Adjectives and adverbs are describing words. They add details to other components of a sentence. They can be used in a variety of ways, and some uses have regional variations. Generally, however, the simplest way to think of them is that adjectives describe nouns (subjects, objects, things), whilst adverbs describe almost all other word types. The following rules should help you choose when you need to decide on an adjective or adverb:
Adjectives and Adverbs Exercise
Rule 1: Adjectives modify nouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
Rule 2: When using the verb “to be”, the noun comes before the verb but the adjective modifying it comes after the verb.
For example:
- I am happy.
- The dog was hungry.
- Carlito Maximo is strange.
- The chickens are restless.
Rule 3: Adjectives are used to modify nouns with sense verbs or verbs of appearance: feel, smell, sound, look, taste, appear, seem. When the adjective modifies the noun before the verb, it is used after the verb.
For example:
- The weather seems bad.
- He looked sad.
- The cake tasted fantastic.
- Lisa smelt vile.
In all these cases, an adjective is needed to modify the noun. If we used an adverb, it would describe how the subject does the verb, not how the verb modifies the subject.
For example: The weather seems badly would mean the weather is bad at seeming. Which makes no sense.
Good and Bad vs Well and Badly
Good and bad (adjectives) should be used for sense verbs because they modify the subject. Well and badly (adverbs) should be used only to show the nature of the subject’s actions.
For example:
- He is a bad driver. He drives badly.
Well can cause confusion as it can also be used as an adjective to mean ‘in good health’.
Real vs Really
Real (adjective) describes things, really (adverb) describes actions.
- He is a real hero.
- He is really heroic.
Adjectives and Adverbs Exercise
Choose an appropriate adjective or adverb to complete the sentence. Suggested answers are given below.
1. He was ________ injured in the accident.
2. Jim is ________ , he always gets the correct answer.
3. Lucy looks very ________ today.
4. Are you ________ sure about the answer?
5. How is your tea? Mine tastes ________.
6. She is a ________ singer. She sings ________.
7. We needed to run ________ to catch the bus.
8. The girl looked ________. When I asked her what was wrong she looked at me ________.
9. I felt ________ about stealing the chocolate, but it tasted ________.
10. It’s ________ cold today. The cold is ________.
12. Andrew performed ________. He is a ________ actor.
13. Dogs smell ________ with their noses, but their food smells ________.
14. English is ________ to learn, but I did it ________.
15. Our team played ________ last night.
16. Carl is a ________ good gymnast.
17. The pie tasted ________, but we ate it anyway.
18. Be ________ with that vase, it’s very fragile.
19. Pauline is ________ upset because her dog ran away.
20. There’s a ________ seagull on the roof. It looks ________, and it sounds ________, but it flew there ________.
Answers
1. He was badly injured in the accident. – modifies how bad the injuring was.
2. Jim is smart/clever, he always gets the correct answer. – modifies how good Jim is, and the second clause shows we are talking about his intelligence.
3. Lucy looks very pretty today. – modifies Lucy, how does she appear?
4. Are you very sure about the answer? – modifies the adjective sure.
5. How is your tea? Mine tastes disgusting. – modifies the quality of the tea.
6. She is a good singer. She sings well. – the first sentence modifies Her, the second modifies how good she is at the action, singing.
7. We needed to run quickly to catch the bus. – modifies the verb to run.
8. The girl looked sad. When I asked her what was wrong she looked at me sadly. – the first sentences modifies the girls appearance, how she looked, but the second modifies how she did the action, to look.
9. I felt bad about stealing the chocolate, but it tasted good. – both modify the subjects, first how the subject felt about the action and the second how the chocolate tasted.
10. It’s very cold today. The cold is horrible. – the first modifies the nature of the adjective cold, the second modifies the subject, the quality of the cold.
12. Andrew performed well. He is a brilliant actor. – the first modifies how he did the action, to perform, the second modifies the object, actor.
13. Dogs smell well with their noses, but their food smells terrible. – the first modifies how good dogs are at the action, to smell, the second modifies the subject of smell as a sense – the food.
14. English is difficult to learn, but I did it quickly. – the first modifies the noun English, the second modifies the verb, how it was done.
15. Our team played poorly last night. – modifies the quality of the action, to play.
16. Carl is a very good gymnast. – modifies the adjective good.
17. The pie tasted ghastly, but we ate it anyway. – modifies the pie. Negative because the second clause is a but…
18. Be careful with that vase, it’s very fragile. – as an instruction it modifies an unspoken subject (You be careful.)
19. Pauline is extremely upset because her dog ran away. – modifies the adjective upset, the degree of upset.
20. There’s a fat seagull on the roof. It looks unhealthy, and it sounds unfit, but it flew there quickly. – This one is for you to figure out.
