Thursday, 14 October 2010

Adjective Song : )



Unpack Your Adjectives
Music & Lyrics: George R. Newall 
Sung by: Blossom Dearie 
Animation: Phil Kimmelman and Associates

Got home from camping last spring.
Saw people, places and things.
We barely had arrived,
Friends asked us to describe
The people, places and every last thing.
So we unpacked our adjectives.

I unpacked "frustrating" first.
Reached in and found the word "worst".
Then I picked "soggy" and
Next I picked "foggy" and
Then I was ready to tell them my tale.
'Cause I'd unpacked my adjectives.

Adjectives are words you use to really describe things,
Handy words to carry around.
Days are sunny or they're rainy
Boys are dumb or else they're brainy
Adjectives can show you which way.

Adjectives are often used to help us compare things,
To say how thin, how fat, how short, how tall.
Girls who are tall can get taller,
Boys who are small can get smaller,
Till one is the tallest
 And the other's the smallest of all.

We hiked along without care.
Then we ran into a bear.
He was a hairy bear,
He was a scary bear,
We beat a hasty retreat from his lair.
And described him with adjectives.

}} {Whoah! Boy, that was one big, ugly bear!}

{You can even make adjectives out of the other parts of speech, like verbs or nouns. All you have to do is tack on an ending, like "ic" or "ish" or "ary". For example, this boy can grow up to be a huge man, but still have a boyish face. "Boy" is a noun, but the ending "ish" makes it an adjective. "Boyish": that describes the huge man's face. Get it?}

Next time you go on a trip,
Remember this little tip:
The minute you get back,
They'll ask you this and that,
You can describe people, places and things...
Simply unpack your adjectives.
You can do it with adjectives.
Tell them 'bout it with adjectives.
You can shout it with adjectives.

Learning Adjectives



Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

One-syllable adjectives.

Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding –er for the comparative form and –est for the superlative.
One-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form
tall taller tallest
old older oldest
long longer longest
  • Mary is taller than Max.
  • Mary is the tallest of all the students.
  • Max is older than John.
  • Of the three students, Max is the oldest.
  • My hair is longer than your hair.
  • Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add –r for the comparative form and –st for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective with Final -e Comparative Form Superlative Form
large larger largest
wise wiser wisest
  • Mary's car is larger than Max's car.
  • Mary's house is the tallest of all the houses on the block.
  • Max is wiser than his brother.
  • Max is the wisest person I know.
If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add –er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add –est for the superlative form.
One-Syllable Adjective Ending with a Single Consonant with a Single Vowel before It Comparative Form Superlative Form
big bigger biggest
thin thinner thinnest
fat fatter fattest
  • My dog is bigger than your dog.
  • My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood.
  • Max is thinner than John.
  • Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
  • My mother is fatter than your mother.
  • Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives.

With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Two-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form
peaceful more peaceful most peaceful
pleasant more pleasant most pleasant
careful more careful most careful
thoughtful more thoughtful most thoughtful
  • This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning.
  • Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world.
  • Max is more careful than Mike.
  • Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful.
  • Jill is more thoughtful than your sister.
  • Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.
If the two-syllable adjectives ends with –y, change the y to i and add –er for the comparative form. For the superlative form change the y to i and add –est.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -y Comparative Form Superlative Form
happy happier happiest
angry angrier angriest
busy busier busiest
  • John is happier today than he was yesterday.
  • John is the happiest boy in the world.
  • Max is angrier than Mary.
  • Of all of John's victims, Max is the angriest.
  • Mary is busier than Max.
  • Mary is the busiest person I've ever met.
Two-syllable adjectives ending in –er, -le, or –ow take –er and –est to form the comparative and superlative forms.
Two-Syllable Adjective Ending with -er, -le, or -ow Comparative Form Superlative Form
narrow narrower narrowest
gentle gentler gentlest
  • The roads in this town are narrower than the roads in the city.
  • This road is the narrowest of all the roads in California.
  • Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
  • Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.

Adjectives with three or more syllables.

For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
Adjective with Three or More Syllables Comparative Form Superlative Form
generous more generous most generous
important more important most important
intelligent more intelligent most intelligent
  • John is more generous than Jack.
  • John is the most generous of all the people I know.
  • Health is more important than money.
  • Of all the people I know, Max is the most important.
  • Women are more intelligent than men.
  • Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met.

Exceptions.

