Pacific Intercontinental College

Las Pinas City, Philippines

TERM PAPER
(ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS)

In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement in EDMGT 604

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH

Submitted by:

GROUP 3 (POLA TEAM)

BATCH 2018

Submitted to:

Ms. Fe L. Mendoza
Instructor

December 15, 2018

 Research Methodology

Upon assigned on the topics, (adjectives and adverbs) the group chopped the lessons/skills and

divided them per school.

Assigned individuals gathered the data using textbooks, dictionaries, internet and others. Lessons

were summarized, exercises were developed and submitted both in soft copy to the leader.

The leader scrutinized the lessons being submitted by everyone before finalizing it. Corrections

on grammar, usage and typographical errors were made.

Lastly, hard copies were made.

 INTRODUCTION

English year by year has been known but to learn English is actually very complex. It covers skills

that must be mastered if someone wants to more success in mastering English, there are four skills in

English learning such as listening, speaking, reading and writing skill.

To improve our vocabulary, we can also learn kinds of word for example noun, verb, adjective

and adverb. We can analyze the function and kind of the word that is in the next. The simple example is

the difference between adjective and adverb. Some students still confused to distinguish between them.

This is due to similarities because some of the adverb can be formed from adjective by adding –ly at the

end.

The distinction between adverbs and adjectives essentially boils down to their respective

functions. This paper contains lessons on adjectives and adverbs with sample exercises to be answered.
 CONCLUSION

Adjectives and Adverbs are descriptive words that allow our sentences to be much

more specific and interesting than they would be without them. The lesson covers the rules for

using adjectives and adverbs correctly, including those used in comparisons.

An adjective describes, or modifies, a noun, or pronoun.

An adverb describes, or modifies, a verb, adjective or other adverb.

 References
https://www.gingersoftware.com

https://www.slideserve.com

https://slideshare.net

www.english-for-students.com

www.grammar.cl

part of speech.org

English Oxford Living Dictionaries

https://grammarist.com

English For All Times 6

English For You and Me 6

Basic English Skill Builders 6

educationquizzes.com

proprofs.com

www.englishpractice.com

https://www.ego4u.com

https://www.kidsworldfun.com

https://usingenglish.com
Characteristics of Adjectives

The following section will give a summary of the most important characteristics of
adjectives. Owing to the limited format of this essay, adjectives will not be presented in the light
of other word categories such as nouns, verbs, and determiners, while adjective phrases will only
be discussed briefly.

Adjectives characteristically describe nouns and pronouns. They denote properties of

objects, persons, places, etc. These properties could concern traits, feelings, nationalities, age,
height and weight, colour, materiality, and form. They can express the worth and value of someone
or something. Every language that has adjectives can express good or bad, large or small, young
or old, and a variety of colours.

1.1. Function, Grade, and Modification

The above-listed traits reveal a semantic outlook of adjectives and what they describe. This
approach does not provide any clarity in deciding whether a word is an adjective or not. A thorough
look at the words distinctive syntactic properties is needed to understand whether it is an adjective
or not. It is the function that words have within word structures that discloses their true nature.
Based on their syntactical properties, common adjectives have three characteristics: function,
grade, and modification.

Function refers to adjectives having attributive and predicative use. There are example for
the following characteristics below.

Examples:

I. an old car black hair good news

II. The car is old. Her hair is black. The news is good.

In example I, the adjective modifies the nouns car, hair, and news. It stands before the noun
as a pre-head modifier. In example II, the adjective functions as a predicative complement within
the structure of the clauses and follows the linking verb. Regarding verbs, adjectives never appear
as predicators, but only as complements.
 Grade refers to adjectives inflecting for grade or creating comparative and superlative
adjective phrases.

1.2. Plain comparative superlative

I. She is tall. She is taller than you. She is the tallest of them all.

Ii. This is useful. This is more useful than that. It is the most useful one.

In examples I, the adjective can be graded, and it displays differences between plain,
comparative, and superlative forms. In examples II, the adjective can be graded within the
adjective phrase and is tagged by more and most.

The third property of adjectives, namely modification, refers to their being modified by
adverbs. The adverbs stand right in front of adjectives.

Example:

too old remarkably tall extremely useful to us

To identify adjectives within sentences, the syntactical view regarding function, grade, and
modification are required. None of these categories exclusively emerges with adjectives and not
every adjective fulfils all the characteristics at once. It is the grouping of more than one of these
traits that evidently identifies adjectives as well as the negative properties of adjectives that
distinguish them from other words. For example, adjectives do not inflect for any tense or numbers
as verbs do. They cannot be modified by adjectives like nouns or pronouns. They mostly do not
take noun phrases as complements.

Dependents in properties of adjectives can be split into complements and modifiers. The
choice of complements depends on head adjective. For example, Afraid of the dark, bent on
revenge, conversant with it and good at chess - where the complements are prepositional phrases.
The preposition could not be * afraid on the dark.

In “glad it was over, uncertain what to do, eager to win and hard to grasp”, we see
subordinate clauses dependent on the adjective.

Adjectives are most commonly modified by adverbs or AdvP; they can also be modified
by determinatives (DET), prepositional phrases (PP), and noun phrases (NP).
Characteristics of Adverbs

The following section summarizes the most important characteristics of the category of
adverbs. Adjectives are not the only delineative words that modify nouns and pronouns; adverbs
modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. As the examples given below, the style of
modification is different:

2.1. Modification of noun modification of verb

i a. a happy family b. They all lived happily ever after.

ii a. a greedy child b. The child devoured it greedily.

iii a. a passionate lover b. They loved each other passionately.

