Adjectives and Adverbs English 10

Adjectives need to be specific! An adjective describes (modifies) a noun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective can also describe a pronoun. Adjectives need to be specific!

The playful dog chased after the ball. ADJECTIVES An adjective usually precedes (comes BEFORE) the noun or pronoun that it modifies.  The playful dog chased after the ball.

Some adjectives paint scenes with blank images. Ex: Adjectives like beautiful, as in “the beautiful mountains,” are formless, creating an opinion NOT a picture. Why are the mountains beautiful?

ADJECTIVES Ambitious Egotistical Nervous Annoying Friendly Petty Anxious Gullible Playful Brave Hideous Responsible Battered Happy Shy Caring Immature Trusting Cranky Lazy Vain Dependable Naïve Weary

Don’t use too many adjectives! This can conflict, minimizing the significance of each.

As I read the following paragraph, listen closely to all of the adjectives and circle the adjectives: Betty entered the room. A red ribbon contrasted her coal black hair, and she wore a pale blue dress with a violet flower design. Her new black patent leather shoes reflected her unusual red socks. Betty was chewing gum and carrying a small brown purse that did not match her outfit. The adjectives in this paragraph are poorly chosen: they lack purpose and seem to be jammed into the paragraph just to add details.

Remember: with adjectives, you can use them, just don’t overuse them!

Choosing Precise Adjectives 1. Don’t use more adjectives than you need. Choose the best one. 2. Avoid vague words like nice, awful, terrific, great, wonderful, awesome, excellent, or beautiful. 3. Avoid vague descriptions like big, small, old, or new. 4. Get rid of words that intensify adjectives like very or really. For example, “He is very concerned about you” is less forceful than “He is concerned about you.”

3.4 Choosing Precise Adjectives It was a nice day, and I was having great fun when I met this interesting girl who had a super smile and terrific car. It turned out to be an amazing day.

Choosing Precise Adjectives Sometimes students believe that good writing requires a long string of adjectives. No! Good writing can be made better with adjectives that create pictures in the reader’s head. The words italicized in the previous slide are simply filler. Does the word nice, for example, give the reader a picture of the day? Words like nice, great, terrific, and amazing are powerless adjectives and simply take up space in a writing. There are, however, some ways to use adjectives powerfully.

2. Don’t eat that awful food. 3. My old car is unsafe. Substitute more precise adjectives for the underlined words in the following sentences or rewrite the entire sentence. Choose three! 1. You owe me some money.   2. Don’t eat that awful food.   3. My old car is unsafe. 4. I like her great haircut. 5. That’s an interesting idea.

ADVERBS An adverb describes (modifies) a verb. The adverb can also describe an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a clause. (Adverbs also tell HOW, when, where, time, manner, place, cause, to what degree.)

ADVERBS Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various places within the sentence. The adverb can go BEFORE or AFTER the verb or at the START or END of the sentence.

Jen skipped happily to school. Jen happily skipped to school. ADVERBS For example: Jen skipped happily to school. Jen happily skipped to school.   Jen skipped to school happily. Happily, Jen skipped to school.

Typically, most adverbs end in –ly. (This can be a helpful trick to identifying and/or remembering adverbs.) Ex: Ironically, honestly, presently, brilliantly, etc.

Here are some examples; see if you can identify the adverb: ADVERBS Here are some examples; see if you can identify the adverb:  The seamstress quickly made the clothes. The adverb “quickly” modifies the verb “made”. Unfortunately, the bank closes at three today. The adverb “unfortunately” modifies the entire sentence. The boldly-spoken words would return to haunt the rebel. The adverb “boldly” modifies the adjective “spoken”.

You can also open a sentence with an adverbial clause: After Before So that Where Although If Though Wherever As In order that Unless While As if Provided that Until As long as Since When Because So Whenever

Adverbial Clause When an adverbial clause opens a sentence, follow it with a comma (this is an introductory phrase). After he seized control, the situation changed drastically. As the hours passed, Tim’s energy level mounted. Before I could even get to my feet to defend myself, she bent down and gave me a clip across the ear.

Adverbial Clause Create the following three sentences using adverbs: Please include an adverb anywhere in the sentence.   Please use an –ly starter. Please use one of the adverbial clauses as an introductory phrase.