I
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word that describes the traits, qualities, or number of a
noun
dentifying adjectives
There is no general rule for making adjectives. We know they are adjectives usually
by what they do (their function) in a sentence. However, some word endings
(suffixes) are typical of adjectives.
suffix examples
-able, -ible comfortable, readable, incredible, invisible
comical, normal, musical, industrial,
-al, -ial
presidential
-ful beautiful, harmful, peaceful, wonderful
-ic classic, economic, heroic, romantic
-ical aeronautical, alphabetical, political
-ish British, childish, Irish, foolish
-ive, -ative active, alternative, creative, talkative
-less endless, motionless, priceless, timeless
spontaneous, hideous, ambitious, anxious,
-eous, -ious, -ous
dangerous, famous
-y angry, busy, wealthy, windy
Degrees of adjectives
Adjectives come in three forms, known as degrees: absolute,
comparative, and superlative.
Absolute adjectives describe something in its own right.
A cool guy
A messy desk
A rigid guideline
An awful situation
A mischievous cat
Garrulous squirrels
Comparative adjectives, unsurprisingly, make a comparison between two
or more things. For most one-syllable adjectives, the comparative is formed
by adding the suffix -er (or just -r if the adjective already ends with an e).
For two-syllable adjectives, some use -er to form the comparative while
others use the word more. In general, two-syllable adjectives ending in –er,
–le, –ow, –ure, or –y can be made comparative by adding -er (in the case
of -y words, replace y with –ier). For adjectives of three or more syllables,
add the word more.
A cooler guy
A messier desk
A rigider/more rigid guideline
A more awful situation
A more mischievous cat
More garrulous squirrels
Superlative adjectives indicate that something has the highest degree of
the quality in question. One-syllable adjectives become superlatives by
adding the suffix -est (or just -st for adjectives that already end in e). As
with the comparative, some two-syllable adjectives use -est to form the
superlative while others use the word most. In general, two-syllable
adjectives ending in -y replace -y with -iest. Adjectives of three or more
syllables add the word most. When you use an article with a superlative
adjective, it will almost always be the definite article (the) rather than a or
an. Using a superlative inherently indicates that you are talking about a
specific item or items.
The coolest guy
The messiest desk
The rigidest/most rigid guideline
The most awful situation
The most mischievous cat
The most garrulous squirrels
An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb (“he sings loudly”),
an adjective (“very tall”), another adverb (“ended too quickly”), or even a
whole sentence (“Fortunately, I had brought an umbrella.”). Adverbs often
end in -ly, but some (such as fast) look exactly the same as their adjective
counterparts.
Tom Longboat did not run badly.
Tom is very tall.
The race finished too quickly.
Fortunately, Lucy recorded Tom’s win.
It’s easy to identify the adverbs in these sentences.
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Adverb examples
Adverbs are easy to recognize because they usually end in –ly, but not
always. Some of the most common adverb examples include:
• really, very
• well, badly
• today, yesterday, everyday, etc.
• sometimes, often, rarely, etc.
• early, late, soon, etc.
• here, there, everywhere, etc.
Adverbs and verbs
Adverbs often modify verbs. This means that they describe the way an
action is happening.
Huan sings loudly in the shower.
My cat waits impatiently for his food.
I will seriously consider your suggestion.
The adverb in each of the sentences above answers the question In what
manner? How does Huan sing? Loudly. How does my cat wait?
Impatiently. How will I consider your suggestion? Seriously. Adverbs can
answer other types of questions about how an action was performed. They
can also tell you when (“we arrived early”), where (“turn here”), or with
what frequency (“I go there often”).
However, there is one type of verb that doesn’t mix well with adverbs.
Linking verbs, such as feel, smell, sound, seem, and appear, typically
precede adjectives, not adverbs. A very common example of the type of
mixup that happens with linking verbs is the following:
Paz feels badly about what happened.
Because feel is a verb, it seems to call for an adverb rather than an
adjective. But feel isn’t just any verb; it’s a linking verb, which means that it
links the subject of a sentence to the modifier that follows it. Since a subject
is, by definition, a noun (or a pronoun), it is modified by an adjective. An
adverb would describe how you perform the action of feeling—an adjective
describes what you feel. “Paz feels badly” means that Paz is bad at feeling
things. If Paz is trying to read Braille through thick leather gloves, then it
might make sense for you to say “Paz feels badly.” But if you’re trying to
say that Paz is experiencing negative emotions, “Paz feels bad” is the
phrase you want.
Adverbs and adjectives
Adverbs can also modify adjectives. An adverb modifying an adjective
generally adds a degree of intensity or some other kind of qualification to
the adjective.
The lake is quite beautiful.
This book is more interesting than the last one.
“Is my singing too loud?” asked Huan.
My cat is incredibly happy to be having his dinner.
We will be slightly late to the meeting.
This shirt is a very unflattering shade of puce.
Adverbs and other adverbs
You can use an adverb to describe another adverb. In the following
sentence, the adverb almost is modifying the adverb always (and they’re
both modifying the adjective right):
The weather report is almost always right.
In fact, if you wanted to, you could use several adverbs to modify another
adverb.
Huan sings rather enormously too loudly.
However, that often produces weak and clunky sentences like the one
above,