The adjectives happy, greedy, and passionate in Example [a] modify the nouns family,
child, and lover and give a clearer description of the subjects. The adverbs in Example [b]—
happily, greedily, and passionately— modify the verbs lived, devoured, and loved and give a more
exact description of them. As shown in the examples, most adverbs are morphologically derived
from adjectives by adding the suffix –ly.

A distinctive characteristic of adverbs is that they cannot take the place of adjectives as the
pre-head modifiers of a noun. Another example is shown below.

i a. a virtual disaster b. *his almost death [noun]

Example [a] displays that the adjective virtual modifies the noun disaster. The sentence is
grammatically correct. In Example [b], the adverb almost tries to modify the noun death. However,
this sentence is ungrammatical.

When it comes to other categories of words, adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and adverbs,
as shown in the following examples below.

ii a. It virtually evaporated b. He almost died [verb]

iii a. It was virtually impossible. b. He was almost dead [adjective]

iv a. He spoke virtually inaudibly. b. He was wounded almost fatally [adv]

 In [iia+b], the adverbs virtually and almost modify the verb evaporated and died; they, in
fact, give a clearer description of the verbs and their states. In [iiia+b], the adverbs virtually and
almost modify the adjectives impossible and dead and emphasize the adjectives’ description.
Adverbs stress or weaken the meaning of adverbs and deepen the understanding of statements. In
[iva+b], the adverbs virtually and almost modify the adverbs inaudibly and fatally and highlight
that the latter adverbs modify the verbs spoke and was wounded.

Dependents in properties of adverb can be split into complements and modifiers. Some
adverbs with the –ly suffix licence complements as shown by the following example below.

ii Happily for the boys, the class was cancelled.

Most modifiers are ADvPs:

i She sang very well;

I did it rather hurriedly; and

He spoke remarkably clearly.

In all the three examples, the head adverb of the AdvP is modified by an adverb, but can
also be modified by determiners, prepositional phrases, and noun phrases.
The Distinction Between Adjective and Adverb

1. Morphological Distinction
Adjectives and adverbs are describing words; the former describes a noun or pronoun;
the latter, a verb, adjective, or other adverb. Here, you will learn how to use these words with
skill and confidence so you will never again face the dreaded bad/well dilemma.

1.1. Three Degrees of Separation

Often, you want to compare things rather than just describe them. Adjectives
and adverbs have different forms to show degrees of comparison. We even have a
name for each of these forms of degree: Positive, comparative, and superlative.
Positive Degree – the base form of adjective and adverb. It does not show
comparison.
Comparative Degree – the form of an adjective and adverb takes to compare
two things.
Superlative Degree – the form of an adjective or adverb takes to compare three
or more things.
The following table shows the three degrees of comparison with some sample
of adjectives and adverbs.
Part of Speech Positive Comparative Superlative
Adjective Low Lower Lowest
Adjective Big Bigger Biggest
Adjective Fat Fatter Fattest
Adverb Highly More highly Most highly
Adverb Widely More widely Most widely
Adverb Easily More easily Most easily

As you can see from the table, the comparative and superlative degrees of
adjectives and adverbs are formed differently. Here’s how:
1. All adverbs that end in –ly form their comparative and superlative degree
with more and most.
 2. Avoid using more and most when they sound awkward, as in “more soon
than I expected”. In general, use –er/-est with one- and two- syllable
modifiers.
3. When a word has three or more syllables, use more and most to form the
comparative and superlative degree.

Note that, less and fewer cannot be interchanged. Less refers to amounts that form a
whole or cannot be counted (less money, less filling), while fewer refers to items that
can be counted (fewer coins, fewer chalories).

1.2. Size Does Not Matter

Now that you know how to form the comparisons with adjectives and adverbs,
follow these guidelines to make theses comparison correct.

1. Use the comparative form degree (-er or more form) to compare two things.
Example:
Your memory is better than mine.
Donald Trump is more successful than Donald Duck, Don Ameche,
or Don Ho.
2. Use the superlative form (-est or most) to compare three or more things.
Example:
This is the largest room in the house.
This is the most awful meeting.
3. Never use –er and more or –est and most together. One or the other will do
the trick nicely.
Example:
NO: This is the more heavier brother.
YES: This is the heavier brother.
NO: He is the most heaviest brother.
YES: He is the heaviest brother.
1.3. Good, Gooder, Goodest: Irregular Adjectives and Adverbs
 Of course, life can’t be that easy in the land of adjectives and adverbs. A few
adjectives and adverbs don’t follow these rules. They sneer at them, going their own
separate ways. Like errant congressmen, the’re just no predicting what these adjectives
and adverbs will do next.
The following table shows that most common irregular adjectives and adverbs.
Positive Comparative Superlative

Better Best
Good

Better Best
Well

Worse Worst
Bad

Worse Worst
Badly

Farther Farthest
Far

Further Furthest
Far

Later Later or latest

Late

Less Least
Little (amount)

More Most
Many

More Most
Much

More most
Some

Note that, irregular adjective or adverb use, like much of life, is the result of accidents. In
this case, it arose from the way the language formed. Good, for instance, has Indo-European roots;
worse and worst, in contrast, originated in Old English.
 ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words that describe, identify, or quantify nouns and pronouns. They are tools for

answering questions such as “Which”, “How many”, and “What kind”,. This part of speech is also

distinctive among other word classes for comparative and superlative forms.

Examples:

1. They live in a beautiful house.

2. Linda’s hair is gorgeous.

3. I met a homeless person in NY.

Underline all the adjectives in the paragraph.

Many unusual objects have been used as money at one time or another.

On the island of Yap on the South Pacific, huge, heavy stones served as money.

