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Adjectives: University of Rizal System
Adjectives: University of Rizal System
ADJECTIVES
Presented to:
JAZMIN M. MENGORIO
CIARA JANINE V. MEREGILDO
MARK MIGUEL
NATHALIE NALAUNAN
JOHN RENDEL PATEÑA
DECEMBER 2019
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INTRODUCTION
Adjectives and Adverb are part of the hundred grammar rules and included in the basic, the
sentence structure and the parts of speech. You'll have a great foundation for reading and writing if
you know how to use adjectives and adverb or if you know how to identify it. There is a lot of
difference between an adjective and adverb on the basis of their usage and types. Many of us learned
in school that adjectives modify nouns and that adverbs modify verbs. But as we’ve seen, adjectives
can also act as complements for linking verbs. This leads to a common type of error: incorrectly
substituting an adverb in place of a predicate adjective. Adjectives and adverbs are part of the four
major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and adverbs. Examples of adjectives are: big, small,
blue, old, rich and nice. On the other hand, we use adverbs to add more information about a verb, an
adjective, another adverb, a clause or a whole sentence and, less commonly, about a noun phrase.
Children who cannot use descriptive words effectively in a sentence face difficulties in making
themselves clearly understood. Using and manipulating descriptive words is a skill that children need
in everyday life, but also at school. As adults, descriptive language is important at work, such as in
writing instructions. Adjectives and adverbs allow children’s speech and writing to be precise and
This written report sought to answer the following questions: what are the definitions of adverb
and adjectives? What are the kinds of these two? What are their uses? What are the different
examples of adjectives and adverbs? And what are the exercises or activities that can help a student
like you to know the difference and similarities between the two? What should you do to master the
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AD
VE
RB
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DEFINITIONS OF ADVERB
It is very much important to understand the words adverbs work closely with, starting with
verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. An adverb is a part of speech that provides greater description
to a verb, adjective, another adverb, a phrase, a clause, or a sentence. A great way to pick out an
adverb from a sentence is to look for the word ending in -ly. Although that's not universally true, it's a
Also, given their function, these fundamental elements of the English language are usually
placed right before or after the verb in the sentence. Adverbs are intensifiers and they can even come
in the form of an adverb phrase. That just means you're looking at two or more words that act as an
adverb. Let's take some time to dive (v.) deeply (adv.) into these popular modifiers.
A verb is a word that expresses action or a state of being, i.e. jump, run, swim, ski, fish, talk.
An adjective is a word that describes or clarifies a noun, i.e. pretty, happy, silly, and sunny.
A noun is a person, place or thing - in its simplest definition, i.e. girl, dog, mom.
Kinds of Adverbs:
Adverbs of Time
An adverb of time provides more information about when a verb takes place. Adverbs of time
are usually placed at the beginning or end of a sentence. When it is of particular importance to
express the moment something happened we’ll put it at the start of a sentence.
Examples of adverbs of time: never, lately, just, always, recently, during, yet, soon, sometimes,
usually, so far
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1. So far, we have found twelve grammar mistakes.
Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of place illustrate where the verb is happening. It’s usually placed after the main verb
Examples of adverbs of place: here, there, nowhere, everywhere, out, in, above, below, inside,
outside, into
2. One day when my dad wasn’t paying attention to where he was going, he walked into a wall.
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of manner provide more information about how a verb is done. Adverbs of manner are
probably the most common of all adverbs. They’re easy to spot too. Most of them will end in –ly.
Examples of adverbs of manner: neatly, slowly, quickly, sadly, calmly, politely, loudly, kindly, lazily
1. The young soldier folded his clothes neatly in a pile at the end of his bunk.
2. I politely opened the door for my grandmother as she stepped out of the car.
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Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of degree explain the level or intensity of a verb, adjective, or even another adverb.
Example of adverbs of degree: almost, quite, nearly, too, enough, just, hardly, simply, so
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency explain how often the verb occurs. They’re often placed directly before
Examples of adverbs of frequency: never, always, rarely, sometimes, normally, seldom, usually,
again
Conjunctive Adverb
A conjunctive adverb is a type of adverb that joins two independent sentences or clauses of
any kind. This type of adverb is used to connect two parts into one longer sentence.
These parts can be whole sentences that need to be connected into one longer sentence or
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Adverbs usually modify one verb, but conjunctive adverbs modify entire sentences because
Conjunctive adverbs are used to join together parts in order to form a larger thought. This
means that the final sentence explains more than the two smaller ones would if they were still divided.
time.
