Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and Adverbs Prepared by Professors Rita Perkins and Paul Harris Camden County College

Adjectives • Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. • My neighbor is a successfulprivate investigator. (The adjective successful describes the noun unit private investigator.) • He is industrious. (The adjective industrious describes the pronoun he.) • His schedule is complicated. (Sometimes adjectives come after the verb. The adjective complicated describes the schedule.)

Adjectives • Adjectives are used to compare. • For most short adjectives, we add -ER when comparing TWO things, -EST when comparing THREE or more things. • His company is bigger than the firm in Haddon Hills. • The biggest agency in the area is not the best.

Adjectives • For most longer adjectives (two or more syllables), we add more when comparing two things and most when comparing three or more things. • Mr Murphy is more educated than his accountant, but his wife is the most educated person in the group.

INCORRECT: The detective is the most smartest person who works with the agency. CORRECT: The detective is the smartest person who works with the agency. Two Mistakes to Avoid 1. Be careful that you do not use both -er ending AND more or both -est ending AND most.

Two Mistakes to Avoid 2. Do not make mistakes with irregulars.

ADVERBS • Adverbs describe verbs, other adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs usually end in -ly. • The private investigator acts quickly when he is hired. • The absolutely priceless statue has disappeared. (The adverb describes the adjective priceless.)

INCORRECT: The behavior of the wrongfully accused boy changed real sudden when the boy found out that a private investigator would help prove him innocent. CORRECT: The behavior of the wrongfully accused boy changed suddenly... Adverbs Three mistakes to avoid with adjectives and adverbs. 1. A common mistake is to use an adjective instead of an adverb with a verb.

Adverbs 2. Do not confuse good and well. The word good is an adjective; it describes nouns. The word well is an adverb. • Detective Price did a good job on the reports. ( Good describes the noun job.) • She phrased the questions well. (Well is an adverb describing the verb phrased.)

NOT: The technology advancements of the twentieth century make it easier to investigate fraud. CORRECT: The technological advancements of the twentieth century make it easier to investigate fraud. Adverbs 3. Do not use a noun as an adjective.

Although Sean does not speak Spanish too good, he went to visit Costa Rica with his high school classmates. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. speak Spanish well

He was surprised to see how quick his Spanish improved while he was visiting Central America. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. how quickly his Spanish

One day Sean and his classmates rode horses to a breathtaking beautiful waterfall. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. breathtakingly

Since Sean was the taller of the boys on the trip, he often attracted attention. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. tallest

The students were good hikers, so they walked to view an active volcano. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. correct

The people they met on the Pacific coast swam well in the ocean. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. correct

There are over 400 species of birds to see in Costa Rica, and the more interesting ones to photograph are the tucans. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. most interesting

The most biggest spiders Sean has ever seen were in Costa Rica. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. delete most

One biology phenomenon was the walking tree which moves five to eight inches per year. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. biological phenomenon

The students rode on an aerial tram which moved slow over the canopy of the rain forest. Practice Exercises Correct each of the following sentences. moved slowly

Any questions?

Adjectives and Adverbs