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:
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.
Adjectives & Adverbs
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.
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.
- Shaken not stirred, James Bond drank his martinis. The writer 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 “Dangling Modifiers.”
Adjectives
In order to avoid confusion, try to place adjectives as close as possible to the nouns or pronouns they modify. Most one-word adjectives come right before the nouns they modify. In the examples below, the adjectives are double-underlined and the nouns they modify are in italics.
- He made a deliciousdinner. - Their fullstomachs pushed against their jeans.
- The hungrygirls devoured it quickly. - But they couldn’t resist the incredibledessert.
One major exception to this rule is when an adjective follows a linking verb (i.e. is/are, was/were, feel, smell, taste, look, believe). For example:
- Dinner was delicious. - Their stomachs felt full.
- The girls were hungry. - Dessert looked incredible.
Adjectives & Adverbs
Be careful. Sometimes writers will use adverbs with a linking verb when what they really want is an adjective, or vice-versa. Choosing the adjective versus the adverb form of the same word has big implications for the meaning of a sentence. For example:
Multiple-word adjective phrases generally follow the noun or pronoun they modify, but occasionally can come before. - The girlsnoring in the next room woke up her roommate.
- The customerannoyed with the slow service complained to the manager.
- Proud of her youngest son, his mother showed his picture to strangers on the bus.
Adjective clauses—easy to identify because they start with the words “who,” “whom,” “whose,” “which,” “that,” “when,” and ”where”— follow the noun they modify. For example:
- She had a goatthat she loved very much.
- His favorite girlfriend, who he thought was coming over later that evening, had just received an anonymous phone call.
Adjectives & Adverbs
Adverbs
As with adjectives, adverbs need to be placed where the reader can clearly understand the meaning you intend. Adverbs are a bit more flexible, however. Both single-word and multiple-word adverb phrases can generally be placed either before or after the words they modify. In the examples below, the adverbs and adverb phrases are underlined and the words they modify are in italics. For example:
- The lion jumpedskillfully through the flaming hoop.
- The lion skillfullyjumped through the flaming hoop.
- Before next Wednesday, she needed to cash her paycheck.
- She needed to cash her paycheck before next Wednesday.
Adjectives & Adverbs
Punctuating Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives To help you decide whether or not you should use a comma when separating two or more adjectives, ask yourself the following two questions:
- Can the order of the two adjectives be reversed?
- Can the word "and" be put between the adjectives? If either answer is yes, then the adjectives are coordinate, and you should use a comma. For example:
If you cannot reverse the order of the adjectives or add "and" to the adjectives, then they are cumulative, and do not require a comma. For example:
Adverbs
Place a comma at the end of an adverb phrase when it comes at the beginning of the sentence. For example:
- After some thought, she decided to buy her cousin’s used car.
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.
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.
PRACTICE
(Pause)
A) Identify the adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences by underlining the adjectives twice and the adverbs once.
For example: The one-eyedgreen aliens stepped cautiously out of their spaceship.
1. Their timid leader tentatively put onefat, calloused foot on the grass.
2. She thengingerly placed the other foot down.
3. She paused, thoughtfully scratched her forehead, and then started to waddle quitegracelessly 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 smallfurry 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.
[“Curious about the strange creature” is an adjective phrase that modifies ”he”, and “strange” is an adjective that modifies “creature”]
8. The mouse, stillterrified, dashed away.
9. It ran over the sensitivetoes of several aliens who squealed loudly
[“Who squealed loudly” is an adjective clause modifying “aliens”; within that clause, “loudly” is an adverb modifying “squealed”]
10. The resulting commotion distracted the group, and they didn’t notice the twoyoung children slowly riding up on their creakythree-speed bicycles.
A) Identify the adjectives and adverbs in the following sentences by underlining the adjectives twice and the adverbs once.
ANSWERS
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 sighedas 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 tutorhelped the boy with his homework.
