8. Adjectives and Adverbs

See advice on nouns and articles.

See A7 in the Quick Editing Guide for more on editing adjectives and adverbs.

An adjective’s job is to provide information about the person, place, object, or idea named by the noun or pronoun.

Karen bought a small red car.

The radios on sale are an excellent value.

Adjectives and Adverbs at a Glance

ADJECTIVES

  1. Typically answer the question Which? or What kind?
  2. Modify nouns or pronouns

ADVERBS

  1. Answer the question How? When? Where? or sometimes Why?
  2. Modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs

An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb.

Karen bought her car quickly.

The phones arrived yesterday; we put them in the electronics department.

8a Use an adverb, not an adjective, to modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb
FAULTY Karen bought her car quick.
FAULTY It’s awful hot today.

Though an informal speaker might get away with these sentences, a writer cannot. Quick and awful are adjectives, so they can modify only nouns or pronouns. Adverbs are needed to modify the verb bought and the adjective hot.

EDITED Karen bought her car quickly.
EDITED It’s awfully hot today.
8b Use an adjective, not an adverb, as a subject complement or an object complement

subject complement: A noun, an adjective, or a group of words that follows a linking verb and renames or describes the subject: This plum tastes ripe. (See 3a.)

object complement: A noun, an adjective, or a group of words that renames or describes a direct object: The judges rated Hugo the best skater.

If we write, “Her old car looked awful,” the adjective awful is a subject complement: it follows a linking verb and modifies the subject, car. An object complement completes the description of a direct object and can be an adjective or a noun, but never an adverb.

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

[Adjectives modifying the direct object man]

When you are not sure whether you’re dealing with an object complement or an adverb, look closely at the word’s role in the sentence. If it modifies a noun, it is an object complement and should be an adjective.

The coach called the referee stupid and blind.

[Stupid and blind are adjectives modifying the direct object referee.]

If it modifies a verb, you want an adverb instead.

In fact, the ref had called the play correctly.

[Correctly is an adverb modifying the verb called.]

8c Use good as an adjective and well as an adverb

This sandwich tastes good.
[The adjective good is a subject complement following the linking verb tastes and modifying the noun sandwich.]

Al’s skin healed well after surgery.

[The adverb well modifies the verb healed.]

ESL Guidelines: Cumulative Adjectives

For advice on using commas with adjectives, see 21d.

Cumulative adjectives are two or more adjectives used directly before a noun and not separated by commas or the word and.

She is an attractive older French woman.

His expressive large brown eyes moved me.

Cumulative adjectives usually follow a specific order of placement before a noun. Use this list as a guide, but keep in mind that the order can vary.

  1. Articles or determiners

    a, an, the, some, this, these, his, my, two, several

  2. Evaluative adjectives

    beautiful, wonderful, hardworking, distasteful

  3. Size or dimension

    big, small, huge, obese, petite, six-foot

  4. Length or shape

    long, short, round, square, oblong, oval

  5. Age

    od, young, new, fresh, ancient

  6. Color

    red, pink, aquamarine, orange

  7. Nation or place of origin

    American, Japanese, European, Bostonian, Floridian

  8. Religion

    Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish

  9. Matter or substance

    wood, gold, cotton, plastic, pine, metal

  10. Noun used as an adjective

    car (as in car mechanic), computer (as in computer software)

Only if the verb is a linking verb can you safely follow it with good. Other kinds of verbs need adverbs, not subject complements.

linking verb: A verb (is, become, seem, feel) that shows a state of being by linking the sentence subject with a word that renames or describes the subject: The sky is blue. (See 3a.)

FAULTY After a bad start, the game ended good.
EDITED After a bad start, the game ended well.

Complications arise when we write or speak about health. It is perfectly correct to say I feel good, using the adjective good as a subject complement after the linking verb feel. However, generations of confusion have nudged the adverb well into the adjective category, too. A nurse may speak of “a well baby”; greeting cards urge patients to “get well” — meaning, “become healthy.” Just as healthy is an adjective here, so is well.

ESL Guidelines: Count and Noncount Nouns and Articles

count noun: A noun with both singular and plural forms that refers to an item that can be counted: apple, apples

noncount noun: A noun that cannot be made plural because it refers to an item that cannot be counted: cheese, salt, air

Count Nouns and Articles

Nouns referring to items that can be counted are called count (or countable) nouns. Count nouns can be made plural.

table, chair, egg two tables, several chairs, a dozen eggs

Singular count nouns must be preceded by a determiner. The class of words called determiners includes articles (a, an, the), possessives (John’s, your, his, my, and so on), demonstratives (this, that, these, those), numbers (three, the third, and so on), and indefinite quantity words (no, some, many, and so on).

a dog, the football, one reason, the first page, no chance

Noncount Nouns and Articles

Nouns referring to items that cannot be counted are called noncount (or uncountable) nouns. Noncount nouns cannot be made plural.

