Adiect! ves
Whenever you describea thing, a person, or a place, you use adjectives.
S Adiectives are modifiers. They give information about the nouns and
pronouns they modify.
wHnrrtruo? gray clouds,irreverent humor,
crisp apple,quiet pond
Howvnxv? three weeks,several mistakes
Hownaucn? less noise,more dessert
wstcnorue? first answer,this jacket,next year,
best poster
The prefix ir-, like in-,
usuolly serves to form o
word opposite in
meoning to the root
word to which it is
joined. lrreverent, lor
exomple,meons locking
reverence or respect.
Other exomplesof such
ir- words are irregula4
irrationol, ond
irreversible.
Two or more adjectives may modify the same noun.
Five f,unny, <lunrsy ducklingswaddledaftertheir mother.
Picasso's
cei'amics
are colorful and hurnorous.
6 The adjectives a and an are called indefinite articles. They refer
to any one member of a group and so are indefinite. The adjective f/re
is called a definite article. It points out a particular noun and so
is definite.
TNDEFTNTTE
A puppy makesa good pet.
DEFTNTTE
The puppy chewedher shoe.
6 Proper adiectives, which come from proper nouns, always
begin with a capital letter.
Shakespeareansonnet Mexican fiesta
African mask
Democratic candidate
3 Manyadiectives
comerightbeforethenountheymodify,but
predicate adiectives follow a linking verb to modify the subject
of a sentence.(For more about subjects,seeLesson5.2.)
The tulipsare purple.
The oceanlooksblue and clear.
When a noun modifies another noun, it functions as an
adjective.
kitchen table
church music
Rorneo's sword Backporch swing
fiftnt
,$*itiO$
Replacegeneral, allpurpose adiectiveswith
adjectivesthat make your
writing sharper.
The candidategavea
conciqe but perouaoive
g€€€+speecn.
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,*r:1;!=_
Chapter4 o Parfsofspeech 81
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ldentifying Adiectives
Underline the adjectives and proper adjectives in the following paragraph. Do
not underline definite and indefinite articles.
rRegional and ethnic music in America has many roots. 'zTraditional American
Indian music uses male voices and sometimes drums and rattles. 3During the
1890s, iazz developed from two African American traditions: ragtime and blues.
nGospelmusic dates back to the 1"930s.sThomasA. Dorsey wrote the first gospel
songs, based on African American spirituals and iazz rhythms. uOne source of
Appalachian music is Irish folk tunes. 'Tex-Mex music blends the sounds of
Mexican bands with the polka rhythms of German, Polish, and Czech
immigrants. ECajun music in Louisiana, led by the accordion and fiddle, has
French and Creole roots. 'Jewish klezmer bands, traditionally made up of violins
and clarinets, first played in Eastern European cities and towns. loHawaiians
developed a unique sound with the steel guitar.
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Revising Sentencesto Add Information
Revise the sentencesbelow to give the reader more information and to create
more interesting sentences.You may add or change words and make up details.
Underline all of the adjectives in your revised sentences. Do not underline
definite and indefinite articles.
ExAMPLEA man servedthe food.
Theelderly owner of the Polishrestaurant served us a
delicioua aaaaerolewith potatoes and kielbasa.
1,.Clouds filled the sky.
2. The woman lives in a house on a street.
I See
Gomposition
Lesson 2.4
for more
obout detoils
in descriptive
porogrophs.
3. The dog wore a sweater.
4. The girl grabbed the ball.
5. Students are doing projects in class.
6. Boats crowded the harbor.
7. The child played with a ball.
g
o
E
8. A car was parked in the lot.
c
9. A man stood on the beach.
10. Friends ate pizza.
;.9
6
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82 Cnaptere . Partsofspeech