1.5.8: Adjective and Adverbs of Manner
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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
- 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
- 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