A Answers are written to increase vocabulary and spelling ability. a. . . . . . . . . . . path b. . . . . . . . . . . footbridge c. . . . . . . . . . . soldier d. . . . . . . . . . . arrow e. . . . . . . . . . . tank f. . . . . . . . . . . monster g. . . . . . . . . . . model h. . . . . . . . . . . fox i. . . . . . . . . . . tale j. . . . . . . . . . . artist 5. Students find more meaningful words than ‘nice’ or ‘good’ for the following. a. . . . . . . . . . . party b. . . . . . . . . . . boy c. . . . . . . . . . . person d. . . . . . . . . . . race e. . . . . . . . . . . house f. . . . . . . . . . . pear g. . . . . . . . . . . dog h. . . . . . . . . . . tune i. . . . . . . . . . . garden They then find an adjective for each of these which means the opposite (i.e. not good). 6. Students complete an adjectives flowchart. ADJECTIVES Descriptive new Proper Ford (car) Demonstrative that (car) Possessive my (car) Comparative newer Superlative newest 60 G r A M M A r f o r e V e rY o n e C Checklist: adjectives The student should now be able to: • give the meaning of the word adjective • define the word adjective – what is an adjective? • give examples of adjectives • qualify given nouns with appropriate adjectives • pick out adjectives from written material • apply adjectives to nouns to make a sentence more meaningful • explain the function of adjectives 61 A d j e c t i V e s Adverbs The way it’s done! Definition: Remembering that the word ‘verb’ is derived from Latin verbum meaning ‘word’ we see that adverb must mean some- thing added to a word. Before learning about adverbs, students should: • understand the term ‘verb’ • be able to describe the function of a verb – What is a verb? • be able to form simple sentences using a noun or pronoun together with a verb An adverb is a word that adds meaning to any other word, except a noun or pronoun (that being the job of an adjective). Adverbs are best understood as being of two kinds, those that add to the meaning of a verb and those that add to the meaning of other parts of speech and other adverbs. The English language includes an immense range of adverbs, and while flowery writing can result from an over-lavish use of either adjectives and adverbs, they do enable us to be wonderfully imaginative and subtly descriptive. Henry James remarked in one of his letters, ‘I’m glad you like adverbs – I adore them; they are the only qualifications I really much respect.’ 3 Adverbs are best taught first, as their function is readily under- stood by young children. In order to establish a clear distinction between the functions of adverbs and adjectives it is preferable to use a term other than ‘qualify’ for adverbs. The term ‘limit’ 3 Crystal, David & Crystal, Hilary 2000, Words on words: Quotations about language and languages, Penguin Books, Middlesex, UK. 5 62 can confuse young students by implying diminished meaning, although that, of course, it does in fact do. For instance, if you attribute one quality to a verb such as ‘He ran quickly’, you have denied it an opposing or conflicting quality – he did not run slowly. However, to avoid any confusion for learners we have chosen the term ‘modify’ for the function of adverbs. While acknowledging that students may come up against kinds of adverbs not mentioned here, the following are those commonly used and easy to comprehend. Adverbs add meaning in a number of different ways. Adverbs of time (‘when’ adverbs) These adverbs tell us when the action of the verb does or does not occur. For example: tomorrow, never The show is on tomorrow. I have never been to the show. Adverbs of place (‘where’ adverbs) These tell us where the action of the verb does or does not happen. For example: here, somewhere It isn’t here. It must be somewhere! Adverbs of manner (‘how’ adverbs) These tell us the way in which the action of the verb does or does not happen. For example: well, rudely You speak well. That boy spoke rudely. 63 A d V e r b s Interrogative adverbs (‘question’ adverbs) These adverbs are the question words that apply to the verb in a sentence. For example: how, why, where How did he escape? Why did you leave the gate open? Where can he be? Comparative adverbs (‘comparing’ adverbs) Adverbs of comparison follow a similar pattern to comparative adjectives while maintaining their function of modifying words. For example: fast, faster [comparing two], fastest [comparing more than two] The cake disappeared fast. Your buns went faster. But the pizza went fastest! In the case of longer adverbs we use more and most – again to avoid clumsiness. What a colourful tie. This one’s more colourful. But that one is most colourful. Irregular adverbs of comparison These irregular forms cause difficulty for some students who use them wrongly and use an adjective instead (He did it good – or performed real bad). It is a good idea to teach these and establish them in the minds of students early. Use a display, which can be made by the students themselves. 64 G r A M M A r f o r e V e rY o n e A Adverbs comparative Superlative well better best badly worse worst much more most little less least As some of these words can also be adjectives, you may remind students to think about their function in a sentence. For example: This is the worst firewood we have had. [adjective qualifying the noun ‘firewood’] It burns worst in wet weather. [adverb modifying the verb ‘burns’] For adverbs modifying other parts of speech, see page 130. 5.1 Activities: kinds of adverbs 1. Some favourite activities involve acting. Suggest an action, such as lifting a heavy weight or chopping down a tree. Then name an adverb of manner. The students do the action in the manner given. 2. ‘In the manner of the word’ is another favourite. One student decides on an act they will perform, such as frying an egg, flying an aeroplane, or being a police-officer recording details at the scene of a crime. (Speaking is permitted for this game.) The other students in turn name an adjective of manner such as ‘happily’. The first student performs their act in the manner of that word. The others try to guess what the student is doing. It is difficult to forget what adverbs are after performing some of these activities. 65 A d V e r b s A 3. Students have a list of verbs to which they add (or match) suitable adverbs, for example: dance (beautifully, clumsily) eat (greedily, daintily) get married (tomorrow, here) Encourage students to be adventurous in their choice. a. singing f. swallow b. swim g. laughed c. cook h. shouted d. read i. will go e. drove j. fell sick 4. Students are provided with a short passage to which they add appropriate adverbs. Passages can be chosen at the students’ level, for example young students might have a selection from Thomas the Tank Engine or Harry Potter while older ones might have theirs from Raiders of the Lost Ark or Wuthering Heights. 66 G r A M M A r f o r e V e rY o n e My sister dances beautifully. . comparison These irregular forms cause difficulty for some students who use them wrongly and use an adjective instead (He did it good – or performed real bad). It. performs their act in the manner of that word. The others try to guess what the student is doing. It is difficult to forget what adverbs are after performing