Adjectives

How many adjectives can you think of to describe this photo (noun)?

This photo is __________. bright, incredible, sparkly, colorful, detailed,

unique, green, crisp, entertaining, beautiful, freaky, recent, majestic, amazing, mind-bending, National Geographic, unbelievable, creepy, bizarre, electric, scientific, tremendous, orange, spectacular, award-winning, professional, brilliant, educational, lucky, confusing, creative, inspiring, intriguing, complex, stunning, dynamic, spirited, one-of-a-kind, lively, special, rectangle, precise, digital, focused, impressive, December

This is a/an __________ photo.

What is an adjective? An adjective is a word that modifies, or

describes, a noun or pronoun. It describes or tells:

which one: this, that, these, those (demonstratives)

what kind: e.g. green, funny, wide, intense how many: many, several, four, two-thousand.

Where are adjectives used? 1) Adjectives can come before or after nouns: the

new car/that car is new 2) Adjectives can come after linking verbs: that

car looks new (predicate adjectives) Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they

connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. e.g. be, become, seem, look, appear, feel, grow, prove,

remain, smell, sound, taste, turn etc. (I am happy because the car smells new.)

3) They can be modified by adverbs: I am insanely happy about my new car!

The most commonly used adjectives: articles and demonstratives Indefinite articles: a, an.

They refer to someone or something in general: a boy; an idea. Use a before a word beginning with a consonant and an before a

word beginning with a vowel. Exceptions:

The silent “h” (an honest error; an honorable death) When "u" makes the same sound as the "y" in "you," or "o" makes

the same sound as "w" in "won," then a is used (a united front; a one-legged man).

Definite article: the. The definite article indicates that the noun is a particular one (or

ones) identifiable to the reader/listener: the ball; the computers. Demonstrative adjectives: this, that, those, these.

They show whether the noun they refer to is singular or plural and whether it is located near to or far from the speaker or writer.

Adjectives in comparisons Adjectives can be used to express degree of

modification (of a noun). The adjective forms are positive, comparative,

and superlative. This tree is tall. (positive)

That tree is taller. (comparative)The last tree is the tallest. (superlative)

NOTE: some comparative and superlative forms, especially when they are formed from longer words, use the adjectives more and most: this is the most enlightening grammar lesson.

A proper adjective is adjective that is written with a capital letter. They are often derived from proper nouns related to a

specific person, people, place, language, or organized group. Italian coffee (Italy) Lutheran handbook (Luther) Newtonian telescope (Newton) Bulls jersey (Bulls) Apple smartphone (Apple) Pacific island (Pacific) Hollywood stars (Hollywood) Victorian era (Victoria)

In some cases a proper noun is converted into a proper adjective simply by adding suffixes –ian, -ese, -an, or –esque. In other cases, the spelling of the proper noun isn’t changed at all.

Proper adjectives

Order of adjectives Multiple adjectives can describe a single noun: two young

American students Order is essential: the two young American students vs. young

American two students vs. young the American two students Determiners usually come first: articles, possessives,

demonstratives, quantifiers, numbers. Next, adjectives are ordered according to the following categories:

Opinion what you think about something: (silly, beautiful, horrible) Size how big or small something is: (large, tiny, enormous, little) Age how young or old: (ancient, new) Shape (square, round, flat, rectangular) Color (blue, pink, reddish, grey) Origin/Proper Adj. (French, lunar, American, eastern, Greek) Material what something is made from: (wooden, metal, cotton,

paper) Purpose what something is used for: (sleeping bag, frying pan)

Image sources http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c

ommons/3/33/Three_Trees_-_geograph.org.uk_-_65245.jpg

http://www.autocardesign.org/wp-content/uploads/Subaru-Impreza-WRX-STI-2011_1-587x389.jpg

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/dragonfly-branch-rain/

http://media.photobucket.com/image/recent/speedster87322/Jerseys/IMG_0210.jpg

Practice for homework Complete worksheet by 1/10/2010

(Tues.) Read directions carefully

Number or highlight key instructions Complete sample problems together