Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives and adverbs are used to add detail and description to sentences

Descriptive Adjectives

• Descriptive adjectives provide information about the qualities or characteristics of nouns and pronouns
• These adjectives answer questions like "What kind?", "Which one?", or "How many?"
• Examples of descriptive adjectives: happy, big, red, interesting, old, tall, clever, expensive, thin, round

Usage in Sentences

• Adjectives typically precede the noun they modify
  • An example of an adjective preceding a noun: "She has a blue car"
• Adjectives can also follow a linking verb, which includes be, seem, become, look, feel, taste, smell, and sound
  • An example of an adjective following a linking verb: "The sky is blue"
• Emphasize or add style by positioning adjectives after the noun
  • "The president elect himself was late" exemplifies placing an adjective after the noun
• Compound adjectives, formed by combining two or more words, are often hyphenated, mainly when preceding the noun
  • For example: "a well-known author"

Adverbs

• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs by providing details about how, when, where, or to what extent something occurs
• Adverbs answer questions like "How?", "When?", "Where?", "Why?", "How often?", or "To what extent?"
• Common types of adverbs:
  • Adverbs of manner describe how an action is performed, for examples: quickly, slowly, carefully
  • Adverbs of time indicate when an action occurs, like: now, yesterday, soon
  • Adverbs of place specify where an action takes place, for example: here, there, everywhere
  • Adverbs of frequency describe how often an action happens, such as: always, sometimes, never
  • Adverbs of degree indicate the intensity or extent of an action or quality, for example: very, quite, extremely

Adverb Placement

• An adverb's placement can shift a sentence's meaning and emphasis
• Adverbs of manner typically follow the verb or the object, if present:
  • "She sings beautifully" and "He painted the house carefully" are examples
• Adverbs of time and place can often appear at the beginning or end of a sentence, depending on the desired emphasis
  • Placement examples: "Yesterday, I went to the store," "I went to the store yesterday," "Here is the book," "The book is here"
• Adverbs of frequency typically precede the main verb, or follow the auxiliary verb if one exists
  • For instance: "I always drink coffee in the morning," "She has never been to Europe," and "They are often late"
• Adverbs of degree generally precede the adjective or adverb they modify.
  • Examples: "She is very happy" and "He runs incredibly fast"
• Adverbs like only, even, almost, and just can drastically alter a sentence’s meaning based on their position
  • "Only I saw the movie" means no one else did, while "I saw only the movie" indicates that seeing the movie was the only activity
• Adverbs modifying an entire clause often start the sentence
  • As in: "Fortunately, it didn't rain"
• Sentence flow and clarity are key when placing adverbs
• While there are guidelines, optimal adverb placement relies on context and the intended meaning