Transcript Amazing Adjectives - Tulsa Community College

AMAZING ADJECTIVES
NEC FACET Center
DEFINITION

A word that describes (or modifies) a noun or
pronoun


Adjectives tend to describe what kind or how many (in
reference to the noun or pronoun)
Purpose: to make your writing more descriptive
and vivid
Boring! You should
So, then I
said, “She’s
my daughter.”
have said, “She’s my
obnoxious daughter
who’s currently
stealing innocent
Johnny’s two favorite
toys” Where are the
adjectives?
EXAMPLES
PRACTICE

Brainstorm some adjectives to describe the
kids in this picture.
PLACEMENT


Before the word described

The beautiful dancer twirled like a thundering tornado.

The two girls looked more like their American mom than
their Indonesian dad.
After a linking verb (state of being [is, was, were],
related to 5 senses [looks, smells, etc])

She is tired.

The sky seems stormy.
PRACTICE: PLACEMENT
Choose the correct placement of the verb.
1. Billy Bob finally made the team. (hockey)

2.
John is. (rambunctious)

3.
Billy Bob finally made the hockey team.
John is rambunctious.
The girls made soup last night. (two)

The two girls made soup last night.
ADJECTIVES VS. ADVERBS

An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.
 Ex.
The sun is bright.
 Ex. We covered our ears upon hearing the loud
scream.
She sure was

An adverb describes a verb.
adverbs end in –ly
 Ex. The sun shines brightly.
 Ex. Benny screamed loudly.
boring.
 Generally,
If only she
didn’t talk so
loudly, I could
fall asleep.
IDENTIFY: ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB?

The heavy book weighed my backpack down.


The thoughts weighed heavily on my mind.


Adverb
Barry ran quickly through the crowd, aware that his future fiancée
was slipping through his fingers.


Adjective
She belligerently told the DMV employee that she would not take the
vision exam.


Adverb
The man was belligerent.


Adjective
Adverb
The quick fox jumped over the fence.

Adjective
Yes, my future
fiancée is
taller than me.
ADJECTIVES AS NOUNS

Descriptive adjectives may sometimes act as
nouns in a sentence.
 Ex.
The young tend to be more technologicallyliterate than the elderly.
 Ex. When my boss came to tell me the news, she
told me the good, the bad, and the ugly.
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Comparative adjectives describe a greater or
lesser degree
 When
comparing two things
 Generally end in –er
 May come after the words “more” or “less”

Ex. Out of those two, I would prefer to read the
shorter book for my book report.
COMPARATIVE
My daughter is
snobbier than yours.
Well, I believe
mine is the
more
intelligent of
the two.
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Superlative adjectives describe the greatest or
least degree
 When
comparing three or more things
 Generally end in –est
 May come after the words “most” or “least”

Ms. Jones was mad that I chose the shortest
book in the library to read.
SUPERLATIVE
In case you were
wondering…My
daughter is not
only snobbier
than yours, she’s
the snobbiest in
her whole class!
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Do not combine the use of more/most with the
use of –er/-est.
 This
 Ex.
is repetitive and non-standard.
Betty was the nicest tomato vendor in town.
 NOT
 Ex.
Betty was the most nicest tomato vendor in town.
Use the sharper knife to cut the potato.
 NOT
Use the more sharper knife to cut the potato.
She’s also the
most meanest.
Even the boys are
afraid of her,
especially when
she takes their
toys.
And her mother is the
least knowledgeable
about grammar.
I believe you
meant that your
daughter is the
meanest in the
class. The word
most is frivolous
in that statement.
COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
For short adjectives
POSITIVE
COMPARATIVE (-er)
SUPERLATIVE (-est)
Bright
Brighter
Brightest
Nice
Nicer
Nicest
Short
Shorter
Shortest
Happy
Happier
Happiest
For longer adjectives (3 or more syllables)
POSITIVE
COMPARATIVE (more+adj)
SUPERLATIVE (most+adj)
Amazing
More amazing
Most amazing
Creative
More creative
Most creative
Insistent
More insistent
Most insistent
Bothersome
More bothersome
Most bothersome
IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

