Chapter 4 Modifier: A word that describes

Modifiers Adverbs: describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs Adjectives: describe nouns Adverbs: describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs How, When, Where, What Extent Negatives modify words to mean “no” or “not” Articles: definite & indefinite Intensifiers are adverbs that tell to what extent (really, very, quite, rather) *ALL INTENSIFIERS ARE ADVERBS, BUT NOT ALL ADVERBS ARE INTENSIFIERS*

Adjectives Adjective: describes a noun Ex: red marker Marker is the noun; red is describing it Articles are types of adjectives Definite Articles: “the” or “that” “Hand me that book.” – Describes which book Indefinite Articles: “a” or “and” Predicate Adjective: always follows a linking verb, serves as both a predicate and an adjective “I am tired.”: Subject is “I”; Verb is “am”; “Tired” is both the predicate and the adj. describing me

Adverbs Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs I ran quickly. (Quickly describes the verb “run” The bright, red, marker (“Bright” describes the adjective red) Adverbs tell us: -How: “I ran quickly.” How did I run? Quickly. -When: “We learned this yesterday.” When did we learn this? Yesterday -Where: “My books are everywhere.” Where are my books? Everywhere -To What Extent: “I am very relieved.” How relieved am I? Very.

Examples of Intensifiers Intensifiers are types of adverbs that tell us “to what extent” ALL intensifiers are adverbs, but not all adverbs are intensifiers! Examples of Intensifiers Really Very Many Rather Awfully Quite Almost Only “I had to do only one hour of homework!” It would be sufficient to say “I had to do one hour of homework.” But, saying “only one” intensifies the meaning of “one”

Comparing Adjectives/Adverbs As a general rule… One syllable modifiers get “er” or “est” added to the end sweet > sweeter > sweetest Soon > sooner > soonest Two syllable or more modifiers will get “more”, “most”, “less”, or “least” Famous > more famous > most famous Skillful > more skillful > most skillful An exception is modifiers that end in “y” (drop the “y” and add “-ier- or “ Happy > Happier > Happiest

Positive Comparative Superlative Soon Sooner Soonest Badly Worse Worst Good Better Best Early Earlier Earliest Skillfully More/Less Skillfully Most/Least Skillfully Quickly More/Less Clearly Most/Least Cleary

Negatives Negatives are modifiers that mean “no” or “not” None, won’t, don’t, nobody, not A “double negative” are two negatives used next to each other. It is grammatically incorrect. “I ain’t have no money.” In math, two negative make a positive. In English, they do too. This literally translates to mean “I have money.” Correction: “I have no money” or “I don’t have any money.”

Using Adverbs vs. Adjectives Good = Adjective Well = Adverb After a linking verb, use an adjective. (Linking Verbs > Intransitive > Predicate Adjective) “I am Good.” “You look good.” After an action verb, use an adverb. “They played poorly.” “She sang well.”

Dangling Modifiers In English, the subject of the main cause should be the doer of the modifying statement. That means… The modifying phrase and the subject of the sentence should match.

Correct: “Having finished the assignment, Jill turned the TV on.” Jill is the subject. She finished her assignment and then turned the TV on. Incorrect: “Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.” - The TV is the subject. This implies the TV was the one to finish the assignment.

How To Fix a Dangling Modifier

INCORRECT: After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing. REVISED: After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing. INCORRECT: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, your home should be a place to relax. REVISED: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you should be able to relax at home. INCORRECT: The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully. REVISED: They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab manual carefully