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1.4: Adjectives and Adverbs

  • Page ID
    50927
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    Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words that bring your writing to life.

    An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. It often answers questions such as which one, what kind, or how many?

    • The green sweater belongs to Iris. (The adjective green describes the noun sweater.)
    • She looks beautiful. (The adjective beautiful describes the pronoun she.)

    An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs frequently end in-ly. They answer questions such as how, to what extent, why, when, and where.

    • Francois sings horribly. (Horribly describes the verb sings. How does Francois sing? He sing horribly.)
    • My sociology instructor is extremely wise. (Extremely describes theadjective wise. How wise is the instructor? Extremely wise.)
    • He threw the ball very accurately. (Very describes the adverb accurately. How accurately did he throw the ball? Very accurately.)

    Key Takeaways

    • Adjectives describe a noun or a pronoun.
    • Adverbs describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
    • Most adverbs are formed by adding-ly to an adjective.
    • Comparative adjectives and adverbs compare two persons or things.
    • Superlative adjectives or adverbs compare more than two persons or things.
    • The adjectives good and bad and the adverbs well and badly are unique in their comparative and superlative forms and require special attention.

    This page titled 1.4: Adjectives and Adverbs is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Barbara Hall & Elizabeth Wallace (GALILEO Open Learning Materials) .

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