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Adjectives and Adverbs
Introduction
Adjectives and adverbs are called modifiers because they modify or change the quality of other words. Understanding how modifiers function in English sentences can help you build better sentences.
Adjectives tell us more about nouns or pronouns. They can be
- single words, placed before the noun (e.g. The tall man in the corner is my brother) or after a linking verb, such as is, become, appear, seem, feel, sound (e.g. The man is tall). OR
- clauses (who/which-that-clauses), placed after the noun (e.g. The building, which is about a hundred years old, will be pulled down.) (These are covered in the Sentence Structure unit.)
Adverbs tell us more about the verbs, e.g. The new minister dresses neatly;
adjectives, e.g. My brother is very tall); and
other adverbs, e.g. They worked extremely quickly.)
Open the file below. Study the two versions of the same source text, paying careful attention to the underlined adjectives and adverbs and their positions in Version 2. Think about the effect of the addition of these modifiers on the quality of the information.
How well do you use adjectives and adverbs?
Main problems of use
The 12 sentences in the Quiz summarise the main problems related to the use of adjectives and adverbs. You may not have a problem recognising adjectives, but may form adjectives incorrectly.
Regular adjectives can be formed by adding suffixes (endings) to nouns or verbs. Study the underlined adjectives in the following review of a book, paying careful attention to the suffixes in bold:
Focus on Composition by Ann Raimesis an exceptional and innovative composition textbook. Its brilliant and imaginative design and the philosophical theory implicit within it make it a desperately needed book. Its interesting approach to teaching controlled composition, which combines both syntactic and rhetoricalfoci in each lesson and provides intellectual content and challenge, is very successful indeed. Its remarkable appeal also stems from the variety of materials it uses to stimulate thought and writing: reproductions of art, literature, popular culture, journalism and science. |
Other adjective suffixes include: dependent; important; Asian; famous
Look out for the following troublespots:
Adjectives and adverbs - troublespots [view/annotate inline]
Practice
Select the adjective or adverb to complete each sentence.
Word Order and Irregular Forms
Order of Adjectives
In most cases, adjectives are placed before nouns. The problem of order arises when you want to use more than one adjective to modify a noun. Which of the following sounds more natural to you?
a. I bought a small blue Apple laptop yesterday.
b. I bought a small Apple blue laptop yesterday.
c. I bought a blue small Apple laptop yesterday.
The most natural order is Sentence (a). The rules can be quite complicated and there may be some variations.
Click for a web link to one possible Order of Adjectives.
Here it is again in a simple chart with some examples:
Article | Opinion | Size | Shape | Age | Colour | Origin | Material | Purpose | Noun |
| 1. three | large | round | watering | containers | |||||
| 2. a | dirty | old | Chinese | silk | rug | ||||
| 3. a | small | blue | Apple | laptop |
Order of Adverbs: some general guidelines
Adverbs of manner (asks 'how'?): placed after the main verb or entire expression, e.g. The lecturer speaks slowly. (Exception: In two-part verbs like passive forms, the adverb is inserted between the verb 'be' and the past participle, e.g. The house was badly damaged by the hurricane.)
Adverb of degree (asks 'how much'?): placed before the adverb or adjective, e.g. The lecturer speaks very/extremely slowly, but his lectures are hugely popular.
Adverbs of time (asks 'when'?): placed after the main verb or entire expression, e.g. The lecture will be held tomorrow.
Adverbs of frequency (asks 'how often'?): placed before the main verb, e.g. He often/sometimes/usually/never goes to bed late. (Exceptions: in two-part verbs, the adverb is usually placed between the verb 'be' and the main verb, e.g. He has never forgiven his brother.)
Adverbs of comment: placed at the beginning of a sentence, e.g. Unfortunately, he arrived too late for the meeting; Not surprisingly, the proposal met with hostile reactions; Clearly, it is important for a solution to be found quickly.
Practice
Rewrite each sentence by inserting the adverb in brackets appropriately.
