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SUMARY
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................2
ADJECTIVE..................................................................................................................................3
Characteristics of Adjectives.....................................................................................................3
Use of adjectives.........................................................................................................................3
Syntactic Functions of Adjectives.............................................................................................4
Morphology.................................................................................................................................4
Categories of adjective...............................................................................................................4
Types of adjectives:....................................................................................................................7
ADVERBS....................................................................................................................................10
Definition...................................................................................................................................10
Use of adverbs...........................................................................................................................11
Types.........................................................................................................................................12
Diference between adjectives and adverbs............................................................................14
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................17
BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................18
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INTRODUCTION
In the realm of language and grammar, adjectives and adverbs play crucial roles in

enriching the expression of ideas and providing a finer understanding of the attributes, actions,

and nuances within a sentence. Adjectives, by definition, are words that describe, identify, or

further define nouns, imparting additional information about them. Conversely, adverbs are

linguistic tools that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, offering insights into how, when,

where, and to what extent an action or quality occurs. This academic work delves into the

intricate world of adjectives and adverbs, exploring their characteristics, usage, and distinctions,

as well as the various types and forms they can assume. Understanding the mechanics of these

two parts of speech is essential for achieving precision and clarity in both written and spoken

language.

As we proceed, we will delve into the defining characteristics of adjectives, ranging from

those with predictable forms to those with derivational suffixes, as well as those that inflect for

comparative and superlative degrees. Furthermore, we will explore how adjectives can

sometimes transform into adverbs by adding the suffix "-ly," enhancing our comprehension of

how they modify language.

Finally, we will delve into the syntactic and morphological aspects of adjectives and

adverbs, considering how they can be premodified by intensifiers, inflected to denote

comparison, and formed into adjective phrases. Additionally, we will examine the classification

of adjectives based on their position in a sentence, distinguishing between attributive and

predicative adjectives. This academic exploration aims to equip readers with a profound

understanding of adjectives and adverbs, empowering them to wield these linguistic tools with

precision and finesse in their communication.

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ADJECTIVE
Definition of Adjective: An adjective is a word that describes, identifies or further defines

a noun, and gives extra information about it. For example: a sweet taste a red apple a technical

problem a French woman

Characteristics of Adjectives
Some adjectives cannot be predicted from their forms. 2. Others have derivational

suffixes, such as disaster → disastrous. Many common adjectives have no identifying shapes,

such as good, hot, little, young, fat, etc. Many adjectives inflect for the comparative and

superlative degrees, such as great → greater → greatest, but others do not allow inflected forms,

such as disastrous, one cannot say *disasterouser or *disasterousest. Some adjectives can be

changed into adverbs by adding the derivational suffix (-ly), such as happy → happily, others do

not allow this suffix to be added to them. For example, one cannot say old → *oldly.

Use of adjectives
Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns. A noun is a person, place or thing, and

a pronoun takes the place of a noun. For example, she is a pronoun for Margie. Typically, an

adjective answers how many, what kind, and which one.

For example: Two boys are left in the spelling bee.

- Two tells how many boys; boys is the noun. Several, some, every, few, many, and a lot

are also adjectives that express how many.

Furthermore, adjectives can describe nouns: Lydia’s blue eyes sparkle like sapphires

when she smiles.

- Blue illustrates what color of eyes she has, thus describing the noun eyes.

- The adjective Blue can also come after the noun it is modifying. For example, Lydia’s

eyes are blue.

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In addition, adjectives demonstrate which one by using the words this, that, these and

those.

For instance: This teacher is less demanding than that one. Or, I want to buy these books.

This, that, these and those also can be used as pronouns, depending on how the word is used in a

sentence. For example: That is my favorite show. And, These are mine.

Two Other Features of Adjectives 1. Syntactically, most adjectives can be premodified by

the intensifier 'very' and 'so', such as "The boys are very happy".

Syntactic Functions of Adjectives

The major syntactic functions of adjectives are attributive and predicative #. Show the

distinction between attributive and predicative adjectives (Give briefings with illustrative

examples).

Morphology
Morphologically, most adjectives can take comparative and superlative forms. The

comparison may be by means of inflections, e.g., "The children are happier now". Or they are the

happiest people I know".

