Chapter 4 Using Adjectives In Sentences

 Sometimes just naming a person, place, or thing is
not enough. You want to tell more about it. You may
want to talk about its size, its color, or your feelings
about it. You may want to compare it to something
else. This is the time to use an adjective. Adjectives
are words that describe nouns and pronouns.
 In this Chapter, you will learn about adjectives and
how to use them in sentences. By choosing good
adjectives, you can change dull writing into
interesting writing.

 To recognize adjectives in sentences, and to
identify the nouns they describe
 To recognize and use definite and indefinite
articles
 To use proper adjectives
 To use possessive nouns and pronouns as
adjectives
 To use numbers as adjectives
 To use demonstrative pronouns as adjectives
 To use adjectives that compare

 Adjective A word that describes or tells about a
noun or pronoun
 Predicate adjective An adjective that follows a
verb and describes the subject of the sentence
 Definite article The word the; it means a particular
person or thing
 Indefinite article The word a or an; it means any
one of a group of people or things
 Proper adjective A proper noun used as an
adjective, or an adjective made from a proper noun

 Demonstrative adjective The word this,
that, these, or those used as an adjective
 Positive form The form of an adjective used
to describe people or things
 Comparative form The form of an adjective
used to compare two people or things
 Superlative form The form of an adjective
used to compare more than two people or
things

 To identify an adjective that comes before a
noun
 To identify an adjective that comes after a
noun
 To identify the noun or pronoun that an
adjective describe
 To use adjectives to describe nouns and
pronouns

 An adjective is a word that describes a noun
or pronoun. An adjective may tell what kind,
which one, how many, or how much. Usually,
an adjective comes before the noun it is
describing.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ What kind? Ana likes winter weather.
▪ Which one? I saw the new pony.
▪ How many? We planted two trees.
▪ How much? The dress cost thirty dollars.

 The words in bold are adjectives. List each
adjective on your paper. After each one, write
the noun it describes.
 The suit matches her new robe.
 She dives into the chilly pool.
 Angela takes an old towel to swim meets for good
luck.
 She swims in two races.
 Angela wins a blue ribbon for first place.

 You can use more than one adjective to
describe a noun.
 EXAMPLE 2
▪ Wednesday was a cool, windy day.
▪ (Cool and windy describe the day.)

 Write each sentence on your paper. Add one
or more adjectives to describe each noun in
bold.
 Emily sits on the couch.
 Nathan’s family took a trip.
 Franco played a game.
 Nora wore clothes from Spain.
 We all drank mugs of cocoa.

 Most adjectives come in front of the nouns
they describe. Sometimes adjectives come
after the noun. Then they are set off with
commas.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ The eager and excited players took the field.
▪ The player, eager and excited, took the field.

 Some adjectives follow the verb in a
sentence. They come in the predicate of the
sentence. These adjectives are called
predicate adjectives. A predicate adjective
tells about the noun or pronoun that is the
subject of the sentence.
 EXAMPLE 4
▪ The students were happy.
▪ (Happy describes the students.)

 Write the adjective or adjectives in each
sentence. Next to each one, write the noun or
pronoun it describes.
 Mr. Jackson is the band teacher.
 He is great at playing the trumpet.
 The band plays many songs, popular and classical.
 Mr. Jackson is eager to get large audiences.
 He stands, tall and patient, until the class is ready.

 Write each adjective in bold on your paper.
Next to each adjective, write the noun it
describes.
 Angela is excited.
 She has strong arms and legs from swim practice.
 Neeru is tiny.
 She has long, black hair.
 Nathan is stocky and strong.
 He has wavy hair and a nice smile.

 Write each sentence. Add an adjective to
describe each noun in the sentence.
Underline each adjective you use.
 The coat is on the chair.
 We bought it at a sale.
 Her brother wore it to a game.
 The gym was packed with fans.

 To recognize and use definite articles
 To recognize and use indefinite articles

 The words a, an, and the are special adjectives
called articles. An article always comes before
the noun it describes. Use the definite article
the when you are talking about a particular
person or thing. Use an indefinite article when
you are talking about any one of a group of
people or things. A and an are indefinite articles.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ Emily wants the book about frogs. (a particular book)
▪ Nathan was looking for a book. (any book)

 Write each sentence on your paper. Underline
each article.
 Jackie saw a show about the making of a movie.
 The special effects were amazing.
 A model ship was used for a part of the movie.
 It was an effect that was needed.
 The ship is now in a museum.

