Using Adjectives and Adverbs

Using Adjectives and Adverbs

An adjective describes a noun or pronoun. And adjective tells how many, what kind, or which ones.

How Many? one book, few athletes, three flowers

What Kind? heavy book, strong athletes, colorful flowers

Which Ones? those books, the athletes, other flowers

Adjectives add details to sentences. Adjectives often appear before the words they describe.

The hungry boy ate a huge plate of hot food in four gulps.

The cuddly brown puppy had curled itself into a tight little ball.

Open Ended

________ tree

Open Ended

________ teachers

Open Ended

________ haircut

Open Ended

________ motorcycle

Open Ended

________ elephants

Open Ended

________ fox

Open Ended

________ gloves

Open Ended

________ kitten

Open Ended

________ lemonade

Open Ended

________ movie

You may write a sentence with an adjective that does not come before the noun. The adjective still describes the noun, but it comes after the verb. An adjective often follows a form of the verb be.

• am, is, was, has been, should have been

An adjective may follow other state-of-being verbs.

• look, feel, seem, appear, become

Examples

The runner-up was surprised. He looked shocked.

"I am amazed and speechless," he said.

Open Ended

The trees were ________.

Open Ended

My English teacher seems ________.

Open Ended

Movies about romance are ________.

Open Ended

I would like to drive a car that looks ________.

Open Ended

Tests can be ________.

Exact Adjectives

Help your readers form sharp pictures by using exact adjectives. Avoid general, vague adjectives such as good, nice, bad, and pretty.

Vague: It was a nice day.

Sharper: It was a sunny, breezy day.

Vague: The fruit tasted good.

Sharper: The fruit tasted juicy and fresh.

Vague: Matthew made a pretty collage.

Sharper: Matthew mad a colorful collage.

Open Ended

Write a sharper adjective: My best friend is nice.

Open Ended

Write a sharper adjective: The sky looks nice.

Open Ended

Write a sharper adjective: Write a good sentence.

Open Ended

Write a sharper adjective: The team had a bad game.

Open Ended

Write a sharper adjective: Those flowers are pretty.

An adverb answers questions about or tells more about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs often give details about actions.

Questions That Adverbs Answer

When: Today we'll shop early and eat later.

How: Read slowly and carefully. Write clearly.

How Often: Fees are paid weekly. Check it daily.

Where: Put your umbrella there. We'll go outside.

To What Degree: Amber was extremely worried. Lucky ran too quickly. He was almost lost.

Moving Adverbs

Turtles often move slowly.

Often, turtles move slowly.

Turtles move slowly often.

Let's take a look at page 27!

Let's take a look at page 27!

Multiple Choice

Immediately, the door slammed shut.

• when

• where

Multiple Choice

The bell rings hourly.

• when

• how often

Multiple Choice

Everyone is very busy.

• where

• to what degree

Multiple Choice

The baby smiled happily.

• how

• to what degree

Multiple Choice

We looked everywhere for the keys.

• where

• how often