Marvelous Modifiers

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Marvelous Modifiers

• Designed by Elisa Paramore

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Function of Adjectives

• Adjectives are words that modify nouns or
  pronouns and answer one of the following
  questions
• Which?
• What kind of ?
• How many ?
• How much?

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Adjective Endings

• able or ible
• ac or ic
• al and ical
• an and ian
• ary
• ed
• en
• ent and ant
• ern

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Adjective Endings, cont

• esque
• ful
• fic
• ileish
• ive
• less
• like
• ous
• some
• y

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Position of Adjectives

• before the noun or pronoun it modifies- example-
  the purple sweater
• after a linking verb- example- John was brilliant
• as an appositive of the noun modified- example-
  This precocious youth, able and alert, graduated
  from Harvard.
• after a direct object- example- The circumstances
  made the detective suspicious.

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Rule 1 for effective use of adjectives

• When comparing 2 people or objects, use the
  comparative adjective form-the comparative form
  is made by adding er to the adjective or the
  words more or less
• The superlative form is made by adding est or
  using the words most or least before the adjective

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Rule 2 for Adjectives

• When comparing more than 2 people or objects use
  the superlative form of the adjective

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Practice Exercise

• Add the correct ending to make the following
  words into the comparative form
• white
• slow
• agile
• clean
• active
• friendly

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Practice Exercise

• Add the correct ending to following adjectives to
  make the superlative form
• white
• slow
• agile
• clean
• active
• friendly

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Rule 3 for adjectives

• When comparing one person or object with others
  in the group, use the words any other or anyone
  else, not just the word any

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Rule 4 for adjectives

• Avoid making double comparisons like more happier
  or most fastest

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Rule 5 for adjectives

• Use the article a before a word that starts
  with a consonant sound.
• Use the article an before a word that starts
  with a vowel sound

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Practice Exercise

• Add the correct article to following words
• honeycomb
• esophagus
• honorable man
• unhappy ending
• eucalyptus tree
• unicorn

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Rule 6 for adjectives

• say half a (or an) and not a half a (or an)
• Example- This program is only half an hour long.

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Rule 7 for adjectives

• Repeat the article a, an or the before a second
  noun in a series for contrast, clearness or
  emphasis
• Example- Please order the beef and cheese nachos
  for me. (one item only)
• Example- Please order the beef and the cheese
  nachos for me. (2 items only)

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Rule 8 for adjectives

• When 2 or more adjectives modify a noun, repeat
  the article only if different objects are meant-
  example- In the shop we found a black and white
  dress. (1 dress)
• Example- In the shop we found a black and a white
  dress. ( 2 dresses)

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Rule 9 for adjectives

• An article such as a, an or the, or a
  preposition applying to all members of a series
  of nouns should only be used before the first
  item or repeated before each one
• Never use the article the before the word both

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Rule 10 for adjectives

• The words this and that are singular and are only
  used to modify singular nouns or pronouns. The
  words these and those are plural and are used
  only to modify plural nouns and pronouns

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Rule 11 for adjectives

• Do not use double negatives
• negatives are words that begin with the letter
  n such as in the words- never, nothing, no,
  none and nobody
• Do not use negatives with half negative words
  such as hardly, scarcely, barely, only and but
  (when it means only)

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Rule 12 for adjectives

• After the words be, become, grow, seem, appear,
  look, feel, taste, smell, remain and sound use a
  predicate adjective to describe the subject of
  the sentence- Example- Ben felt clumsy.

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Rule 13 for adjectives

• The word good is used as an adjective
• the word well is only used as an adjective when
  it means in good health, attractive or
  satisfactory

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Practice exercise

• Change the following sentences as needed to
  follow the rules for adjectives
• On a hike Brad watches carefully for copperheads
  and rattlers, for the both snakes are common in
  the mountains.
• That there butterfly with red bands on its wings
  is called a red admiral.
• There isnt hardly any part of the world that is
  entirely free from mosquitoes.
• The moon jellyfish is one of the most commonest
  of the jellyfish group.