 Use the article a before a word that begins
with a consonant sound. Use the article an
before a word that begins with a vowel
sound.
 EXAMPLE 2
▪ a book a math problem
▪ an apple an easy problem

 Write the article that completes each
sentence.
 Yesterday was (a, an) unusual day.
 I need (a, an) explanation.
 The student raised her hand to give (a, an) answer.
 The newTV was (a, an) big bargain.
 Michelle wanted (a, an) new pair of shoes.

 Use the articles a and an only with singular
nouns. You can use the article the with
singular and plural nouns.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ Angela bought a swimsuit. (Swimsuit is singular.)
▪ She wore it to the practice. (Practice is singular.)
▪ She talked to the swimmers. (Swimmers is plural.)

 Write each sentence. Fill in each blank with a
or an.
 Jose took ____ trip to ____ island.
 He found ____ starfish and ____ oyster shell.
 Jose built ____ huge sand castle on the beach.
 ____ exciting tour of the island lasted ____ hour.
 ____ person in the group asked ____ question.

 Write the article that belongs in each
sentence.
 Emily has (a, the) pear in her lunch.
 She sat on (a, an) bench near the door.
 Mr. Thomas gave (a, the) assignments for
tomorrow.
 Andy and (a, the) soccer team played a great
game.
 We waited for more than (a, an) hour.

 Number your paper from 6 to 10. Write five
sentences about today’s weather. Use at least
five articles in your sentences. Underline each
article.

 To recognize and use proper adjectives
 To capitalize proper adjectives

 A proper adjective is a proper noun that you
use as an adjective. A proper adjective refers
to the name of a particular person, place,
thing, event, or idea. Capitalize a proper
adjective.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ Proper Noun Emily speaks English.
▪ Proper Adjective Emily speaks the English
language.

 Sometimes you must change the spelling of a
proper noun to make it into an adjective.
 EXAMPLE 2
▪ Proper Noun Nathan would like to visit Spain
someday.
▪ Proper Adjective Nathan would like to see the
Spanish countryside.

 Write the proper adjective in each sentence.
Next to each adjective, write the noun it
describes.
 Italian cooking is very popular in this country.
 They saw Canada geese flying overhead.
 There is nothing like a California sunset.
 My mother’s family is German.
 We bought some Florida oranges.

 Write a sentence using each proper adjective.
Underline the word that the proper adjective
describes.
 American
 Spanish
 French
 African
 Chinese

 A proper noun and a proper adjective may be
spelled exactly the same way. How do you tell
if the word is a noun or an adjective? You
must look carefully at how the word is used in
its sentence.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ Proper Noun Jeong Chang lives in Hollywood.
(a particular place)
▪ Proper Adjective Curtis enjoys Hollywood movies.
(a kind of movie)

 Write each word in bold. How is the word
used in the sentence? If it is used as an
adjective, write adjective next to it. If it is used
as a noun, write noun.
 The poetry has made me a Shakespeare fan.
 I drive an American car.
 This coat was made in Canada.
 Mr.Thomas visited Egypt last summer.
 Mrs.Young made French toast.

 Write each sentence on your paper. Capitalize
each proper adjective. Then underline the
noun it describes.
 Suzi bought towels at the january sale.
 One of the tallest trees is the california redwood.
 The waitress brought us our canadian bacon.
 I ordered a swiss cheese sandwich.
 The tuesday meeting was three hours long.

 Write a sentence using each proper noun as a
proper adjective. Underline the noun that the
proper adjective describes.
 German
 Paris
 June
 Asian
 Texas

 To use possessive nouns as adjectives
 To use possessive pronouns as adjectives

 Do you remember learning about possessive
nouns in Chapter 2? How about possessive
pronouns in Chapter 3? Both show belonging.
They have something else in common. Both
describe nouns. This means that they are
adjectives.

 Both common nouns and proper nouns can be
turned into possessive adjectives.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ This is my sister’s bedroom.
 Sister’s is a possessive adjective made from the
common noun sister. It is used to describe the
noun bedroom.
 EXAMPLE 2
▪ Roxanne’s dog is huge!
 Roxanne’s is a possessive adjective made from
the proper noun Roxanne. It is used to describe
the noun dog.

 Write each possessive adjective in bold. Next
to it, write the noun it describes.
 My friend’s rabbit has smooth fur.
 Emily likes Angela’s jokes.
 My mother’s ring is missing.
 Where is Armando’s soccer ball?
 The band’s CD quickly became popular.

 Write a sentence using each possessive
adjective. Underline the noun that the
adjective describes.
 Mandy’s
 teacher’s
 team’s
 Javier’s
 city’s

 Possessive pronouns act as both pronouns
and adjectives.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ Anne is excited. Her team is competing today.
 The word her is a possessive pronoun. It
works as a adjective to describe the noun
team. It also has an antecedent: Anne’s.

