Adjectives and Adverbs Basics of Composition

The Adjective It is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. It can tell what kind, and how many. It usually precedes the word it modifies. –Male peacocks have beautiful feathers. –The feathers are colorful. –She is so funny! –All the sick people entered the old clinic.

Forms of Adjectives Positive- describes a noun without comparing it to anyone or anything else. –A hummingbird is small. –That is a black dress. –The small child played in the pretty garden. –All the new books were in the big box.

Forms of Adjectives Comparative- compares two people, things, places or concepts. –A hummingbird is smaller than a pidgeon. –That dress is a blacker than this dress. –The smaller child played in the prettier garden. –All the newer books were in the bigger box.

Forms of Adjectives Superlative- compares three or more people, places, things or concepts –A hummingbird is the smallest. –That is the blackest dress. –The smallest child played in the prettiest garden. –All the newest books were in the biggest box.

Common Adjectives Black Red Tall Short Empty Angry Tired Dry old New Two Five Many Several Some Few Beautiful Ugly

Examples: Irregular adjectives GoodBetterBest BadWorseworst manymore most Vanilla is good. Strawberry is better, but chocolate is the best. Tornadoes are bad, hurricanes are worse, but earthquakes are the worst. In Arecibo, there are many houses. In Vega Baja, there are more houses, but in San Juan, they have the most houses.

The Adverb Mostly they describes a verb or action. Most tell where (inside), how (hard), or when (immediately) the action happens. They usually end in –ly, but not always. Modifying a verb: He plays baseball well. He pitched hard. I ate quickly. They rapidly planned a great party.

Common Adverbs Adverbs that tell how the action occurs: Bravely Carefully Quietly Suddenly Nicely Slowly Eagerly Hungrily Calmly Gently Easily Proudly Noisily Safely Happily

Sentence Examples Eagerly- Mike talked eagerly about lunch. Hungrily- Chris ate his snack hungrily. Calmly- Ben calmly told us the story. Gently- I placed the kitten gently on the mat. Easily- He easily finished the assignment. Proudly- She showed the trophy proudly. Noisily- They argued noisily. Safely- The cat landed safely on its feet. Happily- The child played happily with me.

Common Adverbs Adverbs that tell when Always First Later Next Often Soon Then Today Tomorrow Yesterday Adverbs that tell where Ahead Around Away Everywhere Far Here Nearby Out There Upstairs

Sentence Examples Ahead- The car moved ahead of mine. Around- We drove around the block. Away- The cat went away this morning. Everywhere- The bugs are everywhere. Always- She always swims in a pool. First- He watched the horizon first. Later- You can come later. Next- She can sing next. Often- He visits the museum often.