Feathers were the medium of exchange in the New Hebrides. For centuries, the

natives of Ethiopia used salt for money. For a long time, there was a tax on salt in

India. The North American Indians used wampum which were beads made of

shells. Some Indian tribes today make and sell beautiful wampum belts.
 KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
1. Determiners
2. Demonstrative
3. Indefinite
4. Possessive
5. Interrogative
6. Cardinal
7. Ordinal
8. Descriptive
9. Attributive
10. Predicative

DEMONSTRATIVE- point out nouns always followed by the nouns which they point out.

Examples:
This car, that road, these men, those children, such things

I used to like this kind of bag.

Can you just pick those toys you played just now?
These collections have been here since 1992.

DETERMINER/S – a, an, the

Examples:

a gorilla a computer
an umbrella an apple
the mosquitos the teacher

INTERROGATIVE ADJECTIVES- ask questions. They are always followed by a noun.

Wh + noun

Examples:

Which book are you reading?

Whose pen are you using?
What show are you watching?

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES-show possession. They are always followed by a noun.

Examples:
my friend their things our friends his shoes
her mother my love your brother its tail
CARDINAL ADJECTIVES-a number such as one, two, three is used in simple counting and shows quantity.
They are followed by a noun.

Examples:
One menu twenty marbles six crayons

ORDINAL ADJECTIVES-a number that is used to show the position of someone in a series.

Examples:
First place fifth runner up 22nd anniversary

INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES-used when the sentence has nothing to point out or specify. Both, few, many,
several, many, numerous, various.

Examples:
I heard many people made the same promise.
Several children like dinosaurs.
Various artists performed at the Philippine Arena.

DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVE
 Touch as adjective: slippery, sticky
 Sizes as adjectives: big, small, thin, thick
 Origin as adjectives: European, Latin, Greek
 Shapes as adjectives: triangular, rectangular, square, circular
 Qualities as adjectives: good, bad, average,
 Time as adjectives: yearly, monthly
 Age as adjectives: young, ancient, old
 Opinions as adjectives: pretty, hot
 Body-fat, fleshy, heavy, slender, slim, stout
 Body, female-curvaceous, curvy, slender, lush
 Body,male-burly, hard, lean, muscular, powerful
 Eyes-beady, clear, cold, dancing, fiery, glowing, twinkling, sparkling

PREDICATIVE ADJECTIVES-follow a linking verb and placed AFTER a noun.

Examples:
The bag is heavy.
That child is young.
Lara smells good.

ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES-placed BEFORE a noun.

Examples:
the blue sea the old man happy children
 TYPES OF ADJECTIVES
Before the adjectives you will normally have the Determiner.

1. Determiner--the determiner tells us if the noun is singular of plural, definite or indefinite.

 A, an, the, my, your, four, those, some, etc.

2. Opinion—explains what we think about something. This is usually our opinion, attitude or
observations. These adjectives almost always come before all other adjectives.
 Beautiful, boring, stupid, delicious, useful, lovely, comfortable

3. Size—tells us how big or small something is.

 Big, small, tall, huge, tiny

4. Shape/Weight/Length—tells about the shape of something or how long or short it is. It

can also refer to the weight of someone or something.
 Round, square, circular, skinny, fat, heavy, straight, long, short

5. Condition—tells us the general condition or state of something

 Broken, cold, hot, wet, hungry, rich, easy, difficult, dirty

6. Age—tells us how old someone or something is.

 Old, young, new, ancient, antique

7. Colour—the colour or approximate colour of something

 Green, white, blue, reddish, purple

8. Pattern—the pattern or design of something.

 Striped, spotted, checked, flowery

9. Origin—tells us where something is from.

 American, British, Italian, Eastern, Australian, Chilean

10. Material—what is the thing made of or constructed of?

 Gold, wooden, silk, paper, synthetic, cotton

11. Purpose/Qualifier/Use—what is it for? These adjectives often end in –ing.

 Sleeping (bag), gardening (gloves), shopping (bag), wedding (dress)
WHICH TYPE OF ADJECTIVE IS THE WORD IN CAPITALS?

1. The BRAVE few fought the war.

2. In the last FEW days, SEVERAL animals were shot by MANY poachers.
3. He was asked to take possession of MY cycle.
4. The students were caught cheating and the teacher confiscated THEIR answer papers.
5. If he sees THAT burglar again, he will call the police.
6. Dog collars will be given to THOSE dogs that are trained.
7. He was asked to spot the car that crashed and he identified the RED one.
8. I have seen SOME biscuits in the box.
9. Can you see THAT plane?
10. Did you see ANY person come on this road?
 HOW CAN WE USE ADJECTIVES?

1. An adjective can come before a noun. If the noun is singular, use a/an or the before the
adjective.

e.g. I own an antique violin.

My mother gave me a big hug.

2. Adjectives have only one form. Use the same adjective with singular and plural nouns.

e.g. a lovely bracelet. Two lovely bracelets

3. An adjective can come after (be). When two adjectives come after be, separate them with
(and).

e.g. My fathers’s expression is wise and serious.

4. Nouns can also function as adjectives.

e.g. a rose garden

5. When a noun functions as an adjective, it is always singular.

e.g. two kitchen tables

 You can use (be + noun) or (noun phrase) to identify or define something, or to describe
occupations and relationships.
 Identifying------it is a map.
 Describing occupations-----he is a writer.
 Describing relationships----we are classmates.

Be with adjectives
Subject Be Adjective
I am healthy.
am not
He is athletic.
She is not
You are young.
We are not
They
 Be with nouns

Subject Be Noun Phrase

I am an honest person.
am not
He is a dancer.
She is not
You are brothers.
We are not
They
 CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word which describes or limits a substantive.
An adjective is said to belong to the substantive which it describes or limits.
An adjective which describes is called a Descriptive adjective.

