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    Module 6 – Adjectives, Adverbs, and Prepositions

     

    Week 1: Adjectives

    Adjective: a word that describes a noun. It can tell what kind, and it can also tell how many. An

    adjective usually comes before the noun it describes.

    When two or more adjectives describe the same noun, the order in which they appear follows a

    pattern. Adjectives that describe number come before adjectives that describe size, shape, color, or other qualities.

    There is an order when it comes to adjectives. Be careful. The order is: number, opinion, size, shape, age, color, material, and purpose.

     

    A, An, The

     

    The special adjectives a, an, and the are called articles. These small words come before nouns. A and an refer to any person, place, or thing and the article the refers to a specific person, place, or thing.

    Use a before a singular noun that begins with a consonant sound.

    Use an before a singular noun that begins with a vowel sound.

    Use the before both singular and plural nouns.

     

    Demonstrative Adjectives

     

    Adjectives that can tell what kind or how many. Adjectives can also tell which one. Adjectives

    that tell which one are called demonstrative adjectives.

    This, that, these, and those are demonstrative adjectives. Use this and that before singular nouns.

     

    Use these and those before plural nouns.

     

    This and these refer to people, places, or things that are nearby. Do NOT use here after this or

    these.

     

    That and those refer to people, places, or things that are farther away. Do NOT use there after

    that or those.

     

    Comparing with Adjectives

     

    Adjectives can compare people, places, and things. Adjectives that compare tell how things are

    different from each other.

     

    Add -er to most adjectives to compare two people, places, or things.

    Add -est to most adjectives to compare more than two people, places, or things.

     

    Sometimes the spelling of the adjective changes when -er or -est is added.

     

    If an adjective ends in e, drop the e and add -er or -est.

    If an adjective ends in a consonant and y, change the y to i and add -er or -est.

    If an adjective ends in one vowel followed by a consonant, double the consonant and add -er or -est.

     

    Comparing with More and Most

     

    The words more and most are often needed when comparing adjectives of two or more syllables.

     

    Use more with adjectives when comparing two people, places, or things.

     

    Use most with adjectives when comparing more than two people, places, or things.

     

    Do NOT add -er or -est to an adjective when you use more or most to compare.

     

    Comparing with Good and Bad

     

    The adjectives good and bad have special forms for comparing:

    Good – better – best

    Bad – worse – worst

     

    Use better when comparing two people, places, or things.

    Use best when comparing more than two.

     

    Use worse when comparing two people, places, or things.

    Use worst when comparing more than two.

     

    Adverbs

     

    Adverb: a word that generally describes a verb. Adverbs describe verbs by telling how, when, or

    where an action happens. Many adverbs end in -ly.

     

    Comparing with Adjectives

     

    An adverb can compare two or more actions.

    Add -er to most one-syllable adverbs to compare two actions.

    Add -est to most one-syllable adverbs to compare more than two actions.

    The words more and most can also be used with adverbs to compare. Use more and most with

    most adverbs that have two or more syllables, including adverbs that end in -ly.

    Use more with adverbs to compare two actions.

    Use most with adverbs to compare more than two actions.

    Do NOT add -er or -est to an adverb when you use more or most.

     

    Using Good and Well

     

    The words good and well can sometimes be confusing.

    Good is an adjective that describes a noun.

    Well is usually an adverb that describes a verb.

    Well is an adjective ONLY when it refers to someone’s health. When well refers to health, it

    describes a noun.

     

     Negatives

     

    A word that means “no” is called a negative. The words no, not, nothing, none, never, nowhere,

    nobody, and no one are negatives.

     

    Contractions with not, such as don’t, wasn’t, and aren’t, are also negatives.

     

    Do NOT use two negatives together in a sentence. This kind of mistake is called a double

    negative. To correct a sentence with a double negative, take out one negative or replace it with a word such as any, every, ever, anything, anywhere, anyone, or anybody.

     

     Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

     

    Preposition: a word that shows how a noun or pronoun is connected to some other word in the

    sentence.

     

    Some common prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, among, around, at, before,

    behind, below, beside, by, down, during, for, from, in, inside, into, near, of, off, on, over,

    through, to, under, until, and with.

     

    Prepositional Phrase: a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or

    pronoun. When a prepositional phrase comes at the beginning of the sentence, it is followed by a comma.