9. The childrenate the ice cream.
10. A bullygrabbed one of the cones and stuffed it in his mouth.
PRACTICE
(Pause)
B) Create more detailed sentences by adding your own adjectives and adverbs to modify the words in italics. For example: Thestarpunched thephotographer.
The reclusive movie star violently punched the pushy photographer.
In your essays, you often want to use long, complex sentences to draw your reader in, to avoid the choppiness that comes from a series of short sentences, and to provide clear and vivid detail. While adjectives can modify nouns (the blue car), sometimes nouns themselves—appositives—also modify nouns for the purpose of offering details or being specific. Sometimes these appositives will be called noun phrase appositives (or NPAs).
What does an appositive look like?
- It will begin with a noun or an article (a, an, the).
- As a phrase, it will not have its own subject and verb.
- It will be usually set off with a comma, but occasionally is separated with a colon (:) or dash (—).
Appositives
Create Your Own Appositives
Because you may be writing a whole new sentence to give just a little piece of information to your reader, try to make your writing less choppy and repetitive by using an appositive to combine the ideas.
You might have:
- I wanted to give Droopy to the SPCA before she attacked.
- Droopy is my sister’s ferocious pit bull.
These sentences could easily be combined:
- I wanted to give Droopy, my sister’s ferocious pit bull, to the SPCA before she attacked.
What happened to create the appositive? The writer noticed that the second sentence, “Droopy is my sister’s ferocious pit bull” only gave more information about Droopy, who had already been introduced in the previous sentence. That additional information is dropped into the first sentence after the noun it modifies. Remember to use commas to set off the NPA.
A Note on Colons and Dashes You may be wondering when a colon or dash is appropriate to set off an NPA. Most of the time a comma will do just fine. Sometimes, though, you will wish to call more attention to the information in apposition—draw the reader’s eyes to it—and in those instances, a dash (which is made with two hyphens “—“) may do the trick. A colon is usually used when the NPA is a series or list of items (“I brought her favorite fruit: apples, oranges and peaches.”)
1. The lunch was cheap, served cold, and brought an hour late. The lunch was a bowl of soup.
2. Maxwell’s car topped fifty miles per hour—but barely. His car was a sleek Corvair.
3. The student body voted “no” on the resolution even though it would have benefited them explicitly. The student body is a confused group of adults whose only interest in common was the college’s location.
4. The pilot was stranded for twelve hours inside of his jet. The pilot was a former Air Force mechanic. His jet was a Cessna Skylane.
5. I want to speak on the important subjects. The important subjects are philosophy, linguistics and chemistry.
6. After six long years Alec finally achieved his lifelong goal. The goal was a scholarship to a good college.
7. Even though you’re willing to forfeit the prize, I think you should wait a week or two—until you know you won’t need the money. The prize would be my salary for a whole year.
8. The bear came to our tent, peeked in, and went on his merry way. The bear was a sleepy grizzly.
9. Camped around the fire, each of us stared at the night sky. The fire was a glowing source of warmth. The night sky was a bowl full of sparkling stars.
10. Mrs. Peterson warned us that we would have only one more day to hand in the assignment. Mrs. Peterson is my least favorite teacher.
Example: I want to take the painting to the museum for donation. The painting is a Van Gogh.
CORRECT: I want to take the painting, a Van Gogh, to the museum for donation.
1. The lunch was cheap, served cold, and brought an hour late. The lunch was a bowl of soup.
The lunch, a bowl of soup, was cheap, served cold, and brought an hour late.
2. Maxwell’s car topped fifty miles per hour—but barely. His car was a sleek Corvair.
Maxwell’s car, a sleek Corvair, topped fifty miles per hour—but barely.
3. The student body voted “no” on the resolution even though it would have benefited them explicitly. The student body is a confused group of adults whose only interest in common was the college’s location.
The student body, a confused group of adults whose only interest in common was the college’s location, voted “no” on the resolution even though it would have benefited them explicitly.
4. The pilot was stranded for twelve hours inside of his jet. The pilot was a former Air Force mechanic. His jet was a Cessna Skylane.
