ADJECTIVES

1. ADJECTIVES Examples red barn that notebook seven apples many novels romantic story interesting poem these ideas Irish ballad cracked pitcher enough plates second time no excuse afternoon class cheese sandwich football game -- a word that modifies a noun or pronoun by limiting its meaning. -- tells what kind, which one, how many, or how much.

2. Examplesmy kitten (possessive adjective)those bicycles (demonstrative adjective) Lucy’s report (possessive noun acting as adj)leather shoes (noun acting as adj) • Pronouns can also serve as adjectives. For example, possessive pronouns (my, our, your, his, her, its, and their) act as adjectives when they modify nouns. Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, and those) can also be considered demonstrative adjectives when they modify nouns. • Similarly, nouns can serve as adjectives. Any noun that modifies another noun can be considered an adjective.

3. Two verb forms can also act as adjectives: the present participle, which ends in –ing, and the past participle, which either ends in –edor is irregularly formed. • EXAMPLES a spinning top some burned toast a fallen tree *** Adjectives may appear in various positions in relation to the words they modify.*** How suspenseful this movie is! That suspenseful movie was very popular. The movie is suspenseful. The movie, relentlessly suspenseful, ended suddenly.

4. Practice: Write the sentence. Circle each adjective and underline the word it modifies. • Five hundred tired fans waited in line for four hours. • No one in our class had ever heard of the Buffalo Soldiers. • Mrs. Angelini requests an aisle seat at concerts. • Who ate that peanut butter sandwich? I was saving it for my lunch! • The Argus Clearinghouse is a useful collection of four hundred or more guides to the Internet. • Yes, the new PTA president is George’s mother. • Who would make this long trip just to see some petrified wood? • When Dad returned from his Paris trip, he brought me some wonderful French perfume. • Do we have enough orange juice for Kia’s friends?

5. Answers • Five hundred fans; tired fans; four hours • No one; our class • Aisle seat • That sandwich; peanut butter sandwich; my lunch • Useful collection; four hundred guides; more guides • New president; PTA president; George’s mother • This trip; long trip; some wood; petrified wood • His trip; Paris trip; some perfume; wonderful perfume; French perfume • Enough juice; orange juice; Kia’s friends

6. Forms of Adjectives • Many adjectives have different forms to indicate their degree of comparison. • The positive form indicates no comparison. • The comparative form compares two nouns or pronouns. • The superlative form compares more than two nouns or pronouns.

7. Examples POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE smooth smoother smoothest happy happier happiest thin thinner thinnest beautiful more beautiful most beautiful good, well better best bad worse worst many, much more most little less least

8. Practice: When writing the sentence, write the correct comparative or superlative form of the adjective in parentheses. • Sliding downhill was (smooth) than I expected. • This is the (snowy) winter we have had in years. • California is a large state. Texas, however, is (large) than California, and Alaska is the (large) state in the United States. • Sofia’s goal is to become the (good) doctor in Missouri. • The next time I suggest hiking up Millis Hill, please remind me that today’s trip was the (unpleasant) one I’ve ever taken.

9. Continued… 6. In my opinion, no one is (qualified) than Keysha to lead our class next year. 7. Few are (happy) than my brothers when vacation starts, but Mom is always (happy) of all when they start school again. 8. How much (long) will it be before all the grass is cut? 9. The 630-foot Gateway Arch in St. Louis is the (tall) monument in the United States. 10. Saint Louis University now stands on reclaimed land that once housed some of the (bad) slums in Missouri.

10. Answers • Smoother • Snowiest • Larger; largest • Best • Most unpleasant • More qualified • Happier; happiest • Longer • Tallest • Worst

11. Articles • are the adjectives a, an, and the. • A and an are called indefinite articles. -- they can refer to any one of a kind of person, place, thing, or idea -- A is used before consonant sounds; an is used before vowel sounds • The is the definite article. -- refers to a specific person, place, thing, or idea

12. Examples • Indefinite He found aring. I have a used computer. I ate an egg. • Definite He found the ring. I have the used computer. I ate the egg.

13. Proper Adjectives • formed from a proper noun • begins with a capital letter Vancouver is a Canadian city. We visited the London Zoo.

14. The following suffixes, along with others, are often used to form proper adjectives: -n, -ian, -an, -ese, -ic, and –ish. Sometimes there are other changes as well. Proper NounsProper Adjectives Queen Victoria Victorian Egypt Egypitan Mexico Mexican Lebanon Lebanese Ireland Irish

15. Practice: Rewrite each phrase, changing the noun in red into a proper adjective. • the embassy of Japan • mythology of Greece and Rome • the Alps of Switzerland • the people of Wales • the Vikings of Denmark • the canals of Holland • the veldt of Africa • the language of China • winters in Iceland • hot spices of Thailand

16. Answers • the Japanese embassy • Greek and Roman mythology • the Swiss Alps • the Welsh people • the Danish Vikings • the Dutch canals • the African veldt • the Chinese language • Icelandic winters • hot Thai spices