Conjunctive adverbs are used to connect ideas, and to form larger thoughts with longer sentences.
1. I wanted to go have ice cream after work; however, my friend wanted something else.
2. He had studies all day and night; nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to pass the test.
3. It was never going to work between us; therefore, we decided to go our separate ways.
4. I had to work the whole weekend; in addition, there was also another contract from a month
5. If you decide to start a diet you will see the improvement in your life soon; for instance, you’ll
6. She was driving home from her friend’s place; meanwhile, her husband was busy preparing
her a surprise.
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Adverb Clause
Usually, an adverb is just one word which modifies or describes, a verb. An adverb clause, on
the other hand, is an entire clause which functions as an adverb. This clause is a group of words, or
One adverb adds some detail to the verb. An adverb clause adds more detail to the verb and
Like any clause, an adverb clause has to have a subject and predicate in order to be complete.
An adverb clause can appear in the beginning, middle, or end of the sentence. The adverb clause is
The adverb phrase is in the first sentence. The subject is “I” and the predicate “work,” so the
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ADVERB EXERCISES
Slowly, carefully, beautifully, well, loudly, carelessly, easily, excitedly, finally, suddenly, quickly, quietly
2. We knew that she had got the job when we saw her _________ talking on the phone.
5. Let's walk ________________. I don't want to be the first one at the meeting.
6. Alex _____________ put up the bookshelves. It was too difficult for me to do on my own.
7. Every thing happened so ______________. We had to move to California in less than a month.
8. Why does he always have to talk so ____________. You can hear him in the next room!
9. Although she speaks five languages, she did not do ___________ on the translation exam.
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II. Adverb or Adjective?
To make adverbs we often add -ly at the end of an adjective (words that describe a noun)
3. Michael __________ (happy/happily) took the assistant job. He had been looking for a
4. Marta dances _____________ (beautiful/beautifully). She's been taking ballet since she
5. They speak French very ____________ (good/well). They lived in France for two years.
annoying.
7. Please be __________ (careful/carefully) in the hallway. The walls have just been painted.
9. He reacted __________ (angry/angrily) to the news. I have never seen him so upset.
Answer Key: 1. quickly, 2. quiet, 3. happily, 4. beautifully, 5. well, 6. loud, 7. careful, 8. good, 9.
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III. Fill in the blanks with a suitable adverb.
once
ever
usually
never
ever
one
once
ones
once
always
ever
once
often
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most
mostly
too
such
very
some time
sometime
sometimes
once
always
occasionally
rare
once
rarely
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Answers:
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JE
CTI
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DEFINITIONS OF ADJECTIVE
Adjectives are words that are used to describe or modify nouns or pronouns. For example, red,
quick, happy, and obnoxious are adjectives because they can describe things—a red hat, the quick
Adjectives take many forms. Some common adjectives are formed when we add a suffix to a
noun or verb. For example, when we add the suffix -ful to the noun beauty,makes the adjective
beautiful, and adding the suffix -able to the verb read makes the adjective readable. Other suffixes
often used to create adjectives include -al, -ary, -able and –ible, –ish, -ic, -ical, -less, -like, -ous,
-some, and -y. Some adjectives take the form of participles (verbs ending in -ed or -ing), and many
others are not formed from nouns or verbs but are original in themselves—for example, close, deep,
slow.
Though we usually think of adjectives as words, these parts of speech are phrases and
clauses can also function adjectivally. For example, in the sentence, “The man wearing the hat
winked at me,” the phrase wearing a hat modifies the noun man, so it is an adjective phrase. And in
the sentence, “The man, who was carrying a book, winked at me,” who was carrying a book is a
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KINDS OF ADJECTIVE
Adjective placement
In relation to nouns:
In general, an adjective goes before the noun it modifies, it most cases it will precede the noun,
unless special emphasis on the adjective is needed. In a pair of words, the second is usually
perceived to have greater emphasis. So, in these examples, the noun has the most emphasis:
1. old dog
2. burnt trees
1. songs half-heard
2. words unspoken
Adjectives that come after the nouns they modify are postpositive adjectives. These are rare in
English, but there are a few adjectives that are always postpositive (galore, extraordinaire), and
adjectives are sometimes postpositive when the writer wants to sound poetic.
