Using Modifiers Correctly
• What is a modifier?
• Adjective or Adverb?
• Good and Well
• Comparison of Modifiers
• Regular comparison
• Irregular comparison
• Use of comparative and superlative forms
• The Double Negative
• Placement of Modifiers
• Prepositional phrases
• Participial phrases
• Adjective clauses
What is a Modifier?
• Modifier: a word or word group that makes
the meaning of another word more specific
• Two parts of speech: Adverbs and adjectives
– Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns
– Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs
Examples:
ADJ: You sang a beautiful song.
ADV: You sang beautifully.
Adjective or adverb?
• Many adverbs (but not all) end in –ly
• Some adjectives do, too
• To decide which is which, look at how it is
used in a sentence
Adjectives
Adverbs
Pac-man requires fast reflexes. The monsters in Pac-man
move fast.
Pac-man was my first arcade
I finished first among the high
game.
scorers.
We had a late night playing
You arrived late to the arcade
Pac-man.
party.
• Often, linking verbs are followed by a
predicate adjective
Examples:
That performance was powerful.
powerful follows the linker was, and it
describes the subject performance
The ground looks muddy.
muddy follows the linker looks, and it
describes the subject ground.
Exercise 1, p. 239
• Use your boards
• Decide whether the italicized modifier in each
sentence is and adjective or an adverb.
Ex: They had been best friends since pre-school.
A: adj: best modifies the noun friends.
#1: Does Mike’s flight leave early?
A: adv: early modifies the verb leave.
Good and Well
• Good is an adjective. Use it to modify nouns
and pronouns but not verbs.
• Well is an adverb. Use it to modify verbs.
Don’t use good to modify a verb:
NO: Paula does good in all her subjects.
YES: Paula does well in all her subjects.
Good and Well
So is it “I am good” or is it
“I am well”?
Grammar snobs tend to say “I am well” only!
Truth is, both are correct.
“I am good” means you’re generally happy.
“I am well” means you’re in good health.
Exercise 2, p. 241
• Use your boards
• Choose good or well for each sentence
Ex: We danced ________ at the recital.
A: well
#1: Melba did not run as ______ during the
second race.
A: well
Comparison of Modifiers
• Adjectives and adverbs make comparisons in
different forms that depend on the word they
happen to be modifying
Adjectives:
•
•
Hulk Hogan is tall. (no comparison)
The Big Show is taller. (comparison
with only one other thing)
• Andre the Giant is the tallest of
them all. (one thing compared
with many others)
Adverbs:
• Wrestlers appear in movies frequently. (no
comparison)
• John Cena appears in movies more frequently than
The Big Show. (one compared with another)
• Of all the wrestlers I can think of, The Rock appears in
movies most frequently. (one compared to many)
Degrees of comparison
• There are three degrees of comparison
– Positive
– Comparative
– Superlative
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
sharp
sharper
sharpest
quickly
more quickly
most quickly
bad
worse
worst
Regular comparison
• Most one-syllable modifiers form the
comparative degree by adding –er
• Most form the superlative by adding –est
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
meek
meeker
meekest
cold
colder
coldest
dry
drier
driest
Regular comparison
• Two-syllable modifiers form the comparative
degree by adding –er or using more.
• They form the superlative by adding –est or
using most.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
simple
simpler
simplest
easy
easier
easiest
often
more often
most often
Regular comparison
• Three or more-syllable modifiers form the
comparative degree by using more.
• They form the superlative by using most.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
delicate
more delicate
most delicate
creative
more creative
most creative
carefully
more carefully
most carefully
Regular comparison
• To show a decrease in qualities, modifiers
form the comparative degree by using less
• They form the superlative by using least
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
ripped
less ripped
least ripped
awesome
less awesome
least awesome
powerful
less powerful
least powerful
Irregular comparison
• Some comparatives and superlatives are not
formed in the usual way
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Good
Better
Best
Bad
Worse
Worst
Well
Better
Best
Many
More
Most
Little
Less (amount)/Littler (size)
Least (amt.)/Littlest (size)
Far
Farther (physical
distances)/Further
(metaphorical distances)
Farthest (physical
distances)/Furthest
(metaphorical distances)
Review A, p. 245
• Use a blank piece of lined paper (partner A)
• Give the comparative and superlative forms of
the words in your list
• Every word should have four entries
Ex: wasteful
A: more wasteful, less wasteful; most wasteful,
least wasteful
Ex: young
A: younger, less young; youngest, least young
Use of Comparative and Superlative forms
• Use the comparative degree when comparing two things
• Use the superlative degree when comparing more than two
Comparative:
• Android phones tend to be larger than Apple phones.
