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An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun. An adjective answers: What kind? Which one? How many?

Example: happy dog tired boy seven girls

Can you find the adjectives?


First find the nouns

We saw the gray elephant at the zoo.


Then ask, What words describe the nouns?
WHAT KIND?

WHICH ONE?
HOW MANY?

Can you find the adjectives?


First find the nouns

The rabbit followed the slow turtle.

Then ask, What words describe the nouns?


WHAT KIND?

WHICH ONE?
HOW MANY?

Can you find the adjectives?


First find the nouns

He found two pennies on the ground.

Then ask, What words describe the nouns?


WHAT KIND?

WHICH ONE?
HOW MANY?

Can you find the adjectives?


The brown dog growled at the tall man.
Then ask, What words describe the nouns?
WHAT KIND? First find the nouns

WHICH ONE?
HOW MANY?

Can you find the adjectives?


First find the nouns

The children heard the loud bell.

Then ask, What words describe the nouns?


WHAT KIND?

WHICH ONE?
HOW MANY?

There are seven main types of adjectives. Here they are:

Possessive Adjectives

Demonstrative Adjectives

o Examples: My, your, his, her, Examples: This, these, its, our, their that, those, what o Example in a sentence: The Example in a sentence: ballerina spins on her toes. The sweaters are in that o Her describes the word drawer. toes, telling us whose toes That describes the word are being talked about.
Note that the possessive pronoun form mine is not used to modify a noun or noun phrase.

drawer, telling us which drawer is being talked about

Participle Adjectives
Participles are verb forms acting as adjectives. Examples of participle adjectives are bold-faced in the paragraph below to give a good idea of how they are used. He rememberedthe floating snow of blossoms. He knew the inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in July, of watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside a farmer's covered wagon; of cantaloupe and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet, before a fire of coals. He knew the good male smell of his father's sitting-room; of the smooth worn leather sofa, with the gaping horse-hair rent; of the blistered varnished wood upon the hearth; of the heated calf-skin bindings; of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with a red flag; of wood-smoke and burnt leaves in October; of the brown tired autumn earth; of honey-suckle at night; of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who comes weekly with printed

Interrogative adjectives
They are words used to ask questions that indicate the noun that is being talked about. It asks which or what. Examples: which, what Example in a sentence: Which bike is yours? Which describes the word bike.

Indefinite and aadjectives


Indefinite Adjectives

A-adjectives

Usually answers the question, how much? But it doesnt specify a particular quantity (like four or thirteen). Examples: Many, any, few, all, some, each, every Example sentence: Many of my friends have pets. Many describes friends, letting us know approximately how many of the friends have pets.

They start with an a and describe nouns as normal. The most common of these are: ablaze, afloat, afraid, aghast, alert, alike, alive, alone, aloof, ashamed, asleep, averse, awake, aware They usually show up after a linking verb (like were, was, am). They usually come after the noun they describe. Example sentence: I was ashamed. Ashamed describes I (myself) in this sentence.

Adjectives of Degrees
These adjectives express the degrees of modification/compariso n There are three degrees (from lowest to highest): positive, comparative, and superlative. For example, if the adjective rich is used to describe people, these would be the adjectives of different degrees.

Rich = Positive Richer = Comparative Richest = Superlative

Comparison by adjectives

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

Comparatives
Comparatives are used to show the difference between two objects. Lets say that I have two cars. I have a little Toyota and a big Ford. A comparative is used to show the difference between the two. The Ford is big so we can say the Ford is bigger than the Toyota. Because the Toyota is small, we can say The Toyota is smaller than the Ford. To learn to use these we need to learn five basic rules.

Rule 1. If an adjective has 1 syllable we add the ending er to the adjective. i.e. small + er = smaller than i.e. hard + er = harder than

The ant is smaller than the hippo.