If you have any more questions about adjectives and adverbs, please comment below or contact me directly.
Dear Phil,
I would greatly appreciate your help with the following question:
It has been said that (a) verbs are words which describe (i.e. express or denote) actions, state or occurrence, and (b) that adjectives are words which describe (i.e. give more information and thereby adding or limiting the sense/meaning of) a noun or pronouns. My query is regarding the use of the word “describe”, as in why is it that under (a) “describe” is taken to mean that verbs express/denote actions (or states or occurrences) – for example, the verb “run” represents the action of running, whereas under (b) “describe” is taken to mean the words (i.e. adjectives) gives more information about the nouns/pronouns, but are not themselves the nouns/pronouns (that is, not in the sense of expressing/denoting).
I guess to summarize, I would like to know firstly whether the above meanings of verbs and adjectives are correct, and secondly, concerning the use of the word “describe”, are there two meanings of describe – one being denote/express/represent, and the other being “giving more information”. Many dictionaries unfortunately (in my opinion) aren’t that clear on this.
Regards,
Vegito
Hi Vegito,
Yes I can see where this would be confusing – the definitions are fair, and I’d say you’re correct in saying we’re essentially using describe in two different ways here. The simplest way to approach this is to accept that with verbs we’re saying describe in the sense that of ‘denote/express/represent’, while adjectives ‘give more information’, though I wouldn’t say these are exactly different uses; by representing the action, the verbs are essentially giving more information to a sentence. However, as adjectives describe in the purer sense of the word (hence we often call them ‘describing words’ themselves), I would more accurately use one of the words you’ve selected, to say verbs denote, express or represent, and remove this doubt.
Phil
Hi Phil,
Interesting post above. Don’t mind me chipping in with my usual habit of wanting to summarize.
So in other words, what you are saying is that:
(1) the definitions [that is verbs are words which describe (i.e. express or denote) actions, state or occurrence, and adjectives are words which describe (i.e. give more information and thereby adding or limiting the sense/meaning of) a noun or pronouns] are correct.
(2) “describe” is indeed being used in two different ways here, one for verbs to mean denote/express/represent, and the other for adjectives to mean “give more information”.
(3) to avoid confusion, it would be best to simply define verbs as words which denote, express or represent actions/states/occurrences.
(4) as for adjectives, being describing words, we can stick with the current definition, i.e. adjectives are words which describe (i.e. give more information and thereby adding or limiting the sense/meaning of) a noun or pronouns.
May I know if these all 4 points (S/N (1) to S/N (4)) are correct? Thanks!
Hi Shizuka,
Yes, I think that’s absolutely fine!
Phil
Hi Phil,
You mentioned in the article above that “When the verb “to be” modifies the noun before it, an adjective is used after the verb”. This confused me as I thought that “”Adjectives modify nouns”, and that the verb “to be” only functions as a linking verb to link the noun (i.e. subject of sentence) with the predicate adjective that modifies the noun? So why then did you say that the verb “to be” modifies the noun?
Regards,
Shizuka
Hi Shizuka,
Thanks for pointing that out – yes, you’re correct, modifies was perhaps not the best choice of word, it is a link to the modifying adjective. I suppose my thinking then was that the verb is what tells us the modification takes place, but you’re right this could be more clearly worded – I have updated the rule to remove confusion about the verb.
Best,
Phil
Hello Phil,
I have a question about adjectives and adjective phrases.
Firstly, on the definition of a phrase, one dictionary defined phrase as “A small group of words standing together as a conceptual unit”. However if we apply this definition to certain types of phrases (e.g. noun phrase or adjective phrase), the definition of “a group of words” doesnt seem to fit. What i mean is a noun phrase could contain a noun plus its modifiers (which fits the definition of a “a group of words”, i.e. meaning more than one word), but a noun phrase could also consist of just one noun (i.e. a single word). The same could be said foe adjective phrases, where an adjective phrase could refer to either a single-word adjective or an adjective with modifiers. How does one reconcile this understanding with the definition by the dictionary of a phrase referring to a group of words instead of just one word?