• I find my Android to be more customizable than an iPhone.
• Of the two phones, my Android was cheaper than her iPhone.
Superlative:
• The iPhone is the most popular brand of smartphone.
• The Apple store is the busiest store in Victoria Gardens.
• The new iOS icons are the most colorful icons we’ve seen yet.
• Avoid the common mistake of using the superlative
degree to compare only two things
NO: Of the two phones, my HTC DNA is the best
one.
YES: Of the two phones, my HTC DNA is the
better one.
NO: iOS is the fastest of the two operating
systems.
YES: iOS is the faster of the two operating
systems.
Include the word other or else when comparing one
member of a group with the rest of the group.
NO: The iPhone 5s is more
expensive than any phone Apple
sells.
YES: The iPhone 5s is more
expensive than any other phone
Apple sells.
NO: She can text faster than
anyone in the class.
YES: She can text faster than
anyone else in the class.
Avoid using double comparisons
• Double comparisons occur when you use –er and more or
–est and most to form a degree of comparison
• Use only one of these ways, not both
NO: My iPhone is more smaller than your Droid.
YES: My iPhone is smaller than your Droid.
NO: That is the most beautifulest screen I’ve ever seen!
YES: That is the most beautiful screen I’ve ever seen!
Review C, p. 248
• Use a blank piece of lined paper (partner B)
• Revise each incorrect sentence
• If a sentence is correct, write C. There are two in
this exercise.
Ex: It’s the most ugliest phone in the world!
A: It’s the ugliest phone in the world!
Ex: Which of these three phones is the more expensive?
A: Which of these three phones is the most expensive?
The Double Negative
• Avoid using double negatives!
Examples:
We don’t need no education.
We don’t need no thought control.
Fix it!
• We don’t have no extra chairs.
– We don’t have any extra chairs.
– We have no extra chairs.
• He couldn’t hardly talk.
– He could hardly talk.
Common negative words
barely
never
none
nothing
hardly
no
no one
nowhere
neither
nobody
not/n’t
scarcely
Classwork: LH 57 and 58
• Complete both sides of the worksheet
• Partner A does odds/ B evens
• As always, discuss all answers before
committing
Placement of Modifiers
• Where you place a modifier can have a major
impact on the meaning of your words.
Examples:
• The jedi from Tatooine gave
a televised lecture on
famous Sith Lords.
• The jedi gave a televised
lecture on famous Sith Lords
from Tatooine.
• The jedi gave a televised
lecture from Tatooine on
famous Sith Lords.
• Place modifiers as near as possible to the
words they modify.
• Modifiers that seem to be in the wrong place
are called misplaced modifiers.
Misplaced: My aunt Padme has almost seen all
of the Star Wars movies.
Correct: My aunt Padme has seen almost all of
the Star Wars movies.
• A modifier that doesn’t clearly modify another
word/word group in a sentence is called a
dangling modifier.
Examples:
With a dangling modifier: Having left the message with
the droid, it was easier to let Ben know he was her only
hope.
Corrected: Having left the message with the droid, Leia
found it easier to let Ben know he was her only hope.
Exercise 7, p. 252
• Use a blank piece of lined paper (partner A)
• Revise each incorrect sentence. The wrong stuff
is in italics.
• There are no sentences that are correct as
written.
• There can be many ways to correct these
sentences.
Ex: Surprised, the planet was only fifty parsecs away!
A: I was surprised that the planet was only fifty parsecs
away!
Prepositional phrases
• Prepositional phrases contain prepositions, nouns or
pronouns called objects, and any modifiers of the objects
• When using prep. phrases as adjectives, generally place them
right after the word they modify
Misplaced: The play describes Hamlet’s struggle with his stepfather by William Shakespeare.
Correct: The play by William Shakespeare describes Hamlet’s
struggle with his step-father.