The pilot, a former Air Force mechanic, was stranded for twelve hours inside of his jet, a Cessna Skylane.
5. I want to speak on the important subjects. The important subjects are philosophy, linguistics and chemistry.
I want to speak on the important subjects: philosophy, linguistics and chemistry.
6. After six long years Alec finally achieved his lifelong goal. The goal was a scholarship to a good college.
After six long years Alec finally achieved his lifelong goal : a scholarship to a good college. Continued on next page…
7. Even though you’re willing to forfeit the prize, I think you should wait a week or two—until you know you won’t need the money. The prize would be my salary for a whole year.
Even though you’re willing to forfeit the prize—my salary for a whole year—I think you should wait a week or two—until you know you won’t need the money.
8. The bear came to our tent, peeked in, and went on his merry way. The bear was a sleepy grizzly.
The bear, a sleepy grizzly, came to our tent, peeked in, and went on his merry way.
9. Camped around the fire, each of us stared at the night sky. The fire was a glowing source of warmth. The night sky was a bowl full of sparkling stars.
Camped around the fire, a glowing source of warmth, each of us stared at the night sky, a bowl full of sparkling stars.
10. Mrs. Peterson warned us that we would have only one more day to hand in the assignment. Mrs. Peterson is my least favorite teacher.
Mrs. Peterson, my least favorite teacher, warned us that we would have only one more day to hand in the assignment.
3. Joanne told Larry to go for a ride on his boat.
4. Napoleon discovered the “trapple.”
5. My binder contains one hundred papers and two pamphlets.
6. The dog bit Bill in the leg before he could run into a house.
7. Her shirt nearly blinded me.
8. Abe Lincoln probably didn’t use Log Cabin syrup.
9. I like the school’s newest building.
10. Cindy took the money to the bank.
PRACTICE
(Pause)
Exercise 2 – NPAs – Sentence Combining
For each of the following sentences, add one or more NPA to give the reader additional information. Make up whatever you like! (Hint: find the noun(s) in the sentence to look to see what can take an NPA.)
Example: The textbook fell from my desk.
CORRECT: The textbook, a giant collection of poetry, fell from my desk.
3. Joanne told Larry to go for a ride on his boat.
4. Napoleon discovered the “trapple.”
5. My binder contains one hundred papers and two pamphlets.
6. The dog bit Bill in the leg before he could run into a house.
7. Her shirt nearly blinded me.
8. Abe Lincoln probably didn’t use Log Cabin syrup.
9. I like the school’s newest building.
10. Cindy took the money to the bank.
Exercise 2 – NPAs – Sentence Combining
For each of the following sentences, add one or more NPA to give the reader additional information. Make up whatever you like! (Hint: find the noun(s) in the sentence to look to see what can take an NPA.) NOTE: Answers will vary but one of the underlined nouns must be modified in each sentence.
ANSWERS
Articles
What are they?
The English language has definite (“the”) and indefinite articles (“a” and “an”). The use depends on whether you are referring to a specific member of a group (definite) or to any member of a group (indefinite).
Articles
Plural Indefinite Article - some
You will use the word “some” before a plural noun (or its modifying adjective):
The singular: I put all of my clothes in a box I found in the basement.
The plural: I put all of my clothes in some boxes I found in the basement.
Plural Nouns
Plural nouns do not require an indefinite article: “I love apples,” instead of “I love an apples.” (You must use the definite article if you have already introduced the idea or are referring to a specific member of a group: “I love the apples grown across the street.”)
Non-count Nouns
Non-count nouns, which include concepts and ideas that cannot be counted in number, may or may not require an article: no one hard and fast rule applies. You can write “Kindness spreads like wildfire,” instead of “A kindness spreads like wildfire,” or “The kindness spreads like wildfire” (unless you are referring to a specific kindness mentioned elsewhere in your writing, as in “the kindness you showed me”).
Articles
Proper Nouns
Proper nouns, which name a particular person, place or thing, sometimes take the article “the” and sometimes do not.
Soda is damaging to your teeth, but everyone still drinks it.