1. Former Prime Minister Helen Clarke maintained that her government had delivered on its election promises. (always)
2. There is anyone around. (hardly)
3. Oil prices have fallen under $2 a gallon for the last five years. (never)
4. The visitors were welcomed onto the marae. (warmly)
5. The house has been destroyed by the fire. (completely)
6. Over 500 people were tested for the disease over a three-year period. (regularly)
7. Donations are managed by the Family Trust. (carefully)
8. An alternative solution is required. (clearly)
9. The politicians go to Bellamy's for lunch. (often)
10. In New Zealand, libraries are located in every suburb. (conveniently)
Suggested answers:
1. Former Prime Minister Helen Clarke always maintained that her government had delivered on its election promises.
2. There is hardly anyone around.
3. Oil prices have never fallen under $2 a gallon for five years.
4. The visitors were warmly welcomed onto the marae.
5. The house has been completely destroyed by the fire.
6. Over 500 people were regularly tested for the disease over a three-year period.
7. Donations are carefully managed by the Family Trust.
8. Clearly, an alternative solution is required. (Adverb of comment) OR An alternative solution is clearly required. (Adverb of degree)
9. The politicians often go to Bellamy's for lunch.
10. In New Zealand, libraries are conveniently located in every suburb.
Challenge Tasks
Correct any faulty use of adjectives or adverbs in the bolded expressions.
Review 1
The book is a departure from convention international student handbooks, which tend to be written for students who will be attending a particular institution in one country and mainly focuses on the practical aspects of living and studying there. By contrast, this book is written in a generic way and has a strongly language focus. A clearly rationale for the authors' purpose and target users of the handbook is outlined in the blurb on the back cover. The authors' approach to learning pathways is both innovative and immediately engage. What makes the book access, despite its ambitious coverage, is its clear language and presentation. The content is well-suited to a target audience of young adult learners generally who may be preparing for further academic study. The student text is attractively presented and clear laid out. It will sure appeal to students. I highly would recommend this book for its amazingly comprehensive coverage and its student-centre approach to learning. Priced at only $34.95, it is a real good buy for those heading for overseas study.
Review 2
This most recently book in the Oxford Handbooks for Language teachers series covers many bases. Much of the content includes reading processes and skills as the starting point for discussing the more specifically case of second language readers and their teachers . . . Appropriate for a book about reading, the content includes plenty of previewing and reviewing of topics both within chapters and throughout the text . . . Despite its approach scholarly, there is an emphasis on what teachers can do. In some chapters the instruction implications sections encourage teachers to do the application.
Issues of particular interest to teachers of second language reading start in chapter 3. Chapter 4, "Reading skills," becomes even more specifically. Amongst other points Hudson addresses the difficulty of using what we know about first language reading as the start point for describing subskills for second language readers.
Modified from: Lewis, M. (2007). [Review of the book Teaching second language reading by T. Hudson]. The TESOLANZ Journal, 12, 109-110.
Corrections in italics
Review 1
The book is a departure from conventional international student handbooks, which tend to be written for students who will be attending a particular institution in one country and mainly focus on the practical aspects of living and studying there. By contrast, this book is written in a generic way and has a strong language focus. A clear rationale for the authors' purpose and target users of the handbook is outlined in the blurb on the back cover. The authors' approach to learning pathways is both innovative and immediately engaging. What makes the book accessible, despite its ambitious coverage, is its clear language and presentation.The content is well-suited to a target audience of young adult learners who generally (word order) may be preparing for further academic study. The student text is attractively presented and clearly laid out. It will surely appeal to students. I would highly (word order) recommend this book for its amazingly comprehensive coverage and its student-centred approach to learning. Priced at only $34.95, it is a really good buy for those heading for overseas study.
Review 2
This most recent book in the Oxford Handbooks for Language teachers series covers many bases. Much of the content includes reading processes and skills as the starting point for discussing the more specific case of second language readers and their treachers...Appropriately for a book about reading, the content includes plenty of previewing and reviewing of topics both within chapters and throughout the text....Despite its scholarly approach, (word order) there is an emphasis on what teachers can do. In some chapters the instructional implications sections encourage teachers to do the application.
Issues of particular interest to teachers of second language reading start in chapter 3. Chapter 4, "Reading skills," becomes even more specific. Amongst other points Hudson addresses the difficulty of using what we know about first language reading as the starting point for describing subskills for second language readers.
