Adjectives and Adverbs

	Adjective	Noun or pronoun it describes
I rode the blue bike.	blue	bike
It was a long trip.	long	trip
Bring two pencils for the exam.	two	pencils
The box is brown.	brown	box
She looked beautiful.	beautiful	she
That’s great!	great	that

Multiple adjectives can be used in a sentence, as can multiple nouns. Look at these examples:

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KEEP IN MIND…

Note comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, such as:

fast, faster, fastest

far, farther, farthest

good, better, best

bad, worse, worst

	Adjectives	Noun or pronoun it describes
The six girls were happy, healthy, and rested after their long beach vacation.	six, happy, healthy, and rested; long, beach	girls; vacation
Leo has a good job, but he is applying for a better one.	good; better	job; one

Articles: A, An, The

Articles are a unique part of speech, but they work like adjectives. An article tells more about a noun. A  and an  are indefinite articles. Use a  before a singular general noun. Use an  before a singular general noun that begins with a vowel.

The is a definite article. Use the before a singular or plural specific noun.

Look at how articles are used in the following sentences:

• I need a  pencil to take the  exam. (any pencil; specific exam)
• Is there a  zoo in town? (any zoo)
• Let’s go to the  zoo today. (specific zoo)
• Can you get me a  glass of milk? (any glass)
• Would you bring me the  glass that’s over there? (specific glass)

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Adverbs

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An adverb describes, modifies, or tells us more about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Many adverbs end in -ly. Often, adverbs tell when, where, or how something happened. Words such as slowly, very, and yesterday  are adverbs.

Adverbs that Describe Verbs

Adverbs that describe verbs tell something more about the action.

Look for the adverbs in these sentences:

	Adverb	Verb it describes
They walked quickly.	quickly	walked
She disapproved somewhat of his actions, but she completely understood them.	somewhat; completely	disapproved; understood
The boys will go inside if it rains heavily.	inside; heavily	go; rains

Adverbs that Describe Adjectives

Adverbs that describe adjectives often add intensity to the adjective. Words like quite, more, and always  are adverbs.

Look for the adverbs in these sentences:

	Adverb	Adjective it describes
The giraffe is very tall.	very	tall
Do you think that you are more intelligent than them?	more	intelligent
If it’s really loud, we can make the volume slightly lower.	really; slightly	loud; lower

Adverbs that Describe Other Adverbs

Adverbs that describe adverbs often add intensity to the adverb.

Look for the adverbs in these sentences:

	Adverb	Adverb it describes
The mouse moved too quickly for us to catch it.	too	quickly
This store is almost never open.	almost	never
Those women are quite fashionably dressed.	quite	fashionably

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Adjectives vs. Adverbs

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Not sure whether a word is an adjective or an adverb? Look at these examples.

	Adjective	Adverb	Explanation
fast	You’re a fast  driver.	You drove fast.	The adjective fast  describes driver  (noun); the adverb fast  describes drove  (verb).
early	I don’t like early mornings!	Try to arrive early.	The adjective early  describes mornings  (noun); the adverb early  describes arrive  (verb).
good/well	They did good  work together.	They worked well  together.	The adjective good  describes work  (noun); the adverb well  describes worked  (verb).
bad/badly	The dog is bad.	The dog behaves badly.	The adjective bad  describes dog  (noun); the adverb badly  describes behaves  (verb).

BE CAREFUL!

When an adverb ends in -ly, add more or most to make comparisons.

Correct: The car moved more slowly.

Incorrect: The car moved slower.

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Let’s Review!

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• An adjective describes, modifies, or tells us more about a noun or a pronoun.
• An adverb describes, modifies, or tells us more about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.