Irregular adjectives.
Irregular Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form
good better best
bad worse worst
far farther farthest
little less least
many more most
  • Italian food is better than American food.
  • My dog is the best dog in the world.
  • My mother's cooking is worse than your mother's cooking.
  • Of all the students in the class, Max is the worst.
Two-syllable adjectives that follow two rules. These adjectives can be used with -er and -est and with more and most.
Two-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form Superlative Form
clever cleverer cleverest
clever more clever most clever
gentle gentler gentlest
gentle more gentle most gentle
friendly friendlier friendliest
friendly more friendly most friendly
quiet quieter quietest
quiet more quiet most quiet
simple simpler simplest
simple more simple most simple
  • Big dogs are gentler than small dogs.
  • Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the gentlest.
  • Big dogs are more gentle than small dogs.
  • Of all the dogs in the world, English Mastiffs are the most gentle.

Irregular Verbs

List of Irregular Verbs, Simple Past and Past Participle Verb Forms

Simple Present
Simple Past
Past Participle
arise
awake
be
bear
beat
become
begin
bend
bet
bite
bleed
blow
break
bring
build
burn
burst
buy
catch
choose
cling
come
cost
creep
cut
deal
dig
dive
do
draw
dream
drink
drive
eat
fall
feed
feel
fight
find
fit
flee
fling
fly
forbid
forget
forgive
forgo
freeze
get
give
go
grind
grow
hang
have
hear
hide
hit
hold
hurt
keep
kneel
knit
know
lay
lead
leap
leave
lend
let
lie (down)
light
lose
make
mean
meet
pay
prove
put
quit
read
ride
ring
rise
run
saw
say
see
seek
sell
send
set
sew
shake
shave
shear
shine
shoot
show
shrink
shut
sing
sink
sit
slay
sleep
slide
sneak
speak
speed
spend
spill
spin
spit
split
spread
spring
stand
steal
stick
sting
stink
strew
strike
strive
swear
sweep
swim
swing
take
teach
tear
tell
think
thrive
throw
undergo
understand
upset
wake
wear
weave
weep
win
wind
withdraw
wring
write
arose
awoke
was, were
bore
beat
became
began
bent
bet
bit
bled
blew
broke
brought
built
burned or burnt
burst
bought
caught
chose
clung
came
cost
crept
cut
dealt
dug
dived or dove
did
drew
dreamed or dreamt
drank
drove
ate
fell
fed
felt
fought
found
fit, fitted
fled
flung
flew
forbade or forbad
forgot
forgave
forwent
froze
got
gave
went
ground
grew
hung or hanged
had
heard
hid
hit
held
hurt
kept
knelt or kneeled
knitted or knit
knew
laid
led
leapt or leaped
left
lent
let
lay
lit or lighted
lost
made
meant
met
paid
proved
put
quit
read
rode
rang
rose
ran
sawed
said
saw
sought
sold
sent
set
sewed
shook
shaved
sheared
shone or shined
shot
showed
shrank or shrunk
shut
sang
sank
sat
slew
slept
slid
sneaked or snuck
spoke
sped
spent
spilled or spilt
spun
spat or spit
split
spread
sprang
stood
stole
stuck
stung
stank or stunk
strewed
struck
strove or strived
swore
swept
swam
swung
took
taught
tore
told
thought
thrived or throve
threw
underwent
understood
upset
woke or waked
wore
wove
wept
won
wound
withdrew
wrung
wrote
arisen
awoken
been
borne
beaten or beat
become
begun
bent
bet
bitten
bled
blown
broken
brought
built
burned or burnt
burst
bought
caught
chosen
clung
come
cost
crept
cut
dealt
dug
dived
done
drawn
dreamed or dreamt
drunk
driven
eaten
fallen
fed
felt
fought
found
fit, fitted
fled
flung
flown,
forbidden or forbade
forgotten
forgiven
forgone
frozen
gotten or got
given
gone
ground
grown
hung or hanged
had
heard
hidden
hit
held
hurt
kept
knelt or kneeled
knitted or knit
known
laid
led
leapt or leaped
left
lent
let
lain
lit or lighted
lost
made
meant
met
paid
proved or proven
put
quit
read
ridden
rung
risen
run
sawed or sawn
said
seen
sought
sold
sent
set
sewn or sewed
shaken
shaved or shaven
sheared or shorn
shone or shined
shot
shown or showed
shrunk or shrunken
shut
sung
sunk
sat
slain
slept
slid
sneaked or snuck
spoken
sped
spent
spilled or spilt
spun
spat or spit
split
spread
sprung
stood
stolen
stuck
stung
stunk
strewn
struck or stricken
striven or strived
sworn
swept
swum
swung
taken
taught
torn
told
thought
thrived or thriven
thrown
undergone
understood
upset
woken or waked
worn
woven
wept
won
wound
withdrawn
wrung
written