Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words that bring your writing to life.

Adjectives and Adverbs

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. It often answers questions such as which one, what kind, or how many?

1.      The green sweater belongs to Iris.

2.      She looks beautiful.

·         In sentence 1, the adjective green describes the noun sweater.

·         In sentence 2, the adjective beautiful describes the pronoun she.

An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs frequently end in -ly. They answer questions such as how, to what extent, why, when, and where.

3.      Bertrand sings horribly.

4.      My sociology instructor is extremely wise.

5.      He threw the ball very accurately.

·         In sentence 3, horribly describes the verb sings. How does Bertrand sing? He sings horribly.

·         In sentence 4, extremely describes the adjective wise. How wise is the instructor? Extremely wise.

·         In sentence 5, very describes the adverb accurately. How accurately did he throw the ball? Very accurately.

Comparative versus Superlative

Comparatives adjectives and adverbs are used to compare two people or things.

1.      Jorge is thin.

2.      Steven is thinner than Jorge.

·         Sentence 1 describes Jorge with the adjective thin.

·         Sentence 2 compares Jorge to Steven, stating that Steven is thinner. Sothinner is the comparative form of thin.

Form comparatives in one of the following two ways:

1.      If the adjective or adverb is a one syllable word, add -er to it to form the comparative. For example, big, fast, and short would become bigger,faster, and shorter in the comparative form.

2.      If the adjective or adverb is a word of two or more syllables, place the wordmore in front of it to form the comparative. For example, happily,comfortable, and jealous would become more happily, more comfortable, and more jealous in the comparative.

Superlatives adjectives and adverbs are used to compare more than two people or two things.

1.      Jackie is the loudest cheerleader on the squad.

2.      Kenyatta was voted the most confident student by her graduating class.

·         Sentence 1 shows that Jackie is not just louder than one other person, but she is the loudest of all the cheerleaders on the squad.

·         Sentence 2 shows that Kenyatta was voted the most confident student of all the students in her class.

Form superlatives in one of the following two ways:

1.      If the adjective or adverb is a one-syllable word, add -est to form the superlative. For example, big, fast, and short would become biggest,fastest, and shortest in the superlative form.

2.      If the adjective or adverb is a word of two or more syllables, place the wordmost in front of it. For example, happily, comfortable, and jealous would become most happily, most comfortable, and most jealous in the superlative form.

Tip

Remember the following exception: If the word has two syllables and ends in -y, change the -y to an -i and add -est. For example, happy would change to happiestin the superlative form; healthy would change to healthiest.

Good versus Well

Good is always an adjective—that is, a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. The second sentence is correct because well is an adverb that tells how something is done.

Note

Incorrect: Cecilia felt that she had never done so good on a test.

Correct: Cecilia felt that she had never done so well on a test.

Well is always an adverb that describes a verb, adverb, or adjective. The second sentence is correct because good is an adjective that describes the noun score.

Note

Incorrect: Cecilia’s team received a well score.

Correct: Cecilia’s team received a good score.

Bad versus Badly

Bad is always an adjective. The second sentence is correct because badly is an adverb that tells how the speaker did on the test.

Note

Incorrect: I did bad on my accounting test because I didn’t study.

Correct: I did badly on my accounting test because I didn’t study.

Badly is always an adverb. The second sentence is correct because bad is an adjective that describes the noun thunderstorm.

Note

Incorrect: The coming thunderstorm looked badly.

Correct: The coming thunderstorm looked bad.

Better and Worse

The following are examples of the use of better and worse:

Note

Tyra likes sprinting better than long distance running.

The traffic is worse in Chicago than in Atlanta.

Best and Worst

The following are examples of the use of best and worst:

Note

Tyra sprints best of all the other competitors.

Peter finished worst of all the runners in the race.

Tip

Remember better and worse compare two persons or things. Best and worstcompare three or more persons or things.