Quantitative — Quantitative adjectives tell us how many. Demonstrative — Demonstrative adjectives tell us which one. There are four demonstrative adjectives: this , that , these , and those. Possessive —These adjectives show possession. The following words are possessive adjectives: my , your , his , her , its , our , their.
Interrogative — Interrogative adjectives ask a question. Distributive — Distributive adjectives describe specific parts of a group. Good writing is precise and concise. Sometimes, you need an adjective to convey exactly what you mean. Is it a big house, or is it a mansion? A large crowd, or a throng? A mixed-breed dog, or a mutt? A dark night, or just. Always remember to make every word count in your writing.
If you need an adjective, use it. Real-time suggestions, wherever you write. What Is an Adjective? What is an adjective? Adjectives modify nouns Most students learn that adjectives are words that modify describe nouns. The most garrulous squirrels. I feel badly about what happened. Candice is working on a fundraiser to help the homeless. Grammar What Are Modal Verbs? Writing, grammar, and communication tips for your inbox. Write with confidence. Get real-time suggestions wherever you write.
Numbers can also be adjectives in some cases. Some adjectives are comparable. For example, a person may be polite, but another person may be more polite, and a third person may be the most polite of the three. The word more here modifies the adjective polite to indicate a comparison is being made a comparative , and most modifies the adjective to indicate an absolute comparison a superlative. There is another way to compare adjectives in English. Many adjectives can take the suffixes — er and — est sometimes requiring additional letters before the suffix; see forms for far below to indicate the comparative and superlative forms, respectively:.
Another way to convey comparison is by incorporating the words more and most. There is no simple rule to decide which means is correct for any given adjective, however. The general tendency is for shorter adjectives to take the suffixes, while longer adjectives do not—but sometimes sound of the word is the deciding factor.
The adjective fun is one of the most notable exceptions to the rules. If you follow the sound rules we just learned about, the comparative should be funner and the superlative funnest. However, for a long time, these words were considered non-standard, with more fun and most fun acting as the correct forms. The reasoning behind this rule is now obsolete it has a lot to do with the way fun became an adjective , but the stigma against funner and funnest remains.
Many adjectives do not naturally lend themselves to comparison. Such adjectives are called non-comparable adjectives. Other examples include dead , true , and unique. You can use prepositional phrases as adverbs if they modify a verb, adjective, or adverb. Hyphens can be used to combine an adverb and adjective to describe a noun.
In this situation, the adverb is describing the adjective, and the adjective is describing the noun. However, when the adverb ends with -ly , a hyphen should not be used. If the hyphen was removed from any of these examples the phrase would take on a different meaning.
A modifier is a word or phrase that describes another word or phrase. Two common types of modifiers are the adverb a word that describes an adjective, a verb, or another adverb and the adjective a word that describes a noun or pronoun. However, though all adjectives and adverbs are modifiers, not all modifiers are adjectives and adverbs. Many modifiers are entire phrases. The modifying phrase in italics provides additional information about the subject of the sentence: the Student Council.
Above all, it should always be clear to the reader which word an adjective, adverb, or modifying phrase is describing. By paying attention to placement and making sure that if you want to modify a verb you use an adverb instead of an adjective, you will make it much easier for your reader to pick up on your intended meaning.
In situations where modifiers are used incorrectly, the result is a dangling modifier, a misplaced modifier, or a squinting modifier. A dangling modifier occurs when the modifying phrase is too far away from the word it is supposed to describe.
As a result, the modifier appears to refer to something else, causing confusion for the reader. Dangling modifiers can be corrected by restructuring the sentence. Similar to a dangling modifier, a misplaced modifier occurs when it is unclear what word s the modifier is referencing.
Most misplaced modifiers can be corrected by placing the modifying phrase next to the subject it refers to. A squinting modifier is a modifier that is placed right next to the word it refers to, but is also near another word that it might be modifying.
This can also be corrected by restructuring the sentence. Dangling : To avoid dangling and misplaced modifiers in your writing, make sure the word or phrase being modified is clearly identified. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Overview of English Grammar: Parts of Speech. Search for:. Modifiers: Adjectives and Adverbs. Introduction to Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns; adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
Learning Objectives Distinguish between adjectives and adverbs.
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