Adjectives and Adverbs

Providing More Information to

Sentences.
Objectives:
Identify the difference between adjectives and
adverbs.
Use proper words to include additional information.
 What is an Adjective?
• An adjective is a word, or set of words, that modifies (i.e.,
describes) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives may come before the
word they modify.
• “That is a cute puppy”, or “She likes a high school senior.”
• Adjectives may follow the word they modify (after the verb):
• “That puppy looks cute”, or “The technology is necessary in our
daily lives.”
 Adverbs? What are those??
• An adverb is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or
other adverbs.
• He speaks slowly (modifies the verb speaks)
• He is especially clever (modifies the adjective clever)
• He speaks all too slowly (modifies the adverb slowly)
• An adverb answers how, when, where, or to what extent—how often or
how much (e.g., daily, completely).
• He speaks slowly (answers the question how)
• He speaks very slowly (answers the question how slowly)
 Creating Adverbs from Adjectives
• In most cases, an adverb is formed by adding –ly to an adjective:
• Cheap > Cheaply: That’s a cheap watch. / I cheaply got this watch.
• If the adjective ends in ‘–y’, replace it with an ‘–i’ and add ‘–ly’ to
adverbs.
• Happy > Happily: The baby’s happy with his pacifier. / He happily smiled when I
saw him.
• If the adjective ends in ‘–able’, ‘–ible’, or ‘–le’, replace the ‘–e’ with ‘–y’ :
• Terrible > Terribly: The weather’s terrible! / There’s terribly poor visibility on the
road.
• If the adjective ends in ‘–ic’, add ‘–ally’:
 Exceptions to the rule
• Some adverbs have exactly the same form as the adjective:
• Early: That is an early reply for a decision like this. / I woke up early this morning.
• Fast: That car is very fast! / You need to walk fast to arrive on time!
• Hard: Don’t talk to her so hard. / Rocks are hard
• Some others are difficult to identify:
• Good > Well: The lunch we had was good!! / She sings well.
 Activity: Transform adjectives into adverbs
Adjective Adverb Adjective Adverb Adjective Adverb
Sad Quick Slow
Nervous Careful Perfect
Angry Easy Lucky
Capable Gentle Probable
Economic Tragic Fantastic
Heavy Lazy Pretty
Ambitious Anxious Dynamic
Honorable Horrible Questionable
Colossal Accidental Habitual
Good Late Fast
 Adjectives and Adverbs for questions:
“How”
• We use ‘how’ as an interrogative particle (like ‘what’ or ‘when’) to ask for
specific information. In this case, we ask for a deeper description of the
stuff or the action we are talking about.
• How easy was the test?
• How high will this building be?
• How probably are we travelling to the USA?
• How elegantly were you going to dress for the party?
 Exercises
• http://www.grammar.cl/Games/Adverbs_vs_Adjectives.htm
• http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/choosing-between-adjectives-an
d-adverbs.html