Rule 2. If a one syllable adjective ends with a consonant + a vowel + a consonant you must double the last consonant and then ad er. i.e. big + er = bigger than i.e. fat + er = fatter than

The elephant is fatter than the giraffe.

Rule 3. If an adjective ends with a y, remove the y and add ier. i.e. happy y + ier = happier than i.e. funny y + ier = funnier than

The girl is happier than the duck.

Rule 4. If an adjective has two syllables or more without a y then add the word more before the word. If the adjective ends with a y, you will only add the word more if it has three syllables or more. i.e. beautiful + more = more beautiful than

i.e. expensive + more = more expensive than i.e. satisfactory + more = more satisfactory than

The butterfly is more beautiful than the frog.

Rule 5. There are a few exceptions.

good = better than bad = worse than far = farther than

Remember, when using a comparative you must always follow it with the word than.

The Toyota is smaller than the Ford. The Ford is bigger than the Toyota. The ant is smaller than the hippo. The elephant is fatter than the giraffe. The girl is happier than the duck. The butterfly is more beautiful than the frog.

Superlatives
Superlatives are used to show the difference between more than two objects. Lets say that I have three cars. I have a little Toyota, a medium size Jeep and a big Ford. A superlative is used to show the differences that exist in the group. The Ford is big so we can say the Ford is the biggest. Because the Toyota is small, we can say The Toyota is the smallest. To learn to use these we need to learn five basic rules.

Rule 1. If an adjective has 1 syllable we add the ending est to the adjective.
i.e. small + est = the smallest i.e. hard + est = the hardest

The ant is the smallest.

Rule 2. If a one syllable adjective ends with a consonant + a vowel + a consonant you must double the last consonant and ad est.
i.e. big + est = the biggest i.e. fat + est = the fattest

The hippo is the fattest.

Rule 3. If an adjective ends with a y, remove the y and add iest.

i.e. happy y + iest = the happiest i.e. funny y + iest = the funniest

The elephant is the heaviest.

Rule 4. If an adjective has two syllables or more without a y then add the word most before the word. If the adjective ends with a y, you will only add the word most if it has three syllables or more. i.e. beautiful + most = the most beautiful i.e. expensive + most = the most expensive i.e. satisfactory + most = the most satisfactory

The airplane is the most expensive.

Rule 5. There are a few exceptions. good = the best bad = the worst far = the farthest

Remember, when using a superlative you must always precede it with the word the. The Toyota is the smallest. The Ford is the biggest. Brad Pitt is the most handsome. The airplane is the most expensive. Jim Carrey is the funniest.

Why are adjectives important to use in writing?


It makes your writing more visual and vivid. Your readers will get a better idea of what you wish them to picture when they read your writing. It appeals to your readers senses so they can hear, see, touch, taste, and even smell what youre describing. It makes reading and writing much more fun. It sets the tone for your writing. You need to use them for descriptive papers. Here are two sentences: one uses adjectives, one doesnt. Which one allows you to see the picture better? a. The rainforest contains flowers and plants that may help cure hospital patients. The fresh, lush rainforest contains hundreds of bright, colorful flowers and healthy, green plants that may help cure many weak hospital patients.

b.

Here are some adjective usage tips:


Adjectives almost always are placed immediately before the noun they describe. Sometimes they appear in a string of adjectives. As mentioned above, don't place an adjective after the noun. Correct: The red apple is tasty. Incorrect: The apple red is tasty. Dont overuse adjectives. It sounds jumbled and less credible if you run more than three adjectives (at the most) together. Ex. She is a nice, beautiful, funny, clever, knowledgeable, tactful person. When an adjective owes its origins to a proper noun, it should probably be capitalized. Thus we write about Christian music, French fries, the English Parliament, the Ming Dynasty, a Faulknerian style, Jeffersonian democracy. Some periods of time have taken on the status of proper adjectives: the Nixon era, a Renaissance/Romantic/Victorian poet Directional and seasonal adjectives are not capitalized unless they're part of a title

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