Adjective Phrase (AP) is a phrase that consists of an adjective (headword) and could be

preceded by an intensifier, e.g.,: - Ali was (very happy). = The AP here consists of Intensifier +

Adjective as a headword. - Ali was (happy). =The AP here consists of just the headword

"happy".

Categories of adjective
Adjectives can be divided into two categories based on their position in a sentence.

Adjectives can occur both before and after a noun. These two positions are called attributive

position and predicative position. When an adjective occurs before a noun, it is in the attributive

position and that adjective is called an attributive adjective. When an adjective occurs after a

noun, it is in the predicative position and the adjective is called a predicative adjective.
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Therefore, the main difference between attributive and predicative adjectives is that attributive

adjectives occur before the noun whereas predicative adjectives occur after the noun: - The pretty

girl smiled at me. (Attributive adjective preceding the noun ‘girl’).

– This area is dangerous. (Predicative adjective following the noun)

Adjectives are attributive when they come before nouns, namely they are placed between

the determiner and the headword:

- The beautiful painting, his main argument. Predicative adjectives can be:

a. Subject complement, e.g.,: Your daughter is pretty.

B. Objective complement, e.g., He made his wife happy.

C. They can be complement to a subject which is a finite clause: - Whether he will resign

is uncertain.

D. They can be complement to a subject which is a non-finite clause: - Driving a bus is

not easy.

E. They can be object complement to clauses:

- I consider what he did foolish. ("Foolish" is a CO to the clause 'what he did') f. They

occur immediately after a linking verb: - My friend looks tired. ("Tired" came after the linking

verb 'look').

NB: an adjective functioning as object complement often expresses the result of the

process denoted by the verb: - He pushed the window open. (Co) (As a result, the window was

open).

Postpositive Adjectives - Postpositive adjectives are adjectives that follow the nouns they

modify. Examples: -Matters unknown (The word 'matters' is a noun followed by the adjective

'unknown').
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Other examples "attorneys general", "words unspoken", and "things innumerable".

Indefinite pronouns ending in (-body, -one, -thing, -where) can be modified only postpositively:

- I want to try something larger. (Larger is a postpositive adjective). #. Postposition is

obligatory for the two adjectives "elect" and "proper", knowing that they have a different sense

when they are postposed:

-The president elect (which means soon to take the office). -The City of London proper

(as strictly defined).

Moreover, adjectives modify pronouns: This is hot. Or, He is handsome.

Adjectives also can be identified by their endings: ous, ful, ish, and able. For example,

the words beautiful, joyous, childish, and adorable are all adjectives. Adjectives: -ed or -ing?

English contains numerous -ed or –ing adjective pairs derived from verbs.

To avoid mixing these up, remember that adjectives ending in –ed are used to describe

how you feel, and the –ing adjectives are used for what it is that makes you feel that way

(modified from English Grammar Explanations). Here are some examples:

 I feel tired. - Working on my essay gets very tiring.

 I am bored. - This grammar lesson is boring.

 I may be interested in Mythology. - Mythology seems interesting.

Adjectives describe people, places, things, ideas, etc. They have only one form in all

genders, singular and plural, and can be placed before nouns or after verbs such as appear, keep,

make, feel, sound, smell, look, taste, etc. She is a pretty girl. They are hard-working students. It

smells horrible. Keep quiet, please! Most common adjectives (large, long, heavy, late, etc) do not

have a particular ending.

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However, there are certain common endings for adjectives which are formed from nouns

and verbs. These are:

o Able - fashionable

o ous - courageous

o esque - picturesque

o ant - petulant

o ful - careful

o or - angular

o ian - Canadian

o ary - imaginary

o ible - possible

o ate - fortunate

o ic - historic

o en - wooden

o ical - historical

o ent - dependent

o ious - hilarious

o ean - Shakespearean

The most common prefixes used with adjectives are:

o amoral im -impossible

o ab -abnormal

o in -intolerant
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o anti -anti-aircraft

o ir -irregular

o dis -dishonest

o mal-malnourished

o extra -extracur"ricular

o non -non-stop

o hyper-hypersensitive

o over-overgrown

o iI -illegal

o post -post-modern.

