Adjectives and Adverbs 4:Grammar Basics

On Monday mornings, the anxious gardeners watch very carefully for the increasingly rare visits by bees and other insects. Which of the underlined adverbs describes another adverb?

very

Adjectives 1

an ugly scene a nightly bloom

The young tomato plants are limp and badly need water. Which word in the sentence is an adverb?

badly

Key Concept Ex.

green fields (What kind of fields?) the flower garden (Which garden?) six roses (How many roses?) extensive rainfall (How much rainfall?)

Those hothouse tomatoes grow in humid glass enclosures. Which word in the sentence is a compound adjective?

hothouse

We were surprised to see the large flower shipment arrive late. Which word in the sentence functions as an adverb?

late

Many flowering plants produce bright, beautiful blooms. Which of the underlined adjectives is a pronoun?

Many

Example 2

She pointed out the right answer.

Definite

the stem

We replanted the apple tree uprooted by the storm. Identify all of the adjectives in this sentence.

the, apple, uprooted, the

Key Concept 1.1

A pronoun is used as an adjective if it modifies a noun. Possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns, and indefinite pronouns can all function as adjectives when they modify nouns. The table shows examples of each type.

Adverb or Adjective?

Adverbs usually have different forms from adjectives and thus are easily identified. Many adverbs are formed by the addition of -ly to an adjective. Some adjectives and adverbs share the same form. You can determine the part of speech of such words by checking their function in the sentence. An adverb will modify a verb, adjective, or adverb; an adjective will modify a noun or pronoun.

Adverbs

Adverbs, like adjectives, describe other words or make other words more specific.

Key Concept

An adjective answers one of four questions about a noun or pronoun: What kind? Which one? How many? and How much?

Adjectives

An adjective qualifies the meaning of a noun or pronoun by providing information about its appearance, location, and so on.

Pronoun

An adjective that modifies a pronoun usually follows it. Sometimes, however, the adjective may precede the pronoun. More than one adjective may modify a single noun or pronoun. Ex We hired a competent, enthusiastic gardener. competent and enthusiastic describe the gardener

Key Concept 3.1

An adverb answers only one question, however, when modifying an adjective or another adverb: To what extent? Because it specifies the degree or intensity of the modified adjective or adverb, such an adverb is often called an intensifier.

Key Concept 3

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. When an adverb modifies a verb, it will answer any one of the following questions: Where? When? In what way? or To what extent?

Pronouns Used as Adjectives

Certain pronouns can also function as adjectives. These pronouns work in two ways in a sentence. They act as pronouns because they have antecedents. They also act as adjectives because they modify nouns by answering Which one? Other pronouns become adjectives instead of pronouns when they stand before nouns and answer the question Which one?

Climbing plants, such as clematis and wisteria, have supple stems and tendrils that wind around other plants. Which words in the sentence function as adjectives?

Climbing, supple, other

Example

I pruned the wilting flowers.Nouns, pronouns, and verb forms function as adjectives only when they modify other nouns or pronouns.

Adjective

Our professor looked pensive.

Proper Adjectives and Compound Adjectives

Proper adjectives are proper nouns used as adjectives or adjectives formed from proper nouns. They usually begin with capital letters. Adjectives can also be compound. Most are hyphenated; others are combined or are separate words.

Nouns Functioning as Adverbs

Several nouns can function as adverbs that answer the questions Where? or When? Some of these words are home, yesterday, today,tomorrow, mornings, afternoons, evenings,nights, week, month, and year.

Key Concept 2

Some writers vary the placement of adjectives in order to create different rhythms in their writing.

Key Concept Ex 1

The naturalist was tactful about my knowledge. (Tactful modifies naturalist.) I considered the naturalist tactful. (Tactful modifies naturalist.)

Key Concept Ex 2

The nervous and excited woman took her baby home from the hospital. (Nervous and excited modify woman.) The woman, nervous and excited, took her baby home from the hospital. (Nervous and excited modify woman.)

Adverb

The professor looked at her notes pensively. Some adjectives, however, also end in -ly. Therefore, you cannot assume that every word ending in -ly is an adverb.

Example 1.1

The tractor backed up alongside the field. You can recognize verbs that require an adverb, such as point out, because the work has a different meaning without the adverb. Point out and point are very different actions.

Articles

Three common adjectives—a, an, and the—are known as articles. A and an are called indefinite articles because they refer to any one of a class of nouns. The refers to a specific noun and, therefore, is called the definite article.

Which sentence contains an adjective?

Tulips need spring rain.

Verb Forms Used as Adjectives

Verb forms used as adjectives usually end in -ing or -ed and are called participles.

What are the four questions about a noun or a pronoun that adjectives answer?

What kind? Which one? How many? and How much?

Key Concept 1

When an adjective modifies a noun, it usually precedes the noun. Occasionally, though, the adjective may follow the noun.

Nouns Used as Adjectives

Words that are usually nouns sometimes act as adjectives. In this case, the noun answers the questions What kind? or Which one? about another noun while some adjectives and nouns may seem interchangeable, that is not always the case. For example, flower can be both a noun and an adjective, but flowery is only an adjective.

Yesterday Rachel worked slowly because she was so tired. Which words in the sentence function as adverbs?

Yesterday, slowly, so

Indefinite

a daisy an orchid

I handed my flowers to her in front of everyone. Which underlined pronoun functions as an adjective in the sentence?

my

He often brings home fresh vegetables from the farmers' market. Which words in the sentence are adverbs?

often, home

The dry cactus quickly absorbed enough water. Which word in the sentence is an adverb?

quickly

Example 1

rain-forest plants; water-soluble pigments(hyphenated) airborne pollen; evergreen shrubs (combined) North American rhododendrons (separated)