An adjective which points out or designates is called a definitive adjective.

Most adjectives are descriptive such as…round, cold, red, angry, graceful, excessive, young,
sudden, Roman.

Note: Many descriptive adjectives are compound adjectives such as ---steadfast, lionlike,
fireproof, downright, heartsick, everlasting, brown-eyed, broad-shouldered, ill-tempered, dear-
bought, far-fetched, never-ending, self-evident, self-important.

1. He was a matter-of-fact person.

2. Tom is hail-fellow-well-met with everybody.
3. This is an out-of-the-way place.
4. A dashing, down-at-the-heel youth answered my knock.

A proper noun used as an adjective or an adjective derived from a proper noun is called a
proper adjective and usually begins with a capital letter.

Examples:
a Panama hat Virginian Icelandic
Florida oranges Spenserian Miltonic
a Bunsen burner Newtonian Byronic
Turkish English Veronese

Note: Many so-called proper adjectives begin with a small letter because their origin is
forgotten or disregarded such as……
china dishes a saturnine expression
italic type a mercurial temperament
mesmeric power a stentorian voice
a jovial air

Definitive adjectives include pronouns used as adjectives

(as, this opportunity, those pictures, either table and what time is it?)

Numeral adjectives (as, two stars, the third year) and the articles….a (or an) and the.

Pronouns used as adjectives (often called pronominal adjectives) have been studied under
Pronouns demonstratives, indefinites, relatives and interrogatives.
Numeral adjectives will be treated, along with other numerals (nouns and adverbs).
Adjectives may be classified according to their position in the sentence as attributive, adjectives,
appositive adjectives and predicate adjectives.

An attributive adjective is closely attached to its noun and regularly precedes it.

The angry spot doth glow on Cesar’s brow.

O! You hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome!
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look.

An appositive adjective is added to its noun to explain it, like a noun in apposition.

Noun in Apposition:

The castle, a ruin, stood on the edge of the cliff.

Bertram, the ringleader, refused to surrender.

Appositive Adjective:
The castle, ancient and ruinous, stood on the edge of the cliff.
Bertram, undaunted, refused to surrender.

A predicate adjective completes the meaning of the predicate verb, but describes or limits
the subject.

Predicate adjectives are common after is (in its various forms) and other copulative verbs,
particularly become and seem.

1. The sea is rough today.

2. Burton soon became cautious in his judgments.
3. You seem anxious about your future.
4. The air grew hot and sultry.
5. Our first experiment proved unsuccessful.
6. The milk turned sour.
7. Our agent proved trustworthy.

Note: The construction of the predicate adjective is similar to that of the predicate nominative.
Both are known as complements, because they complete the meaning of a verb.

After look, sound, taste, smell, feel, a predicate adjective is used to describe the subject. Thus:
1. Your flowers look thrifty.
2. Their voice sound shrill.
3. This apple tastes sweet.
4. The air smells good.
5. The patient feels comfortable.
CLASSIFY THE ADJECTIVE IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. My father has bought a new car.

2. There aren’t many people at the cinema.
3. Which sari do you want?
4. Ramesh is a clever boy.
5. Here are some grapes.
6. Every word of her story is false.
7. Neither boy has done his homework.
8. That girl won the second prize.
9. There are tall trees on either side of the road.
 POSITION OR ORDER OF ADJECTIVES
Here is a chart that shows the main word order for adjectives in English:

The general order of adjectives before a noun is the following:

Opinion Size Shape Condition Age Color Pattern Origin Material Purpose Noun
ugly small thin dirty old red striped Italian cotton sleeping bag
beautiful long white French silk wedding dress
large broken ancient Greek clay flower vase

OPINION—attitude/observations

Delicious, lovely, nice, cool

SIZE—size/height

Big, small, tall, huge, tiny

SHAPE—shape/weight/length

Round, square, long, fat

CONDITION—condition/state

Clean, wet, rich, hungry

AGE—how old is it?

Old, young, new, antique

COLOUR—colour/approximate colour

Green, blue, reddish, purple

PATTERN—pattern/design

Spotted, checked, flowery, zigzag

ORIGIN—where is it from?

American, British, Arabic, Turkish

MATERIAL—what is it made of?

Gold, wooden, plastic, synthetic

PURPOSE—what is it used for?

Gardening, shopping, riding

 Before adjectives + noun we normally have a determiner: -a, an, the, my, your, her, this, those,
some, etc.

IMPORTANT: The order of adjectives before a noun is not fixed.

This chart is only offered as a guide and is the order that is preferred.

You may see or hear slight variations of the order of adjectives in real life through what appears
in the chart above is order that is expected the most.
Arrange the adjectives properly.

1. My sister brought home (cute, Siamese, five) cats.

2. I have never been to (unknown, some, places, dangerous).
3. Somebody sent me (roses, a, red, dozen, long-stemmed).
4. A pack of (chocolate, delicious, freshly-baked) cookies makes me hungry.
5. (short, interesting, two, stories) won the story writing contest.
6. (brave, six, soldiers, young) received the medal.
7. Her (last, wishes, three) were granted.
8. That (dark, man, tall) looks mysterious.
9. I gave her (a, sparkling, ten-carat, diamond, ring).
10. (red, one, apple) a day is what the doctor advised.

Are the adjectives arranged properly? If not, rewrite the sentence to make it
correct.

1. The first five star players of the team sat down to rest.
2. Our teacher told us to bring multicolored two dozen popsicle sticks.
3. I eat delicious red one Fuji apple every night before I go to bed.
4. The cute furry Siamese cat looks at me lovingly.
5. The long-legged woman Indian won the Ms. Universe title.
6. I am looking forward to hot summer days in the beach.
7. My mother bought a kilo of yellow juicy mangoes.
8. My friends closest longtime prepared a surprise party for me.
9. I dread for the long hot summer days.
10. Malnourished many children need our help.
 WHAT ARE THE DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES?

