Adjectives: Delicious Descriptors

Adjectives

An adjective is a word used to describe a noun or a pronoun.  It tells which one, how many, and what kind.

• juicy melons
• spicy peppers
• refreshing soda

The underlined words answer the question what kind.

• that lemon
• first purchase
• last crate

The underlined words tell which one.

• several varieties
• one morning
• some friends

The underlined words tell how many/ how much.

Articles

A, an, and the are the most frequently used adjectives. 

A and an are called indefinite articles because they refer to a general noun mentioned.

• An apricot
• A peach

The is a definite article because it refers to the specific noun mentioned.

• The market

Demonstrative Adjectives

This, that, these, and those are demonstrative adjectives and pronouns.  When used in the place of a noun, it is a pronoun, when used to point our which one, they are adjectives.

• I would like this pomegranate and those oranges.

In the sentence above, this and those are demonstrative adjectives.

• May I have that, too?

In the sentence above, that is a demonstrative pronoun.

Proper Adjectives

A proper adjective is formed from proper nouns and always begin with a capital letter.

• I often shop at the Moroccan market.

Moroccan - A proper adjective formed from the proper noun Morocco.

• Italian food is one of my favorites. 

Italian - A proper adjective formed from the proper noun Italy.

• I would love to vacation in the French countryside.

French - A proper adjective formed from the proper noun France.

Most proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns by adding one of the endings listed below. 

However, some have irregular formations.

• -an

Mexico- Mexican; America - American; Hawaii - Hawaiian

• -ese

China - Chinese; Japan- Japanese; Bali- Balinese

• -ian

Canada - Canadian; Italy - Italian; Asia - Asian

• -ish

Spain - Spanish; Ireland - Irish; England - English

• irregular

Phoenix - Phoenician; Nice (France) - Niçois; Switzerland - Swiss; Venice -Venetian; Naples - Neapolitan

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

The comparative form of an adjective compares two things or people.  For most comparative adjectives with one or two syllables, you ad an -er to the ending. For other two syllable adjectives, or adjectives with more than two syllables, you use the word more.

• The apple basket is heavier than the basket of lemons.
• The fruit market was older than the one we visited yesterday.
• That hand painted tile is more colorful than these.

The superlative form of an adjective compares more than two things or people.  For most superlative adjectives with one or two syllables, you ad an -est to the ending. For other two syllable adjectives, or adjectives with more than two syllables, you use the word most.

• This apple basket is the heaviest one.
• The oldest market in town has the best fruit.
• That are the most colorful hand-painted tiles that I have seen.

Never use the words more or most with adjectives that already end in -er and -est.

Irregular Comparative and Superlatives

Pronouns: Definitely the last of it...

Indefinite Pronouns

An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

• Everyone who comes here must cross the many bridges.

Everyone is the indefinite pronoun.  It names people, but no one is particular.

Some indefinite pronouns can be singular, some can be plural, and some can be both.

Pronouns: Much, much more!

Demonstrative Pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun points out a noun.

• From this bench, you get a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

This points out the specific bench.

The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, and those.

Distance and location are very important with demonstrative pronouns.

For subjects that are close, use this (singular) and these (plural).

For subjects that are at a distance, use that (singular) and those (plural).

Interrogative Pronouns

An interrogative pronoun introduces an interrogative sentence, or question.

• What is at the top of the Eiffel Tower?

What is the interrogative pronoun.

The interrogative pronouns are: what, which, who, whom, and whose.

Relative Pronouns

A relative pronoun introduces a subordinate clause, or dependent clause.  It relates the subordinate clause to the independent clause.

•  Is this the bridge that I must take to get to the Eiffel Tower?.

When is the relative pronoun.

The relative pronouns are: that, which, who, whom, whose.

*On a side note, when and where are relative adverbs, not relative pronouns.

Pronouns Galore...

Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns

A reflexive pronoun refers the the subject and serves as a compliment of an object of a preposition. 

A simpler way to say it?  Think of a mirror.  A mirror shows your reflection.  A reflexive pronouns is the reflection of the subject and is usually found in the predicate of a sentence.

• When travelling, my sister and I consider ourselves to be great judges of fine cuisine.

Ourselves is a reflection of my sister and I.

An intensive pronoun emphasizes a noun or another pronoun.
A simpler way of putting it?  Think of steroids.  Intensive pronouns intensifier or make the noun/pronoun stronger.

