Adjectives & Adverbs, Lecture notes of Grammar and Composition

Download Adjectives & Adverbs and more Lecture notes Grammar and Composition in PDF only on Docsity! Adjectives & Adverbs Explanation Adjectives and adverbs are words you can use to modify—to describe or add meaning to—other words. Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. Examples of some common adjectives are: young, small, loud, short, fat, pretty. You can also identify many adjectives by the following common endings. -able: honorable, useable -ic: frantic, scientific -less: ruthless, careless -al: parental, economical -ive: festive, disruptive -ous: joyous, rebellious -ful: forgetful, soulful -ish: selfish, boyish Adverbs, on the other hand, modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, and even whole clauses. Adverbs can tell us how something is done, when it is done, and where it is done. Examples of some common adverbs are: really, quickly, especially, early, well, immediately, yesterday. While many adverbs do end with “–ly”, don’t take this for granted: some adverbs, like “almost” and “very” do not end this way, and some words that do end in “–ly”, like “lively,” are actually adjectives. Comparatives and Superlatives Many adverbs and most adjectives generally have three forms: the normal form; the comparative form, which you can use to compare two things; and the superlative form, which you can use to compare three or more things. The following chart gives you some guidelines for forming the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs. Examples Rules Normal Comparative Superlative Green Big Hungry Greener Bigger Hungrier Greenest Biggest Hungriest Short adjectives & adverbs: • Add –er for comparative • Add –est for superlative Soon Late Sooner Later Soonest Latest Connections See also “Commas” and “Dangling Modifiers.” Examples Rules Normal Comparative Superlative Delicious Incredible More delicious More incredible More Most delicious Most incredible Longer adjectives & most longer adverbs ending in -ly: • Add “more” + adjective/adverb for comparative • Add “most” +adjective/adverb for superlative Slowly Easily Brightly More slowly More easily More brightly Most slowly Most easily Most brightly Good Bad Little (amount) Many Better Worse Less More Best Worst Least Most Irregular adjectives and adverbs have special forms Well Badly Better Worse Best Worst When using comparative and superlative forms, keep the following in mind: • Many adverbs indicating time, place, and degree (i.e. tomorrow, here, totally) do not have comparative or superlative forms. • Adjectives and adverbs that indicate an absolute or unchangeable quality should not be used with comparative and superlative constructions. Such absolute modifiers include words like final, main, impossible, perfect, unavoidable, unique. Placement of Adjectives & Adverbs Misplaced adjective or adverbs can cause confusion, as in the following example: • Shaken not stirred, James Bond drank his martinis. The writer probably is probably referring to the martinis, but the way this sentence is written, it implies that James Bond himself is shaken and not stirred. For more information about misplaced adjectives and adverbs, see the “Dangling Modifiers” handout. Exercises A) Identify the adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences by underlining the adjectives twice and the adverbs once. . For example: The one-eyed green aliens stepped cautiously out of their spaceship. 1. Their timid leader tentatively put one fat, calloused foot on the grass. 2. She then gingerly placed the other foot down. 3. She paused, thoughtfully scratched her forehead, and then started to waddle quite gracelessly toward a dim light. 4. Soon the braver aliens followed her but the more cowardly aliens hung back inside the door of the silver spaceship. 5. Suddenly, they heard a short, high-pitched yelp. 6. The youngest alien had stepped accidentally on the tail of a small furry creature, and both of them cried out instinctively. 7. The little alien regained his composure right away and, curious about the strange creature, he carefully reached down to pick up the frightened mouse. 8. The mouse, still terrified, dashed away. 9. It ran over the sensitive toes of several aliens who squealed loudly 10. The resulting commotion distracted the group, and they didn’t notice the two young children slowly riding up on their creaky three-speed bicycles. B) Create more detailed sentences by adding your own adjectives and adverbs to modify the words in italics. For example: • The star punched the photographer. The reclusive movie star violently punched the pushy photographer. 1. The island was populated by birds that soared over the trees. 2. It was also populated by tourists who stayed at the resort and sat by the pool. 3. The man in a suit was reading a magazine on his morning commute to work. 4. The woman next to him sighed as the train stopped in a tunnel. 5. The neighbors gossiped about the people who lived in the house on the corner. 6. UPS delivered packages to the back door and strangers in cars visited. 7. The students in the computer lab talked to each other and worked on their essays. 8. The tutor helped the boy with his homework. 9. The children ate the ice cream. 10. A bully grabbed one of the cones and stuffed it in his mouth.