There are only three degrees or levels of adjectives (also known as degrees of
comparison) namely, positive, comparative, and superlative. When you talk about or describe
only a single person, place, or thing, you should use the positive degree.

Examples:

She is a beautiful lady.

It was a memorable trip.

If on the other hand, you are comparing two persons, places, or things, it is appropriate
to use the comparative degree of the word. Normally, you will need to add “-er” to transform
the word into its comparative form or add the word “more.” Also, the word “than” should be
added after the adjective in the comparative degree.

Examples:

This swimming pool is bigger than that one.

Ashley is more intelligent than Aldrin.

 Note: For words ending in “y,” you should first change the “y” into “I,” and then add
“-er”

Examples:

Lovely-lovelier
Pretty-prettier
Tasty-tastier

Lastly, if you are comparing more than two things, the superlative form of the adjectives should
be used and the word “the” should be added before the adjective. In order to transform the adjective
into its superlative form, you just have to add the suffix “-est” or the word “most.”

Examples:

That is by far, the tallest tree I have ever seen in my entire life.
This is the most crucial match of the season.

 Note: For words ending in “y,” you should first change the “y” into “I,” and then add “-
est”

Examples:

Lovely-loveliest
Pretty-prettiest
Tasty-tastiest
Fill in the blanks using the adjectives in the parentheses.

1. Baguio is ____________ than Manila. (cold)

2. The Grade one room is the ____________of all the rooms. (clean)

3. The coconut tree is ___________ than a banana plant. (tall)

4. My grandmother is ninety years old. She is the _____ woman in our barangay. (old)

5. My baby brother is the ___________ among the three babies. (healthy)

Use more or most in the following sentences.

1. Bella is ___________ attentive than Annie.

2. Some boys are ____________ intelligent than the girls.

3. Lucy is the _____________ helpful among my classmates.

4. Danny got a grade of 95 for in Science for being the ___________ industrious.

5. Allen said, “Mangoes are ______________ delicious than guavas.”

FILL IN THE CORRECT FORM OF ADJECTIVES:

1. London is not the ____________ city in the world. (expensive)

2. The DLR is ____________ than the bus. (fast)
3. Our school isn’t as _____________ as the Tower. (famous)
4. The people in London are the ___________ in the country (polite).
5. Lily’s room isn’t as _________ big as Jake’s room. (big)
6. The buses in London aren’t as ______ Dad’s taxi. (clean)
7. This is the _____________ pizza in London! (awful)
8. The cows on the farm were ___________ than the sheep. (loud)
9. Lily’s present from Lucy was the ______________ present. (special)
10. Ben had three hamburgers. He was the ____________ boy in the class. (hungry)
FILL IN THE CORRECT ADVERB FORM (COMPARATIVE OR SUPERLATIVE) OF THE ADJECTIVES IN
BRACKETS.

1. I speak English (fluent) ________ now than last year.

2. She greeted me (polite) _________ of all.
3. She smiled (happy) ______ than before.
4. This girl dances (graceful)____________ of all.
5. Could you write (clear) _____________?
6. Planes can fly (high) _______ than birds.
7. He had an accident last year. Now, he drives (careful) ________ than before.
8. Jim can run (fast) ___________ than John.
9. Our team played (bad) __________ of all.
10. He worked (hard) _______ than ever before.
 FORMING ADJECTIVES
Typical adjective endings

Some adjectives can be identified by their endings. Typical adjective endings include:

Examples:

1. –able/-ible understandable, capable, readable, incredible

2. –al mathematical, functional, influential, chemical
3. –ful beautiful, bashful, helpful, harmful
4. –ic artistic, manic, rustic, terrific
5. –ive submissive, intuitive, inventive, attractive
6. –less sleeveless, hopeless, groundless, restless
7. –ous gorgeous, dangerous, adventurous, fabulous

Sometimes when adding these endings changes have to be made. Here are some rules for forming
adjectives and their exceptions:

ADD EXCEPTIONS WORD ADJECTIVE

-al If ending with an ‘e’, nature natural
drop it function functional
-y If ending with an ‘e’, ice icy
drop it oil oily
-ful If ending with a ‘y’, beauty beautiful
replace with an ‘I’ peace peaceful
-ous/-ious If ending with a ‘y’, mystery mysterious
drop it danger dangerous
-ic If ending with a ‘y’, history historic
drop it rusty rustic

FORMING ADJECTIVES FROM NOUNS AND VERBS

Adjectives can be formed from different words. They can be formed:

From nouns:

NOUN ADJECTIVE
Accident Accidental
Danger Dangerous
Length Long
Star Starry
wind windy
From verbs:

VERB ADJECTIVE
enjoy enjoyable
help helpful
obey obedient
play playful
talk talkative

Or even form other adjectives:

ADJECTIVE ADJECTIVE
comic comical
correct corrective
elder elderly
red reddish
sick sickly

Examples of forming adjectives:

1. Our house color is a kind of yellow---We live in a yellowish house.

2. He often acts like a child.---He often acts in a childish way.
3. The event was a big success.--- We enjoyed a successful event.
4. We enjoyed the sound of the drum’s rhythm---We enjoyed the drum’s rhythmic sound.
5. She adopted a dog without a home.--- She adopted a homeless dog.
6. Look out, that is poison.---Look out for that poisonous plant.
7. It looks like it will rain today.---It looks like we’ll have rainy weather today.
8. She always acts with courtesy.---She always behaves in a courteous manner.
9. Her hair is pretty.---She has the prettiest hair.
10. We go for a walk each day.---We go for a daily walk.
FORMING ADJECTIVES EXERCISES

