Adjectives

What Are Adjectives?

 Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of being of

nouns: enormous, doglike, silly, yellow, fun, fast. They can also describe the quantity
of nouns: many, few, millions, eleven.
 Adjectives Modify Nouns. Most students learn that adjectives are words that
modify (describe) nouns. Adjectives do not modify verbs or adverbs or other
adjectives.

Examples:

1. Margot wore a beautiful hat to the pie-eating contest.

2. Furry dogs may overheat in the summertime.
3. My cake should have sixteen candles.
4. The scariest villain of all time is Darth Vader.

In the sentences above, the adjectives are easy to spot because they come immediately
before the nouns they modify.

But adjectives can do more than just modify nouns. They can also act as a
complement to linking verbs or the verb to be. A linking verb is a verb like to feel, to
seem, or to taste that describes a state of being or a sensory experience.
Examples:

1. That cow sure is happy.

2. It smells gross in the locker room.
3. Driving is faster than walking.

The technical term for an adjective used this way is predicate adjective.
Uses of Adjectives
Adjectives tell the reader how much—or how many—of something you’re talking
about, which thing you want passed to you, or which kind of something you want.
Example: Please use three white flowers in the arrangement (Three and white are
modifying flowers.)
Often, when adjectives are used together, you should separate them with a comma
or conjunction. See “Coordinate Adjectives” below for more detail.

 I’m looking for a small, good-tempered dog to keep as a pet.

 My new dog is small and good-tempered.

Degrees of Comparison
Adjectives come in three forms: absolute, comparative, and superlative. Absolute adjectives
describe something in its own right.
A cool guy
A messy desk
A mischievous cat
Garrulous squirrels
Comparative adjectives, unsurprisingly, make a comparison between two or more things.
For most one-syllable adjectives, the comparative is formed by adding the suffix -er (or
just -r if the adjective already ends with an e). For two-syllable adjectives ending in -y,
replace -y with -ier. For multi-syllable adjectives, add the word more.
A cooler guy
A messier desk
A more mischievous cat
More garrulous squirrels
Superlative adjectives indicate that something has the highest degree of the quality in
question. One-syllable adjectives become superlatives by adding the suffix -est (or just -
st for adjectives that already end in e). Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y replace -y with -
iest. Multi-syllable adjectives add the word most. When you use an article with a superlative
adjective, it will almost always be the definite article (the) rather than a or an. Using a
superlative inherently indicates that you are talking about a specific item or items.
The coolest guy
The messiest desk
The most mischievous cat
The most garrulous squirrels

Coordinate Adjectives
Coordinate adjectives should be separated by a comma or the word and. Adjectives are said
to be coordinate if they modify the same noun in a sentence.
This is going to be a long, cold winter.
Isobel’s dedicated and tireless efforts made all the difference.
But just the fact that two adjectives appear next to each other doesn’t automatically mean
they are coordinate. Sometimes, an adjective and a noun form a single semantic unit, which
is then modified by another adjective. In this case, the adjectives are not coordinate and
should not be separated by a comma.
My cat, Goober, loves sleeping on this tattered woolen sweater.
No one could open the old silver locket.

Adjectives vs. Adverbs

As mentioned above, many of us learned in school that adjectives modify nouns and
that adverbs modify verbs. But as we’ve seen, adjectives can also act as complements for
linking verbs. This leads to a common type of error: incorrectly substituting an adverb in
place of a predicate adjective. An example you’ve probably heard before is:
I feel badly about what happened.

Because “feel” is a verb, it seems to call for an adverb rather than an adjective. But
“feel” isn’t just any verb; it’s a linking verb. An adverb would describe how you perform the
action of feeling—an adjective describes what you feel. “I feel badly” means that you are
bad at feeling things. If you’re trying to read Braille through thick leather gloves, then it
might make sense for you to say “I feel badly.” But if you’re trying to say that you are
experiencing negative emotions, “I feel bad” is the phrase you want.
It’s easier to see this distinction with a different linking verb. Consider the difference
between these two sentences:
Goober smells badly.
Goober smells bad.
“Goober smells badly” means that Goober, the poor thing, has a weak sense of smell.
“Goober smells bad” means Goober stinks—poor us.

