English Grammar

Marta Alda

Unit 2
Table of contents

► Adjectives and adjectival group

► Adverbs and adverbial group
► Review and practice

English Grammar– Marta Alda 2

Adjectives. The adjectival group.

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The adjective. Definition.

Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of

being of nouns: gorgeous, sunny, brilliant, blue, boring, talkative.
They can also describe the quantity of nouns: many, few,
hundreds, seven.
Nevertheless adjectives can do more than just modify nouns.
They can also act as a complement to linking verbs or the verb to
be. A linking verb is a verb like to feel or to taste that describes a
state of being or a sensory experience.
• This coffee tastes awful.
• You don’t seem very sure.

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The adjective. A functional classification.

Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of

being of nouns: gorgeous, sunny, brilliant, blue, boring, talkative.
They can also describe the quantity of nouns: many, few,
hundreds, seven.
Nevertheless adjectives can do more than just modify nouns.
They can also act as a complement to linking verbs or the verb to
be. A linking verb is a verb like to feel or to taste that describes a
state of being or a sensory experience.
• This coffee tastes awful.
• You don’t seem very sure.

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The adjective. Classification.

Descriptive adjectives: they are used to describe nouns and

pronouns.
Words like — red, cute, large, amusing, appealing, noisy and
acceptable are all descriptive adjectives.
These adjectives add information and qualities to the words they’re
modifying.
• She has an enormous cat.
• I saw her wearing a fashionable jacket.

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The adjective. Classification.

Quantitative adjectives: they describe the quantity of something and

answer the questions “how much?” or “how many?”

• How many trees did you plant? We finally planted eight maples.
• They saved 150 $ last month.
• I couldn’t hear any noise.

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The adjective. Classification.

Demonstrative adjectives: they describe “which” noun or pronoun you

are referring to:

this that
these those

• That bird is a sparrow.

• This leaf has just fallen.
• Those people don’t belong here.

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The adjective. Classification.

Possessive adjectives: they show possession and describe to

whom something belongs.

My Your His
Her Our their

• My mum reads a lot.

• Who is your favourite composer?
• We can see the sea from their house.

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The adjective. Classification.

Interrogative adjectives: they are used to form questions and

must be followed by a noun or a pronoun.

Which What whose

• Which dog should we adopt?

• What movie would you like to watch?
• Whose student is this paper?

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The adjective. Classification.

Distributive adjectives describe specific members out of a group

and are used to single out one or more individuals or items.

Each Every Any

Either neither Both

• Every bird has its own song.

• Neither of those chairs are comfortable.
• Both of your parents are nice.

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The adjective. Classification according to the form.

• Simple: they are usually monosyllabic or disyllabic and have

no distinctive features that help us identify them as belonging
to the class examined here. (large, big, good, bad…)

• Derived: formed by adding affixes to other word classes.

(trend-y, color-ful, in-hospitable…)

• Compound: formed by the combination of two different class

words. (gluten-free, four-foot, part time, cold blooded, brightly-
lit…)

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Adjectives and participles.

In English many adjectives come from verbs, more specifically from

participles (past and present)
Participles are words made from verbs ending in –ING or –ED.
(annoyed / annoying)

• Those that end in –ED tell us how people feel about something.
• She felt surprised about my reaction.
• Those that end in –ING often describe a quality of a person, thing
or idea.
• That was a surprising reaction to her.

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The adjective. Comparatives & superlatives.

Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the

two objects they modify (larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used
in sentences where two nouns are compared, in this pattern:

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).

• That room is lighter than the library.

The second item of comparison can be omitted if it is clear from the

context.
• Your sofa is more expensive than your friend’s.

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The adjective. Comparatives & superlatives.

To form comparatives and superlatives we have to take into account the

number of syllables in the original adjective.
• One syllable adjective: add –er for the comparative and –est for the
superlative. We must double the last consonant if the adjective has a
consonant + single vowel + consonant spelling.

Adjective Comparative superlative

Tall Taller Tallest
Fat Fatter Fattest
Big Bigger Biggest
Sad Sadder saddest

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The adjective. Comparatives & superlatives.

