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1.5.8: Adjective and Adverbs of Manner

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    121484
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          Adjectives are words that modify or describe nouns.  They change the way we “see” nouns.  The more adjectives we use, the more specific the noun becomes.

          Adjectives usually come before the noun they modify.  In the list of noun phrases below, notice how the adjective describes the nouns.

    beautiful girls, hot days, hard work, small children, fast cars, old people, red dresses, happy days

    What kind of girls are they?           Beautiful girls

    What kind of days are they?           Hot days

    What kind of work is it?                 Hard work

    What kind of children are they?      Small children

    What kind of cars are they?            Fast cars

    What kind of people are they?        Old people

    What kind of dresses are they?       Red dresses

    What kind of days are they?           Happy days

    Sometimes there are more than one adjective which describes only one noun.

    fat and happy old men             sunny, hot, and humid day              small cute children

    affectionate little girls              small wooden table                         shiny, new, red car

    Exercise 19:  Answer these questions about the nouns and adjectives above, please.

    What kind of men are they?

    What kind of day is it?

    What kind of children are they?

    What kind of girls are they

    What kind of table is it?

    What kind of car is it?

          Adjectives are never plural in English.  In other words, never add an S to an adjective. Notice in the following noun phrases how the adjective does not change from singular to plural despite the nouns changing.

    big car / big cars         old lady / old ladies       rich person / rich people       hot dog / hot dogs

          Notice the following four sentences.  Notice how the adjectives change the way we see the nouns “hat” and “woman.”  Every time we add another adjective to describe the noun, the noun (hat/woman) changes what we see.

    The woman wore a hat.

    The old woman wore a beautiful hat.

    The fat old woman wore a beautiful red hat.

    The happy, fat, old woman wore a beautiful, red, straw hat.

    ****Sometimes adjectives are used after the verb “to be” (am, is, are, was, were) and other non-action verbs (verbs that are “inside” the person and don’t show any action) and modify the subject of the sentence.

    The boys are young and handsome.

    I am old.

    The girl looks sick.

    The milk smells bad.

    We were tired after playing basketball.

    My stomach feels sick.

    Exercise 20:  Underline the adjectives and the nouns they modify in the following sentences.

    1.  The girl wore an expensive watch on her left wrist and beautiful bracelets on her right wrist.

    2.  The fat, old, tired man served his important guests very unhealthy but delicious food.

    3.  My sons are polite and smart; however, they are lazy and messy around the house.

    4.  The frantic young mother called the police when her small daughter was not in her bed.

    5.  Economical wives save money for their happy families.

    6.  The affectionate girls kissed their frail old grandmother good-bye when she left.

    7.  The graceful Asian dancer moved through the air like a beautiful bird on a sunny day.

    8.  Enthusiastic students are usually happy students; apathetic students are usually lazy students.

    9.  A good, nutritious meal is better than a sweet unhealthy meal.

    10.  Warm sunny days are good days to go on a picnic.

    Adverbs of Manner

    Adverbs of Manner describe the action of the verb in a sentence.  The action of the verb is what the verb does.  Adverbs of Manner tell how the subject of a sentence does the action of the verb of a sentence.  In the same way that adjectives change what we see in nouns, adverbs of manner change how we see the action of the verb.  Adverbs of Manner usually come after the verb in a sentence, but many times people put adverbs of manner in other positions in a sentence.

    Examples:

    The diligent students study diligently before exams.

    How do the students study before an exam?  How?  Diligently, that is how.

     

    Careless drivers drive carelessly and often cause accidents.

    How do careless drivers drive?  How?  Carelessly, that’s how.

     

    Shy girls speak softly to strangers.

    How do shy girls speak to strangers?  How?  Softly, that is how.

     

    The polite children spoke politely to the old man.

    How did the children speak to the old man?  How? Politely, that’s how.

     

    The terrible earthquake shook the earth terribly.

    How did the earthquake shake the earth?  How? Terribly, that’s how.

    Exercise 21:  Underline the verbs and adverbs of manner in the following sentences, please.

