Using Adjectives and Adverbs Correctly

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Using Adjectives and Adverbs Correctly
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What are adjectives?

• Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns
• These words are all adjectives
• A hot day
• A happy camper
• A silly twit
• A big, smelly mess (both big and smelly
  modify mess)
• She is creative (creative is a complement that
  follows the linking verb is)
• A boring course

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Draw the umbrella take notes
Adjectives
Adjective a word that describes a noun or
pronoun. Adjectives are modifiers. They change,
or modify, the meaning of nouns or pronouns.

• Answers These Questions
• What kind?
• Which ones?
• How many?
• How much?

• Demonstrative
• this
• that
• these
• those

• Articles
• a
• an
• the

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So what are adverbs?

• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other
  adverbs
• Many adverbs end with ly
• Many adverbs answer the question How?
• These are adverbs
• Eating quickly (modifying a verb)
• Trying very hard (modifying an adverb)
• A really big show (modifying an adjective)

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Draw the umbrella take notes
Adverbs

• Answers These Questions
• Where?
• When?
• In what way?
• To what extent?
• when modifying adj. and other adv.

Adverb a word that modifies a verb, adjective,
or another adverb. Adverbs are modifiers. They
change, or modify, the meaning of another word.
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Recognizing Adjectives Adverbs

• Many words have both an adjective and adverb form

Adjective Adverb
Happy kids Playing happily
Smooth jazz Running smoothly
Good night Eating Well
Efficient workers Working efficiently
Casual dress Dressing casually
Quick meeting Talking quickly
Hopeful children Waiting hopefully
Real butter Really hot
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Comparatives and Superlatives

• Most adverbs and adjectives also have a
  comparative and superlative form

Simple Comparative Superlative
Hot Hotter Hottest
Good Better Best
Exciting More exciting Most exciting
Careful Less careful Least careful

• Use the comparative form to compare two things
• Sally is the taller of the twins. (not tallest)
• Use the superlative form to compare three or more
• August was the hottest month of the year.

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Double Comparatives

• Dont use more or most with er or est
• Yesterday was more hotter than today.
• That was the most dirtiest story I ever heard.
• You are the bestest teacher.

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Absolute Concepts

• Dont use comparatives or superlatives with
  absolute concepts
• Absolutes have only two possibilities, on or off,
  yes or no, with nothing in between
• The most perfect student in the class
• A very unique idea (say very unusual instead)
• These words express absolute concepts that cannot
  be modified

More priceless Sort of dead
Quite on A little bit confident
Very unanimous Extremely perfect
Quite unique Completely anonymous
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Dont use adjectives when adverbs are needed

• You did a real nice job.
• (an adjective cant modify another adjective)
• You did a really nice job.
• (the adverb really modifies nice)
• He did good.
• He did well. or
• He did a good job.
• Fuel injection helps the car run efficient.
• Fuel injection helps the car run efficiently.
• Come quick!
• Come quickly!
• Hopefully, it wont rain.
• (an adverb explains how something will happen
• I hope that it wont rain.

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Dont use needless adverbs

• Before using any of these words, check to see if
  they add anything to the sentence
• Really, very, absolutely, extremely, quite,
  actually, somewhat, rather
• I am really happy to see you.
• Grammar is very boring.
• You are absolutely correct.
• Her language was extremely crude.
• You are quite intelligent.
• Context will help you decide whether to retain
  the underlined words
• Keep them only if they add to the meaning
• Bill Gates is very rich. I hope he gives me some
  money.
• Most college instructors are poor their students
  are very poor.
• Note the terms good success and real good
  success have been reserved for sports
  broadcasters do not use them

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Compound Adjectives

• Two or more adjectives often appear together
  separated with commas
• Brads shiny, brown toupe flapped in the wind.
• The words shiny and brown each work
  separately to modify toupe
• Connect the words with a hyphen when they
  function together before a noun
• Brads gold-plated fillings stood out against his
  bright-red sunburn.
• Gold-plated and bright-red are compound
  adjectives

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Compound Adjectives

• Do not hyphenate the words when they come after
  the noun they modify
• Notice the difference in these examples

• Brad was well known along the boardwalk. (no
  hyphen)
• His SUV was fully equipped.
• Brad worked full time on his tan.

• Brad was a well-known jerk. (hyphenated)
• He drove a fully-equipped SUV.
• Brad was a full-time chick magnet.

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Misplaced Modifiers

• Put adjectives and adverbs close to the words
  they modify
• Notice how the meaning is affected by the
  improper placement
• An old pile of clothes is on the floor.
• A pile of old clothes is on the floor.
• I almost believe you are finished.
• I believe you are almost finished.
• The winners will only be contacted.
• Only the winners will be contacted.
• I cant quite do this as well as Fred.
• I cant do this quite as well as Fred.