Secondly, adjective phrases are simply phrases with an adjective as the head word (i.e. the main word of focus within the adjective phrase), and that this head word may be accompanied by other modifiers of the head word, such as adverbs, but that collectively, all these words come together to form and adjective phrase which functions in the same way as a single-word adjective (i.e. the adjective phrase serves the same purpose as a single-word adjective in that both are used to modify nouns or pronouns, and can be used in the same position in a sentence, e,g. adjective phrase, like single-word adjectives, can be predicative (coming before the noun it modifies) or attributive (coming after the noun it modifies)). Am I right on this point?
Thirdly, under the following example “I am certain of that”, am I right to say that the adjective phrase is “certain of that”, with the head word being the adjective “certain”, and “of that” being a prepositional phrase which serves as a complement of the the adjective “certain”?
Also, concerning the above, am i right to say that the prepositional phrase “of that”, which serves as a complement of a the adjective “certain”, is in fact modifying the adjective (i.e. is it right to say that such adjective complements perform the role of modifying the adjectives that they complement)?
Other examples i can think of are:
“he was aware of the danger of travelling alone” (i.e. “aware of the danger of travelling alone” is the adjective phrase modifying “he”, with “aware being head word and the prepositional phrase “of the danger of travelling alone” being a complement which modifies “aware”;
“I am perfectly content on my own” (i.e. “perfectly content on my own” being the adjective phrase which modifies “I”, with “content” being the head word of this adjective phrase, and that the head word is being modified by the both the adverb “perfectly” as well as the prepositional phrase “on my own” which serves as a complement to the head word;
“she was terrified of Santa Clause visiting the house”, where “terrified of Santa Clause visiting the house” is the adjective phrase modifying “she”, with “terrified” being the head word of the adjective phrase, and “of Santa Clause visiting the house” being a prepositional phrase which acts as a complement that modifies the adjective “terrified”.
May I know if my above analysis is correct? Thanks!
Regards,
Shizuka
Hi Shizuka,
You’re correct technically a noun phrase’s purpose could be served by a single word – but to the dictionary’s point, yes, phrase would typically be used if we have more than one word, otherwise can simply state the function of the single word (i.e. “noun phrase” is redundant for a single noun as it is, more simply, “a noun”). But it’s simpler to use the term phrase as a catch all for single or multiword grammatical functions to address what it does rather than the specifics of how many words we use; you can also see the same done in reverse, sometimes, where someone will refer to the “noun” in a sentence as meaning the grouped words that make it up. Technically it may not be the most accurate way to speak, but again, it depends on what information we are trying to convey, and whether getting into the real specifics will make any difference to clarity.
On your adjective phrase point, yes that’s a fair summary. And yes, you’ve broken down the prepositional phrase examples in a reasonable manner. The prepositional phrases are adding information to the adjective state, so it’s fair to say they complement it and form part of the overall adjective phrase. Again there would be some room for flexibility depending on what we want to achieve by breaking down the sentence, though, as if our focus is on how the prepositional phrase changes the sentence we might merely leave the grouping at adjective/prepositional phrase, to more clearly separate them (e.g. “I am content [on my own]” vs “I am content [in this room]”). My point being it really depends what we want to explore, I hope that makes sense!
Best,
Phil
Hi Phil,
I understand adjective complements to be a phrase or clause that provides information necessary to complete an adjective phrase’s meaning. In addition, I understand that prepositional phrases typically serve as adjective complements. Some examples are:
My wife is worried about our financial situation (prepositional phrase “about our financial situation” serving as the complement to the adjective “worried”).
This restaurant is famous for its burgers.
Many little girls are fond of playing with dolls.
My question is whether such adjective complements are in fact also serving as adverbs/adverbial phrases since by complementing the adjective (hence they are called adjective complements), these prepositional phrases are also in effect modifying (i.e. adding or limiting the sense of) the meaning of the adjectives, and since we know anything that modifies an adjective can be considered as adverbial or functioning as an adverb/adverb phrase, am I right then to conclude that these prepositional phrases which serve as adjective complements are in fact also acting as adverbs/adverbial phrases?
Or is there a difference between adjective complements and adverbs/adverbial phrases?
Hi Shizuka,
Very good question, and not one I’m sure I can fully answer confidentally! I think you’re right that technically as a modification of an adjective they are performing an adverbial function, or at least appear to present the same information, but it’s another one where it would depend on what we’re trying to demonstrate. Off the top of my head, I suppose adjective complements more connect to a specific noun/object, while we might use adverbials more to discuss wider issues such as conditions/situations/times. Such as:
The children are happy about their new toys. [Connected to a noun that defines the source of happiness as an adjective complement]
The children are happy in the garden. [Connected to a place that does not necessarily define a source of happiness]
Phil
Very good article, thanks!