Adjectives & Adverbs

Adjectives/Predicate Adjectives

 An adjective is a word that modifies, or

describes, a noun or a pronoun.

 The eager, large crowd of visitors examines the

huge painting.

 A predicate adjective follows a linking verb

and modifies the subject of the sentence.

 The painting is realistic and timeless.

Questions That Adjectives Answer

What Kind?
brick house white paper

Which One?
that judge each answer

How Many?
one daffodil several roses

How Much?
no time enough raisins
 Find the Adjectives

The endless landscape seemed filled with

strange objects and ghostly figures.

The silent woman was aware of everything around

her.

The bright flowers and whitened bones of the

desert inspired her.

A piece of red coral was especially eye-catching.

Articles
 The articles a, an, and the are always
considered to be adjectives.
 Indefinite articles = a and an
 refer to one of a general group of people, places,
things, or ideas
 A is used before words that start with a
consonant sound; an is used before words that
start with a vowel sound.
 Definite article = the
 identifies specific people, places, things, or ideas

A tiger and an antelope ran through the clearing.

Compound Adjectives

 A compound adjective is made up of

more than one word.
 usually written in hyphenated form
 one-sided opinion
 so-called expert

 sometimes written in combined form

 heartbreaking news
 nearsighted witness
Find the Articles &
Compound Adjectives

Hazleton is an industrial city in the central part of

Pennsylvania.

The grandfather clock stands on the living room floor.

A left-handed pitcher threw to a right-handed batter.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away is a commonsense

maxim.
Proper Adjectives

A proper adjective is formed from a

proper noun and always begins with a
capital letter.
 Sometimes the proper noun stays the same
when it is used as an adjective.
I enjoy April showers.
 Most times an ending must be added: -an,
-ese, -ian, -ish
I ate dinner at an Italian restaurant.
Nouns Used as Adjectives

Nouns are sometimes used as adjectives.

When this happens, the noun is used
immediately in front of another noun and
answers the question What Kind? or
Which One?
 Noun = court Adjective = court
date
 Noun = morning Adjective = morning meal
 Noun = chalk Adjective = chalk tray
Find the Proper Adjectives &
the Nouns Used as Adjectives

The flood waters reached the top of the barrier.

According to Greek mythology, Zeus is the king of gods

and men.

For the pizza party Jane made Italian pasta as a

side dish.

A basketball referee should be in good physical

condition.
Pronouns Used as Adjectives

 Possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her,

its, our, their) followed by nouns are
often called possessive adjectives.
 They are pronouns because they have
antecedents, and they are adjectives since
they answer the question Which One?
my book your friend his idea her courage
its surface our destination their reservation
Pronouns Used as Adjectives

 The four demonstrative pronouns (this,

that, these, those) are actually
demonstrative adjectives when they
are followed by nouns.
 They also answer the question Which
One?

this painting that portrait

these pictures those sculptures
Pronouns Used as Adjectives

 Some interrogative pronouns (which,

what, whose) are followed by nouns.
When this happens, they’re actually
interrogative adjectives, and they
modify the nouns that follow them.

Which student borrowed the library book today?

What time are we leaving for the train station?
Whose project is posted on the bulletin board?
Pronouns Used as Adjectives

 A number of indefinite pronouns (both,

few, many, each, most, some, all, etc.)
can be followed by nouns, which makes
them indefinite adjectives.
 They often tell How Much?
both representatives few complications
many circumstances each attraction
most phenomena some predicaments
all experiments
Find the Pronouns
Used as Adjectives
 Several people are presenting
their interpretations of the novels in class
this afternoon.

 Which lawyer will argue her case in court?

 Our report can help all students understand what

steps we can take to save those animals.

 Whose appointment is scheduled in a

few days?
Adverbs

 An adverb can modify 3 different

parts of speech – a verb, an adjective,
or another adverb
 Adverbs answer the questions Where?
When? In What Way? To What
Extent? about the verb, adjective, or
adverb.
 Most adverbs have an –ly ending.
Adverbs That Modify Verbs

Where?
drove down stay nearby
When?
report later come tomorrow
In What Way?
cautiously approached walk quietly
To What Extent?
hardly counted scarcely escaped
Adverbs That Modify Adjectives

 When an adverb modifies an adjective,

it usually answers the question:
To What Extent?
adv. adj. noun verb PA

Very old violins are valuable.

adj. noun verb adv. PA

The food was not ready.

adj. adv. adj. noun verb adj. noun

The unusually quiet girls had a secret.

Adverbs That Modify
Other Adverbs

 When an adverb modifies another

adverb, it usually answers the question:
To What Extent?
adj. noun verb phrase adv. adv.
Some violins are played extremely rarely.
adj. noun verb adj. adj. noun adv. adv.

The boy lost the chess game too quickly.

adj. noun verb phrase adv. adv.

A spy must move very cautiously.

Adverbs That Do Not End With -ly

afterward almost very

quite often there
hard sometimes soon
everywhere long later
here fast straight
Similarly, not all –ly words are adverbs.
Lovely, friendly, lively, kindly, lonely,
homely, and elderly are used as
adjectives.
Find the Adverbs
 People usually handle old violins carefully.