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Adjective clauses

• An adjective clause modifies a noun or pronoun
  and is attached to the word it modifies in one of
  2 ways
• with a relative pronoun such as who, whose, which
  and that
• with a subordinating conjunction such as where
• like a main clause, a adjective clause has a
  subject and verb but it can not stand alone

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Punctuating Adjective Clauses

• Adjective clauses beginning with the word that
  are never set off from the rest of the sentence
  with commas
• Adjective clauses beginning with the words who
  or which should not be set off by commas if
  omitting the clause would change the basic
  meaning of the sentence
• Adjective clause that begin with the words who
  or which should be set off with commas if
  omitting the phrase would not change the basic
  meaning of the sentence.

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Practice Exercise

• Identify the adjective clause in the following
  sentences and punctuate them as needed.
• Earle Stanley Gardner whose Perry Mason is a
  leading favorite with mystery fans originally
  practiced law.
• The knowledge of human foibles which helped
  Gardner in his legal practice later assured his
  success in business.
• In 1923 Gardner began the career of fiction
  writing which later brought him a fortune.
• The editor of Black Mask who read the story
  promptly returned it to Gardner.

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purpose of adverbs

• adverbs are words that modify a verb, an
  adjective or another adverb
• adverbs commonly answer the questions- when,
  where, how, how often or how much
• adverbs such as when and where may also be used
  to help ask questions

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Adverb endings

• many end with ly but not all adverbs do-
• very, always, almost, often, not, now, well,
  rather, too and yesterday
• adverbs may also end with ward and long

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Practice exercise

• choose the correct form of the adverb in the
  parentheses.
• Can Josh beat Timothy (easy, easily)?
• (Nowhere, nowheres) in the world is there more
  gold than at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
• The motorcycle invented by Daimler in 1883 worked
  fairly (good, well), but it was (not nearly,
  nowhere near) successful enough to catch the
  public interest.
• If you speak your lines too (rapid, rapidly),
  most members of the audience will not understand
  what you are saying.
• The floodwaters receded (gradual, gradually).

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• only use standard adverbs such as- anyway,
  anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, somewhere,
  regardless, not nearly, in no way, usually,
  seldom and hardly ever
• do not use substandard adverbs such a- anyways,
  anywheres, everywheres, nowheres, somwheres,
  nowhere near ( not nearly) nohow, most times and
  seldom ever
• do not use more than one adverb to describe
  another adverb, an adjective or a verb

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Purpose of Adverb clauses

• an adverb clause modifies a verb, adjective or
  another adverb
• adverb clauses often answer the questions when,
  where, how or how much?
• an easy way to differentiate between an
  adjectives and a adverbs and adjective and adverb
  clauses is that adverbs and adverb clause can be
  moved within the sentence

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Adverb clauses

• adverb clauses start with an adverb that shows
  how the clause relates to the rest of the
  sentence- they show one of 4 things-
• time- such as the words- after, as soon as, as
  long as, before, once, since, till, until, when,
  whenever and while
• place- where or wherever
• cause- as, because, in order that, since, so that
• condition- although, as, as though, even if, even
  though, if, in case, just as, provided that,
  though, unless, whereas, while

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Punctuating adverb clauses

• If at the beginning of the sentence, it is
  separated from the rest of the sentence with a
  comma after the last word of the clause
• If in the middle of the sentence it is enclosed
  in commas
• If the clause comes at the end of the end of the
  sentence it is not separated from the rest of the
  sentence

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Practice exercise

• Identify the adverb clause in the following
  sentences and punctuate them as needed.
• When Gardner was a young lawyer in California he
  specialized in brilliant legal tricks and
  masterly exhibitions of psychology.
• His customary acuteness failed when he used a
  beneficiary under a will as a witness to the
  will.
• Gardner retuned to law when the job of business
  analyst no longer satisfied him.
• Soon he rebelled against the routine office hours
  and court calendars which dominates a lawyers
  life.

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