Adjectives & Adverbs 6th Grade Language Arts

What are ADJECTIVES? Adjectives MODIFY nouns they DESCRIBE things. AKA A COLORFUL photograph, TWO CUTE kids, a LOVELY day, a LUSH garden… GREAT examples

Analogy: Writing is the literary equivalent of cooking, so adjectives are one of the spices you have in the kitchen. Like spices added to a soup, a few adjectives go a long way. Don't overdo it. Let the more substantial ingredients (strong verbs!) be the stars.

Descriptive Adjectives……… DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES add detail or description to the noun, such as color, shape, or size. They come BEFORE the noun they are describing Examples: Her red shirt was pretty. His small dog ran around the huge park.

Limiting Adjectives… Give a quantity and amount, as opposed to just describing Often a number or related word Ex: There are few students who want to stay for detention. Ex: I saw three apples on that table. Ex: I got many presents for Christmas.

Demonstrative Adjectives…… →Tells which one →This, That, These, Those Examples: This book is great! That football is brown. These desks are close together. Those houses look nice. *Remember Demonstrative Pronouns? These are the same but come before a noun.

Articles……. → Help put your sentences together correctly → a, an, the → Use “a” before a general noun that starts with a consonant sound.INDEFINITE → Use “an” before a general noun that starts with a vowel sound.INDEFINITE → Use “the” before a specific noun.DEFINITE Examples: The apple is red. An hour has passed since we came in. A cow says, “Mooooooooo!”

Predicate Adjectives……….. → Adjective that comes AFTER a linking verb → Describes the subject before that linking verb. (what is being described is nowhere around the adjective!) Examples: The blanket is clean. The towel is wet. Her face looks angry. His drink is bubbly.

Comparatives…………. → Used to compare 2 nouns → For 1 syllable words, add “er” to the end of your adjective. → For 3+ syllable words, keep the adjective the same and put “more” in front of it. → For 2 syllable words, it can go either way—see what sounds right! *There are some irregulars… Examples: His soup was hotter than mine. My picture is more beautiful than hers.

Superlatives…………. → Used to compare 3+ nouns → For 1 syllable words, add “est” to the end of your adjective. → For 3+ syllable words, keep the adjective the same and put “most” in front of it. → For 2 syllable words, it can go either way—see what sounds right! *There can be irregulars for these, too. Examples: My snowman is the highest one on the street! This is the most difficult test that I have ever taken.

Proper Adjectives………. Proper Adjectives: → A specific term to describe a common noun → Comes from a proper noun → Always capitalized Examples: American cheese is my favorite food. Some people say that Swiss cheese is better. I like Japanese food better than Chinese food.

Adverbs! Used to describe a verb, an adjective, OR another adverb. Ex: The singer danced wildly on stage.(Wildly describes the verb danced.) Ex: The music was very loud.(Very describes the adjective loud.) Ex: The concert ended quite quickly.(Quite describes the adverb quickly.)

Adverbs, continued. Adverbs give information such as How, When, Where, and To what extent something happened. Ex: He ran outside quickly.How Ex: He fell down yesterday.When Ex: He landed here on the garbage.Where Ex: He was very embarrassed.To what extent

Adverbs, continued. An adverb can come in many different places in the sentence. Ex: Guests often dined in the dining room at our house. Ex: Guests dined often in the dining room at our house. Ex: Often guests dined in the dining room at our house. Ex: Guests dined in the dining room at our house often.

Comparative & Superlative Adverbs Like with adjectives, adverbs are used to compare. The comparative form compares two actions or things. Add “-er” to the end OR “more” in front The superlative form compares more than two actions or things. Add “-est” to the end OR “most” in front

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