Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifying Phrases
(G#12)
(1) Submit
on
MyHCC / Canvas and bring any hard copies
(group discussion notes, proofreaders’ markedup copies, and possibly brainstorming, outline,
and / or tutoring) to class Thursday;
(2) begin
(modifiers), due Tuesday,
April 25, on Canvas;
(3) read
sections 45-46 (
(4) work on
Adjectives, Adverbs,
and Other Modifiers
), AND
, due April 27
What are adjectives?
Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. They can
answer “Which one?” “What kind?” or “How many?”
A hot day
A happy camper
A silly goose
A big, bloody mess (both “big” and “bloody” modify
“mess”)
She is creative (“creative” is a subject complement
that follows the linking verb “is”)
A boring course (present participle used as an
adjective
Articles (a, an, the), numbers, and some pronouns can also
serve as adjectives.
Recognizing Adjectives & Adverbs
Many words have both an adjective and adverb form.
Adjective
happy kids
smooth rock
real butter
hopeful children
casual dress
quick meeting
fast car
a hard test
good food
Adverb
play happily
runs smoothly
really hot
wait hopefully
dress casually
talk quickly
drive fast (NOT fastly)
study hard (NOT hardly)
eat well (NOT goodly)
What are adverbs?
• Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other
adverbs.
• Many adverbs end with -ly
• Many adverbs answer the questions “How?”
or “When?” Some tell “Where?” and “To what
extent?”
• All these words are adverbs:
Eating quickly (modifying a verb)
Trying very hard (modifying an adverb)
A really big show (modifying an adjective)
Comparatives and Superlatives
• Most adverbs and adjectives have a comparative and
superlative form created by adding -er/more or -est/most.
Simple
Comparative
Hot
Hotter
Hottest
Superlative
Happy
Happier
Happiest
Exciting
Careful
More exciting
Less careful
Most exciting
Least careful
• Use the comparative form to compare two things.
Sally is the taller of the twins. (not tallest)
• Use the superlative form to compare three or more things.
August was the hottest month of the year.
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Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifying Phrases
(G#12)
How to decide: -er/-est or more/most?
• For an adjective or adverb of one syllable, use
-er or -est:
smarter, smartest
faster, fastest
• For a two-syllable adjective that ends in -y,
change the -y to -i and add -er or -est:
lovelier, loveliest
happier, happiest
• For all other words, use more or most:
more beautiful, most beautiful
more helpful, most helpful
more quickly, most quickly
Avoid Double Comparatives!
• NEVER use more or most with -er
or -est.
X Yesterday was more hotter than today.
X That was the most dirtiest joke that I
ever heard!
X You are the bestest student.
Misplaced Modifiers
They cause confusion.
It is not clear what they
are modifying because
they are located too far
from the word(s) they
are modifying.
Irregular Adjectives and Adverbs
These four words do not use -er/-est or more/most
to form the comparative or superlative:
Simple
Comparative
Superlative
Good (adj.)
Better
Best
Well (adv.)
Better
Best
Bad (adj.)
Badly (adv.)
Worse
Worse
Worst
Worst
They can be confusing because the adjective and adverb
forms are the same word.
Do not use adjectives when
adverbs are needed:
X You did a real nice job.
(an adj. can’t modify another adj.)
You did a really nice job.
(tells how nice = adverb)
X He did good.
He did well.
or
He did a good job.
X Come quick!
Come quickly!
X I did wonderful on my organization this time.
I did wonderfully on my organization this
time.
Misplaced Modifiers
Look for these signals:
1. a limiting modifier (almost, nearly, etc.)
OR
2. a verb phrase
- an -ing verb (present participle)
- an -ed verb (past participle)
- to + verb (an infinitive verb)
OR
3. a prepositional phrase (Birds can fly ____ clouds.)
To avoid confusion, put
modifiers as close as
possible to the word(s)
they modify.
OR
4. a relative clause (who, whom, that, which)
often followed by a comma or set off with commas
Purdue University Writing Lab
Purdue University Writing Lab
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Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifying Phrases
(G#12)
Misplaced Modifiers
• The following LIMITING MODIFIERS often cause
confusion, so be careful with them:
Explain the meaning of
each sentence:
• Almost everyone in the
class passed the calculus
exam.
• Everyone in the class
almost passed the
calculus exam.
almost
barely
even
hardly
just
merely
nearly
not quite
only
simply
• Notice how the meaning is affected by the improper
placement:
X I almost believe you are finished.
I believe you are almost finished.
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• Which sentence indicates
that everyone in the class
FAILED the exam?
X The winners will only be contacted.
Only the winners will be contacted.
Explain the meaning of
each sentence:
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Misplaced Modifiers: Phrases
Consider the different meanings of these sentences:
She walked her dog in a bikini.
• John nearly earned $100.
• John earned nearly $100.
versus
• Which sentence indicates
that John earned some
money?
In a bikini, she walked her dog.
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Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers are sometimes used for comic effect:
How might you correct the
following sentence?
Julia called her adorable
kitten opening the can
of tuna and filled the
food bowl.
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he
got in my pajamas, I don’t know. -- Groucho Marx
However, you don’t want to be unintentionally funny!
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Better: Opening the can
of tuna, Julia called her
adorable kitten and filled
the food bowl.
Purdue University Writing Lab
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Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifying Phrases
(G#12)
How might you correct the
following sentence?
Portia rushed to the store
loaded with cash to buy
the birthday gift.
How might you correct the
following sentence?
Locked away in the old chest,
Richard was surprised by the
antique hats.
Better: Loaded with cash,
Portia rushed to the store
to buy the birthday gift.
Or: Portia, loaded with
cash, rushed to the store
to buy the birthday gift.
Better: Locked away in the old
chest, the antique hats surprised
Richard.
Better: The antique hats locked
away in the old chest surprised
Richard.
Purdue University
Writing Lab
Purdue University
Writing Lab
Dangling Modifiers
Dangling Modifiers
• Dangling modifiers are like misplaced
modifiers in that they are not next to
the things they modify. However,
dangling modifiers modify things that
are not stated in the sentence at all.
• Like misplaced modifiers, they are often set
off by commas and can be found by looking
for these signals:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Having finished dinner, the
football game was turned on.
Having finished dinner, Joe
turned on the football game.
a limiting modifier (almost, nearly, etc.)
a verb phrase
a prepositional phrase
a relative clause (who, whom, that, which)
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Dangling modifiers can be
repaired by:
♦ using the person or thing being modified as
the subject of the main clause:
Having finished dinner, Joe turned on the
football game.
♦ adding the subject of the action to the
dangling phrase:
After Joe finished dinner, he turned on the
football game.
Grammar #12: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifying Phrases
Complete the full exercise online before the deadline.
Choose the appropriate word (adjective or adverb) for each blank.
1. If you drive _____, you could have an accident. A. reckless B. recklessly
2. There was a _____ noise last night.
A. loud
B. loudly
Fill in the missing simple, comparative, or superlative forms.
3. Susan is short. Thomas is ________ than Susan, but Debra is the
________ child in the whole elementary school.
4. That insult made me feel worse than I have felt in a long time. I already
felt ________ when I woke up this morning, and now I am on my way to
the ________ day of my life!
Identify if the modifiers are placed correctly in these sentences.
5. Chirping outside our window, we enjoyed hearing the birds all spring.
A. correct
B. misplaced or dangling
6. Studying for the final exam, the students ordered a pepperoni pizza.
A. correct
B. misplaced or dangling
Purdue University Writing Lab
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