29 Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives
What Are Adjectives?
Adjectives describe nouns (names of persons, places, or things) or pronouns.
Ernie is a rich man. (The adjective rich describes the noun man.)
He is also generous. (The adjective generous describes the pronoun he.)
Our gray cat sleeps a lot. (The adjective gray describes the noun cat.)
She is old. (The adjective old describes the pronoun she.)
Adjectives usually come before the word they describe (as in rich man and gray cat). But they also come after forms of the verb be (is, are, was, were, and so on). They also follow verbs such as look, appear, seem, become, sound, taste, and smell.
That speaker was boring. (The adjective boring describes the speaker.)
The Petersons are homeless. (The adjective homeless describes the Petersons.)
The soup looked good. (The adjective good describes the soup.)
But it tasted salty. (The adjective salty describes the pronoun it.)
Using Adjectives to Compare
For all one-syllable adjectives and some two-syllable adjectives, add -er when comparing two things and -est when comparing three or more things.
My sister's handwriting is neater than mine, but Mother's is the neatest.
Canned juice is sometimes cheaper than fresh juice, but frozen juice is often the cheapest.
For some two-syllable adjectives and all longer adjectives, add more when comparing two things and most when comparing three or more things.
Typing something is more efficient than writing it out by hand, but the most efficient way to write is on a computer.
Jeans are generally more comfortable than slacks, but sweat pants are the most comfortable of all.
You can usually tell when to use more and most by the sound of a word. For example, you can probably tell by its sound that “carefuller” would be too awkward to say and that more careful is thus correct. In addition, there are many words for which both -er or -est and more or most are equally correct. For instance, either “a more fair rule” or “a fairer rule” is correct.
To form negative comparisons, use less and least.
When kids called me “Dum-dum,” I tried to look less hurt than I felt.
They say men gossip less than women do, but I don't believe it.
Suzanne is the most self-centered, least thoughtful person I know.
Points to Remember about Comparing
Point 1: Use only one form of comparison at a time. In other words, do not use both an -er ending and more or both an -est ending and most.
Incorrect
My Southern accent is always more stronger after I visit my family in Georgia.
My most luckiest day was the day I met my wife.
Correct
My Southern accent is always stronger after I visit my family in Georgia.
My luckiest day was the day I met my wife.
Point 2: Learn the irregular forms of the words shown below.
bad
good, well
little (in amount)
much, many
Comparative (for Comparing Two Things)
worse
better
less
more
Superlative (for Comparing Three or More Things)
worst
best
least
most
Do not use both more and an irregular comparative or most and an irregular superlative.
Incorrect
It is more better to stay healthy than to have to get healthy.
Yesterday I went on the most best date of my life—and all we did was go on a picnic.
Correct
It is better to stay healthy than to have to get healthy.
Yesterday I went on the best date of my life—and all we did was go on a picnic.
Activity
Add to each sentence the correct form of the word in the margin.
bad Examples The ________________ scare I ever had was the time when I thought my son was on an airplane that had crashed.
wonderful The day of my divorce was even ________________ than the day of my wedding.
good 1. The Grammy awards are given to the ________________ recording artists of each year.
popular 2. Vanilla ice cream is even ________________ than chocolate ice cream.
bad 3. One of the ________________ things you can do to people is ignore them.
light 4. A pound of feathers is no ________________ than a pound of stones.
little 5. The ________________ expensive way to accumulate a wardrobe is to buy used clothing whenever possible.
Adverbs
What Are Adverbs?
Adverbs—which usually end in -ly—describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
The referee suddenly stopped the fight. (The adverb suddenly describes the verb stopped.)
Her yellow rosebushes are absolutely beautiful. (The adverb absolutely describes the adjective beautiful.)
The auctioneer spoke so terribly fast that I couldn't understand him. (The adverb terribly describes the adverb fast.)
A Common Mistake with Adverbs and Adjectives
People often mistakenly use an adjective instead of an adverb after a verb.
Incorrect
I jog slow.
The nervous witness spoke quiet.
The first night I quit smoking, I wanted a cigarette bad.
Correct
I jog slowly.
The nervous witness spoke quietly.
The first night I quit smoking, I wanted a cigarette badly.
Activity
Underline the adjective or adverb needed. (Remember that adjectives describe nouns, and adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.)
1. During a quiet moment in class, my stomach rumbled (loud, loudly).
2. I'm a (slow, slowly) reader, so I have to put aside more time to study than some of my friends.
3. Thinking no one was looking, the young man (quick, quickly) emptied his car's ashtray onto the parking lot.
4. The kitchen cockroaches wait (patient, patiently) in the shadows; at night they'll have the place to themselves.
5. I hang up the phone (immediate, immediately) whenever the speaker is a recorded message.
Well and Good
Two words that are often confused are well and good. Good is an adjective; it describes nouns. Well is usually an adverb; it describes verbs. Well (rather than good) is also used to refer to a person's health.
Activity
Write well or good in each of the sentences that follow.
1. I could tell by the broad grin on Della's face that the news was ___________.
2. They say my grandfather sang so ___________ that even the wind stopped to listen.
3. The food at the salad bar must not have been too fresh, because I didn't feel
___________ after dinner.
4. When I want to do a really ___________ job of washing the floor, I do it on my hands and knees.
5. The best way to get along ___________ with our boss is to stay out of his way.
Review Test
Underline the correct word in the parentheses.
1. In Egypt, silver was once (more valued, most valued) than gold.
2. The doctor predicted that Ben would soon be (good, well) enough to go home.
3. The (little, less) coffee I drink, the better I feel.
4. Light walls make a room look (more large, larger) than dark walls do.
5. One of the (unfortunatest, most unfortunate) men I know is a millionaire.
6. The moth's (continuous, continuously) thumping against the screen got on my nerves.
7. The Amish manage (good, well) without radios, telephones, or television.
8. When the store owner caught the little boys stealing, he scolded them (bad, badly) and called their parents.
9. It is (good, better) to teach people to fish than to give them fish.
10. Today a rocket can reach the moon more (quick, quickly) than it took a stagecoach to travel from one end of England to the other.