Adjective Order
As most adjectives are placed before the noun that they are modifying, there are some general
rules for deciding in which order to list multiple adjectives. The general guidelines are as follows:
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4. Shape – such as square or oblong
9. Qualifier – the qualifier is an adjective that denotes the item’s type or purpose, some examples
This list may vary slightly from style guide to style guide, though the components are the same.
Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate a particular noun or pronoun in a sentences. The
demonstrative adjective is helpful when two or more people or things are being referenced, and the
writer wants to clearly pinpoint which person or thing is meant. Some examples of the use of
demonstrative adjectives:
2. These clothes have been washed, those clothes are still dirty
With possessives
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When an adjective is used to describe a noun denoting something owned, the adjective should
Possessive adjectives
ownership, or it may indicate a close relationship. Possessive adjectives are whose, my, your, our, its,
her, his, their. Possessive adjectives differ from possessive pronouns. Remember, a possessive
An adjective, especially a participial adjective, may introduce the subject of a sentence. Such
With such sentences, make sure the introductory adjective applies directly to the noun it modifies.
The subject of this sentence is the hours, and it’s not the hours that are playing video games. Most
English speakers would infer the meaning of this sentence, but it is nevertheless poorly formed.
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Predicate adjectives
A predicate adjective is a descriptive word that, along with a linking verb, functions as the
predicate of a sentence. The underlined words in the below examples are predicate adjectives, each
5. The haughty bureaucrats visiting the magical village in the middle of the forest on the second
1. Positive adjectives (e.g., rich): express a quality of an object without comparing it to anything
else.
3. Superlative adjectives (e.g., richest): express that one thing has a quality to a greater degree
For comparing two things, the -est suffix is never appropriate, though this rule is often broken
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To create a comparative or superlative adjective out of a single-syllable adjective ending in a
single vowel followed by a single consonant, double the vowel and add the suffix—e.g., fat, fatter,
fattest.
When the positive adjective ends in a silent e, remove the e and add the suffix—e.g., late,
later, latest.
Adjectives of three or more syllables use more and most instead of -er and -est—e.g., familiar,
Some adjectives of two syllables also take more and most—e.g., active, more active, most
active. Some use the comparative and superlative suffixes—e.g., shabby, shabbier, shabbiest. There
is no easy way to know which words fall into which category, so they must be memorized.
Participles used as adjectives take more and most instead of -er and -est—e.g, outmoded,
A few adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms. These are the most
common:
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Participial adjectives
A participial adjective is a past participle (i.e., an -ed word) or present participle (an -ing word)
that functions as an adjective. Participial adjectives work like any other type of adjective. For example,
the participle in each of these phrases modifies the noun that follows:
2. a flashing light
When a participial adjective appears before the main clause of a sentence, the participle should
come directly before the noun in the main clause. Otherwise, it becomes a dangler. For example, this
is troublesome:
With this construction, the participial adjective emptied applies to the pronoun we, and we is
obviously not what emptied is supposed to apply to. One way to revise this sentence would be,
Proper adjectives
A proper adjective is an adjective derived from a proper noun. They usually begin with capital
letters—for example:
1. Iranian embassy
2. Spanish galleon
3. Napoleonic warfare
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4. Germanic tribes
5. Australian dollar
A noun modified by a proper adjective should not be capitalized. For example, Iranian Embassy
In general, it’s best to avoid using a place name as an adjective when the name contains more
than one word. You can get away with phrases like New York minute or San Francisco fog, but,
especially when the name has a comma, using it as an adjective makes the sentence difficult—for
example:
1. Nirvana, the Seattle, Washington band that had kicked off grunge’s breakthrough into
Some writers put another comma after the state, creating clunky sentences like this:
1. Both candidates mentioned meeting the Toledo, Ohio, man on the campaign trail, and tied him
One way to fix sentences like these is to cut out the state name—the Seattle band, the Toledo
man. If the city shares a name with other cities in other states, co nsider putting the state in
Interrogative
Interrogative adjectives interrogate, meaning that they ask a question. These adjectives are
always followed by a noun or a pronoun, and are used to form questions. The interrogative
adjectives are:
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Which – Asks to make a choice between options
Other questions words, like “Who” or “How” aren’t adjectives since they dont modify nouns. For
example, you can say “Whose coat is this?” but you can’t say “Who coat?”
Which, what and whose are only considered adjectives if they’re immediately followed by a noun.
The word “Which color is your favorite?” But not in this one: “Which is your favorite color?”