Types of adjectives:
Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. There are many types

of adjectives in the English language, but here are 13 of the most common types 1:

1. Descriptive Adjectives: These adjectives describe the qualities or attributes of a

noun. For example, “The red apple is juicy.”

2. Quantitative Adjectives: These adjectives describe the quantity of a noun. For

example, “I have two dogs.”

3. Demonstrative Adjectives: These adjectives point out a specific noun. For

example, “I want that book.”

4. Possessive Adjectives: These adjectives show ownership of a noun. For example,

“This is my car.”

5. Interrogative Adjectives: These adjectives ask questions about a noun. For

example, “Which book do you want?”

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6. Indefinite Adjectives: These adjectives refer to an unspecified number or amount

of a noun. For example, “I need some help.”

7. Distributive Adjectives: These adjectives refer to individual members of a group.

For example, “Each student has his or her own book.”

8. Compound Adjectives: These adjectives are made up of two or more words that

work together to describe a noun. For example, “The car is painted in a bright red color.”

9. Predicate Adjectives: These adjectives follow linking verbs and describe the

subject of the sentence. For example, “The soup smells delicious.”

10. Proper Adjectives: These adjectives are derived from proper nouns and describe

a specific person, place, or thing. For example, “I love eating Italian food.”

11. Articles: These adjectives are used to indicate whether a noun is specific or

nonspecific. There are two types of articles: definite (the) and indefinite (a/an). For example, “I

want to eat an apple.”

12. Comparative Adjectives: These adjectives compare two nouns and indicate

which one has more or less of a quality than the other. For example, “The elephant is larger than

the mouse.”

13. Superlative Adjectives: These adjectives compare three or more nouns and

indicate which one has the most or least of a quality among them all. For example, “Mount

Everest is the highest mountain in the world.”

examples of compound adjectives:

Fast-paced: This compound adjective describes something that moves quickly or is done

quickly. For example, “The fast-paced action movie kept me on the edge of my seat.”
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Well-known: This compound adjective describes something that is famous or familiar to

many people. For example, “The Mona Lisa is a well-known painting by Leonardo da Vinci.”

Old-fashioned: This compound adjective describes something that is no longer in style or

outdated. For example, “My grandmother’s house is decorated with old-fashioned furniture.”

Yellow-striped: This compound adjective describes something that has yellow stripes on

it. For example, “The bee has yellow-striped wings.”

Self-confident: This compound adjective describes someone who is confident in

themselves and their abilities. For example, “The self-confident speaker delivered an inspiring

speech.”

Middle-aged: This compound adjective describes someone who is between young and old

in age. For example, “The couple adopted a middle-aged dog from the animal shelter.”

Fast-talking: This compound adjective describes someone who speaks quickly or

persuasively. For example, “The salesman was a fast-talking charmer who could sell anything.”

Ice-cold: This compound adjective describes something that is very cold or frozen. For

example, “I like my drinks ice-cold on a hot day.”

Backward-facing: This compound adjective describes something that faces backwards or

is oriented towards the back. For example, “The car seat was designed to be backward-facing for

safety reasons.”

Cruelty-free: This compound adjective describes a product that has not been tested on

animals or does not contain animal products. For example, “I only buy makeup that is labeled as

cruelty-free.”
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ADVERBS
Definition
Adverbs describe or modify verbs, other adverbs, and adjectives. Verbs are the words in

the sentence that show action→ run, talk- occurrence→ shines, dims, or existence→ am, is or

feel. Most of the time, the adverb will answer these questions: How or in what manner, when,

how often, to what degree, and where? Often, adverbs can be identified by -ly endings but not

always. For example: Yousef quietly works on his essay. - Quietly shows in what way Yousef

works; the word quietly modifies the verb works.

An adverb is a word that modifies (describes) a verb, adjective, another adverb, or even a

whole sentence. Adverbs can be used to show manner (how something happens), degree (to what

extent), place (where), and time (when).

Here are some examples of adverbs:

Manner: She sings beautifully.

Degree: He is very tall.

Place: The cat is hiding under the bed.

Time: We arrived early.

