1. Adjectives!

2. What’s a stinkin ’ adjective anyway? An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. The most common adjectives are “a,” “an,” and “the.” These three adjectives are called articles. ARTICLES ARE ALWAYS ADJECTIVES!

3. So what about the rest of the adjectives? Adjectives (that aren’t articles) answer four questions about the noun/pronoun they modify: –What kind? –Which one? –How many? –How much?

4. What kind? famous song (What kind of song? A famous song.) squeaky noise (What kind of noise? A squeaky noise.) green light (What kind of light? A green light.)

5. How much? some music (How much music? Some music.) more room (How much room? More room.) less energy (How much energy? Less energy.)

6. How many? one dollar (How many dollars? One dollar.) three singers (How many singers? Three singers.) several years (How many years? Several years.)

7. Which one? this star (Which star? This star.) that way (Which way? That way.) these words (Which words? These words.)

8. How can I be sure something’s an adjective? The easiest way to identify an adjective is to use the adjective questions. If a word is answering one of those questions about a noun or pronoun, you can rest assured it’s an adjective!

9. How can I be sure something’s an adjective? Another trick is to substitute the word in question with the word “the.” Because “the” is an article (which is always an adjective), you’re just substituting one adjective for another! blue jacket (the jacket) some money (the money) that person (the person) BE CAREFUL because this trick doesn’t work every time! It only works if the adjective is directly in front of the noun, so don’t count on it to work every time. Use the adjective questions! The jacket was blue. (The jacket was the.) Eek! Doesn’t work!

10. Proper Adjectives Proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns (nouns that indicate a specific person, place, thing, or idea). Because they are PROPER, they are CAPITALIZED! They often end in -n, -an, -ian, -ese, -ish Examples: Portuguese, Chinese, Egyptian, North American, Chicagoan, Swedish, etc.

11. DANGER! Sometimes words can function as a pronoun OR an adjective. It depends on the context. For example: Some of the people received tickets. (pronoun) Some people received tickets. (adjective)

12. So how can you tell which is which? First, beware of “of” phrases. These often indicate something is being used as a PRONOUN. Some of the people… Several of the teachers… All of the children… Few of the players… Many of the animals…

13. So how can you tell which is which? Next, try the “the” test by replacing the word in question with “the” (an article). If it makes sense, the word is probably serving as an ADJECTIVE! Some people… (the people) Several teachers… (the teachers) All children… (the children) Few players… (the players) Many animals… (the animals)

14. So why is it important to be able to use adjectives effectively?

15. Sarah’s Sinful Sweets Chicago’s choice for utter indulgence Chocolate Cake Cake and icing $6.00/slice Raspberry Tart A tart filled with raspberries $4.50 Cream Puffs Filled with pudding $4.50

16. Sarah’s Sinful Sweets Chicago’s choice for utter indulgence Chocolate Cake A dense, fudge-flavored moist cake piled high with fluffy, smoothly spread vanilla-flavored icing $6.00/slice Raspberry Tart A warm, flakey, sugar-sprinkled outer crust filled with the sweet taste of smooth, fresh raspberry filling $4.50 Cream Puffs A fluffy, soft, puffed dough shell filled to the brim with smooth, sweet-tasting vanilla pudding and coated with deep, rich chocolate on the outside $4.50

17. SO… We can see that appropriate, thoughtful adjective use makes language more colorful, precise, and interesting!

18. 1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan and around the world. 2. The machine is a Japanese invention. 3. The concept is not a new one, however. 4. American television featured shows in which joyous people sang. 5. The word “karaoke” means “empty orchestra.” Let’s practice identifying adjectives! Wahoo!

19. Hot Mess of a Locker Write a notably vivid description of the messiest locker you can imagine. It should be two sides of a double-spaced handwritten page, or one double-spaced typed page (MLA formatted). Highlight all of the adjectives, with the exception of the articles. Make it as memorable as possible! If it exceeds one page, staple it or I will not accept it!

20. The End! …or is it?