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Everyday I'm hustlin' (adjectives and adverbs)

Everyday I'm Hustlin'
by Felicia Write

adj.

adjective: a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.  Adjectives occupy one of the eight main word classes (parts of speech).  They describe the noun or pronoun in a clause or sentence.  Adjectives add the delicious to Sunday dinner.
adv.

adverb: a word that describes or modifies a verb or verb phrase.  Adverbs occupy one of the eight part of speech (word classes).  They describe the verb or verb phrase in a clause or sentence.  Adverbs add the happily to a married couple.

     Like the street peddler with twenty watches on his arm and a shoulder full of designer handbags filled with bottles of expensive perfume, adjectives and adverbs will hustle whatever they can to make a dime (or, in this case, sell your idea).  Adjectives and adverbs are the hard-working modifiers that work to make your text look good.  If you aren't careful, they can make your writing look just like our New York peddler—bogged down with way too much stuff—or they can dress up your writing with descriptive words, phrases, and clauses that make your story step out in style. 

There's three forms:

• positive: pretty or big 
• comparative: prettier or bigger
• superlative: prettiest or biggest

     A few adjectives venture away from the basic —y, —er, —est suffixes (added endings) and create irregular forms of positive, comparative, and superlative word forms.  These include: good/better/best, bad/worse/worst, little/less/least, much/many/some/more/most, and far/further/furthest.

proper adjectives: modify proper nouns, the proper noun describe something in terms of nationality, religious affiliation, or culture. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives begin with a capital letter, e.g., Jewish, French, African-American, Latino, and Baptist. 

adjectives of appearance: describe what something looks like.  A few examples include: clean     drab     elegant     fancy     glamorous     handsome     long    

old-fashioned     plain sexy

adjectives of condition: describe the state of something.  A few examples include:

inexpensive     mushy     odd     powerful     rich     shy     tender     vast 

feel bad adjectives: describe bad feelings that are actully felt or appears to feel by someone else.   A few examples include:

angry     bewildered     clumsy     defeated     embarrassed     fierce     goofy grumpy     helpless     itchy     jealous     lazy     mysterious

feel good adjectives: describe good feelings that are actully felt or appears to feel by someone else., e.g., 

agreeable     brave     calm     delightful     eager     relieved    

silly     thankful   victorious     witty   zealous

color, shape, size, and sound adjectives: need I explain more?  Here's a few examples:

yellow     green     blue     fat    low     narrow     round     shallow     petite     puny

scrawny     skinny       melodic     noisy     purring     quiet     raspy

adjectives of taste and touch: Note: many of the following examples can be used to describe more than just taste and touch, e.g., The sweet old lady or My temper is wearing thin.  Examples include:

grainy     rotten     salty     sticky     strong     sweet     tart     nappy     damaged

damp     dirty     dry     dusty     filthy     flaky     fluffy     freezing

adjectives of quantity and time: decribe how much, e.g., A dozen eggs, or when something occurred, e.g., The tornado hit early, so many residents were unable to escape.

few     full     heavy     light     many     numerous     early     fast

rapid     short     slow     swift     young

Word of caution: If not overdone, adjectives can be a good thing.  Rather than attempt to clarify every noun or every verb (with an adverb) sprinkle them in where clarity or interest will make a difference.  Look at how the right adjective clarifies the intent of the following sentences:

• The dog was put to sleep.
• The vicious dog was put to sleep after he attacked a young child.
• The old dog was put to sleep because he was suffering.

adjective clause: remember, a clause is a mini sentence.  An adjective clause describes or tells us more about a noun.  It usually begins with a relative pronoun, and is formed with the use of the following words: who, that, whom.  the two main types of adjective clauses are, restrictive and non-restrictive.

• restrictive adjective clause: is necessary to the meaning of the sentence.  Without it, the basic meaning of the sentence changes. It is not set off by commas.  For example: Who is responsible for this mess?
• nonrestrictive clause: can be omitted from a sentence without affecting the basic meaning of the sentence. It merely gives more detail about the noun it modifies. It is separated form the main clause by commas.  Mickey, who dropped an armful of dirty dishes, is responsible for making a mess in the kitchen.

Writin' is Right provides creative tools designed to help writers develop better writing skills, recognize and correct common mistakes, and discuss ways to sharpen your writing. If you have a specific question or idea, feel free to ask. You will receive a reply within 24 hours.