When Nouns Become Adjectives and Adjectives Become Nouns

One more thing you should know about adjectives is that, sometimes, a word that is
normally used as a noun can function as an adjective, depending on its placement. For
example:
Never try to pet someone’s guide dog without asking permission first.
Guide is a noun. But in this sentence, it modifies dog. It works the other way, too. Some
words that are normally adjectives can function as nouns:
Candice is working on a fundraiser to help the homeless.
In the context of this sentence, homeless is functioning as a noun. It can be hard to wrap
your head around this if you think of adjectives and nouns only as particular classes of
words. But the terms “adjective” and “noun” aren’t just about a word’s form—they’re also
about its function.
 ADVERBS
Adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs answer one
of five questions: How? When? Where? Hof often? To what extent?

Adverb Work & Placement :

Types of Adverbs and Function:
(1) Manner: modifies the verb (quickly, awkwardly ....)
(2) Place and direction: modifies the verb (here, away, outside, left, straight, west....)
(3) Time: modifies the verb
a. Definite: today, yesterday, tomorrow, ...
b. Indefinite: recently, later, always , ....
(4) Intensifying:
a. degree: modifies an adjective or adverb : very (strong), quite (frequently)
b. emphasizing: modifies all part of speech even (she), only (once)
(5) Conjunctive Adverb: modifies the sentence (therefore, nevertheless)
(6) Sentence Adverb: modifies the sentence (fortunately, actually)

Position of Adverbs:
(1) Initial/ front Position
The adverb is placed before the subject
 Finally he could stand the noisy no longer
 Sometimes I feel like going home
(2) Mid-position (with verb)
The adverb is placed between the subject and verb, immediately after be as a main verb,
or after the first auxiliary verb
 He usually plays better than this
 She is usually here by 10.00
 They would usually come by car
(3) Final/ End Position
The adverb is placed after the verb – either immediately after it or later in the clause
 They played quietly all day
 He tried to leave quietly
 He sat in the corner quietly
Final / end Position
In end position, we usually put an adverb after an object if there is one rather than immediately
after the verb
o We considered the problem briefly (not We considered briefly the problem)

However, if an object is very long, other positions are possible

o We considered briefly the long-term solution to the problem
We avoid putting an adverb between a main verb and a following -ing form or to-infinitive
o He began running quickly, or He quickly began running (not He began quickly running )
o She tried to leave quietly, or She quietly tried to leave (not She tried quietly to leave)

End position is usual for many adverbial of place, definite frequency, and definite time
o They live upstairs (not They upstairs live)
o She goes weekly (not She weekly goes)
o Jane had a baby in May (not Jane in May had a baby)

Form of Adverbs:
(1) Grammatical (for comparison) :
a. more .... than, more quickly than, the most ....., the most quickly
b. ......-er than (for short adverbs often having the same form as adjectives): faster than, the
.....-est, the fastest
(2) Derivational : Mostly –ly added to adjectives: quickly, extremely.
Two or more words may combine to form an adverbial word group: so far, the day before
yesterday, as a matter of fact

Markers of Adverbs : Degree intensifiers (very, quite, etc..)

THE MORE COMMON POSITIONS FOR THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF

ADVERBS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Adverb of manner She dances very gratefully

She quickly left the room
Quickly, he took out his gun and fired

Adverb of place and direction It’s cold outside

Outside, it was bitterly cold
Adverbs of time (definite) : The ship will aarive tomorrow
Tomorrow, we will leave for Chicago
(indifinite) : They wrere recently married
Recently, the news about the nation’s
economy has not been good.
We have been having many strikes recently.
Conjunctive Adverbs The motor you sent is defective; therefore,
we are returning it to you.
...................; we are therefore returning it to
you.
...................; we are returning it to you
therefore,
Sentence adverbs Two cars collided at that intersection;
fortunately, no one was hurt.
...............; no one, fortunately, was hurt
..............; no one was hurt, firtunately.
 Prepositions

Prepositions are short words (on, in, to) that usually stand in front of nouns (sometimes also in
front of gerund verbs).

Even advanced learners of English find prepositions difficult, as a 1:1 translation is usually not
possible. One preposition in your native language might have several translations depending
on the situation.

There are hardly any rules as to when to use which preposition. The only way to learn
prepositions is looking them up in a dictionary, reading a lot in English (literature) and learning
useful phrases off by heart (study tips).

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

Prepositions – Time
English Usage Example

 on  days of the week  on Monday

 in  months / seasons  in August / in winter

 time of day  in the morning

 year  in 2006

 after a certain period of time (when?)  in an hour

 at  for night  at night

 for weekend  at the weekend

 a certain point of time (when?)  at half past nine

 since  from a certain point of time (past till now)  since 1980

 for  over a certain period of time (past till now) for 2 years

 ago  a certain time in the past  2 years ago

 before  earlier than a certain point of time  before 2004

 to  telling the time  ten to six (5:50)

 past  telling the time  ten past six (6:10)

 to / till /  marking the beginning and end of a  from Monday to/till Friday
 English Usage Example

until period of time

 till / until  in the sense of how long something is  He is on holiday until Friday.
going to last

 by  in the sense of at the latest  I will be back by 6 o’clock.

 up to a certain time  By 11 o'clock, I had read five

pages.

