Lesson Topic 4: Modifier Madness - Adverbs and Adjectives

Modifier Madness?

Parts of speech that change the meanings of words are called modifiers. Remember that "modify" is similar to saying "change." Adverbs and adjectives are two modifiers that add to a sentence and change the meaning.

Getting Descriptive with Nouns

In order to add specific information to a sentence, adjectives might be included. Adjectives describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it?

Examples

This diagram explains the different types of adjectives.
1. In the sentence "She wore a red dress," "red" is the adjective describing what kind.
2. In the sentence "He had two dogs," "two" is the adjective describing how many.

Getting Descriptive with Verbs

Whereas adjectives describe nouns, adverbs describe verbs. Try to remember the definition of an adverb by realizing that adverbs add to the verb. Adverbs slightly change the meanings of verbs and answer one of these four questions: How? When? Where? or Why?

Examples:

This diagram explains the two types of adverbs.
1. In the sentence "He ran slowly down the street," "slowly" is an adverb that is describing how he ran.
2. In the sentence "You did well today in class," "well" is an adverb that is describing how you did.

Oftentimes, adverbs end in -ly. However, as you see in the second example, adverbs do not have to end in -ly; they just need to describe the verb.

Take some time to practice your understanding of adverbs and adjectives using the assessment below.

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