What is an Adjective?
Students will:
Identify adjectives and the nouns they
describe.
Definitions
 What is an adjective?
 A word that describes a noun or a pronoun.
 The large church was crowded.
 Adjectives can also describe “what kind.”
 Spotted fawns were resting. They looked peaceful.
 They can also identify “how many.”
 Three elephants were eating. Monkeys did several
tricks.
Definitions
 Adjectives appear in a variety of places in a
sentence.
 They may come before the noun they are
describing.
 Example:
 Powerful lions stared boldly at us.
 Adjectives may also come after a linking verb.
 Example:
 Giraffes seemed gentle and shy.
Rules
 When two or more adjectives are listed together,
you should usually use a comma to separate them.
 Large, colorful parrots screeched.
 When one of these adjectives tells how many, do
not use a comma.
 Example:
 Two white geese honked loudly.
What are the adjectives in each sentence.
Do not include “a, an, or the.
 The two cubs are small and playful.
 One enormous hippo swam in deep water.
 The beautiful, proud peacock has many feathers.
 The owls have speckled wings and sharp claws.
Identify the adjectives in each sentence.
(Do not include “a, an, or the.) Connect the
adjective(s) to the noun it describes.
 The giraffes have long, knobby legs.
 Several monkeys are cute and frisky.
 The heavy elephant has a slow, swaying walk.
 The snouts of the crocodiles are long and narrow.
Identify the adjectives in the following
jokes.
 What animal is gray, has two large ears, four
legs, a long, skinny tail, and a trunk?
 A mouse on vacation
 What rodent is huge and hairless?
 A hippopota mouse
Identify the adjectives in the following
jokes.
 What do big gray hippos have that nothing
else has?
 They have little gray hippos.
 What has a thousand needles but cannot
sew?
 A porcupine.
 No fishing bait is sold at that
general store.
 His best friend sends him unusual
baseball cards.
 Dad likes Vermont maple syrup on
his pancakes.
 One famous athlete spoke to a
small middle school.
 After the hockey game, several
players ate a large meal.
 Does your uncle drive an old black
truck with shiny chrome wheels.
 Small, rusty nails lay on the broken
bench.
 These jelly doughnuts are good.
 During our zoo trip, we saw many
monkeys.
 The red brick house was built in
ten months.
 Their little turtle now lives near a
marshy pond.
 An orange tissue box is on that
counter.
Workbook pages: 69-70