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LEARNING MODULE
ENGLISH 8
ADJECTIVES
DEFINITION FUNCTIONS DEGREE TYPES
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OVERVIE
W
Choosing which word is an adjective in a sentence
can be very confusing for some people who fail to grasp how they are used. Adjectives
can be very useful as they can turn an ordinary sentence into an extraordinary one!
When they are used correctly, they can make your conversation or your piece of writing
very interesting. In order to use adjectives effectively, you need to choose them wisely.
While adjectives keep our sentences interesting, they are also very important in
our daily lives. Adjectives help us to explain what we want. For instance, if you wanted
to buy a car, you would need to use adjectives to describe the kind of car you wanted –
you couldn’t go to the car dealer and simply ask for the car of your dreams without
explaining it. You also couldn’t ask for the specific colored ice block at the canteen
without using an adjective! Can you think of any other times when you would need to
use adjectives?
We use adjectives all the time, sometimes without even realizing it!
Adjectives are used much more often than even native speakers think. They are
useful tools for speaking English well, so it’s important to learn how to use them
correctly.
This lesson intends to teach the definition, functions, degree, and types of adjectives
within a three-hour timeframe.
OBJECTIV
ES Upon completion of this lesson:
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Let’s Practice!
1. Of the four seasons, fall is my favourite; I love the red leaves, the cool weather,
and the brisk wind.
2. My roommate, on the other hand, thinks that summer is the best season.
3. I think she is crazy.
4. Fall is better than summer. Summer is too hot and muggy to be enjoyable.
5. She ate a creamy, soft, and delicious ice cream.
II. Direction: What are the correct comparative and superlative forms for the
adjectives below?
III. Direction: Put the adjectives in the correct order to make sentences.
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Adjectives
“Adjective is a word belonging to one of the major form classes in any of
numerous languages and typically serving as modifier of a noun to denote a quality of
the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from
something else.”
To make it simpler, an adjective adds color and life to a sentence, and it can add
important information, but that’s not all. Adjectives have many other uses. They can tell
you the quantity (how much) and quality (how well) of things, and they can help you
compare two things. In other words, adjectives are wonderful, amazing, and fantastic!
If there are more than 2 adjectives, then use commas (,) to separate them and use “and”
in between the last two adjectives.
Note: Articles “a”, “an”, and “the” go before the adjective when adjectives are used
before a noun.
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3. We can use adjectives before a noun and after a “be verb” in the same sentence.
5. Sometimes we can form the opposite adjective by using a prefix. Most common
prefixes for negative adjectives are dis-, im-, in-, im-, and ir-. They mean “not”. So, we
can make negative sentences with adjectives in two ways.
Positive Negative
considerate inconsiderate
polite impolite
respectful disrespectful
imaginable unimaginable
6. If we use many adjectives together in a sentence, then we should follow this order.
If one is not used in the sentence, then skip it and go to the next one.
Usually, we do not use many adjectives in a row, so this is not very important. However,
if we do not follow this order, then our sentence will sound strange to native speakers.
We do not need commas in between the adjectives if they are from a different category
such as size and origin.
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“That has a beautiful beach” tells more about “place”. So, it does the same job as an
adjective.
We can always just use an adjective, but an adjective clause lets us be more specific.
Functions
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Degree
Adjectives are gradable into three form. These forms denote degree of comparison.
Positive Form
The positive form is used in cases where there are no differences between the two
compared things or persons. To form the positive, we use the word as before and after
the positive form of the adjective. For example:
Danny is as smart as Phillip.
She is as beautiful as her older sister.
Comparative Form
When two objects or persons are being compared, the comparative form of the adjective
is used. The comparative adjective can be formed in two ways:
Adding –er to the positive form of the adjective.
Adding the word more before the adjective.
For example:
My essay is longer than yours.
She is more beautiful than her sister.
Superlative Form
The superlative is used to say what thing or person has the most of a particular quality
within a group or of its kind.
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For example:
This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.
The biggest table in the room.
Types
Three main types of adjectives include: Descriptive, Quantitative, and Demonstrative.
Descriptive
Adjectives
The descriptive adjectives can be simply defined as the type
of adjectives that are used to express the size, color, or
shape of a person, a thing, an animal, or a place. They are used to provide more
information to a noun by describing or modifying it.
You should know that descriptive adjectives usually express things that are observable
through the five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, and sound).
Examples:
Fast
Pink
Muscular
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The underlined words in the sample sentences below are some examples of descriptive
adjectives.
Simple Adjectives
Simple adjectives, as their name suggests, are the most basic kind of descriptive
adjectives. They function to express quality. Aspects such as feelings, time, sound,
quantity, taste, appearance, size, age, color, shape, and material are expressed through
simple adjectives. The following table highlights some common examples:
Compound Adjectives
Compound adjectives are created when two words are combined to create a descriptive
adjective. The two words are typically connected with a hyphen. The following table
provides some common examples of compound adjectives:
Other examples:
This is an all-too-common error.
Beware of the green-eyed monster.
Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns, and they are also capitalized. They are
often made from the names of cities, countries, or regions to describe where something
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comes from, but they can also be formed from the names of religions, brands, or even
individuals.
Some examples will make this clear:
Proper Noun Proper Adjective Example Sentence
Italy Italian I love Italian food.
Canon Canon I’m really excited to use my new Canon camera.
Shakespeare Shakespearean He writes in an almost Shakespearean style.
We use proper adjectives to describe something efficiently, directly, and explicitly. We
could manage to avoid them, but it would result in clunky, awkward sentences.
If we want to express the same meaning as the example sentences from the table above,
we could write:
These sentences are lengthy, awkward, and choppy to read. Using the proper adjectives
Italian, Chinese, Christian, Shakespearean, and Canon makes our meaning come across
much more smoothly.
Quantitative
Adjective A word that modifies a noun by indicating a
number/quantity is called a quantitative adjective. It can
be either cardinal or ordinal number. For example:
Demonstrat
ive
The Demonstrative Pronouns can also be used as
Adjectives demonstrative adjectives. When used as an adjective, they
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come just before a noun to express which one specifically. Demonstrative adjectives are:
This and That (singular) and These and Those (plural).
Examples of demonstrative adjectives used in a sentence:
What is an adjective?
II. Select and encircle the letter of a word or phrase that would correctly complete
the sentence. (2pts. each)
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7. Is it _____________?
A. cold getting outside
B. getting cold outside
C. getting outside cold
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III. Write five sentences correctly using adjectives separated by commas. (2pts.
each)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
IV. Identify the type of adjective used in each sentence. Choose from the box below
and write your answer on the space provided before each number.
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PRE-TEST
I. II.
1. four, favorite, red, cool, brisk. 1. larger largest
2. best 2. redder reddest
3. crazy 3. more shimmery most shimmery
4. better, hot, muggy, enjoyable 4. fresher freshest
5. creamy, soft, delicious 5. more popular most popular
III.
1. beautiful big brown eyes
2. rich successful former British footballer
3. beautiful blonde Swedish TV presenter
4. big black
5. cold wet English
POST-TEST
II.
1. A.) nice yellow bow
2. A.) small white cat
3. C.) some great big
4. B.) two very smart
5. C.) big green and yellow
6. A.) baked smell delicious
7. B.) getting cold outside
8. A.) taking sounds interesting
9. C.) blue silk tie
10. B.) cute new boy
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