• I myself am an expert in cheeses.

Myself intensifies I (me).

Pronouns

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of one or more nouns and the words that describe those nouns.  The noun that is replaces is called an antecedent.  In order to use a pronoun, the antecedent must be named.

A personal pronoun is used to refer to people of things.

 A subject pronoun, or nominative case, is used as the subject of a sentence.

• After she rested for a few hours, Ginger went in search of a quaint bistro.

She is the subject pronoun and the antecedent is Ginger.

An object pronoun, or objective case is used as the object of a verb or preposition.

• The waiter seated her near the jazz band.

The object pronoun is her and the antecedent is Ginger.

A possessive pronoun that shows who or what has something.  It takes the place of a possessive noun.

• Ginger quickly ate her croissant before meeting her sister.

The croissant is Ginger's.  It belongs to her.  It would sound strange to say that Ginger ate Ginger's croissant before meeting Ginger's sister.

Nouns: Compounds and Collective

More about Nouns

A compound noun is made up of two or more words used together as a single noun.

One Word

• (singular) passerby, filmmaker
• (plural) passersby, filmmakers

To form the plural of one word compound nouns, add -s  or -es to the end of most words.  Some words, however, fall under the exception.  In those cases, you add an -s or -es to the main word.  If you are ever unsure, look it up.

Separate Words

• (singular) editor in chief, music box
• (plural) editors in chief, music boxes

To form the plural of separate word compound nouns, add -s  or -es to the end of most words.  Some words, however, fall under the exception.  In those cases, you add an -s or -es to the main word.  If you are ever unsure, look it up.

Hyphenated Words

• (singlular) sister-in-law, great-grandmother
• (plural) sisters-in-law, great-grandmothers

To form the plural of hyphenated word compound nouns, add -s  or -es to the end of most words.  Some words, however, fall under the exception.  In those cases, you add an -s or -es to the main word.  If you are ever unsure, look it up.

Collective Nouns

A collective noun is a word that names a group.

• audience, chorus, family, crowd, orchestra, colony, band, herd, flock, pride, pack, bundle, collection, fleet, set

The greatest difficulty with collective nouns is that they can be both singular or plural with a change in spelling.

Nouns that are not collective, need to be made plural to name a group.

• book = books

But, the singular form of a collective noun already names a group.

• a collection of books

When using a collective noun, the verb must agree. 

If the collective noun is singular, a singular verb must be used.

• The audience cheers the singer as she takes the stages. Audience is singular. (It cheers.)

If the collective noun is plural, a plural verb must be used.

• The audience take their seats before the opening act begins. Audience is plural. (They take.)  The hint word was their.

Nouns: The Basics

A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.

A proper noun names a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

• Paris, France 

A common noun names a general person, place, thing, or idea.

• vacation 

A concrete noun names something that you can see or touch.

• luggage 

An abstract noun names ideas, feelings, qualities, and actions that can not be seen or touched.

• love

I would love to pack my luggage and take a summer long vacation to Paris, France.

 A possessive noun names who or what owns something.  Possessive nouns are formed by adding an -'s to the end of the word.  This rule applies to all singular nouns (this includes singular nouns that end in an -s.) and plural nouns that do not end in an -s.  To form the possessive of a plural that already ends in an -s, you simply add the appostrophe ('). 

A plural noun is formed by adding an -s, or an -es to the singular noun or by following the pattern of changed spelling of the singular noun.

Below are some more examples of nouns.

Person

• (common) woman, man, baker
• (proper) Marseille, Jean-Luc, Mr. Beau
• (plural) women, men, bakers
• (possessive singular) woman's, man's, baker's
• (possessive plural) women's, men's, bakers'

Place

• (common) street, city, business
• (proper) Champs-Elysées, Paris, Le Relais du Parc
• (plural) streets, cities, businesses
• (possessive singular) street's, city's, business's
• (possessive plural) streets' cities' businesses'

Thing

• (common) plane, newspaper, song
• (proper)  Air France Jet, Le Monde, Sur le pont d'Avignon
• (plural) planes, newspapers, songs
• (possessive singular) plane's, newpaper's, song's
• (possessive plural) planes', newspapers', songs'

Idea (can also be a quality or an action)

• (idea/concept) friendship, dream
• (quality) softness, beauty, freshness
• (action) eating, running, dreaming
• (plural) friendships, dreams
• (possessive singular) friendship's, dream's
• (possessive plural) friendships', dreams'

And even more than that about Sentences

Compound-Complex Sentences

A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause separated by a comma.

