1.6 Adjectives and Adverbs
Adjectives and adverbs are descriptive words that bring your writing to life.
Adjectives and Adverbs
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. It often answers questions such as which one, what kind, or how many?
- The green sweater belongs to Iris.
- She looks beautiful.
- In sentence 1, the adjective green describes the noun sweater.
- In sentence 2, the adjective beautiful describes the pronoun she.
An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs frequently end in -ly. They answer questions such as how, to what extent, why, when, and where.
- Bertrand sings horribly.
- My sociology instructor is extremely wise.
- He threw the ball very accurately.
- In sentence 3, horribly describes the verb sings. How does Bertrand sing? He sings horribly.
- In sentence 4, extremely describes the adjective wise. How wise is the instructor? Extremely wise.
- In sentence 5, very describes the adverb accurately. How accurately did he throw the ball? Very accurately.
Comparative versus Superlative
Comparative adjectives and adverbs are used to compare two people or things.
- Jorge is thin.
- Steven is thinner than Jorge.
- Sentence 1 describes Jorge with the adjective thin.
- Sentence 2 compares Jorge to Steven, stating that Steven is thinner. So thinner is the comparative form of thin.
Form comparatives in one of the following two ways:
- If the adjective or adverb is a one-syllable word, add -er to it to form the comparative. For example, big, fast, and short would become bigger, faster, and shorter in the comparative form.
- If the adjective or adverb is a word of two or more syllables, place the word more in front of it to form the comparative. For example, happily, comfortable, and jealous would become more happily, more comfortable, and more jealous in the comparative.
Superlative adjectives and adverbs are used to compare more than two people or two things.
- Jackie is the loudest cheerleader on the squad.
- Kenyatta was voted the most confident student by her graduating class.
- Sentence 1 shows that Jackie is not just louder than one other person, but she is the loudest of all the cheerleaders on the squad.
- Sentence 2 shows that Kenyatta was voted the most confident student of all the students in her class.
Form superlatives in one of the following two ways:
- If the adjective or adverb is a one-syllable word, add -est to form the superlative. For example, big, fast, and short would become biggest, fastest, and shortest in the superlative form.
- If the adjective or adverb is a word of two or more syllables, place the word most in front of it. For example, happily, comfortable, and jealous would become most happily, most comfortable, and most jealous in the superlative form.
Tip
Remember the following exception: If the word has two syllables and ends in -y, change the -y to an -i and add -est.
For example, happy would change to happiest in the superlative form; healthy would change to healthiest.
Irregular Words: Good, Well, Bad, and Badly
Good, well, bad, and badly are often used incorrectly. Study the following chart to learn the correct usage of these words and their comparative and superlative forms.
| Comparative | Superlative | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjective | good | better | best |
| Adverb | well | better | best |
| Adjective | bad | worse | worst |
| Adverb | badly | worse | worst |
Good versus Well
Good is always an adjective—that is, a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. The second sentence is correct because well is an adverb that tells how something is done.
Incorrect: Cecilia felt that she had never done so good on a test.
Correct: Cecilia felt that she had never done so well on a test.
Well is always an adverb that describes a verb, adverb, or adjective. The second sentence is correct because good is an adjective that describes the noun score.
Correct: Cecilia’s team received a good score.
Bad versus Badly
Bad is always an adjective. The second sentence is correct because badly is an adverb that tells how the speaker did on the test.
Correct: I did badly on my accounting test because I didn’t study.
Badly is always an adverb. The second sentence is correct because bad is an adjective that describes the noun thunderstorm.
Correct: The coming thunderstorm looked bad.
Better and Worse
The following are examples of the use of better and worse:
Tyra likes sprinting better than long-distance running. The traffic is worse in Chicago than in Atlanta.
Best and Worst
The following are examples of the use of best and worst:
Tyra sprints best of all the other competitors. Peter finished worst of all the runners in the race.
Remember better and worse compare two persons or things. Best and worst compare three or more persons or things.
Key Takeaways
- Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.
- Adverbs describe a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
- Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective.
- Comparative adjectives and adverbs compare two persons or things.
- Superlative adjectives or adverbs compare more than two persons or things.
- The adjectives good and bad and the adverbs well and badly are unique in their comparative and superlative forms and require special attention.
“7.6 Adjectives and Adverbs” from Putting the Pieces Together by Andrew M. Stracuzzi and André Cormier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.—Modifications: Removed Learning Objectives, Exercises, Connecting the Pieces, and Writing Application.