Some common adjectives do not follow the
general rule for forming the comparative and
superlative.
POSITIVE
COMPARATIVE
SUPERLATIVE
Good
Better
Best
Bad
Worse
Worst
Little
Littler, less
Littlest, least
Many, some, much
More
most
PRACTICE: COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Which is the appropriate form of the verb?
 Jennette
is taller/tallest than Amanda.
 Jennette is the taller/tallest of all the tutors.
 That computer works the slowest/most slow of all
eighty computers in here.
 Taming of the Shrew is better/best than Hamlet.
 Social studies was my least favorite/favoriter class
in middle school.
ARTICLE ADJECTIVES (A, AN, THE)
Not all languages use articles.
 Most native speakers are able to distinguish
when to use a, an, and the based on intuition.
 A, an, and the will always come before the
noun.

ARTICLE ADJECTIVES


A and an are used when referring to a nonspecific
singular count noun.
A count noun is a noun that can be counted and made
plural.



Use a with nouns that begin with a consonant sound.


Examples of count nouns: cup/s, ear/s, box/es, girl/s,
textbook/s, computer/s
Examples of noncount nouns: anger, psychology, air
I will present a workshop every day.
Use an with nouns that begin with vowels (a, e, i, o, u).

I really need an assistant.
ARTICLE ADJECTIVES


The is used when referring to specific singular count nouns.
A noun is specific when it has already been referred to previously or
when it means only one definite example of something.

Ex. A computer in the lab is not working. We want to get rid of the
nonfunctional piece of junk.


Ex. Leslie turned the paper in on time.


Leslie turned in a specific paper, not just any paper.
Also use the when referring to a specific something of which only one
exists.


The computer has already been referred to in the previous sentence.
The sun is bright today.
Do not use the when referring to all examples of something.

Ex. I hate cats. (NOT I hate the cats.)
PRACTICE: ARTICLE ADJECTIVES

Choose the correct article.
I
bought a/an ankle bracelet from the mall.
 I haven’t had a secretary in months. I need to find
a/the good one.
 Sometimes, I have cravings for a/an/the hot apple
pie.
 After Georgia threw a spitball at Penelope, I said,
“Pick up all a/the trash off the floor!”
 On their 3rd anniversary, Jenny knew he was
the/a/an one.
PUNCTUATION
Separate 2 or more coordinate adjectives with a
comma or the word and.
 Coordinate adjectives are adjectives that modify a
word equally.

Tip: You can switch the order of the adjectives without
changing the meaning.
 Tip: The word and can separate the two adjectives
without changing the meaning
 Ex. I dreaded the long, boring journey.

I
dreaded the boring, long journey.
 I dreaded the long and boring journey.
PUNCTUATION

When one of the adjectives is more closely
related to the noun than the other, do not use a
comma.


In this case, you cannot switch the order of the adjectives or
separate the two with and without changing the meaning.
Ex. I slept heavily because I have two full-time jobs.



I slept heavily because I have two and full-time jobs.
I slept heavily because I have full-time two jobs.
Do NOT use a comma.
PRACTICE: PUNCTUATION

Correctly punctuate the sentences. Some may
need no punctuation.
 The
model was tall and skinny.
 Her agent was demanding short and rude.
 I took the long toll road home.
 Tired and bored, I almost fell asleep behind the
wheel.
 Luckily, a dashing young truck driver honked his
horn for me to wake up.
ADJECTIVES REVIEW

Placement
 before
the noun
 after the linking verb

Adjectives vs. adverbs
 Adjectives
modify nouns or pronouns.
 Adverbs modify verbs and generally end in –ly.

Adjectives as nouns
 Descriptive
nouns.
adjectives may sometimes serve as
ADJECTIVES REVIEW

Comparative/Superlative
Comparative-Use more or –er
 Superlative-Use most or -est


Articles
Use a with nonspecific nouns that begin in consonant
sounds.
 Use an with nonspecific nouns beginning in vowel
sounds.
 Use the with specific nouns.


Punctuation

Separate coordinate adjectives with and or commas
So, basically
your daughter is
a sweet, loving
angel who you
care deeply
about.
Finally! I’ve found
someone who
actually listens.