What are adjectives?
Adjectives are describing words that tell us more about a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea). They describe how many, which one, or what kind of noun it is.
- Example 1: red apple – red describes the apple (the noun).
- Example 2: three dogs – three tells how many.
- Example 3: tiny house – tiny describes the house (what kind).
Adjectives usually come before the noun they describe: the brave knight, a fluffy pillow.
What are adverbs?
Adverbs are describing words that tell more about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. They usually describe how, when, where, or to what extent something happens.
- Example 1: runs quickly – quickly tells how the boy runs.
- Example 2: very tall – very describes how tall the tree is (modifies an adjective).
- Example 3: finished yesterday – yesterday tells when they finished.
Adverbs often end in -ly (like slowly, brightly), but not always: well, fast are common examples that don’t end in -ly.
Tips to tell them apart
- Ask: What is being described? if it describes a noun, it’s likely an adjective. If it describes a verb or something else, it’s likely an adverb.
- Look where it sits: adjectives usually sit next to the noun (before it or after with a linking word). Adverbs often sit near a verb (how), or near an adjective/adverb (intensifier).
- Try rearranging: the quick fox (adjective) vs. the fox runs quickly (adverb describes the verb).
Practice questions
Identify if the underlined word is an adjective or an adverb:
- The bright sun shines.
- She sings beautifully.
- We adopted three kittens.
- He spoke softly in the library.