1. Choose the adjective from each of the following group of words:

a. Inventive, invent, invented
b. Curiosity, curious, curiosive
c. Proliferate, prolific, proud
2. Form adjectives from the following nouns: smell, chill, width
3. Form adjectives from the following verbs: interested, amazed, annoyed
4. Form adjectives from the following verbs. Some words may be formed into more than
one adjective: escape, improve, damage
5. Form longer adjectives from the following adjectives. Some words may be formed into
more than one adjective: funny, incorrect, blue
6. Form adjectives from the following nouns: magic, fool, lady
7. Form two adjectives from each of the following nouns: life, power, friend
8. Form adjectives from each of the following nouns: cost, war, month
9. Form adjectives from each of the following nouns: poison, courtesy, mystery
10. Form adjectives from each of the following nouns: athlete, photograph, science
 CATEGORIES OF ADJECTIVES

1. Determining adjectives
Also called limiting adjectives. These are words that are generally classed in the
family of determiners, and are dealt with elsewhere: there is a limited number
of these words. They are not notably possessive adjectives (such as my, their),
numerals and quantifiers (such as one, two, three, every, many), demonstrative
adjectives (such as this or that), interrogative adjectives (such as which).

2. Descriptive adjectives, which can be either qualifying adjectives or classifying adjectives

a. Qualificative or qualifying adjectives, such as big, nice, complicated which express the
passing or perceived qualities of a noun

b. Classifying adjectives (including absolute adjectives) such as married, second, hydraulic,

unique, dead which express permanent qualities or absolutes.

Many adjectives can be used either as qualifying adjectives, or as classifying adjectives,

depending on the context. Take the example of the adjective.

Examples:

1. My car is very old (qualifying, with a noun)

2. He is old (qualifying, with a pronoun)
3. The old computer was much quieter than the new model (classifying)
 TWO-WORD ADJECTIVES

Two words form these adjectives, thus they are called two-word adjectives. Study the

combination of words in a two-word adjective.

1. A number word and a singular noun,

2. An adverb and a past participle form of the verb,

3. An adjective and a verb; a hyphen (-) joins the words in a two-word adjective

Examples:

1. A number word and a singular noun combination

a. I watch the sixty-second news report everyday.

b. A new twelve-storey building is being constructed near our house.

c. Our teacher required us to submit a five-page book report.

2. An adverb and a past participle form of verb combination

a. I received a finely-woven coat for a gift.

b. Pops is well-dressed singer.

3. An adjective and a verb combination

a. My mother told me to stay away from strange-looking men.

b. Mrs. Zuniega is a good-looking fellow.

Underline the two-word adjective in each sentence.

1. Leslie is a fine-looking girl.

2. The pianist received a fifteen-minute standing ovation for his performance.

3. I am looking forward to a thirty-day vacation.

4. We just bought a hundred-square meter property in Batangas.

5. My teacher is so thankful for her well-disciplined pupils.

Change the following to phrases with two-word adjectives.

1. A baby who is two years old

2. A house with four bedrooms

3. A book with one hundred pages

4. A show which lasted for two hours

5. A perfume that smells sweet

Form two-word adjectives based on the following phrases:

1. (looking fine) man

2. (dressed well) lady

3. (length of ten meters) wire

4. (long legs) animal

5. (behaving well) children

 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.

Examples:

He runs quickly.

She walks slowly.

He’s happily chattering over there in the corner.

 FUNCTIONS OF AN ADVERB
Adverb phrases including adverbs perform eight main grammatical functions within the
sentences in the English language.

The eight functions are:

 Adverb phrase head

 Adjective phrase modifier
 Adverb phrase modifier
 Verb phrase modifier
 Prepositional phrase modifier
 Adjunct adverbial
 Disjunct adverbial
 Conjunct adverbial
2. ADVERBS AS ADVERB PHRASE HEADS
The first grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adverb phrase head. An
adverb phrase consists of an adverb plus any modifiers. For example, the following
italicized adverbs function as adverb phrase heads:

 Quickly
 Quietly
 However
 Unfortunately
 Amazingly fast
 Deceptively well
 Very loudly
 Rather insultingly

3. ADVERB PHRASE AS ADJECTIVE PHRASE MODIFIERS

The second grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adjective phrase modifier.
An adjective phrase modifier is a word or phrase that modifies or describes an adjective
or adjective phrase. For example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases
function as adjective phrase modifiers:

 The boldly brave toddler climbed onto the table.

 Your newborn baby daughter is very tiny.
 Students who are clearly sick may not attend class.
4. ADVERB PHRASES AS ADVERB PHRASE MODIFIERS
The third grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adverb phrase modifier. An
adverb phrase modifier is a word or phrase that modifies or describes an adverb or
adverb phrase. For example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases
function as adverb phrase modifiers.

 The music from next door is blaring extremely loudly.

 Olympic runners can sprint very quickly.

5. ADVERB PHRASES AS VERB PHRASE MODIFIERS

The fourth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the verb phrase modifier. A
verb phrase modifiers is word or phrase that modifies or describes a verb or verb
phrase. For example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as
verb phrase modifiers:

 My pets wake promptly at sunrise.

 She would not testify against her attacker.
 Residents must quickly and quietly exit the building during the fire drill.

6. ADVERB PHRASES AS PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE MODIFIERS

The fifth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the verb phrase modifier. A verb
phrase modifiers is word or phrase that modifies or describes a verb or verb phrase. For
example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as verb phrase
modifiers:

 You seem rather under the weather.

 Your drawing looks very much like a dog.
 His directions are not very much clear.

