Adjectives Adverbs Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives modify nouns

Adjectives & Adverbs

Adjectives and Adverbs • Adjectives modify nouns. • Adverbs modify everything else – verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. • The ACT sometimes tests to see whether you know the difference between adjectives and adverbs. • You may remember from grade school a method that often helps to decide if a word is an adjective – simply put the word you aren’t sure about into the following sentence. • “He/She is very _____. ” • If the word fits the blank, then the word is an adjective. • He is very intelligently.

Adjectives and Adverbs • Intelligent fits the blank in the first sentence, so intelligent must be an adjective. • Intelligently does not fit the blank in the second sentence because it is an adverb. • She thinks intelligently.

Comparative Adjectivespar • A comparative adjective is often used when a sentence is comparing two things. • Juanita is taller than Jane. • In general, if an adjective has only one syllable, you can make it comparative by adding an “er” to the end of the word. • If the adjective has more than one syllable, you can usually make it comparative by adding “more” or “less” in front of the adjective. • Sid is more careful than Tom. • Tom is less careful than Sid.

Comparative Adverbs • A comparative adverb is often used when a sentence is comparing two actions. • Juanita dances more gracefully than Jane.

Comparative Adverbs • To make an adverb comparative, you also need to add a “more” or “less” in front of the adverb. • Sid behaves more politely than Tom does. • Tom behaves less politely than Sid does.

Superlative Adjectives • When more than two things are being compared, a sentence needs a superlative adjective. • Of the many men in the room, John is the strongest. To make a comparison between three or more things, add “est” to the adjective.

Superlative Adverbs • When more than two actions are being compared, a sentence often needs a comparative adverb. • Compared with the other boys in the school, Sid behaves the most politely.

Work Cited Martz, Geoff, Kim Magloire, and Theodore Silver. Cracking the ACT. 2007 ed. New York: Random House, 2007. Print.