Adjectives
Level One
We would recommend that you understand the
following topics -- nouns, linking and action verbs, and
pronouns – before you start this one.
Adjectives are words that describe nouns.
nouns
astronomer
room
glass
friendship
adjectives describing nouns
lonely astronomer
spacious room
sea glass
strong friendship
• Though adjectives can be found in four different places in a sentence, for
our purposes we will only focus on the most common one for the time
being. An adjective appears
1. before the noun that it describes as with the nouns above. These
nouns can be anywhere in the sentence.
For “Adjectives Level 1” we will concentrate only on adjectives that
appear before a noun.
The small bookcase over there contains your book too.
The nouns are “bookcase” and “book.”
The adjectives are “small” and “your” as each is before the noun
and describes the noun in some way. The first adjective “small” describes the
size of the “bookcase;” the second identifies whose “book” it happens to be.
• Find the nouns in the following sentence. (The answers will appear at the
top of the next slide.)
•
The other team controlled the ball during the last quarter.
The other team controlled the ball during the last quarter.
The nouns are “team,” “ball,” and “quarter.”
• If those are the nouns, what are the adjectives in the sentence?
The other team controlled the ball during the last quarter.
The adjective “other” describes “team.”
The adjective “last” describes “quarter.”
• This time find the nouns and their adjectives in the following sentence.
Our neighbor grew up in a mining town.
Our neighbor grew up in a mining town.
The adjective “our” describes “neighbor”
The adjective “mining” describes “town”
• Find the nouns and their adjectives in the following sentence.
The young girl found her brother beneath the forsythia bush.
The young girl found her brother beneath the forsythia bush.
The adjective “young” describes the noun “girl”
The adjective “her” describes the noun “brother”
The adjective “forsythia” describes the noun “bush”
One of the keys to understanding how grammar works is knowing that
some words can sometimes be a noun and sometimes an adjective. In the
above example, “forsythia” and “her” could both be nouns in different
sentences. Therefore, it is important and easier, when looking for adjectives,
to find the nouns first and then move backward.
• Find the nouns and their adjectives in the following sentence.
The yellow forsythia always blooms before my mother’s white
lilacs.
The yellow forsythia always blooms before my mother’s white lilacs.
The adjective “yellow” describes the noun, this time, “forsythia.”
The adjective “white” describes the noun “lilacs.”
The adjective “mother’s” also describes the noun “lilacs.”
And finally, the adjective “my” also describes the noun “lilacs.”
• Find the nouns and their adjectives in the following sentence.
The taller man helped her to reach the top shelf.
The taller man helped her to reach the top shelf.
The adjective “taller” describes the noun “man”
The adjective “top” describes the noun “shelf”
• Find the nouns and their adjectives in the following sentence.
The Turkish chef cooked some delicious spiced vegetables on the grill.
The Turkish chef cooked some delicious spiced vegetables on the grill.
The adjective “Turkish” describes the noun “chef.”
The adjectives “some,” “delicious,” and “spiced” all describe the
noun
“vegetables.”
Not all words that come before the noun will be adjectives. It will
depend on whether they describe the noun, or something else in the
sentence.
In which phrase do both words before the noun, describe the noun?
1. highly motivated worker
2. kind generous person
1. highly motivated worker
2. kind generous person
The easiest way to determine if a word is describing the noun is simply to begin with
the word before the noun and ask yourself whether you could say that someone is a “generous
person.” If the answer is yes, you have an adjective. Then move to the word before it, “kind.”
Could you also say someone is a “kind person?” Again if the answer is yes, you have an adjective.
Contrast that phrase with the other one. Though you could say that someone was a
“motivated student,” which would mean “motivated” was an adjective, notice how it would not
make sense to say that someone was a “highly worker.” That’s right, just ignore the word
“motivated,” before the noun, and concentrate on the relationship between the noun and the
word in question; in this case “highly.” “highly” does not describe the noun; it describes the
adjective; we would make sense if we said someone was “highly motivated” as opposed to saying
he was a “highly worker.” “Highly” is not an adjective, but an adverb. But don’t worry about
adverbs just yet. Just concentrate on the decision of whether it is an adjective or not, and if it
does not describe the noun, it is not an adjective. It’s that simple.
•
Try another pair of phrases; decide which one has all the words describing the noun
1. very brave person
2. her warm embrace
1. very brave person
2. her warm embrace
In the first phrase, “brave” describes the noun “person” but “very” does not.
In the second phrase both “her” and “warm” are adjectives describing the noun
“embrace.”
•
Now see if you can spot the adjectives in the following sentence.
1. The responsible young man carefully doused the raging fire.
The responsible young man carefully doused the raging fire.
The adjectives “responsible” and “young” describe the “man.”
The adjective “raging” describes the noun “fire.”
• Find the adjectives in the following sentence.
Carla became a more famous celebrity in her later years.
Carla became a more famous celebrity in her later years.
“famous” is an adjective describing the noun “celebrity”
“her” and “later” are both adjectives describing the noun “years”
“more” is not an adjective.
• Find the adjectives in the following sentence.
A new Broadway play opened just last week.
A new Broadway play opened just last week.
“new” and “Broadway” are both adjectives describing the noun “play.”
“last” is an adjective describing “week.”
“just” is not an adjective.
•
Find the adjectives in the following sentence.
The tired and hungry white squirrel climbed the sycamore tree in Tony’s
backyard.
The tired and hungry white squirrel climbed the sycamore tree in Tony’s
backyard.
“tired,” “hungry,” and “white” are all adjectives describing the noun
“squirrel.”
“sycamore” is an adjective describing the noun “tree.”
“Tony’s” is an adjective describing the noun “backyard.”
•
Find the adjectives in the following sentence
Too few older people ride this train in the morning.
Too few older people ride this train in the morning.
“few” and “older” are adjectives that describe the noun “people.”
“this” is an adjective describing the noun “train.”
“too” is not an adjective.
•
Find the adjectives in the following sentence.
Someone’s hiking boot appeared in the big green bin downstairs by the front
door.
Someone’s hiking boot appeared in the big green bin downstairs by the
front door.
“someone’s” and “hiking” are both adjectives describing the noun
“boot.”
“big” and “green” are both adjectives describing the noun “bin.”
“front” is an adjective that describes which door the “bin” is near.
•
Find the adjectives in the following sentence
The insightful police detective absorbed everything in one brief glance.
The insightful police detective absorbed everything in one brief glance.
“insightful” and “police” are adjectives describing the noun “detective.”
“one” and “brief” are two adjectives describing the noun “glance.”
•
Last one; find the adjectives in the following sentence.
The magazine’s new critic liked the less expensive headphones better.
The magazine’s new critic liked the less expensive headphones better.
“magazine’s” and “new” are adjectives describing the noun “critic.”
“expensive” is the adjective describing the noun “headphones.”
“less” is not an adjective in this sentence.
• Congratulations – you made it through all of Level 1, Adjectives.