A complex-compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

• Before sailing to Bali, Jojo purchased new luggage, but he forgot to renew his passport.

The independent clauses:

• Jojo purchased new luggage
• He forgot to renew his passport

The subordinating clause:

• Before sailing to Bali

When writing, it is very important that you use a variety of sentences.  Think of your writing as a salad.  The more variety you have in your writing (salad), the better it tastes.  Besides, no one wants to eat plain lettuces with no dressing or fixings.

Even more about Sentences...

Simple Sentences, Compound Sentences, and Complex Sentences

A simple sentence has one subject and one predicate. The subject and/or predicate may even be a compound subject and/or a compound predicate.

• Pepper likes Jack.
• Pepper wrote a note and gave it to Frannie.
• Pepper and Frannie share a secret.

A compound sentence is a sentence containing two or more independent clauses that are usually joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

Coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet.

Independent clauses are sentences because they express a complete thought and can stand alone. 

• Pepper likes Jack, but she is currently dating Skip.

Independent clause one, (Pepper likes Jack) is followed by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (,but) and independent clause two (she is currently dating Skip).

A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one subordinate clause.

A subordinate clause is often called the dependent clause and can not stand alone.  Think of it as the opposite of the independent clause.

Subordinating clauses can appear at the beginning, the middle, or the end of a complex sentence.

• When Pepper sees Frannie talking to Skip, she gets jealous.

In the complex sentence, the independent clause (she gets jealous) follows the subordinate clause (When Pepper sees Frannie talking to Skip).

Subordinating clauses do not express a complete thought.  They often create a condition or environment for the independent thought to flourish.  Call them the supporting staff.  Consider this again...

• When Pepper sees Frannie talking to Skip, she gets jealous.

If the independent clause above was standing alone, we would not know the condition or environment of her jealousy.  We wouldn't even know who she was.  The subordinating clause gives us the information that we needed.  It created the condition or environment.

More about Sentences...

The Four Kinds of Sentences

A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a period (.).

• Penny is ready for school. 

This sentence makes a statement about Penny.  To declare something means to announce, state or proclaim it.  A declarative sentence does just that.

A interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark (?).

• Doesn't Penny look smashing in her new frock? 

This sentence is asking you a question about Penny's cute outfit.  When you think of interrogive, think of those detective shows.  When suspects are interrogated, they are questioned.  To interrogate means to question.

An exclammatory sentence shows excitement or storng feelings and ends with an exclamation point (!).

• Penny rocks!

This sentence is expressing excitement about Penny.  To exclaim means to speak out strongly with emotion.  In this sentence, I am speaking strongly how I feel about Penny.  She rocks!

An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request and ends with a period (.) or exclamation point(!).

• Give me a minute.
• Seriously, wait on me!

In these sentences, I am requesting Penny to wait on me.  Something that is imperative is absolutely necessary or important.  When you are requesting something from someone, it is usually something that is needed.  Always remember, the subject of an imperative sentence is always you.  If it is not written in the sentence, it is understood.  Hence the name, understood you.

• (You) Give me a minute.
• Seriously, (you) wait on me!

Since I am speaking to Penny, she is the you in the sentences.

Sentences, Subjects and Predicates

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. 

• Little Tuti loves green apples.

Sentences contain subjects and predicates.

The subject of a sentence tells whom or what the sentence is about.

• Little Tuti is the subject.

A simple subject, or noun, is the main word or phrase that tells whom or what the sentence is about.

• Tuti is the simple subject of the sentence.  It tells whom the sentence is about.

The predicate of a sentence tells something about the subject.  The predicate tells what the subject is, what it is like, or an action that it performs.

• Loves green apples is the predicate.

A simple predicate, or verb, is the main word or verb phrase that tells what the subject is, is like, or action performed.

• Loves is the simple predicate of the sentence.  It tells what an action perfomed by Tuti.

Sometimes sentences contain compound subjects and compound predicates.

Little Tuti and Silly Maggie sing and dance to Christmas music in July.

A compound subject consists of two or more subjects share the same predicate.

• The compound subject is Little Tuti and Silly Maggie.

A compound predicate consists of two or more verbs that share the same subject.

