Adjective Review
Name_______________________________Date___________Block_____
I. Recognizing adjectives and the nouns they modify. Write the adjective(s) in each
sentence and the noun(s) they modify.
1. Ducks, geese, and swans are aquatic birds. _______________________________________________
2. All waterfowl swim and float. __________________________________________________________
3. These birds have webbed feet. _________________________________________________________
4. Ducks are smaller than other waterfowl. ________________________________________________
5. A female duck has dull feathers that blend in with her surroundings._________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
6. Male ducks, also called drakes, are slightly larger than the females and have more colorful
feathers. _______________________________________________________________________
7. A mallard drake has many green feathers on its head. _____________________________________
8. These colorful birds are often called greenheads. _________________________________________
9. A mallard duck plucks feathers from her own body to build a soft, warm nest.
_______________________________________________________________________________
10. A baby mallard can already swim and feed itself when it is one day old. ______________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
II. Definite and Indefinite Articles. Label each underlined article as I (indefinite) or
D (definite).
1. A lake is an ideal place for swans to live.
2. The water must not be too deep.
3. Swans must be able to reach the bottom to find food.
4. A lake with gently sloping sides is the best.
5. This allows the birds to get in and out of the water easily.
III. Identifying nouns used as adjectives. Highlight the nouns used as adjectives;
then underline the noun that it modifies.
1. As with other members of the waterfowl family, geese gather in large flocks each autumn.
2. They travel long distances to spend the winter season in warm climates.
3. While migrating, geese often fly in a wedge formation.
4. This V flight pattern helps the birds fly for a greater distance than they could if they traveled
alone.
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5. It also provides an uplift that helps each flock member more easily overcome any air resistance.
6. When the leader goose tires, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies to the point
position.
7. When the geese honk while flying, they are encouraging the formation leaders to keep up their
flight speed.
8. Flocks will return year after year to the same summer home.
9. Wildlife experts have set up refuges in these areas for waterfowl protection.
10. On some refuges, the goose population may increase to half a million birds for short times during
the migration periods.
IV. Recognizing proper adjectives. Highlight each proper adjective and underline
the noun that it modifies.
1. Snow geese live in the Arctic region surrounding the North Pole.
2. Some spend winters along the Atlantic coast.
3. The Canada goose is another popular North American bird.
4. It usually lays its eggs during warm March or April days.
5. Some geese gather in winter at California refuges.
V. Using compound adjectives. Highlight each compound adjective and underline
the noun that it modifies.
1. Ducks, geese, and swans are web-footed birds that come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
2. The ruddy duck has a broad, fan-shaped tail and a small body.
3. The black-necked swan of South America has a snow-white body.
4. To help in catching fish, merganser ducks have sharp, backward-facing teeth.
5. Pintail ducks are surface-feeding birds, named for their pointed tails and wingtips.
VI. Using possessive pronouns as adjectives. Circle the possessive pronoun and
draw an arrow to the noun that it modifies.
1. Europeans first spotted hummingbirds during their explorations of the New World.
2. In his diary, Christopher Columbus wrote accounts of hummingbirds.
3. At first, he thought the hummingbird was an insect because of its size.
4. He brought several hummingbirds back to Spain as presents for his patron, Queen Isabella.
5. The queen let them fly free in her garden.
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VII. Recognizing demonstrative adjectives. Write the demonstrative pronoun in
each sentence. Write PRONOUN if it is used as a pronoun, ADJECTIVE if it is
used as an adjective.
1. Those are yellow-legged gulls gathered on the beach. ______________________________________
2. These gulls have dark-yellow legs and a distinctive red spot on their lower jaw. ________________
3. That one is a herring gull. _______________________
4. These two types of sea gulls are very similar and are often mistaken for each other. ____________
5. This is how you can tell the difference between the two kinds of gulls. ________________________
Recognizing interrogative adjectives. Write the interrogative pronoun in each
sentence. Write PRONOUN if it is used as a pronoun, ADJECTIVE if it is used as
an adjective.
VIII.
1. Which is the most interesting pet to own? _______________________________________________
2. What tips should you learn before purchasing a macaw? __________________________________
3. Which pet shop carries the healthiest macaws? __________________________________________
4. Whose idea was it to come to this pet store? _____________________________________________
5. What are we supposed to do to prepare our home for the new parrot? _______________________
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