Transcript Adjectives, Articles and Adverbs

PARTS
OF
SPEECH:
adjectives,
articles, and
adverbs
An LSCC Learning Center
Self-Paced Tutorial
What are the Parts of Speech?
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This is the common term for the various categories of words that make up
the English language.
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They are:
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Nouns
Pronouns
Adjectives
Prepositions
Interjections
Verbs
Adverbs
Articles
Conjunctions
The good news is – this is the entire list!
The bad news is - many of these categories
have multiple subgroups.
THE THREE A’S
Today our focus is on the three A’s of speech:
– Adjectives
– Articles
– Adverbs
Let’s look at each one separately and see how
they function.
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ADJECTIVES
An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
A slippery
slide
A green shirt
The local
playground
ADJECTIVES
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Adjectives can precede the noun they modify:
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Beautiful roses grow in my garden.
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Adjectives can follow a linking or sensory verb,
and these are called predicate adjectives:
 The roses in my garden are beautiful.
 The roses in my garden smell beautiful.
Sensory verbs are those dealing with sight, smell,
touch, taste and feeling.
ADJECTIVES
Adjectives tell us:
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How many: Three blind mice
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What kind:
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Which one: That new car
A rising sun
ADJECTIVES
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An example of adjective order
Article/number A / one
Opinion
trendy
Size
big
Age
new
Shape/texture
flat / soft
Color
blue
Origin
Italian
Material
leather
Purpose
hiking
Noun
jacket
ADJECTIVES
Commas or not?
The test for whether to place a comma between two
adjectives is based on adjective order:
If you can reverse the order and still make sense, put a
comma:
The gooey, sticky candy or
The sticky, gooey candy
If you can’t reverse the order, no comma is needed:
The three young girls not The young three girls
ADJECTIVES
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Two verb forms can also be adjectives:
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Participles usually end in EN, ED or ING. If they are paired
with a helping verb, they are always verbs:
– A trip was planned (verb)
– A planned trip (adjective)
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Infinitives (TO+VERB) may act as adjectives, adverbs or
nouns.
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Donating blood is a way to give back to the community.
(modifies way)
ADJECTIVES
There are three degrees of adjectives. These are based on
how many things are being considered at one time.
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They describe levels, intensity or comparison
Big:
one item: A big announcement
Bigger:
two items: Godzilla is bigger than King Kong.
Biggest: more than two: The biggest car ever built
The –er form for comparing two things is called the
comparative.
The –est form for more than two things is called the
superlative.
ARTICLES
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The articles are A, AN, and THE. They are sometimes
classed as adjectives because they help define a frame of
reference.
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A and AN are used with a non-specific reference:
A recently passed law (which one?)
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"A" is used with words that begin with a consonant.
"An" is used with words that begin with a vowel.
THE points to one specific thing:
– The recently passed law (as opposed to all others)
ADVERBS
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General facts:
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Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other
adverbs: walking quickly, brightly colored, very
easily
Many are created by adding “ly” to an adjective:
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Nice – nicely, slow – slowly
but many are irregular: yesterday, alongside
– They answer the questions
How, When, Where, or To What Extent
ADVERBS
Let’s test the rules:
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How did Maria get that huge report done? She
worked diligently throughout the week.
When will the report be printed? It’s printed already!
Where can I get a copy? I stacked them beside the
copier.
To what extent are they accurate? They are nearly
100 percent correct.
ADVERBIAL CONJUNCTIONS
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Also called conjunctive adverbs, join two
sentences that share some logical
connection.
These adverbs are preceded by a semicolon
and followed by a comma :
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I went to a party last night; however, I left early so I
could get to school this morning.
The movie we wanted to see was sold out;
therefore, we decided to play miniature golf
instead.
ADVERBIAL CONJUNCTIONS
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Whereas
Accordingly
Therefore
Also
Besides
Consequently
Finally
Thus
However
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Instead
Indeed
Furthermore
Later
Moreover
Nevertheless
Otherwise
Still
So
•As a matter of fact
•On the other hand
•Likewise
•Nonetheless
•Similarly
•For example
•Certainly
•At the same time
•In the first place
THE THREE A’S
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