• The compound predicate is sing and dance.

Hyphens, Dashes and Parentheses

Hyphens, Dashes, and Parentheses

v  Use a hyphen (-) to show the division of a word at the end of a line.  Always divide the word between its syllables.  Since many word processing programs do not hyphenate words, this rule mainly applies in handwritten and typewritten documents.   There are a few rules that you must follow:

§  Do not divide one syllable words.

§  Do not divide words so that one letter remains alone.

§  Divide hyphenated words at a hyphen.

Ø  Because she spent many summers helping on her grandparent’s farm, Samantha en-

joyed baking cakes using fresh ingredients.

v  Use a hyphen in compound numbers.

Ø  It took her forty-three days to perfect the batter's new recipe.

v  Use a hyphen in a fraction that is spelled out.

Ø  The new recipe calls for a one-half pint of cream.

Ø 

v  Use a hyphen or hyphens in certain compound words.

Ø  My great-grandmother really liked using her churned butter.

Ø  Peggy’s sisters-in-law want me to cater their mother’s party.

v  Hyphenate a compound modifier only when it precedes the word it modifies.

Ø  She stores her recipes in a well-worn binder.

Ø  Her finger-worn pages have great notes about different family members.

v  Use a hyphen after the prefixes all-, great-, ex-, and self­-.

Ø  Laura’s chocolate cake won an all-American ribbon at the fair.

Ø  It was my great-grandmother’s recipe.

Ø  Winning the medal gave Laura the self-confidence she needed to pursue her dream of owning a bakery

v  Use a hyphen to separate any prefix used before a proper noun or proper adjective.

Ø  Many of the recipes date back to the pre-Civil War era.

Ø  It will be mid-November before our building is complete.

v  Use a hyphen before the suffixes -elect, and -free.

Ø  None of them are sugar-free, so we will have to make adjustments.

Ø  The president-elect of our organization wants to help with advertising.

v  Use a dash (— ) or dashes to show a sudden break or change in thought or speech.  Dashes are longer than hyphens.  When using a word processing program, type two hyphens for a dash.  Many programs recognize this and make the automated correction.

Ø  “I have no idea—excuse me, Samantha—why you would want to add more sugar,” said Laura.

Ø  Laura—she burned her hand—will be happy to know that the mixers are automatic.

v  Use parentheses to enclose material that is added to a sentence and is not considered important.

Ø  Julia Child (1912-2004) was a great inspiration to Samantha.

Apostrophes and Contractions

Apostrophes

v  Use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) to form the possessive of a singular noun and a plural noun that does not end in an s.

Ø  Samantha’s grandmother’s recipe

Ø  the women’s collection

Ø  Jess’s pound cake

v  Use an apostrophe to form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in s.  For plural possessives that do not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s (‘s).

Ø  the sisters’ collection

Ø  the men’s favorite pies

v  Use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) to form the possessive of an indefinite pronoun.  Never use an apostrophe and an s (‘s) in a possessive pronoun.

Ø  The burnt cake pan is no one’s fault.

Ø  I had to clean everyone’s dishes!

Ø  Those recipes are yours.  These recipes are ours.

Ø  I made my grandmother’s cream cheese icing, and hers is better.

v  Use an apostrophe to replace the omitted letters in a contraction.

Ø  We can’t give you anymore samples. (can not)

Ø  She didn’t make a very large supply. (did not)

Ø  We’re under the impression that this recipe is very marketable. (We are)

Ø  They’d had many successful tries at baking. (They had)

Ø  We left at 9 o’clock. (of the clock)

v  Use an apostrophe to replace the omitted numbers in a year.

Ø  The class of ’74 will be returning for a special event.

Sometimes possessive pronouns can be confused with contractions.  Be careful to use context clues from the sentence to help you understand.

v  It’s and Its - It’s is the contraction of it is.  Its is a possessive pronoun.

Ø  Because it’s snowing really hard, our dog lost its way home.

v  Who’s and Whose – Who’s is the contraction of who is and who has.  Whose is a possessive pronoun.

Ø  Whose idea was it to create a website that asks “Who’s your Favorite Celebrity Chef”?

v  You’re and Your – You’re is the contraction of you are.  Your is a possessive pronoun.

Ø  You’re sure that you didn’t lose your earring in the cake?

v  They’re and Their (and There) – They’re is the contraction of they are.  Their is a possessive pronoun.  There is an adverb meaning at or in that place, or it is used at the beginning of a sentence.

