Grammar Lesson 41
• Vocabulary:
• The Greek prefix hyper- means “over, excessive, or exaggerated”
• Hyperbole- a figure of speech consisting of an extreme exaggeration not
meant to be taken literally
• Hyperactivity- excessive activity
• Hyperglycemia- a condition of too much glucose in the blood
Predicate Adjectives
• A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and describes or gives more detail
about the subject
• Example: An appaloosa is nimble. (nimble is the predicate adjective because
it describes appaloosa)
• The linking verb that connects the subject to the predicate adjective may be a
“to be” verb (is, am, are, was, were) but other linking verbs such as become,
seem, feel, appear, look, taste, and smell also can link them.
• Example: That appaloosa looks lively.
Compound and Diagramming
• A predicate adjective may be compound
• Example: Jonathan Edwards was brilliant and fiery.
• We diagram a predicate adjective in the same way we diagram a predicate
nominative.
Grammar Lesson 42
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Vocabulary:
The Greek prefix hypo- means under, the opposite of hyper-
Hypoglycemia- too little glucose in the blood
Hypocalcemia- not enough calcium in the blood
Hypothyroidism- deficient activity of the thyroid gland
Comparison Adjectives
• Adjectives are often used to compare nouns or pronouns
• They come in three forms that show greater or lesser degrees of quality,
quantity, or manner: positive, comparative, or superlative
Positive
• The basic form of the adjective, describes a noun or pronoun without
comparing it to any other
• Examples:
• James is silly.
• The soldier is brave.
Comparative
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The comparative form compares two persons, places, or things
Examples:
James is sillier than John.
The soldier is braver than I am.
Superlative
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The superlative form compares three or more persons, places, or things
Examples:
James is the silliest of the four brothers.
That soldier is the bravest in the army.
Forming Comparison Adjectives
• Most one-syllable adjectives become comparative by adding er to the ending, they
become superlative by adding est to the ending (example: light, lighter, lightest)
• When a two-syllable adjective ends in y we create the comparative and superlative
forms by changing y to i and adding er or est
• Most adjectives with two or more syllables do not have comparative or superlative
forms. Instead we use “more” (or less) before the adjective for the comparative and
the word “most” (or least) to form the superlative (example: trustworthy, more
trustworthy, most trustworthy)
Exceptions
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Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Little
littler
littlest
Clever
cleverer
cleverest
Quiet
quitter
quietest
Simple
simpler
simplest
Narrow
narrower
narrowest