English Grammar

Differences between Adjective and Adverb with examples

Adjective

The adjective is a part of the sentence or type of word that is intended to complement a noun in order to qualify it. This word expresses characteristics or properties of the noun, whether concrete (perceived with the senses) or abstract (perceived with the mind). Differences between Adjective and Adverb

Formerly, traditional grammar distinguished between qualifying adjectives and determinative adjectives; However, nowadays only the qualifiers are considered adjectives, and the determining term is reserved for the latter.

An adjective has two functions with respect to a noun. One is to determine it because by adding an adjective to a name, it is already distinguished from the others. These types of adjectives are known as specific or restrictive.

The second function is descriptive, the adjective is used to describe the noun, but without distinguishing it from others. For example, if we say that grass is green, we are not going to differentiate it from herbs of other colors. In this case, we are facing an explanatory or non-restrictive adjective, which is very common in poetry and literature.

Adjectives can have gender and number to match the noun. They can have a single ending, in which case they do not vary in gender, but in number (weak/weak, strong/strong) and two endings when they vary in gender and number (good/good, good/good)

Adjectives examples

  1. The house is small.
  2. This chair is old. He is cute.
  3. That cup is very fragile.
  4. That hammock is yellow.
  5. That dog is very affectionate.

What is the position of adjectives in English sentences?

Here, we are going to focus on two points: that adjectives in English always come before the noun and after the verb (unlike Portuguese, where this is not always the case).   So we would say, for example:

  • This is a big  boat  > This is a big boat. The adjectivebig ), comes before the noun ( boat ) and after the verb ( is ).
  • My sister is a  happy  person > My sister is a happy person. The adjectivehappy ) comes before the noun ( person ) and after the verb ( is ).

Adjectives and participles

As in Portuguese, adjectives in English can derive from verbs . They can then take two forms:

  • the past participle (which corresponds, in Portuguese, to our participle):toinfinitive verb +  -ed 
  • that of the present participant : toinfinitive verb +  -ing 

They are used to make descriptions, and always with the verb  to be, the verb “to be” in English . So, for example, we would say:

  • She is interested in art > She is interested in art
  • He is interesting > He is interesting

What is the order of adjectives in English?

In Portuguese, the adjective can come before or after the noun. In addition, we usually associate two or three with each noun, and always separated by a comma or the conjunction “and”.

In English, adjectives always appear before the noun they characterize. And we can use several adjectives linked to describe the same object/person/place. We just have to respect an order. Because there is a correct order for adjectives in English :

Article/numeral + adjective that defines judgment / size / color / origin / material / function + noun 

Example:

lovely little yellow Peruvian house > A lovely little  yellow Peruvian house 
Numeral + judgment adjective + size + color + origin.

Two beautiful second-hand crystal wine glasses > Two beautiful second-hand wine glasses.

Numeral + judgment adjective + origin + material + function/purpose.

possessive adjectives in English

In Portuguese, we indicate possession using the possessive pronouns (mine, seu, etc) or the preposition “de”. In English, there are three ways to do this. All of them very common.

possessive adjectives

They are always used followed by a noun , and a single form describes the plural, masculine and feminine. The possessive adjectives in English are:

  • My : mine, mine, mine, mine
  • Your : yours, yours, yours, yours
  • His/her : yours, his, his, hers
  • Our : our, our
  • Your : yours, yours, yours, yours
  • Their : theirs

Adverb

The adverb is the part of the sentence that complements the verb, an adjective, sentences, and other adverbs. Its function is to express circumstances, such as mode, place, quantity, time, statement. doubt, etc. Its purpose is to answer the questions When? Where? How? In what way? Differences between Adjective and Adverb

Its function can be carried out by isolated words known as adverbs or by groups of two or more words known as adverbial phrases.

An adverb can circumstantially complement a verb (it was yesterday), quantify or complement an adjective (very bad) and quantify another adverb (quite close).

Adverbs examples

  1. José works away.
  2. have not arrived yet.
  3. In this exam, I went wrong.
  4. I actually liked the book.
  5. He may not come today.

What is the position of adverbs in an English sentence?

The rule is the same as for adjectives. Therefore, adverbs in English come after the verb , but  before adjectives, past participles, or other adverbs . We would then say:

  • This pasta is badly cooked > This pasta is badly  cooked. The adverb comes before the past participle.
  • It is raining heavily > It is raining heavily . The adverb comes after the verb.

The exceptions to the rule

  • Some adjectives ending in -ly  are not used as adverbs or are adjectives and adverbs at the same time.
    For example, the word  daily  can be an adverb or an adjective, depending on the sentence.

    • It is a daily newspaper > This is a daily newspaper > ADJECTIVE
    • It rains daily in the city > It rains daily in this city > ADVERB
  • Some adjectives are also adverbs. Examples?
    • It is hard work > It is hard work > ADJECTIVE
    • She works hard > She works hard > ADVERB

To summarize,   adjectives in English  do not have to agree with the noun and always come before it, in a definite order. The same is true of adverbs , which are invariable They always come after the verb and before participles or other adverbs.

Comparison chart

Basis for Comparison Adjective Adverb
Meaning An adjective is a word that increases the meaning of the noun or pronoun that precedes or succeeds. An adverb is a word that alters or describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb that precedes or succeeds.
What it does? Qualifies a noun or pronoun. Modifies a verb, adjective, preposition or conjunction.
Questions What kind, what and how many. How, when, where, how often, to what extent and how much.
Examples She is a sweet girl. She speaks very sweetly .
This house is very big . You need to invest your money wisely .
You are a nice person. He is exceptionally smart.

Differences between Adjective and Adverb

  1. Adjectives are words that are used to modify or complement a noun.
  2. Adverbs are words that modify or complement a verb or verb phrase.
  3. The function of the adjective is to qualify a noun. Express, specify, or accentuate the concrete or abstract characteristics attributed to a noun.
  4. Adverbs are responsible for expressing circumstances such as mode, place, statement, place, and time. It is a circumstantial complement of a verb.
  5. Adverbs complement verbs, adjectives, and even other adverbs.
  6. Adjectives always complement nouns.

How to remember the difference

Adjective and adverb both elaborate another part of the speech. Adverbs are actually formed by adding -ly at the end of adjectives such as emotionally, hopefully, carefully, badly, mostly etc., which also become their identification. However, there are some adverbs that look like adverbs but are actually adjectives like hourly, weekly, monthly, yearly.

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