Distributive
Distributive Adjectives describe specific members out of a group. These adjectives are used to
single out one or more individual items or people. Some of the most common distributive adjectives
include:
Each – Every single one of a group (used to speak about members individually)
Any – One or some things out of any number of choices. This is also used when the choice is
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Example: “Every rose has its thorn”
Article
There are only three Articles in the English language: a, an and the. Articles can be difficult for
english learners to use correctly because many languages don’t have them. Although articles are their
own part of speech, they’re technically also adjectives! Articles are used to describe which noun
you’re referring to. Maybe thinking of them as adjectives will help you learn which one to use:
An- A singular, general item. Use this before words that start with a vowel
Simply put, when you’re talking about something general, use a and an. When you’re speaking about
something specific use the “A cat”can be used to refer to any cat in the world. “The cat” is used to
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ADJECTIVES EXERCISES
DIRECTIONS for questions 1 - 5: Pick out all the Adjectives in the following sentences, and say to
DIRECTIONS for questions 10 - 16: The words in the box are adjectives (black/foreign etc.) or
nouns (air/job etc.) Use an adjective and a noun to complete each sentence.
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12. Sue works very hard and she’s very tired. She needs a __________
DIRECTIONS for questions 17 - 20: Complete the sentences using one of the words in the box.
17. He works very hard. It’s not __________ that he’s always tired. (surprising/surprised)
18. The teacher’s explanation was ________________. Most of the students didn’t understand it.
(Confusing/Confused)
20. I’m starting a new job next week. I’m quite _____________ about it. (excited/exciting)
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9. Silver; Although Silver and Foolish are both descriptive adjectives, Silver fits the best here
17. Surprising
18. Confusing
19. Boring
20. Excited
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CONCLUSIONS
Adjectives and adverbs are words used to describe things. Adjectives describe nouns and / or
pronouns and adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Both adverbs and adjectives are
considered to be modifiers – meaning that they are words that are used to describe other words. For
example, Adjective: The quick rabbit jumped. Adverb: The rabbit jumped quickly.
In every language, adjectives and adverbs are important elements of sentences. Using
adjectives and adverbs means that we can express the quality of any person or object or explain what
the verb is doing. Without adjectives and adverbs we could not say how any act or object looks like.
In addition; when we read a paper which is a descriptive one, both adjectives and adverbs help us to
picture the content of what we read about. Adjectives are important because they describe a noun
(person, place, or thing), tell more about a noun (person, place, or thing), make sentences more
interesting, affect the meaning of sentences. Adverbs are important because they describe what the
verb is doing answer the questions, "How?", "Where?", "When?" and "How often?” Whenever we use
adjectives and adverbs, they make our writings more visual and vivid. Our readers will get a better
idea of what we wish them to picture when they read our writings. It appeals to our readers’ senses;
therefore, they can hear, see, touch, taste, and even smell what you’re describing. Also, use of
adjectives makes our reading and writing much more fun. It sets the tone for our writing. You need to
use them for descriptive papers or in our daily life. Moreover; we use adjectives and adverbs because
we want to express ourselves, things, characters in a good or bad way or explain what the verb is
doing. It will get our readers' or listeners' attention and can make the book a good read or speech a
good, an effective speech. Adjectives and adverbs can make other people want to get the book or you
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are wanted to be listened over and over and see how well you wrote and talked with somebody and
References
Marina Lukyanchuk. (2019). Grammarly Blog. Retrieved from Adjectives and Adverbs–What’s the Difference?:
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/adjectives-and-adverbs/
Anastasia Koltai. (2018, July 17). 5 Types of Adverbs: Time, Manner, Degree, Place, Frequency. Retrieved from My English
Teacher: https://www.myenglishteacher.eu/blog/types-of-adverb/
Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved from Adverbs and Adjectives:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/grammar/british-grammar/adverbs
Coral Rosario. (2014, May 10). Adjective Definition & List of Examples. Retrieved from Grammarist:
https://grammarist.com/grammar/adjectives/
Hit Bulls Eye. (2019). Grammar Practice Questions - Adjectives. Retrieved from Hitbullseye.com:
https://www.hitbullseye.com/Adjectives-Exercises.php
Leyla Norman. (2017, 09 26). What Is the Importance of Children Using Descriptive Words in a Sentence? Retrieved from
How to Adult: https://howtoadult.com/importance-children-using-descriptive-words-sentence-15948.html
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