Adjectives And Adverbs

What are adjectives?

 Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns
 These words are all adjectives

 A hot day

 A happy camper

 A silly twit
 A big, bloody mess (both “big” and “bloody” modify
“mess”)
 She is creative (“creative” is a subject complement that
follows the linking verb “is”)
 A boring course (present participle used as an adjective
 Adjective vs. Adverb
 An adjective describes or modifies a noun or a
pronoun.
 Adds info about what kind, which one, or how many
 Describes how things look, smell, feel, taste, sound
 An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective,
or another adverb.
 Adds info about how, how much, when, where, or to
what extent.
 Often ends in –ly.
So what are adverbs?
 Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other
adverbs
 Many adverbs end with ly
 Many adverbs answer the question “How?”
 These are adverbs
 Eating quickly (modifying a verb)
 Trying very hard (modifying an adverb)
 A really big show (modifying an adjective)
 Adj. & Adv. With Same Form
 Some adjectives and adverbs have the same
form.
 early, far, fast, hard, high, late, often, past,
right, soon
 The only way to distinguish them is to identify
what they modify.
 Adj: The fast car drove around the curve.
 Adv: The car drove fast around the curve.
 Which one do I use?
 It is critical to identify which word is being
modified in order to determine whether to use
an adjective or an adverb as the modifier.

 I: She runs slow.

 C: She runs slowly.

 I: He is real tall.
 C: He is really tall.
 Recognizing Adjectives & Adverbs
 Many words have both an adjective and adverb form

Adjective Adverb
Happy kids Playing happily
Smooth rock Running smoothly
Good night Eating Well
Efficient workers Working efficiently
Casual dress Dressing casually
Quick meeting Talking quickly
hopeful children Waiting hopefully
Real butter Really hot
 Irregular Adjectives & Adverbs
 Four common adjectives & adverbs have irregular
forms: good, well, bad, badly.
 Good vs. Well
 Good is an adjective, so use it to describe a noun or
pronoun.
 She has a good job.

 Well is an adverb, so use it to describe a verb or an

adjective.
 She writes well.

 (Well can also be used as an adjective when it is

describing someone’s health.)
 I am not well today. (adjective)

 She does not feel well. (adverb)

 Irregular Adjectives & Adverbs
 Bad vs. Badly
 Bad is an adjective, so use it to describe a
noun or pronoun.
 She has a bad reputation.
 Badly is an adverb, so use it to describe a
verb or an adjective.
 He behaved badly in school today.
 Comparatives and Superlatives
 Most adverbs and adjectives also have a
comparative and superlative form
Simple Comparative Superlative
Hot Hotter Hottest
Good Better Best
Exciting More exciting Most exciting
Careful Less careful Least careful

• Use the comparative form to compare two things

Sally is the larger of the twins (not largest)
• Use the superlative form to compare three or more
August was the hottest month of the year
 Double Comparatives
 Don’t use “more” or “most” with –er or –est
 Yesterday was more hotter than today
 That was the most dirtiest story I ever heard
 You are the bestest teacher
Absolute Concepts
 Don’t use comparatives or superlatives with absolute
concepts
 Absolutes have only two possibilities, on or off, yes or
no, with nothing in between
 The most perfect student in the class
 A very unique idea (say “very unusual” instead)
 These words express absolute concepts that cannot
be modified

More priceless Sort of dead

Quite on A little bit pregnant
Very unanimous Extremely perfect
Quite unique Completely anonymous
 Comparative Form
 When comparing two nouns, use the
comparative form of an adjective or adverb.
 If adjective or adverb is one syllable, add –er
to form the comparative.
 I am taller than my mother.
 She is smarter than me.
 Use this same pattern for adjectives that end in
–y, but change the –y to –i before adding –er.
 She is happier than he is.
 That show is funnier than the other one.
 Comparative Form cont.
 If adjective or adverb is more than one syllable,
add the word more to form the comparative.
 I am more impressed with your skills than he is.
 She is even more beautiful than she used to be.

