1. Unit 4: Adjectives
What is an adjective?

2. What is an adjective?
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun.
Remember…nouns are people, places, things, and ideas.

3. What is an adjective?
Adjectives can describe the kind of noun it is (funny, tall, blue, loud…) or it can describe how many there are (many, two, several…).
If you are using two descriptive adjectives together, you should use a comma.
The small, yellow bird sang a happy song.
Small and yellow both describe the bird.
If I said “Two yellow birds sang a happy song,” then I would not use a comma to separate them.

4. How many adjectives are in the following sentences?
Powerful lions stared boldly at us.
There is only ONE adjective.
Powerful
Why isn’t boldly an adjective?
Giraffes seemed gentle and shy.
There are two adjectives.
Gentle and shy

5. How many adjectives are in the following sentences?
The two cubs are small and playful.
There are three adjectives.
Two, small, and playful
The beautiful, proud peacock has many feathers.
Beautiful, proud, and many

6. How many adjectives are in the following sentences?
The heavy elephant has a slow, swaying walk.
There are three adjectives.
Heavy, slow, and swaying.
Three gentle deer graze beneath tall, leafy trees.
There are four adjectives.
Three, gentle, tall, and leafy.

7. Articles and Demonstratives
Unit 4: Adjectives
Articles and Demonstratives

8. What is an article? An article is a special kind of adjective.
There are three of them: a, an, and the.
A and an refer to any person, place, or thing.
Use “a” if the next word begins with a consonant, and “an” if the next word begins with a vowel sound.
The refers to something specific.

9. What is a demonstrative?
A demonstrative tells which one.
There are four of them: this, that, and these and those.
This and that are singular; these and those are plural.
This and these are for nearby objects; that and those are for objects farther away.

10. Choose the correct adjective.
I am flying (a, an) huge plane.
I don’t want (a, an) aisle seat.
(Those, That) tall man should fasten his seat belt.
We are flying over (a, the) state of New York.
(These, Those) clouds are far away.

11. Using “er” and “est” to compare adjectives.
Unit 4: Adjectives
Using “er” and “est” to compare adjectives.

12. Comparing with Adjectives
If you want to compare two or more nouns, you have to change the adjectives you use.
If you are comparing two nouns: add –er to the adjective.
If you are comparing three or more nouns: add –est to the adjective.

13. Rules for Changing Adjectives
For one-syllable adjectives –
add –er or –est to the adjective
Bright  brighter  brightest
The star is bright.
The closer star seems brighter than the other star.
The sun seems to be the brightest star of all.

14. Rules for Changing Adjectives
Adjectives ending in an “e”–
drop the e; add –er or –est to the adjective
Safe  safer  safest

15. Rules for Changing Adjectives
Adjectives ending with a consonant and a y-
change the y to an i and add -er or -est
Busy  busier  busiest

16. Rules for Changing Adjectives
One syllable adjectives that end with a single vowel and a consonant -
Double the consonant and add –er or –est
Flat  flatter  flattest

17. Rules for Changing Adjectives
Some two and all three or more syllable words -
Use “more” for two or “most” for three or more nouns.
Careful  more careful  most careful
Responsible  more responsible  most responsible

18. Rules for Changing Adjectives
All adjectives wen you’re talking about “less” instead of “more”-
Use “less” for two or “least” for three or more nouns.
Brave  less brave  least brave
Responsible  less responsible  least responsible

19. Comparing with good and bad
Unit 4: Adjectives
Comparing with good and bad

20. Changing “good”
When you are comparing two nouns, you change good to “better”.
When you are comparing three or more nouns, you change good to “best”.
Jen is a good cook.
Chris is better than she is.
John is the best cook.

21. Changing “bad”
When you are comparing two nouns, you change bad to “worse”.
When you are comparing three or more nouns, you change bad to “worst”.
Pongo is a bad dog.
Max is worse than he is.
Perdita is the worst dog of all.

22. Choose the correct adjective.
This play was (better, best) than the last play.
Mary had a (bad, worst) cough.
Her coughing grew (bad, worse) in the last speech.
Of the four singers, Merle was (best, good).

23. Unit 4: Adjectives
Proper Adjectives

24. What is a proper adjective?
An adjective formed from a proper noun is called a proper adjective.
Those olives came from Greece.
They are Greek olives.
Note: all proper adjectives should begin with a capital letter.

25. Fill in the blanks with the correct proper adjectives.
Food from Spain is ___________ food.
The ______ Highways runs through Alaska.
People in Germany are proud of ______ cars.
Words from Japan are ___________ words.
People in Poland make _________ bread.