    1.  The boys laughed loudly at their father’s funny stories.

    2.  I drive slowly and carefully in heavy traffic.

    3.  The boy spoke loudly, impolitely, and angrily to his mother when she told him “No.”

    4.  Young ambitious children learn quickly and accurately in school.

    5.  I type carefully on my computer in my office.

    6.  Teachers like it when students write carefully and neatly.

    7.  The waitress worked rapidly and efficiently at the restaurant last night.

    8.  My dependable old car starts dependably every day.

    9.  The beautiful young dancer danced gracefully for the guests at the party.

    10.  The anxious young mother spoke affectionately to her sick little daughter.

    11.  Bus number 132 arrives promptly at the bus stop on First Avenue and Columbia Street.

    12.  The young girl waited anxiously for a phone call from her mother after the earthquake.

            If a sentence has an object, then the Adverb of Manner comes after the object in a sentence.

    Examples:

    The old man (Subject) drives (Verb) his car (Object) slowly (Adverb of Manner) down the road.  What does the man drive?  His car (the object of the sentence). How does he drive his car down the road?   Slowly.

    My neighbors (Subject) contribute (Verb) money (Object) generously (Adverb of Manner) to their church.  What do they contribute?  Money (the object of the sentence).  How do they contribute to their church?  Generously.

    The teacher (subject) explains (Verb) his lessons (Object) patiently (Adverb of Manner) to his students.  What does the teacher explain?  His lesson (the object of the sentence)How does the teacher explain his lessons to his students?  Patiently.

    Exercise 22:  Underline the verb, the object, and the adverb of manner in the following sentences, please.

    1.  My son Alex, who lives in Japan, speaks Japanese and English fluently.

    2.  My wonderful grandmother used to mend my clothes very carefully for me many years ago.

    3.  Young boys and girls tend to spend their money quickly and foolishly.

    4.  The host and hostess at the party served their guests graciously at the birthday party last night.

    5.  The teenage boys did their English homework rapidly and sometimes carelessly so that they could go out and play football with their friends.

    6.  The disappointed students answered the teacher sadly when he has asked them if they had studied after the exam.

    7.  The dangerous drunken man attacked the policeman violently when he arrested him.

    8.  Mr. Andersen treats his employees generously by giving them a generous bonus at Christmas.

    9.  The boy played his red violin sadly and beautifully at his grandmother’s sad funeral.

    10.  The waitresses do their job quickly and efficiently at the busy restaurant.

    11.  The smiling grandfather patted his young grandson’s head affectionately this morning.

    12.  The earthquake shook the ground violently in Japan in March 2011.

    13.  Many people ran for high ground frantically and rapidly after the violent earthquake.

    14.  My son went down to the seashore foolishly in order to see the tsunami in Japan.

    15.  The tsunami moved over the land very rapidly and violently after the earthquake.

    16.  The old man sat and watched the television sleepily on the soft comfortable sofa.

    17.  My dog barked loudly at the stranger in the alley in back of our house.

    18.  The loud music disturbed the student who was studying his lesson quietly in the living room.

    19.  My older brother ate his Italian lunch hungrily in the kitchen.

    20.  Young boys play with each other noisily and roughly in the playground.

    More Spelling Rules

    Usually, to form an Adverb of Manner from an adjective, simply add an ly to the end of the adjective.

    Examples:

    bad       badly            polite     politely      rude       rudely         calm      calmly

    quick     quickly         impolite impolitely    helpful   helpfully       soft softly

    Change the following adjectives to adverbs, please.

    fluent _____________      neat _______________    efficient ____________

    patient _____________    prompt ____________     accurate_____________

    skillful ____________      courteous __________     serious______________

    If an adjective ends in a consonant letter followed by a y, change the y to i and add ly to form an adverb of manner.

    Examples:

    busy     busily           easy easily    noisy noisily     satisfactory satisfactorily

    Change the following adjectives to adverbs of manner, please.

    angry _____________      heavy _____________     crazy ______________

    lazy ________________   happy _____________     sloppy _____________

    If an adjective ends in either able or ible, drop the final e and add y to form an adverb of manner.  (Remember: able and ible ONLY.)

    Examples:

    dependable       dependably       reliable       reliably       terrible      terribly      nimble   nimbly

    Change the following adjectives to adverbs of manner, please.

    capable ____________     sensible _____________ horrible _________________

    legible _____________    able_______________     responsible ______________

    uncomfortable ________  doable _____________    useable _________________

    Usually, when an adjective ends in an ic, add ally to form the adverb of manner.