 Follow the guideline and use –er or more, but

never use both!
 I am more taller than my mother.
 That show is more funnier than the other one.
 She is so much more happier than she used to be.
 Superlative Form
 When comparing three or more nouns, use
the superlative form of an adjective or adverb.
 If adjective or adverb is one syllable, add –est
to form the superlative.
 I am the tallest person in my family .
 She is the smartest person in the class.
 Use this same pattern for adjectives that end
in –y, but change the –y to –i before adding –
est.
 She is the happiest person I’ve ever met.
 That show is the funniest sitcom on TV.
 Superlative Form cont.
 If adjective or adverb is more than one
syllable, add the word most to form the
superlative.
 He is the most selfish person in our company.
 She is the most beautiful actress on television.

 Follow the guideline and use –est or most, but

never use both!
 He is the most luckiest person I know.
 That is the most funniest show I have ever seen!
 She is the most happiest person I have ever met!
 Fewer vs. Less
 In the comparative form
 Use less to compare non-count nouns (nouns
that cannot be divided).
 They play less music and more commercials on
the radio than ever before.
 I have less money in my bank account than my
sister has in hers.
 Use fewer to compare count nouns.
 There are fewer students in our class than when
the semester began.
 I have fewer pennies in my jar than my brother
has in his.
Don’t use adjectives when adverbs
are needed
 You did a real nice job
 (an adjective can’t modify another adjective)
 You did a really nice job
 (the adverb “really” modifies “nice”)
 He did good
 He did well or
 He did a good job
 Fuel injection helps the car run efficient
 Fuel injection helps the car run efficiently
 Come quick!
 Come quickly!
 Hopefully, it won’t rain
 (an adverb explains how something will happen
 I hope that it won’t rain
 Don’t use needless adverbs
 Before using any of these words, check to see if they add
anything to the sentence
• Really, very, absolutely, extremely, quite, actually, somewhat, rather
• I am really happy to see you
• Grammar is very boring
• You are absolutely correct
• Her language was extremely crude
• You are quite intelligent
 Context will help you decide whether to retain the
underlined words
 Keep them only if they add to the meaning
Bill Gates is very rich. I hope he gives me some money.
 Most college instructors are poor; their students are very poor.
 Note: the terms “good success” and “real good success”
have been reserved for sports broadcasters; do not use
them
Compound Adjectives
 Two or more adjectives often appear together
separated with commas
 Brad’s tiny, tight swimsuit showed off his hairy belly
• The words “tiny” and “tight” each work separately to
modify “swimsuit”

 Connect the words with a hyphen when they

function together before a noun

 Brad’s gold-plated piercings stood out against his

bright-red sunburn
• “Gold-plated” and “bright-red” are compound
adjectives
 Compound Adjectives
• Do not hyphenate the words when they come after the noun they modify
• Notice the difference in these examples

Brad was well known along the Brad was a well-known jerk
boardwalk (no hyphen) (hyphenated)

His SUV was fully equipped He drove a fully-equipped SUV

Brad worked full time on his Brad was a full-time chick magnet
tan
Misplaced Modifiers
 Put adjectives and adverbs close to the words they
modify
 Notice how the meaning is affected by the improper
placement
 An old pile of clothes is on the floor
 A pile of old clothes is on the floor
 I almost believe you are finished
 I believe you are almost finished
 The winners will only be contacted
 Only the winners will be contacted
 I can’t quite do this as well as Fred
 I can’t do this quite as well as Fred
 Irregular Adjectives & Adverbs
 Comparative and Superlative forms of the
irregular adjectives and adverbs are also
irregular.
 Good & Well have the same comparative &
superlative forms:
 Better (comparative)
 I have a better car than she does. (adjective)
 I feel better today than I did yesterday. (adverb)
 Best (superlative)
 He is the best teacher at Blinn. (adjective)
 I write best when I’m not under pressure. (adverb)
Irregular Adjectives & Adverbs
 Bad & Badly have the same comparative &
superlative forms:
 Worse (comparative)
 She has a worse cold than I do. (adjective)
 She feels worse than I do. (adverb)
 Worst (superlative)
 He had the worst grade in the class. (adjective)
 She feels the worst she has ever felt. (adverb)
 Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Clas
sroom (I-TESL-J)
 iteslj.org/questions/
 Interesting questions for discussions in
Engish lessons.The Art of Conversation · 
Food & Eating · Travel · Free Time & Hobbies
 httphttp://a4esl.org/a/v.html
 http://a4esl.org/q/h/0001/km-adjopps1.html
Opposite