Adverbs can be formed by adding the suffix “-ly” to an adjective, such as “quickly” from

“quick” or “happily” from “happy” 1. However, not all adverbs end in “-ly,” such as “fast” and

“well”

Adverbs also answer When? For instance: Yesterday, I helped the student with his thesis

statement. - The adverb Yesterday tells when the student was helped. - Soon, later, now, first,

later, and after also tell when. Words like sometimes, always, usually, seldom, often, and never

are adverbs that illustrate how often. For example: Nathan never brings his homework to class.
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Or, He always brings his homework to class. - Frequency can also be shown as adverbs this way:

most of the time, in general, and on occasion.

Another way adverbs modify verbs is by telling to what degree. Review the following

sentences: Jack deeply loves to play basketball. Or, My husband somewhat wants to watch the

new episode of American Idol. - Other common degree adverbs are not, very, too, slightly,

thoroughly, more, less, almost, and quite.

In addition, adverbs tell where in a sentence as with the words here, there, anywhere,

ahead, and away. For example: I will be there in ten minutes. Also, Jessica is going away for the

summer. - In the second example, the adverb away is telling where Jessica is going for the

summer.

Use of adverbs
Adverbs can be used to show manner (how something happens), degree (to what extent),

place (where), and time (when).

Here are some examples of adverbs:

Manner: She sings beautifully.

Degree: He is very tall.

Place: The cat is hiding under the bed.

Time: We arrived early.

Adverbs can be formed by adding the suffix “-ly” to an adjective, such as “quickly” from

“quick” or “happily” from “happy”. However, not all adverbs end in “-ly,” such as “fast” and

“well”.

Adverbs can be classified into different types according to their meaning and function.

Some common types are adverbs of manner, time, frequency, degree and interrogative
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Adverbs modify (or intensify) other Adjectives: Sanjiv very carefully listened to the

teacher’s lesson. - The adverb very tells how carefully Sanjiv was listening. The horrors of my

accident will never completely escape my mind. - Again, the adverb never tells how completely.

The cat is too lazy. - Notice how the adverb too is modifying the adjective lazy, and lazy is

modifying the noun cat.

Adverbs of manners can be derived from adjectives by adding (-ly) to them; therefore,

'kind becomes 'kindly', quick becomes 'quickly' and formal becomes 'formally'.

Types
Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They can be used to

show manner (how something happens), degree (to what extent), place (where), and time (when).

Here are some of the most common types of adverbs:

1. Adverbs of manner: These adverbs describe how something happens. For

example, “She sings beautifully.”

2. Adverbs of degree: These adverbs describe the intensity or degree of something.

For example, “He is very tall.”

3. Adverbs of place: These adverbs describe where something happens. For

example, “The cat is hiding under the bed.”

4. Adverbs of time: These adverbs describe when something happens. For example,

“We arrived early.”

5. Adverbs of frequency: These adverbs describe how often something happens.

For example, “He goes to the gym daily.”

6. Interrogative adverbs: These adverbs are used to ask questions about a noun or

pronoun. For example, “Where did you go?”

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7. Relative adverbs: These adverbs are used to introduce a relative clause and

describe a noun or pronoun in that clause. For example, “I know the person who did it.”

8. Conjunctive adverbs: These adverbs are used to connect two independent

clauses together. For example, “She was tired; however, she kept working.”

9. Focusing adverbs: These adverbs are used to emphasize a particular part of a

sentence. For example, “I only eat vegetables.”

How to use them propally

Adjectives and adverbs are both parts of speech that are used to describe something, but

the difference between them is what they describe. Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns,

while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Here are some tips for using adjectives and adverbs correctly in writing:

 Use adjectives to describe nouns or pronouns. Adjectives can come before the

noun (e.g., “The red apple is juicy”) or after a linking verb (e.g., “The view is beautiful”).

 Use adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Adverbs can be made

by adding “-ly” to an adjective (e.g., “She walked slowly”) or by using an irregular form (e.g.,

“He sings badly”).

 Be careful not to confuse adjectives and adverbs. Remember that adjectives

describe nouns or pronouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

 Use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs when comparing

two or more things. For example, “The elephant is larger than the mouse” and “Mount Everest is

the highest mountain in the world.”

 Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. Overusing them can make your writing

sound cluttered and awkward.

