LESSON 4

ADJECTIVES

An adjective is a word that describes things. It tells you more about a noun. An
adjective usually appears before the noun it describes. Sometimes, though, the adjective appears
after the noun, later in the sentence. Unlike adverbs, adjectives do not modify verbs, other
adjectives, or adverbs. Adjectives do not have to agree in number or gender with the nouns they
describe

Examples:

Adjectives answer the following questions: What kind?, How many?, or Which ones?
Example: Tom bought a used car. (used describes what kind of car Tom bought.)
Sally baked ten pies for the school bake sale. (ten tells how many pies Sally baked.)
Bob climbed that tree in the backyard. (that specifies which tree Bob climbed.)

Types of adjectives

There are different types of adjectives.

Some adjectives describe the qualities of nouns.

Examples:

- A cold drink
- A fierce dog
- A beautiful rainbow
- A clever boy
- A new car
- A strong man
Some adjectives tell you which place or country a person or thing comes from, or belong to.
They are called adjectives of origin.

Examples:

- Chinese kungfu
- An Italian car
 - Thai boxing
- A French perfume
- A Mozambican spitting cobra
- Spanish food
- European car

Some adjectives tell you the colour of things

Example:

- the sky is gray

- the sea is blue
- I don’t like green apples
- Roses are red
- George is wearing brown shoes

Some adjectives tell you the size of the nouns they describe.

Examples:

- A huge balloon
- A short man
- A large ship
- A big hat.

Comparison of adjectives

Comparative form

When you compare two people or things, use the comparative form of the adjective.

Lots of comparative adjectives end in –er.

Examples:

- Small – smaller
- Fast – faster
- Slow – slower
- Tall – taller
- Short – shorter
- Rich – richer
:
Eg my neighbour is richer than me
 - My brother is taller than me

Superlative Form

Use the superlative form of an adjective to compare three or more nouns. Lots of superlatives
end in – est.

Examples:

- Dark – darker – darkest

- Easy – easier - easiest
- Fat – fatter – fattest
- Hot – hotter – hottest
- Long – longer – longest
Eg: A Ferrari is faster than a Mercedes but the Lamborghini is the fastest of all

Practice

1. Complete with these adjectives [ancient, two, ripe red, leather, foggy].
A. _______________________ Weather is normal in San Francisco.
B. Please get me a bag of _____________________ apples.
C. We visited the museum, where we saw ________________ artefacts.
D. I received __________________ awards at the ceremony today.
E. The president sat in a _______________________ chair.
2. Complete the following sentences using the appropriate form of the adjective in the
brackets.
A. He is _________________ than his neighbour. [riche, richer, richest]
B. He is too ___________________ to be tough. [intelligent, more intelligent, most
intelligent]
C. He is much ____________________ now. [good, better, best]
D. The pain was ___________________ than he could bear [much, more, most]
LESSON 6

ADVERBS
Adverb is a word that modifies, a verb, adjective, determiner, a clause, preposition or sentence.
Adverbs, unlike adjectives, do not modify nouns.

Example:

 The teacher had to speak loudly to be heard over the children. (Loudly modifies the verb
speak.)
 The children were really bad during the movie. (Really modifies the adjective bad.)
 John approached the wounded dog very slowly. (Very modifies the adverb slowly.)
 Clearly, Sarah did not understand the directions. (Clearly modifies the sentence.)
 The box is still below the stairs. (Still modifies the phrase “below the stairs.”)

FUNCTION

They in general answer questions such as how? In what way? When? Where and to what
extent?

TYPES OF ADVERBS

Adverbs of Time

They answer the question when? They include: after, always, before, during, early, later, never,
now, often, rarely, recently, sometimes, soon, then, today, tomorrow, yesterday, e.t.c.

Eg. John will attend the game after he finishes his homework. (After answers the question:
When will John attend the soccer game?)

Adverbs of Manner

They answer the question how? They include: badly, beautifully, better, bravely, cheerfully, fast,
slowly, quickly, well e.t.c.

Eg. Sarah slowly walked over the rocky beach. . (Slowly answers the question: How did Sarah
walk?)
Adverbs of Place

They answer the question where? They include: above, below, down, up, away, here, inside,
outside, near, there e.t.c

Eg. Susan placed the boxes above the file cabinet. . (Above answers the question: Where did
Susan place the boxes?)

Adverbs of Degree

An adverb of degree answers the question how much? It describes the strength and intensity at
which something happens. Adverbs of degree include: almost, completely, enough, entirely,
extremely, hardly, just, little, much, nearly, quite, rather, very, too, etc.

Example: John worked very hard to complete his part of the project. (Very answers the
question: How hard did John work?)

Adverbs of Frequency

An adverb of frequency answers the question How often? Adverbs of frequency include:
always, never, usually, frequently, occasionally, rarely, seldom, sometimes, etc.

Example: Bob always forgets to check his email before class begins. (Before answers the
question: How often does Bob forget to check his email?)

Forming Adverbs

Adding –ly to the end

Many adverbs are formed by adding –ly to an adjective.

Example: clear/clearly hard/hardly

Irregular Adverbs

Some adverbs do not use the –ly ending. These adverbs do not have a particular form. Following
is a list of some of the most common irregular adverbs: already, also, always, here, never, not,
now, often, quite, seldom, soon, still, then, there, too, very well.

Adverb Placement

Adverbs are flexible in their placement; therefore, they can be placed just about anywhere within
the sentence.

At the beginning of a sentence or a clause

Example: Clearly, John has a problem arriving to work on time.

At the end of a sentence or a clause

Example: Sarah and John attend the opera frequently.

After the verb

Example: Bob and John have always participated in the soccer tournament.

Between the subject and the verb

Example: Sarah rarely forgets to call home when she is out late.

Practice

1. Use these adverbs to complete the sentences [everywhere, now, abruptly, cheerfully]
A. The driver stopped the bus ______________________.
B. My grandmother always smiled _________________________.
C. After the party, confetti was strewn _______________________.
D. Its time to go ____________________.