Adjectives with two syllables add –er for the comparative and –est for
the superlative if they end in –y (changing it to an -i).

Adjective Comparative Superlative

Happy Happier Happiest
Busy Busier busiest
Crazy Crazier craziest

The rest, with two or more syllables, form the comparative and
superlative by preceeding the adjective with more or the most.

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The adjective. Comparatives & superlatives.

Irregular comparatives and superlatives.

These are very common adjectives with a completely irregular form.

Adjective Comparative superlative

Good Better Best
Bad Worse Worst
Little Less Least
Much More Most
Far Further/farther Furthest/farthest

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Gradable adjectives.

Most adjectives have a meaning which can be made stronger or

weaker; these are called gradable adjectives. Other adjectives have
a meaning which is extreme or absolute and cannot easily be made
stronger or weaker. These are called ‘non-gradable adjectives’.
Non-gradable adjectives mean “very-very + adjective” or, more
accurately “extremely + adjective”. Boiling means extremely hot. The
temperature cannot be a little bit boiling or very boiling because the
word itsel means extremely hot.

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The adjective. Order in English.

Source: isl

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Attributive and predicative adjectives.
Most adjectives can be used in two positions, before or after the noun
they modify. If they are used before it, they are called attributive:
• My brown dog.
• Some long curtains.
• A beautiful blackbird.

If the adjective is used after a verb such as be, become, grow, look or
seem and sometimes appear, smell, sound, taste and turn they are
called predicative.
• Her future looked gloomy.
• That smells awful.
• It became darker.
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Attributive and predicative adjectives.

There are some adjectives that can only appear in one position or the
other.
• James was alone that day. (predicative)
• I saw an alone man* (it cannot be used in the attributive
position)
• It was a mere scratch. (attributive)
• The scratch was mere (it cannot be used in the predicative
position)

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The Adjectival group. Definition.
The adjectival group has an adjective as a headword. Sometimes, the
whole group can be substituted by the headword:
• Michael seemed totally devastated. (…seemed devastated.)
Obviously, the headword can be modified by pre, post-modifiers and
complements.

That was so heavy for us to carry

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 The Adjectival group: functions.

• Pre-modifier in a noun group.

Prodigious memory may explain why he won the International
Mathematical Olympiad.
• Post-modifier in a noun group.
I would like to buy something nice for our homecoming party.
• Pre-modifier in an adjectival group.
Pale pink will make you look professional.
• Complement in a prepositional group.
At last, the baby elephant arrived undamaged.
• Head of a noun group.
The poor do not have access to this service.

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The adverb. Adverbial group.

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Classification of adverbs.
An adverb is a word that describes verbs.

According to their form:

• Simple: one or two syllables.
• Never, soon, later, almost, above, etc.
• Derived: formed by adding affixes to other word classes.
• Quietly, nearby, barely, likewise, anyway, etc.
• Compound: formed by joining words (hyphenated or not)
• Thereafter, sometimes, self-consciously, etc.

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Classification of
adverbs acc. to their
meaning.

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Position of adverbs.

They didn’t go far.

She entered the room quietly. She quietly entered the room.
I’ll see you tomorrow. Finally, I arrived on time.
Eve is normally a good student.
That elm tree is absolutely gorgeous.

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Non-gradable adjectives. Practice.

Source: islcollective

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Pred. & attrib. adjectives. Practice.
Adjectives which precede nouns are called attributive adjectives. Certain
adjectives can only appear in the predicate of the sentences, that is they
come after linking verbs.

Source: islcollective

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Position of adverbs. Practice.

1.Our friends must write a test. (also)

2.I was joking. (only)
3.Did you enjoy the flight? (both)
4.Mary watches TV. (hardly) (ever)
5.He drives his car. (carefully)
6.The children play football. (in the garden)
7.We went to the cinema. (yesterday)
8.John fell off the bike. (almost)
9.Her boyfriend will buy her some flowers. (probably)
10.My uncle is moving to Stockholm soon. (definitely)

Hilfen

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Thanks a lot!!!

Albatross (Diomedeidae)

English Grammar– Marta Alda 31

Thanks a lot!!!

Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla japonica)

English Grammar– Marta Alda 32

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