Ø  There are a few things that they’re doing wrong with their recipe.

v  There’s and Theirs – There’s is the contraction of there is.  Theirs is a possessive pronoun.

Ø  We carefully checked the grammar in our contract, but there’s bound to be mistakes in theirs.

Quotation Marks and Italics

Quotation Marks and Italics

v  Use quotation marks before and after direct quotations, or a person’s exact words.

Ø  “I want to collect recipes,” said Samantha.

v  Use quotation marks with both parts of a divided quotation.

Ø  “Looking through my mother’s recipes,” she said, “I can only find a few that I like.”

v  Place periods inside the quotation marks.

Ø  “My grandmother,” said Samantha, “really loved using fresh ingredients.”

Ø  “I guess it helped that she had a farm.” 

v  Use commas to separate a phrase such as she said from the quotation.  Commas are placed inside the quotation marks.

Ø  “Looking through my grandmother’s recipes,” she said, “I found many more.”

v  Question marks and exclamation points are place inside the quotation marks when they are a part of the quotation.  When question marks and exclamation points are a part of the entire sentence, they are not placed inside the quotation marks.

Ø  “Where will I find one using fresh lemons?” asked Laura.

Ø  “What a wonderful recipe for cream cheese icing.  This is delicious!” exclaimed Peggy.

Ø  Should Laura and Peggy be skeptical where Grandmother wrote “Use six eggs instead of four”?

v  Use quotation marks for the title of a short story, book chapter, magazine article, essay, song, newspaper article, or short poem.

Ø  “The Tell-Tale Heart”

Ø  “The Ransom of Red Chief”

Ø  “Mother to Son”

Ø  “The First Noel”

Ø  “Using Punctuation Correctly”

Ø  “Fly Me to the Moon”

v  Use italics (underlining) for the title and subtitle of a play, film, television series, long poem, book, newspaper, long musical compositions and recordings, magazine, or work of art. When using a typewriter or handwriting a title/subtitle, underlining is used.  Italics are a print used in publication and in word processing programs.

Ø  Gilmore Girls

Ø  The Wizard of Oz

Ø  The Wiz

Ø  The Mona Lisa

Ø  Martha Stewart Living

Ø  Illiad

Ø  Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

v  Use italics (underlining) for the names of trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft.

Ø  Titanic

v  Use italics (underlining) for words, letter, and numerals that are being referenced.

Ø  Don’t forget to drop the silent –e when adding –ing to verbs like bake, make, take, place, share, and give.

Semicolons and Colons

Semicolons and Colons

v  Use a semicolon to join the independent clauses of a compound sentence when a coordinating conjunction, such as and, or, nor, or but is NOT used.

Ø  Many people visit the small towns of New England; they often look for antiques and collectibles.

v  Use a semicolon to join parts of a compound sentence when the main clauses are long and are separated by commas.  Semicolons are used even when a coordinating conjunction is present.

Ø  Antiques are highly favored by my mother, my aunts, and my cousin; but, I have yet to acquire that taste.

v  Use a semicolon to separate main clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb.  The conjunctive adverbs are consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, or therefore.  Remember to use a comma after the conjunctive adverb.

Ø  Many antiques are in poor condition; however, when you find one that is in great condition, it’s usually very valuable.

v  Use a colon to introduce a list of items at the end of a sentence.  Remember to use phrases such as these, the following, or as follows to show that the list follows.  However, colons are not used immediately after prepositions or verbs.

Ø  When redecorating my downstairs, I searched for the following: a secretary desk, old luggage trunks, metal produce signs, and antique picture frames.

Ø  Some antiques have to be stripped, sanded, and stained in order to be restored.

v  Use a colon in a sentence before a statement that clarifies the previous statement.

Ø  I took plenty of pictures after refurbishing the antique frames: I felt as if I had accomplished something grand.

v  Use a colon when writing the time of day.  Colons are used to separate the hour, minutes, and seconds.

Ø  We left at 7:30 in the morning to go antique shopping.

v  Use a colon after the salutation of a business letter.

Ø  Dear Mr. Devonshire:

Ø  Dear Sir or Madam:

v  Use a colon between chapter and verses when referencing the Bible.

Ø  John 3:16

v  Use a colon between titles and subtitles.

Ø  Antiques: A How-To Guide