtful.
pronoun
adjective
adjective
modifies
They are happy and talkative.
pronoun
adjective
modifies
She is talented.
pronoun
adjective
adjective
Adjectives continued…
BEFORE:
modifies
Tall and elegant, she walked into the room.
adjective
adjective
pronoun
modifies
Quiet and sullen, he sat in a corner.
adjective
adjective
pronoun
modifies
Intelligent and active, they won the tournament.
adjective
adjective
pronoun
Articles
Three frequently used adjectives are a, an, and the. They are
called articles. Articles can be definite or indefinite. Both
types indicate that a noun will soon follow.
 The is a definite article; it points to a specific person, place, thing, or
idea
 A and an are indefinite articles; they point to any member of a group of
similar people, places, things or ideas
DEFINITE: Mr. Ryan is the man to call. (specific person)
Go into the gym. (specific place)
I want to play the game. (specific thing)
INDEFINITE: I want to see a game. (any game)
Please take an apple. (any apple)
You should see a teacher for help. (any teacher)
Articles continued…
 A is used before consonant sounds; an is used before vowel
sounds
 You choose between a and an based on sounds
USING A AND AN
A WITH CONSONANT SOUNDS
AN WITH VOWEL SOUNDS
a blue hat
an endangered water bird
a happy time (h sound)
an honest person (no h sound)
a one-way street (w sound)
an old map (o sound)
a unicorn (y sound)
an uncle (u sound)
a taxi
an opportunity
a pineapple
an angry look
A university (y sound)
an eraser
Using Proper Adjectives
A proper adjective is (1) a proper noun used as an adjective or (2)
an adjective formed from a proper noun
 Begins with a capital letter
A proper noun used as an adjective does not change its form; it is
just placed in front of another noun.
PROPER NOUNS
USED AS PROPER ADJECTIVES
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving dinner
(Which dinner?)
Florida
Florida wetlands
(Which wetlands?)
December
December weather
(What kind of weather?)
Using Proper Adjectives continued…
When an adjective is formed from a proper noun, the proper
noun will change its form.
PROPER NOUNS
PROPER ADJECTIVES FORMED FROM
PROPER NOUNS
America
American history
(Which kind of history?)
Japan
Japanese cities
(Which cities?)
Norway
Norwegian legends
(Which legends?)
Inca
Incan empire
(Which empire?)
South
Southern hospitality
(Which hospitality?)
Using Nouns as Adjectives
Nouns can sometimes be used as adjectives
 It usually comes directly before another noun
 Answers the question What kind? or Which one?
NOUNS
USED AS ADJECTIVES
shoe
a shoe salesperson
(What kind of salesperson?)
waterfowl
the waterfowl refuge
(Which refuge?)
court
a court date
(What kind of date?)
morning
a morning appointment
(What kind of appointment?)
Using Compound Adjectives
Adjectives, like nouns, can be compound.
A compound adjective is made up of more than one word.
 Most are written as hyphenated words
 Some are written as combined words
HYPHENATED
COMBINED
a well-known actress
a featherweight boxer
a full-time job
a freshwater lake
snow-covered
a sideways glance
one-sided opinions
heartbreaking news
so-called experts
a nearsighted witness
Using Pronouns as Adjectives
Pronouns, like nouns, can sometimes be used as adjectives
A pronoun becomes an adjective if it modifies a noun.
EXAMPLES: We see the ducklings on this side of the pond.
Which ducks are the males?
Using Possessive Nouns and
Pronouns as Adjectives
Personal pronouns are often possessive adjectives (my, your, her, his, its,
our, their) because they come before nouns and answer the question
Which one?
EXAMPLES:
refers to
modifies
The ducks flapped their wings.
antecedent
pronoun
refers to
modifies
The club wants to increase its membership.
antecedent
pronoun
Possessive nouns function as adjectives when they modify a noun.
EXAMPLES: The pond is on Mrs. Smith’s property.
The duck’s feathers are colorful.
Using Demonstrative Adjectives
This, that, these, and those – the four demonstrative
pronouns – can also be demonstrative adjectives.
PRONOUN: We saw that.
ADJECTIVE: That lake is home to many geese.
PRONOUN: What are these?
ADJECTIVE: These gulls are searching for food.
Using Interrogative Adjectives
Which, what, and whose – three of the interrogative
pronouns – can be interrogative adjectives.
PRONOUN: Which do you think he will choose?
ADJECTIVE: Which parrot do you think he will buy?
PRONOUN: Whose can that be?
ADJECTIVE: Whose macaw can that be?
Using Indefinite Adjectives
A number of indefinite pronouns – both, few, many,
each, most, and all, among others – can also be
used as indefinite adjectives.
PRONOUN: I bought one of each.
ADJECTIVE: Each judge writes an opinion.
PRONOUN: I don’t want any.
ADJECTIVE: I don’t want any help.