INCORRECT I need to learn more grammars.
CORRECT I need to learn more grammar.
  • Common categories of noncount nouns include types of food (cheese, meat, bread), solids (dirt, salt, chalk), liquids (milk, juice, gasoline), gases (methane, hydrogen, air), and abstract ideas, including emotions (democracy, gravity, love).
  • Another category of noncount nouns is mass nouns, which usually represent a large group of countable nouns (furniture, mail, clothing).
  • The only way to count noncountable nouns is to use a countable noun with them, usually to indicate a quantity or a container.

    one piece of furniture, two quarts of water, an example of jealousy

  • Noncount nouns, such as advice, are never preceded by an indefinite article; they are often preceded by some.
    INCORRECT She gave us a good advice.
    CORRECT She gave us good advice.
    CORRECT She gave us some good advice.
  • When noncount nouns are general in meaning, no article is required, but when the context makes them specific (usually in a phrase or a clause after the noun), the definite article is used.
    GENERAL Good continues to fight evil.
    SPECIFIC The evil that humans do lives after them.

ESL Guidelines: Definite and Indefinite Articles

indefinite article: An article (a or an) that indicates any one of many possible items: I will make a cake or an apple pie.

definite article: An article (the) that indicates one particular item: I ordered the spaghetti, not the lasagna.

The Definite Article (the)

  • Use the with a specific count or noncount noun mentioned before or familiar to both the writer and the reader.

    She got a huge box in the mail. The box contained oranges from Florida. [The is used the second time the noun (box) is mentioned.]

    Did you feed the baby? [Both reader and writer know which baby.]

  • Use the before specific count or noncount nouns when the reader is given enough information to identify what is being referred to.

    The furniture in my apartment is old and faded. [Specific furniture]

  • Use the before a singular count noun to state a generality.

    The dog has been a companion for centuries. [The dog refers to all dogs.]

  • Use the before some geographical names.

    Collective Nations: the United States, the United Kingdom

    Groups of Islands: the Bahamas, the Canary Islands

    Large Bodies of Water (except lakes): the Atlantic Ocean, the Dead Sea, the Monongahela River, the Gulf of Mexico

    Mountain Ranges: the Rockies, the Himalayas

  • Use the or another determiner when plural count nouns name a definite or specific group; use no article when they name a general group.

    Hal is feeding the horses in the barn, and he has already fed his cows.

    Horses don’t eat meat, and neither do cows.

The Indefinite Article (a, an)

  • Use a or an with a nonspecific, singular count noun when it is not known to the reader or to the writer.

    Jay has an antique car.

    [The car’s identity is unknown to the reader.]

    I saw a dog in my backyard this morning.

    [The dog’s identity is unknown to the writer.]

  • Use a or an when the noun is first used; use the when it is repeated.

    I saw a car that I would love to buy. The car was red with tan seats.

  • Use some or no article with general noncount or plural nouns.
    INCORRECT I am going to buy a furniture for my apartment.
    CORRECT I am going to buy some furniture for my apartment.
    CORRECT I am going to buy furniture for my apartment.

When someone asks, “How do you feel?” you can duck the issue with “Fine!” Otherwise, in speech good or well is acceptable; in writing, use good.

8d Form comparatives and superlatives of most adjectives and adverbs with -er and -est or more and most

Comparatives and superlatives are forms that describe one thing in relation to another. Put most adjectives into comparative form (for two things) by adding -er and into superlative form (for three or more) by adding -est.

The budget deficit is larger than the trade deficit.

This year’s trade deficit is the largest ever.

We usually form the comparative and superlative of potentially cumbersome long adjectives with more and most rather than with -er and -est.

The lake is more beautiful than I’d imagined.

The shoreline is the most beautiful in the region.

For short adverbs that do not end in -ly, usually add -er and -est. With all others, use more and most. (Also see 8f.)

The trade deficit grows fastest and most uncontrollably when exports fall.

For negative comparisons, use less and least for adjectives and adverbs.

Michael’s speech was less dramatic than Louie’s.

Paulette spoke less dramatically than Michael.

See A7 in the Quick Editing Guide for a chart of comparative forms of irregular adjectives and adverbs.

Use irregular adjectives and adverbs (such as bad and badly) with care.

Tom’s golf game is bad, but no worse than George’s.

Tom plays golf badly, but no worse than George does.

8e Omit more and most with an adjective or adverb that is already comparative or superlative

Some words become comparative or superlative when we tack on -er or -est. Others, such as top, favorite, and unique, mark whatever they modify as one of a kind. Neither category requires further assistance to make its point. To say “a more worse fate” or “my most favorite movie” is redundant.

FAULTY Lisa is more uniquely qualified for the job than any other candidate.
EDITED Lisa is better qualified for the job than any other candidate.
EDITED Lisa is uniquely qualified for the job.
8f Use the comparative form of an adjective or adverb to compare two people or things, the superlative form to compare more than two

No matter how wonderful something is, we can call it the best only when we compare it with more than one other thing. Any comparison between two things uses the comparative form (better), not the superlative (best).

FAULTY Chocolate and vanilla are both good, but I like chocolate best.
EDITED Chocolate and vanilla are both good, but I like chocolate better.