Adjectives, adverbs, and comparisons

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 3-6

Adjectives, adverbs, comparisons

Friday 1st of December

Goals

1. You will be able to identify and use adjectives and adverbs

2. You know the rules regarding comparisons

Terminology

Noun = zelfstandig naamwoord

Adjective = bijvoeglijk naamwoord

Adverb = bijwoord

Which sentence has an adjective?

1. This is a beautiful day
2. She sings beautifully

Adjectives

Adjectives say something about a noun.

It is the word you use to describe a person, place, or thing.

The brave dog chased the burglar.

The adorable cat is meowing loudly.

Where to place adjectives

You usually place an adjective before a noun.

Bright sweaters are worn in winter.

The early morning is a beautiful time of day.

Where to place adjectives

Of course there is an exception:

Adjectives are placed at the end of a sentence when an opinion is given using "to be" or "to seem".

That boy is handsome.

Your volleyball coach seems really mean.

He drives slowly

Slowly is an _________?

1. adjective
2. adverb

Adverbs

There are a few ways to use adverbs.

You can often (not always) recognize adverbs by the ending -ly.

1. An adverb can describe a verb. -> He sings loudly.

2. An adverb can describe an adjective. -> The dog is very brave.

3. An adverb can describe another adverb. 

-> He never does his chores too quickly.

4. An adverb can describe sentence. -> Sadly, it was too late.

Adverbs describing verbs

An adverb that describes a verb shows us how the action is happening:

Tom sings loudly in the shower.

The cat waits impatiently for its food.

The adverbs in both sentences answer the question in what manner? How does Phillip sing? Loudly. How does my cat wait? Impatiently.

Adverbs describing adjectives

An adverb that describes an adjective adds a degree of intensity to an adjective:

 “Is my singing too loud?” asked Phillip.
My cat was incredibly glad to receive its dinner.

Adverbs describing adverbs

You can use an adverb to describe another adverb. In fact, if you wanted to, you could use several:

The race finished too quickly.

Philip sings incredibly loudly.

Adverbs describing a sentence

You can use an adverb to describe an entire statement/sentence.

Unfortunately, he arrived too late.

Personally, I prefer pizza over toast.

It is a ______ day today. The class is _______ loud today.

1. terrible, terribly
2. terribly, terrible
3. terrible, terrible
4. terribly, terribly

After the accident, the bus driver was _____ injured.

1. serious
2. seriously

Kevin is _____ clever.

1. extreme
2. extremely

They saw a ....... butterfly on a rose. (beautiful)

1. beautiful
2. beautifully
3. beautifuly
4. beautifull

www.perfect-english-grammar.com

Grammar: Comparisons

Degrees of comparison

There are three degrees of comparison: 

• adjective (adverb): tall
• comparative (vergrotende trap) : taller
• superlative (overtreffende trap) : tallest
  

Adjectives of one syllable (1 lettergreep)+ ending on -y:

                                                                                                    Tall – Taller – Tallest 

mind the spelling of:

big-bigger-biggest

thin-thinner-thinnest

hot-hotter-hottest

happy-happier-happiest

Does it sound short? Double consonant!

-er & -est

Adjectives of two or more syllables: 

• more/ most    beautiful - more beautiful - most beautiful
• words that end with -ly: silly-more silly-most silly
• Some adjectives of two syllables have two forms:
  Simple – simpler-simplest / simple – more simple – most simple
  Other examples: clever, common, cruel, gentle, narrow, pleasant, polite (remember -ow/-le/-er + list)

Comparing

This house is bigger than that one.

Our house is not as expensive as our neighbours'.

She is as intelligent as her brother.

Some comparisons have an irregular form: ............

I am good at math, but James is ______

I have many cars, but my uncle has _______

Homework

Do: exercises of page 53 of your Student's Book.

& online assignments of 4.7.