 Write each possessive adjective in bold. Next
to it, write the noun that it describes.
 Our puppy likes to play.
 My car is red and white.
 His plan was a success.
 Michelle likes her new computer.
 The students were proud of their effort.

 Many writers confuse these two little words.
They sound alike, but they are not the same
word. Its is a possessive pronoun that you use
as a adjective. It’s is a contraction of the two
words its and is.
 EXAMPLE 4
▪ Its bark is too loud. (Whose bark? Its bark.)
▪ It’s a nice day. (It is a nice day.)

 Write the word that completes each
sentence.
 The cat lost (its, it’s) collar.
 The printer is beeping. (Its, It’s) out of paper.
 The show was popular because of (its, it’s) actors.
 The book lost (its, it’s) importance after the
discovery.
 The puppy is barking. I think (its, it’s) hungry.

 Number your paper from 1 to 10. Find the 10
possessive adjectives in these sentences. List them in
order. Next to each one, write the noun it describes.
Nathan and his older brother David went to hear the new
mayor give a speech. David drove them into town in his
car. He had to fill the car’s gas tank, so they stopped at a
gas station. Then they went to their father’s office to pick
up their tickets. They had a great view from their seats in
the third row. After the mayor’s speech, Nathan and David
went exploring. Soon, Nathan’s stomach was growling. He
and his brother had a quick meal before driving back to
their house.

 To recognize and use numbers as adjectives
 To recognize and use indefinite pronouns as
adjectives

 You can use number as adjectives. A number
describes a noun by telling how many. Spell
out numbers one through nine. Numbers 10
and above are often shown as numerals.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ Sam drove 112 miles. It took him two hours.

 Do you remember learning about indefinite
pronouns in Chapter 3? They are words such
as many, both, some, and neither. You can also
use indefinite pronouns as adjectives. Like
numbers, indefinite pronouns tell how many,
but the exact number is unknown.
 EXAMPLE 2
▪ Several people wanted to go to the concert.
▪ Few students were able to go.

 Write the number or indefinite pronoun used
as an adjective in each sentence.
 The concert was three hours long.
 Many people got there early.
 There were a few songs Sam had heard before.
 There were 30 people in the band.
 The drive home took Sam’s family 15 minutes.

 Use each word as an adjective in a sentence.
Underline the noun each adjective describes.
 nine
 few
 several
 six
 one

 The same word may be an indefinite pronoun or
an adjective. To tell the difference, you must
think carefully about how the word works in the
sentence. Remember that a pronoun takes the
place of a noun. It acts like a noun. It names
something or someone. An adjective describes a
person, place, thing, or idea.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ Pronoun Many people clapped, and several cheered.
(The antecedent of several is people.)
▪ Adjective Several families were there.
(Several describe families. It tells how many.)

 Write each bold word. Next to it, write
adjective or pronoun.
 Everyone was happy at the dance.
 When the band played, most people danced.
 When the dance was over, no one wanted to go
home.
 Some people went toTony’s Café afterwards.
 Others went bowling.

 Write each word used as an adjective in the
paragraph. After each one, write the noun or
pronoun it describes.
Summer picnics at Kai’s house are fun. Most of
her family comes. Nine people crowd into one
small house! Kai’s mom cooks the chicken, and it
is hot and tasty. Kai’s aunt makes a potato salad.
Everyone loves the sweet lemonade.

 Write the number or indefinite pronoun used
as an adjective in each sentence. After it,
write the noun or pronoun it describes.
 Most people enjoy going to the movies.
 Tony’s Café has several kinds of sandwiches.
 Track season lasts three months.
 Math class is forty-eight minutes long.
 My room is two doors down on the right.

 Write each sentence on your paper. Add a
number or indefinite pronoun to complete
each sentence. Underline the word you
added.
 The rain fell for ____ hours.
 He asked for ____ eggs.
 The speed limit is ____ kilometers per hour.
 I saw ____ of my friends.
 ____ students go toWilson High School.

 To recognize the four demonstrative
adjectives
 To use demonstrative adjectives

 Do you remember learning about demonstrative
pronouns in Chapter 3? You can also use these
pronouns as adjectives. The four demonstrative
pronouns are this, that, these, and those. They
point to a particular thing or things.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ Pronoun That is a long book.
▪ Adjective That book is long. (Which book?)
▪ Pronoun These are my favorite CDs.
▪ Adjective These CDs are my favorite. (Which CDs?)