    Examples:

    automatic      automatically     heroic      heroically     frantic  frantically

    Change the following adjectives to adverbs of manner, please.

    sarcastic______________ enthusiastic _____________  dramatic _____________

    energetic______________ sympathetic _____________ pathetic______________

    Exercise 23:  Change the following adjectives to adverbs of manner, please.

    1.  reliable ___________________

    2.  angry _____________________

    3.  sympathetic _______________

    4.  comfortable  ______________

    5.  busy  ____________________

    6.  noisy _____________________

    7.  legible ____________________

    8. sarcastic ____________________

    9.  heroic ____________________

    10.  rapid  ___________________

    11.  energetic__________________

    12.  patient ___________________

    13.  lazy______________________

    14.  laughable_________________

    15.  democratic _______________

    16.  horrible __________________

    17.  successful ________________

    18.  ambitious ________________

    Exercise 24:  Change the following adjectives to adverbs of manner, please.

    1.  dependable ________________

    2.  rough ____________________

    3.  alergic ____________________

    4.  edible  ___________________

    5.  fussy  ____________________

    6.  odd ______________________

    7.  illegible ___________________

    8. historic _____________________

    9.  helpful ___________________

    10.  quick  ___________________

    11.  eccentric__________________

    12.  impatient _________________

    13.  jumpy____________________

    14.  enjoyable_________________

    15.  lethargic _________________

    16.  terrible __________________

    17.  awful ____________________

    18.  superstitious ______________

    19.  slow ­­­___________________

    20.  foolish __________________

    21.  sloppy __________________

    22.  peaceful ___________________

    23.  courteous _________________

    24.  courageous _________________

    Review Spelling Rules for Verbs [and Nouns]

    The “ES” Rule

    In the third person (he, she, it) in the present tense, when a verb ends in an s, sh, ch, x, or z, add es to the verb.  (The same is true for nouns ending in s, sh, ch, x, and z.)

    Push  pushes, reach reaches, wash washes, fix fixes, buzz buzzes, kiss kisses, miss misses, tax taxes, fizz fizzes, pitch pitches, box boxes, bless blesses, crash crashes

    The “Y” Rules

    1. When a verb ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i and add es or ed.

    Study studies studied, hurry hurries hurried, copy copies copied, try tries tried,

    party parties partied, marry marries married, bury buries buried, worry worries worried

    1. When a verb ends in a vowel plus y, simply add an s or ed.

    Play plays played, enjoy enjoys enjoyed, stay stays stayed, buy buys …..,

    The Double Consonant Rule

    When a verb ends in one vowel and one consonant, double the consonant and add ing or ed.

    Plan planning planned, stop stopping stopped, run running ….., hit hitting …..,
    win winning ….., begin beginning ….., swim swimming ….., rob robbing, robbed

    Never double the following letters in English:

    ww, xx, and yy.  These letters are NEVER doubled in English.  Also, en at the end of a word is almost never doubled.  Examples:  Happening, staying, fixing, showing, sharpening

    The Final “E” Rule

    When a verb ends in a final e, drop the e and add ing or just add a d to form the past tense, except when a verb ends in a double ee.  seeing, fleeing, peeing

    Live living lived, type typing typed, smoke smoking smoked, bake baking baked

    Exceptions:              The verbs “do, go, and have” are exceptions to the rules.   They have irregular “S” forms.

    do / does          go / goes       have / has

    Exercise 25:  Please give the S Form and ING Form for each of the following verbs.

    Base Form            S Form                    Present Participle                             

    1.  play       

    2.  dream

    3.  switch

    4.  carry

    5.  refuse

    6.  polish

    7.  get

    8.  begin

    9.  have

    10.  complain

    11.  drop

    12.  argue

    13.  sort

    14.  wax

    15.  set

    16.  work

    17.  borrow

    18.  tighten

    19.  hurt

    20.  fly

    21.  mend

    22.  enjoy

    23.  trap

    24.  stay

    25.  hail

    26.  pinch

    27.  spy

    28.  halt

    29.  party

    30.  spin

    31.  burn

    32.  employ

    33.  estimate

    34.  track

    35.  show

    36.  do

    37.  plug

    38.  satisfy

    39.  flick

    40.  flop

    41.  dress

    42.  spank


    This page titled 1.5.8: Adjective and Adverbs of Manner is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Don Bissonnette.

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