7. ADVERB PHRASES AS ADJUNCT ADVERBIALS

The sixth grammatical function that adverbs perform is the adjunct adverbial. An
adjunct adverbial is a word, phrase or clause that modifies or describes an entire clause
by providing additional information about time, place, manner, condition, purpose,
reason, result and concession. For example, the following italicized adverbs and adverb
phrases function as adjunct adverbials:

 Stubbornly, the little girl refused to eat her vegetables at dinner.

 Eagerly, my baby brother told me what he wanted for Christmas.
8. ADVERB PHRASES AS DISJUNCT ADVERBIALS
The seventh grammatical function that adverbs perform is the disjunct adverbial. A
disjunct adverbial is word or phrase that provides additional information to frame an
entire clause. A disjunct adverbial denotes the attitude of the speaker toward or
judgment of the proposition such as truthfulness of manner of speaking. For example,
the following italicized adverbs and adverb phrases function as disjunct adverbials:

 Truthfully, adverbs are not one of my favorite grammatical forms.

 Surprisingly, none of the children failed the test.

9. ADVERB PHRASES AS CONJUNCT ADVERBIALS

The eighth grammatical function adverbs perform is the conjunct adverbial. A conjunct
adverbial is a word or phrase that expresses a textual relationship. A conjunct adverbial
serves to link two or more clauses. For example, the following italicized adverbs and
adverb phrases function as conjunct adverbials:

 First, wash your hands.

 Noun phrases and prepositional phrases, however, can also function as
adverbials.
 Do you like to write about grammar, []’
 too?
 TYPES OF ADVERB

1. Adverbs of Frequency

Always, sometimes, never, usually, occasionally, seldom, rarely, hardly, ever

I always brush my teeth after dinner.

I never swim in the cold ocean water.

2. Adverbs of Manner

Carefully, slowly, badly, closely, easily, fast, quickly

She ran quickly.

James drive carefully.

3. Adverbs of Time and Place

Here, outside, upstairs, yesterday, then, tomorrow, recently, already, soon

We’ll leave tomorrow.

I live here.
The students have already finished their assignment.

4. Adverbs of Degree

Very, extremely, rather, almost, absolutely, barely, completely

The girl is very beautiful.

The tea is extremely hot.
The teacher has almost finished her lecture.

5. Adverbs of Quantity

A few, a lot, much

When I was a student, I studied a lot.

6. Adverbs of Attitude

Fortunately, apparently, clearly, unfortunately

Clearly, he doesn’t know what he is doing.

Unfortunately, there is no more room.
 7. Conjunctive Adverbs

Also, meanwhile, consequently, nevertheless, finally, next, furthermore, otherwise,

however, still, indeed, then, instead, therefore, likewise, thus

Sean went into the store, however, he didn’t find anything she wanted to buy.
Philip kept talking in class, therefore, he got in trouble.

IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES UNDERLINE THE ADVERBS AND STATE THEIR

KIND.

1. The girl sang sweetly.

2. What is he doing outside.
3. He practices cricket everyday.
4. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
5. The old woman was walking slowly.
6. The kittens are playing there.
7. Children usually rush about.
8. The girls danced gracefully.
9. She has travelled everywhere.
 GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS USED FOR
COMPARING ADVERBS

There are three forms of comparison:

 Positive
 Comparative
 Superlative

1. Comparison with –er/-est

Hard – harder-(the) hardest

We use –er/-est with the following adverbs:

1.1. All adverbs with one syllable

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

fast faster fastest
high higher highest

1.2. The adverbs early

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

early earlier earliest

2. Comparison with more-most

Adverbs ending on –ly (except: early)

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

carefully more carefully (the) most carefully

3. Irregular adverbs

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

Well Better Best
Badly Worse worst
much more most
 Fill in the blank: more/less, most/least

1. This years’s sales ended _________________ merrily than last year.

2. The antique vase is the _________________ admired collection among all the displays.

3. Rica smiles ____________ sweetly than Edna.

4. The old jar is the _________________ admired, but it is the _____________ attractive piece

for me.

5. Everybody admired all the collections, except for the brown plate from India which I found

the _______________ interesting.

Write in the blank the correct form of the adverb.

1. Good-better-best

You are a _____________ writer, but Elsa writes ___________ than you.
Edna writes the ___________ among us.
2. Much-more-most
Mother poured _________ sugar in her coffee. Father poured _________ sugar so his
coffee is sweeter than mother’s coffee.
Rita poured the ___________ sugar that she can’t drink her coffee anymore.
3. Little-less-least
The fisherman caught __________ fishes. They caught ________ fish than last year. They
hope that this year’s catch will not be the _________.
4. Bad-worse-worst
Dante feels _________ about his stage performance, but it is his mother who feels
__________. Sad to say, the director feels the ___________ of the three.
5. Well-better-best
 Who among the three woman dress the ___________? I think Lita dresses __________
than Edna. Well, I think they all dress ____________.

FILL IN THE CORRECT ADVERB FORM (COMPARATIVE OR SUPERLATIVE) OF THE ADJECTIVES IN

BRACKETS.

1. I speak English (fluent) ________ now than last year.

2. She greeted me (polite) _________ of all.
3. She smiled (happy) ______ than before.
4. This girl dances (graceful)____________ of all.
5. Could you write (clear) _____________?
6. Planes can fly (high) _______ than birds.
7. He had an accident last year. Now, he drives (careful) ________ than before.
8. Jim can run (fast) ___________ than John.
9. Our team played (bad) __________ of all.
10. He worked (hard) _______ than ever before.
 FORMING ADVERBS
Many adverbs are formed from adjectives and end in –ly. Here are some tips to help you form
adverbs and spell them correctly.