 Sometimes airplanes fly quite low in the sky.

 The heater ran almost continuously during

the day.

 Quickly tell your friend the answer.

 Orators often speak confidently in front of

others.
Avoiding Double Negatives
 Negative words express the idea of “no.” Not
often appears in a shortened form as part of
a contraction.
is not = isn’t was not = wasn’t did not = didn’t
 Avoid using double negatives, 2 negative
words together in the same sentence.
Instead, remove one negative word or change
it to an affirmative word, which shows the
idea of “yes.”
Incorrect: That isn’t no beautiful sofa.
Correct: That isn’t a beautiful sofa.
Correct the Double Negatives
any
 She doesn’t have no time to work on
the project today.
 He hardly never refuses when someone
asks him for help.
 Be careful when walkinganybody
across the wet
floors; we don’t want nobody to slip.
any
 We couldn’t find no one who knew the
directions to the museum.
 Comparative Forms of Adjectives
 The comparative form of an adjective
compares two things or people.

 For most adjectives of one syllable & some of

two syllables, add –er to the adjective when
comparing.
younger older softer earlier
 For most adjectives of two or more syllables,
add more before the adjective when
comparing.
more colorful more beautiful
Superlative Forms of Adjectives
 The superlative form of an adjective
compares more than two things or
people.
 For most adjectives of one syllable &
some of two syllables, add –est to the
adjective when comparing.
youngest oldest softest earliest
 For most adjectives of two or more
syllables, add most before the adjective
when comparing.
most colorful most beautiful
Irregular Comparative and
Superlative Forms of Adjectives

Adjective Comparative Superlative

good, better best

well (healthy)
bad worse worst

many, much more most

little (amount) less least

little (size) littler littlest
Comparative Forms of Adverbs

 The comparative form of an adverb

compares two actions.
 For short adverbs, add –er as an ending
when comparing.
louder faster harder later

 For long adverbs, use more before the

adverb when comparing.
more rapidly more harshly
Superlative Forms of Adverbs
 The superlative form of an adverb
compares more than two actions.
 For short adverbs, add –est as an ending
when comparing.
loudest fastest hardest latest

 For long adverbs, use most before the

adverb when comparing.
most rapidly most harshly
Irregular Comparative and
Superlative Forms of Adverbs

Adverb Comparative Superlative

well better best

badly worse worst

little (amount) less least

Use the Correct Comparative
or Superlative Form

 farthest
The DeAngelos had to walk ________ of
all to school. (far)
 Not surprisingly, parks that are
nearest
________ to population centers have
the _________
most visitors. (near, many)
 He walked ___________
more proudly after winning
the award. (proudly)
 Geysers are one of nature’s most interesting
________
phenomena. (interesting)
Distinguishing
Adjectives from Adverbs

 Adjectives and adverbs are often

confused, especially when they appear
after verbs.
 The musicians are professional.
 The predicate adjective professional follows
a linking verb and describes (modifies)
musicians.
 The musicians behaved professionally.
 The adverb professionally follows and
describes (modifies) the action verb behaved.
 Distinguishing
Adjectives from Adverbs

Adjectives Adverbs
The sound is bad. The actor sang badly.
The band sounds good. (Good is never an adverb.)
The soloist seems well. The band played well.
(healthy)
Music is a real art. Music is really popular.
A pianist needs sure hands. Piano music is surely popular.
Most pianos have eighty-eight Piano strings almost never
keys. break.
Which is correct,
Adjective or Adverb?

 I am (real, really) glad we left the park

before the thunderstorm.
 He was (good, well) enough to go back
to school when his fever was gone.
 I (sure, surely) appreciate all the
assistance that was given.
 She proved that she could play (good,
well) enough to be first chair flute.
Adjective Clauses

 An adjective clause is a subordinate

clause that modifies a noun or pronoun.
 Starts with a relative pronoun
that which who whose whom
 Immediately follows the noun it modifies

They visited the memorial that remembers

Holocaust victims.
 Requires commas only if not essential to the
meaning of the sentence
Adverb Clauses

 An adverb clause is a subordinate clause

that modifies a verb, an adjective, or an
adverb.
Starts with a subordinating conjunction
after because though when (see pg. 452)
 Can be anywhere in the sentence

 Requires a comma when it starts a sentence

When she reached the station, Marie phoned.

Find the
Adjective or Adverb Clause

 The Aqua-Lung, which divers strap on, holds

oxygen.
 Scuba divers wear tanks because they cannot
breathe underwater.
 After she bought safe equipment, Lee explored
the undersea world.
 Did you see the meet that our team won
yesterday?
 The woman who is near the pool is a good
swimmer.
Bibliography

 Carroll, Joyce A., Edward E. Wilson, and Gary Forlini.

Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar. Vol. Grade 8. Boston:
Pearson Education, Inc., 2008.

 Royster, Jacqueline J., and Mark Lester. Writer's

Choice Grammar Workbooks : Teacher's Wraparound
Edition. Vol. Grade 8. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill,
1996.

 Writer's Choice Grammar Workbook 1996 : Grade 8. Vol.

Grade 8. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 1999.