 Write each word in bold. After each one, write
adjective or pronoun.
 Those are good boots.
 I like the way these pens write.
 This book is very funny.
 Those are Andy’s poems.
 Did you hear that duck?

 Write five sentences describing things in your
classroom. Use a demonstrative adjective in
each sentence. Underline each one.
 Example: Light streams through that window.

 Write the demonstrative adjective in each
sentence. Next to it, write the noun that it
describes.
 We had a very strange day this week.
 ThatWednesday is one I will remember.
 First, those new bells rang several times each
hour.
 No one knew whether a bell meant to leave that
class or not.
 Then the cafeteria served those odd sandwiches.

 Choose a demonstrative adjective for each
blank.Write the sentence on your paper.
 Did you draw ____ pictures?
 This car is mine, and ____ one is my brother’s.
 Look at ____ mountains!
 ____ cut is healing.
 Please read ____ words to me.

 To recognize adjectives that compare
 To use the positive, comparative, and
superlative forms of adjectives

 You use adjectives to describe people or
things. You can also use adjectives to
compare people or things. Adjectives have
three forms—positive, comparative, and
superlative.
 EXAMPLE 1
▪ Positive Comparative Superlative
▪ pretty prettier prettiest
▪ new newer newest

 Rule 1 Use the positive form to describe one
thing.
 Rule 2 Use the comparative form to compare
two things.This form often ends in –er.
 Rule 3 Use the superlative form to compare
more than two things. This form often ends in –
est.
 EXAMPLE 2
▪ Positive That computer is fast.
▪ Comparative That computer is faster than this computer.
▪ Superlative Of all the computers, this one is the fastest.

 Write the correct form of the adjective for
each sentence.
 Nina’s hair is (longer, longest) than Carrie’s.
 This room is the (bigger, biggest) in the house.
 This is a very (hard, harder) job.
 My uncle is (older, oldest) than my mother.
 She told the (funny, funniest) story!

 To make the comparative and superlative forms
of some adjectives, you must double the final
consonant. Then you add –er or –est. Double the
final consonant in these cases:
 The word has one syllable.
 The word ends in one consonant.
 The word has one vowel before the final consonant.
 EXAMPLE 3
▪ big + -er = bigger big + -est = biggest
▪ sad + -er = sadder sad + -est = saddest

 Write the adjective that belongs in each
blank. Use the comparative or superlative
form of the word at the end of each sentence.
 Nathan is ____ thanThom. (thin)
 I was the ____ one of all! (mad)
 Nathan’s hair is ____ than mine. (red)
 She was the ____ person on the beach. (tan)
 All three dogs were wet, but the ____ was Duke.
(wet)

 For longer adjectives, you use the words more
and less to make the comparative form. You
use most and least to make the superlative
form.
 EXAMPLE 4
▪ delicious more delicious most delicious
▪ helpful less helpful least helpful
▪ exciting less exciting least exciting

 Write each adjective on your paper. Next to
each one, write its comparative and
superlative form.
 timid
 amazing
 graceful
 popular
 rugged

 Remember that an irregular word does not
follow usual rules or patterns. Some adjectives
have completely different words for their
comparative and superlative forms. You need to
remember these words or look them up in a
dictionary to be sure.
 EXAMPLE 5
▪ good better best
▪ bad worse worst
▪ little less least
▪ many more most

 Write the correct form of the adjective for
each sentence.
 Jesse thinks AmyTan is a (good, best) writer.
 Nathan is watching (less, least)TV lately.
 He is doing (more, most) reading.
 The writer I like (better, best) is AnneTyler.
 This is the (worse, worst) movie I have ever seen!

 Write the letter of the correct sentence.
 A Old Pew is one of the meanest men around.
B Old Pew is one of the most mean men around.
 A Which of those two ships can sail faster?
B Which of those two ships can sail fastest?
 A Long John Silver hopes to be richer soon.
B Long John Silver hopes to be more rich soon.
 A Treasure Island is the goodest book I have read.
B Treasure Island is the best book I have read.
 A I have fewer CDs than Armando.
B I have fewest CDs than Amarnado.

 Number your paper from 6 to 10. Write each
bold adjective in the paragraph. After each one,
write positive, comparative, or superlative.
Many readers think Treasure Island is the most
exciting story of all. They love its colorful characters.
Old Pew is a scary fellow, but even more frightening
is John Silver. Have you read the book? Which
character do you think is the most unforgettable
one? Why do the characters seem more real than
those in other books?

Chapter 4 Using Adjectives In Sentences

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