Adjectives and Adverbs
TEAS Test Adjectives and Adverbs Review
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
Adjectives
Adverbs
Adjectives
An adjective describes, modifies, or tells us more about a noun or a pronoun. Colors, numbers, and descriptive words such as healthy, good, and sharp are adjectives.
KEEP IN MIND…
Adjectives typically come before the noun in English. However, with linking verbs (non-action verbs such as be, seem, look), the adjective may come after the verb instead. Think of it like this: a linking verb links the adjective to the noun or pronoun.
Look for the adjectives in the following sentences:
| 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:
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)
Adverbs
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 |
Adjectives vs. Adverbs
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.
Let’s Review!
- 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.
Subscribe to the online course to gain access to the full lesson content.
If your not ready for a subscription yet, be sure to check out our free practice tests and sample lesson at this link