Adjectives & Adverbs

Adjective and adverbs are parts of speech known as modifiers, which help to clarify and
enhance your sentences.

Adjectives: words that describe nouns (person, place, or thing). They also give a more
specific meaning to nouns and pronouns. Adjectives answer the question.

You can use the following questions to help identify adjectives in sentences.

What Kind?
Red Boat Silver Jewelry
Sick passenger Cool Water

Which One?
third chance any piece
this train those apples

How Many?
six cars several reasons
both answers few letters

How Much?
enough space more energy
no rain little effort

Textbook examples:
An adjective usually comes before the noun it modifies, but at times it may come after
the noun. In the examples below, the italicized words are the adjective, and the
underlined words are the nouns that are being modified.

Before The Noun: The sick child lay in bed.

After The Noun: The child, sick with fever, lay in bed.

After The Pronoun: She was sick for a week.

Before the Pronoun: Sick in bed, he was very bored.

Textbook Exercises: For adjectives. Exercise 2 pg. 382

Instructions: Underline each adjective in the following sentences. Then italicize the word
that each adjective modifies and type questions that it answers.
1. Small work boats were sailed extensively for pleasure in early colonial times.
2. The first pleasure schooner was built in 1816.
3. It was built specifically as a large, luxurious yacht.
4. American yacht clubs started around the 1840’s.
5. Six members of the New York Yacht Club financed America’s first racing yacht.

Proper Adjectives- a proper noun used as an adjective or an adjective formed from a

proper noun.

Proper Adjectives- They can be simply proper nouns. Others are formed from proper
nouns.
-When proper nouns are used as adjectives, the form of the proper noun is not
changed.

Examples: Alcott novel (What kind of novel?)

Chicago storm (What kind of storm.)
: Jefferson Jeffersonian democracy (What kind of democracy?)
Mexico Mexican Art (What kind of art?)

Compound Adjective- an adjective that is made up of more than one word.

Pronouns Used as Adjectives

A personal pronoun that can be used as an adjective answers the question Which one?
about a noun that follows it.

Adverbs: words that modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

You can identify adverbs by seeing if the word answers where, when, in what way, or to
what extent. A lot adverbs also end in -ly.
 You can use the following questions to help identify adverbs in sentences.
Adverbs can also be placed in many different positions. The chart shows how they can
come after or before a verb or verb phrase or even between the words in a verb phrase.

Adverbs Modifying Verbs

Where?
fell below move aside
went there climbs down

When?

arrived today left early

should have spoken before begins then

In What Way?
happily ran will end abruptly
danced awkwardly had been sung loudly

To What Extent?
partly understands wash completely
have not completed hardly would have known

Textbook examples:
In the examples below, the adverbs are underlined.
Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we
face it wisely and courageously… (From First Inaugural Address ; F.D. Roosevelt)

Adverbs Modifying Adjectives and Adverbs

When an adverb modifies an adjective it usually comes directly before the adjective

Adverbs Modifying Adjectives

very glad almost ready
absolutely wrong entirely grateful

Sometimes adverbs are used to sharpen the meaning of other adverbs.

An adverb modifying another adverb generally comes directly before the adverb it
modifies.

Adverbs Modifying Adverbs

moved very quickly not completely wrong
climed almost over only just recognizable

Textbook Exercise: (Exercise 20 pg 391) Underline the adverb in each sentence, and
write the question it answers: Where? When? In What Way? To What Extent?

1. Ancient peoples often saw designs in the stars, called constellations.

2. They carefully named the constellations after various religious figures, animals, and
objects.
3. Constellations are sometimes imagined to be groupings of bright stars.
4. Eighty-eight constellations are recognized today.
5. The names are derived in part from Greek mythology.