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

English Usage Example

 in  room, building, street, town, country  in the kitchen, in London

 book, paper etc.  in the book

 car, taxi  in the car, in a taxi

 picture, world  in the picture, in the world

 at  meaning next to, by an object  at the door, at the station

 for table  at the table

 for events  at a concert, at the party

 place where you are to do something  at the cinema, at school,

typical (watch a film, study, work) at work

 on  attached  the picture on the wall

 for a place with a river  London lies on the

 being on a surface Thames.

 for a certain side (left, right)  on the table

 for a floor in a house  on the left

 for public transport  on the first floor

 for television, radio  on the bus, on a plane

 on TV, on the radio

 by, next to,  left or right of somebody or something  Jane is standing by / next
beside to / beside the car.

 under  on the ground, lower than (or covered by)  the bag is under the table
 English Usage Example

something else

 below  lower than something else but above  the fish are below the
ground surface

 over  covered by something else  put a jacket over your shirt

 meaning more than  over 16 years of age

 getting to the other side (also across)  walk over the bridge

 overcoming an obstacle  climb over the wall

 above  higher than something else, but not directly a path above the lake
over it

 across  getting to the other side (also over)  walk across the bridge

 getting to the other side  swim across the lake

 through  something with limits on top, bottom and  drive through the tunnel
the sides

 to  movement to person or building  go to the cinema

 movement to a place or country  go to London / Ireland

 for bed  go to bed

 into  enter a room / a building  go into the kitchen / the

house

 towards  movement in the direction of something  go 5 steps towards the

(but not directly to it) house

 onto  movement to the top of something  jump onto the table

 from  in the sense of where from  a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

English Usage Example

 from  who gave it  a present from Jane

 of  who/what does it belong to  a page of the book

 English Usage Example

 what does it show  the picture of a palace

 by  who made it  a book by Mark Twain

 on  walking or riding on horseback  on foot, on horseback

 entering a public transport vehicle  get on the bus

 in  entering a car / Taxi  get in the car

 off  leaving a public transport vehicle  get off the train

 out  leaving a car / Taxi  get out of the taxi

of

 by  rise or fall of something  prices have risen by 10 percent

 travelling (other than walking or  by car, by bus

horseriding)

 at  for age  she learned Russian at 45

 abou for topics, meaning what about  we were talking about you
t

Prepositions

Prepositions indicate relationships between other words in a sentence.

Many prepositions tell you where something is or when something happened.
Most prepositions have several definitions, so the meaning changes quite a bit in different
contexts.

What Is a Preposition?
“Vampires! Zombies! Werewolves!”
“Where?!”
“Behind you!”
Thank goodness for prepositions. Imagine not knowing where the danger lay….
Prepositions tell us where or when something is in relation to something else. When
monsters are approaching, it’s good to have these special words to tell us where those
monsters are. Are they behind us or in front of us? Will they be arriving in three seconds
or at midnight?
Prepositions often tell us where one noun is in relation to another (e.g., The coffee
is on the table beside you). But they can also indicate more abstract ideas, such as purpose
or contrast (e.g., We went for a walk despite the rain).

Types of Prepositions
Prepositions indicate direction, time, location, and spatial relationships, as well as other
abstract types of relationships.
Direction: Look to the left and you’ll see our destination.
Time: We’ve been working since this morning.
Location: We saw a movie at the theater.
Space: The dog hid under the table.

Preposition Examples
Unfortunately, there’s no reliable formula for determining which preposition to use
with a particular combination of words. The best way to learn which prepositions go with
which words is to read as much high-quality writing as you can and pay attention to which
combinations sound right. Here are a few examples of the most common prepositions used
in sentences.
I should rewrite the introduction of my essay.
Sam left his jacket in the car.
Did you send that letter to your mother?
We’re cooking for ten guests tonight.
Dan ate lunch with his boss.
You can also use tools like Google Ngrams to see which prepositions most commonly occur
with particular words—but remember, this tool can’t explain the difference in meaning
between different prepositional phrases like “pay for” (to purchase) and “pay off” (to
bribe). For that, you may want to refer to a list of prepositions that includes the meanings
of common combinations.