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Diference between adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs are both parts of speech that are used to describe something, but

the difference between them is what they describe. Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns,

while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Here are some examples to help you understand the difference:

 Adjective: The red apple is juicy.

 Adverb: She sings beautifully.

In the first example, “red” is an adjective that describes the noun “apple.” In the second

example, “beautifully” is an adverb that describes how she sings.

Adjectives can also be used to describe the quantity of a noun (quantitative adjectives),

point out a specific noun (demonstrative adjectives), show ownership of a noun (possessive

adjectives), ask questions about a noun (interrogative adjectives), refer to an unspecified number

or amount of a noun (indefinite adjectives), refer to individual members of a group (distributive

adjectives), compare two nouns (comparative adjectives), or compare three or more nouns

(superlative adjectives) .

Adverbs can be used to describe how an action is done (manner adverbs), when an action

is done (time adverbs), where an action is done (place adverbs), how much or how little an action

is done (degree adverbs), or how often an action is done (frequency adverbs).

Changing an Adjective to an Adverb

Adjectives can usually be turned into an Adverb by adding –ly to the ending.

• By adding –ly to the adjective slow, you get the adverb slowly. – The slow turtle

crosses the road. - The turtle slowly crosses the road.

• If the adjective ends in the letter -y, then change the letter -y to -I and add –ly to form

an adverb: happy→ happily.

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However, some words cannot be changed; for example, if by adding -ly to the end of an

adjective, it changes the meaning of the word - hard→hardly does not have the same meaning -

late→ lately also does not mean the same thing Comparative Degree and Superlative Degree

The comparative degree of an adjective or adverb compares the value of two things or

people. For instance: Reading is more rewarding than watching T.V. The superlative degree of

an adjective or adverb compares the value of three or more things or people. For example: Of all

the girls, Zoe sings the loudest. To form the comparative and superlative, add –er and –est to

adjectives and adverbs with one syllable. For example: Comparative –er; Superlative –est.

Adjectives: nice→nicer than her; old→older brother; nice→the nicest girl; old→oldest sibling;

big→bigger dog

Adverbs: soon→sooner; big→biggest dog in the yard; long→longer; soon→arrived the

soonest; long→jumps the longest; fast→faster; fast→runs the fastest.

Words with two or more syllables use more and most to compare adjectives and adverbs.

For example: Comparative –more; Superlative – (the) most

Adjectives: more beautiful of the two; more creative than her; the most beautiful poem;

the most creative artist; more lavish ring than mine.

Adverbs; more beautifully; the most lavish gift; more creatively; most beautifully written;

paints most creatively; more lavishly

Note: Never use most or more with the comparative and superlative ending-er or -est

together. For instance, one would not say: “That girl is the most hippest dancer in the world.” Or,

Baseball is more harder to play than football.

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CONCLUSION
In the rich tapestry of language, adjectives and adverbs stand as vibrant threads that

interlace to form eloquent expressions. These linguistic elements, although often overlooked, are

essential for achieving precision, vividness, and clarity in communication. As we draw the

curtains on this academic exploration of adjectives and adverbs, it becomes evident that these

parts of speech hold the power to transform ordinary words into vivid descriptors, painting a

vivid picture of actions, qualities, and attributes.

Our journey through the world of adjectives began with a thorough examination of their

characteristics, from the predictability of forms to the subtleties of derivational suffixes. We

witnessed how adjectives, in their many forms, infuse language with vividness, enhancing our

ability to describe, quantify, and define nouns or pronouns. From attributive to predicative,

adjectives adeptly navigate sentence structures, illustrating the multitude of ways they contribute

to the richness of language.

Adverbs, on the other hand, emerged as the champions of nuance, enhancing our

understanding of actions, attributes, and adjectives themselves. They elucidate not only how

something is done but also when, where, and to what degree. In the realm of language, adverbs

hold the keys to capturing the essence of events and the subtleties of emotions.

As we close this chapter on adjectives and adverbs, we are reminded of their profound

impact on our ability to communicate effectively and persuasively. From the vivid descriptions

they paint to the precision they lend to our expressions, adjectives and adverbs are indispensable

companions on our linguistic journey.

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