• Prepositional phrases used as adverbs should be placed near
the words they modify
Misplaced: Spanish explorers discovered gold along the river that
runs near my house during the 1500s.
Better: During the 1500s, Spanish explorers discovered gold
along the river that runs near my house.
Better: Spanish explorers discovered gold during the 1500s along
the river that runs near my house.
• Avoid placing prepositional phrases in positions where they
can modify more than one word.
Misplaced: Emily said before sunset it might get colder.
Better: Emily said it might get colder before sunset.
Better: Before sunset, Emily said it might get colder.
Exercise 8, p. 253
• Use a blank piece of lined paper (partner B)
• Revise each incorrect sentence.
• There are no sentences that are correct as
written.
• Do 1-6 only . A evens, B odds.
Ex: I read that a satellite was launched in the news
today.
A: I read in the news today that a satellite was
launched.
Review: Participial phrases
• Participles: verbs used as adjectives
– The screaming bandit waved his pistol.
– Present participles end in –ing
– Most past participles end in –d or –ed
• Participial phrases contain participles and
their modifiers or compliments
– Seeing himself in the mirror, the bandit seemed
confused.
– Then, disgusted with the man in the mirror, the
bandit fired his pistol.
Review: Compliments (ch. 4)
• Compliments complete the meaning of verbs
• They include:
– Direct objects
– Indirect objects
• These complete the meaning of action verbs
– Predicate nominatives
– Predicate adjectives
• These complete the meaning of linking verbs
Participial phrases
• Participial phrases contain verb forms, either present or past
participles, and any modifiers or compliments the participles
have.
• Participial phrases modify nouns or pronouns
• Like prep. phrases, they should be placed as close as possible
to the word they modify
Misplaced: Bandits
chased the stagecoach
yelling wildly.
Correct: Yelling wildly,
bandits chased the
stagecoach.
Misplaced: The bank vault door was lying on the floor broken
into several pieces.
Correct: The bank vault door, broken into several pieces, was
lying on the floor.
To correct a dangling participial phrase:
1. Supply a word for the phrase to modify
2. Change it to a clause (subject +verb)
Dangling: Running through the desert, the horseshoe
fell off.
Correct: Running through the desert, the horse lost its
shoe.
Correct: The horse lost its shoe while it was running
through the desert.
Dangling: Riding the fastest horse in the west,
catching the stagecoach was no problem.
Correct: Riding the fastest horse in the west,
Woody had no problem catching the stagecoach.
Correct: Because he was riding the fastest horse
in the west, Woody had no problem catching the
stagecoach.
Exercise 9, p. 255
• Use a blank piece of lined paper (partner A)
• Revise each incorrect sentence.
• There are no sentences that are correct as written among the ones
you must do.
• There are many ways to correctly fix each sentence. Try to change
it as little as possible.
• Do 1-6 only . A evens, B odds.
Ex: Dressed in our cowboy costumes, the police officer waved and
smiled.
A: Seeing us in our cowboy costumes, the police officer waved and
smiled.
A: Dressed in our cowboy costumes, we saw the police officer smile
and wave.
Adjective clauses
• Adjective clauses are subordinate clauses that
modify nouns or pronouns
• Most begin with a relative pronoun such as:
– That
– Which
– Who
– Whom
– Whose
Like adjective phrases,
these should be placed
right after the word they
modify
Misplaced: The book was about
insects that we read.
Correct: The book that we read
was about insects.
Misplaced: A boy walked up to
Jenny who was lost.
Correct: A little boy who was lost
walked up to Jenny.
Misplaced: His parents traded an
old dvd player for a new blu-ray
player, which they no longer
wanted.
Correct: His parents traded an old
dvd player which they no longer
wanted for a new blu-ray player.
Review F, p. 257
•
•
•
•
Use a blank piece of lined paper (partner B)
You and your partner will revise the paragraph on page 257.
Partner A will complete all odd sentences; B will do evens.
5 points of classwork credit will be available in grammar
today:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Both names on the paper. Seriously.
Formatted as a list, not as a paragraph. Number your paper 1-10.
Accurately identify the two correctly written sentences. Your answer
to these will be C.
The assignment is complete. 8 correctly revised sentences and two
identified as correct.
Corrections made based on discussion. Fix what needs to be fixed.