Sentence Construction

[TalonRider]

Part 4 Adjectives

• Nouns are subjects or objects, and they are described by adjectives. Adjectives can ?decorate? a noun and provide significantly more information about it.
  
• Adjectives usually precede the noun unless they are being used as predicate adjectives (completers) and follow the verb.
  
• Adjectives generally describe size, shape, color, emotion, condition, position, physical attribute, or some other quality.
  
• The words a, an, and the are considered adjectives (they are usually called ?articles?) and always precede a noun or noun phrase.
  
• Adjectives give color and vibrance to our language by allowing us to create word pictures for our readers. We can recreate the world around us in our writing.
  
• As a general rule, if you are using a series of adjectives, you should place size or shape first, color second, position, condition, or emotion next, and other qualities last.
  

Provides limited information: secretary

Provides more information: experienced secretary, stressed-out secretary, young secretary, angry secretary, nervous secretary

Provides even more information: nervous young secretary

Adverbs

• Adverbs do all the other descriptive jobs in a sentence.
  
• Adverbs describe verbs:
  

• She thinks quickly.
  
• The new copy machine arrived promptly.
  

• Adverbs describe other adverbs:
  

• She thinks very quickly.
  
• The new copy machine arrived rather promptly.
  

• Adverbs describe adjectives:
  

• It was a very long letter.
  
• It was a quite negative report.
  

• Most adverbs are created by adding ?ly to an adjective:
  

• sweet ............. sweetly
  
• scarce ............ scarcely
  
• prompt ........... promptly
  
• rapid .............. rapidly
  
• careful ........... carefully
  

• Other adverbs state how, when, where, or why:
  

• afterward ................... sometimes ................. so
  
• beforehand ................. again ........................ almost
  
• generously ................. briefly ........................ close
  
• never ........................ hard ........................... helpfully
  
• rather ........................ sadly ......................... now
  
• satisfactorily ............... seldom ...................... temporarily
  
• soon .......................... there ......................... then
  
• always ....................... far ............................. too
  
• fast ............................ rarely ........................ very
  
• here ........................... since ......................... well
  

Adjectives vs. adverb

Writers sometimes incorrectly use and adjective where they should use an adverb. Following are some common mistakes:

• Incorrect: Call us direct to receive your subscription.
  
• Correct: Call us directly to receive your subscription.
  
• Incorrect: The manager was real pleased with the result.
  
• Correct: The manager was really pleased with the result.
  
• Incorrect: She sure did a good job!
  
• Correct: She surely did a good job!
  

Caution: Bad/badly. Bad should only be used only as an adjective; the verb is badly.

He felt bad because his tooth ached badly.

Exercise 5 ? Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjective or adverb form? Circle the correct answer for each of the following.

1. It was a (real, really) dull convention.

2. Bart manages people (good, well).

3. Bart is a (good, well) manager.

4. You did a (remarkable, remarkably) job.

5. He finished the project (satisfactorily, satisfactory).

6. Remove the cap very (slow, slowly) to avoid being burned by the hot steam.

7. Tom was embarrassed because they performed (bad, badly).

8. He must act (quick, quickly) to take advantage of the discount.

9. Send the contract (immediate, immediately) to get the best price.

10. The production manager is (real, really) pleased with the current production levels.

[sat8997]

I had planned to do this exercise, but I don't seem to have a circle thingamajig on my keyboard.

Sharon

[TalonRider]

I don't have one of those either. So I guess the next best thing to do is copy the exercise and change the text color of the word of your answer.

Jan

[Trab]

Exercise 5 ? Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjective or adverb form? Circle the correct answer for each of the following.

1. It was a (real, really) dull convention.

2. Bart manages people (good, well). Thank-you. Thank-you very much.

3. Bart is a (good, well) manager. Although, in all fairness to me, I did very well in the oil fields, and my health is fine too.

4. You did a (remarkable, remarkably) job.

5. He finished the project (satisfactorily, satisfactory).

6. Remove the cap very (slow, slowly) to avoid being burned by the hot steam.

7. Tom was embarrassed because they performed (bad, badly).

8. He must act (quick, quickly) to take advantage of the discount.

9. Send the contract (immediate, immediately) to get the best price.

10. The production manager is (real, really) pleased with the current production levels.

[TalonRider]

Exercise 5 ? Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjective or adverb form? Circle the correct answer for each of the following.

1. It was a (real, really) dull convention.

2. Bart manages people (good, well).

3. Bart is a (good, well) manager.

4. You did a (remarkable, remarkably) job.

5. He finished the project (satisfactorily, satisfactory).

6. Remove the cap very (slow, slowly) to avoid being burned by the hot steam.

7. Tom was embarrassed because they performed (bad, badly).

8. He must act (quick, quickly) to take advantage of the discount.

9. Send the contract (immediate, immediately) to get the best price.

10. The production manager is (real, really) pleased with the current production levels.

Exercise 5 ? Adjectives and Adverbs

1. really

2. well

3. good

4. remarkable

5. satisfactorily

6. slowly

7. badly

8. quickly

9. immediately

10. really

[Pee Jay]

That's a good commentary, Talon. How do you plan to implement it? lol. Your message can only be appreciated by those that understand it! And therefore, I'm sure it goes unappreciated for the most part. That's not good or maybe it is. For Christ sake, editors need work too! hehe.

Seriously though, if someone is attempting to write, they should have payed attention to grammar in grade school. That's how basic that stuff is. I must admit, though. In the course of writing, it's sometimes easy to overlook the basics. That's how obvious those mistakes should be to the writer when he re-reads his work. Most of that stuff should be corrected before the editor reads it. If it isn't then it's ill conceived and poorly executed and lazy.

All The Best,

Pee Jay

[Cole Parker]

That's how basic that stuff is. I must admit, though.

Pee Jay

My God! I finally agree with Pee Jay! This is rather basic, isn't it? What forms a sentence? You need a noun and a verb? And look, for example, at the one above. 'I must admit, though.' A noun is there, and even a verb. So that must be a sentence. Isn't it? Or is it supposed to mean something?

C

[Trab]

Cole, you are a wicked, wicked man.

[Cole Parker]

Aw, shucks!

C

[TracyMN]

The basics are so some of us can get 100%.

Readers like to know this stuff, too, so they don't make fools of themselves when writing to writers.

So, is that a sentence or isn't it? Oh, it's a joke. Probably would help if I knew Pee Jay better; I got wickedman right away.

A simple explanation can take an inordinate amount of effort--thanks Jan.

Tracy