 The basic rule is that –ly is added to the end of the adjective.

Adjective Adverb

Quick quickly
Sudden suddenly
Straightforward straightforwardly

 If the adjective has two syllables and ends in –y, then you need to replace the final –y with –ily.

Adjective Adverb

Happy happily
Hungry hungrily
Lazy lazily

 If the adjective ends with a consonant followed by –le, replace the final –e with –y on its own:

Adjective Adverb

Terrible terribly
Comfortable comfortably
Incredible incredibly

 Adjectives that end in –ly, such as friendly or lively, can’t be made into adverbs by adding –ly.
You have to use a different form of words.

e.g. in a friendly way or in a lively way

 ADVERBS AND ADVERB PHRASES: POSITION
We can put adverbs and adverb phrases at the front, in the middle or at the end of a clause.

The front position of the clause is the first item in the clause:

Suddenly I felt afraid.

Yesterday detectives arrested a man and a woman in connection with the murder.

The end position of the clause is the last item in the clause:

Why do you always have to east so fast?

The mid position is between the subject and the main verb:

Apples always taste best when you pick them straight off the tree.

When there is more than one verb, mid position means after the first auxiliary verb or after a
modal verb:

The government has occasionally been forced to change its mind. (after the first
auxiliary verb)

We mightn’t ever have met. (after the modal verb and before the auxiliary verb)

In questions, mid position is between the subject and the main verb:

Do you ever think about living there?

Adverbs usually come after the main verb be, except in emphatic clauses:

She’s always late for everything.

When be is emphasized, the adverb comes before the verb:

Why should I have gone to see Madonna? I never was a fan of hers. (emphatic)

TYPES OF ADVERBS AND THEIR POSITIONS

Different types of adverbs go in different places.

TYPE POSITION EXAMPLE

Manner They usually go in end position. She ate quickly.
They sometimes go in mid She quickly ate her dinner and
position if the adverb is not the ran out.
most important part of the
 clause or if the object is very
long.
Place They usually go in end position.
They sometimes go in front
position, especially in writing.
Time They usually go in end position.
They sometimes go in front
position especially if we want to
emphasize the adverb.
Duration They usually go in end position.
Frequency They usually go in mid position.
They sometimes go in front
position. They can also go in
end position. Always, ever and
never do not usually go in front
position.
Degree Quite usually go in mid position.
A lot and a bit usually go in end
position.
Focusing They usually go in mid position.
Certainty or Obligation Some go in mid position:
probably, possibly, certainly.
Others go in front position:
Maybe, perhaps or in end
positions after a comma.
Viewpoint Outside the clause, often at the
beginning. They can sometimes
go in mid position, especially in
formal writing.
Evaluative They usually go outside the
clause, often at the beginning.
They can sometimes go in mid
position. In informal speaking
they can go in end position.
Can you come over here?
We’ll be at that table there.
Here she sat.
Outside, there was a small
pond.
I’m flying to Edinburgh
tomorrow.
Today, I’m going to clean the
house.
I’m not staying long.
We often have friends to stay.
I usually get up late on
weekends.
I could never swim fast.
Sometimes she wore a woolen
hat.
We don’t see them very often.
Not: Never I could swim fast.
I really like those pink flowers.
We go to Ireland a lot.
I’d just like to change things a
bit.
He simply walked out without
saying a word.
It’ll probably rain.
Maybe Nick will know the
answer.
Can I get you a drink, or
something to eat, perhaps?
Personally, I’d rather not go out.
This must, frankly, be the
craziest idea anyone has ever
had.
Unfortunately, I forgot my
swimming costume so I had to
sit on the side and watch.
We have stupidly forgotten the
tickets.
They missed the bus,
apparently.
CHOOSE THE CORRECT POSITION FOR THE ADVERB.

1. I _____________ dancing.
o Often go
o Go often
2. She ________ in the morning.
o Smokes never
o Never smokes
3. __________ drink wine at lunchtime.
o I rarely
o Rarely I
4. I ________ some gardening at the weekend if the weather’s nice.
o Do usually
o Usually do
5. He ___________ in to work on time.
o Gets hardly ever
o Hardly ever gets
6. She ____________ reading the novel she started yesterday.
o Already has finished
o Has already finished
7. ________ not accept this deal.
o I will definitely
o Definitely I will
8. I __________ like fish very much; I can eat it, but I wouldn’t choose it.
o Really don’t like
o Don’t really like
9. When we were young, we ____________ on camping holidays to France.
o Went always
o Always went
10. _________ seen such a mess as his bedroom.
o Seldom have I seen
o I seldom have seen
 HOW TO USE ADVERBS

Adverbs are used to give us more information and are used to modify verbs, clauses and
other adverbs.

The difficulty with identifying adverbs is that they can appear in different places in a sentence.

The simplest way to recognize an adverb is through the common ending –ly.

Examples of –ly adverbs are quickly, quietly, fortunately.

Most adverbs are made by adding –ly to adjectives:

Adverbs with verbs

Here the adverbs are in bold and the verbs are in italics. Here the adverbs give us more
information about the verb.

“She slowly entered the room.”

“He carefully drove through the city.”

Adverbs with adjectives

Here the adverbs are in bold and the adjectives are in italics.
Here the adverbs give us more information about the adjective.

“The test was extremely difficult.”

“I’m incredibly sorry about what I did.”

Adverbs with Adverbs

Here both adverbs are in bold. The first adverb gives us more information about the second.

“The cheetah runs incredibly quickly.”

“He talks exceptionally loudly.”

Adverbs
Adverbs can be used to change the entire meaning of a sentence. The adverbs are in bold.

“Unfortunately, I will be out of the office for the next 3 days.”

“Surprisingly, the team was beaten in the final.”