Practice Activities: Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives

Comparable or Non-Comparable?

Read the following passage. Identify the adjectives, and categorize them by comparable and non-comparable.

The Principality of Sealand has been described as the world’s smallest nation. However, it is more accurate to describe it as an unrecognized micronation. It claims Roughs Tower, an offshore platform located approximately 7.5 miles off the coast of Suffolk, England, as its territory. Roughs Tower is a disused Maunsell Sea Fort, originally called HM Fort Roughs, built as an anti-aircraft defensive gun platform by the British during World War II.

Since 1967, the decommissioned HM Fort Roughs has been occupied by family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates, who claim that it is an independent sovereign state. However, Sealand is not officially recognized by any established sovereign state. Bates moved to the mainland when he became elderly, naming his son Michael regent.

Now that you’ve identified the comparable adjectives, write their comparative and superlative forms in the text frame below:

Adjective Order

Read the following sentences. Are the adjectives in the correct order? Type any corrections in the text frame below:

  1. Ramin was throwing a party out at his ancient stone big house.
  2. Can you believe James lost his leather dumb Italian wallet?
  3. Sofía was transfixed by that green big singing fish.
  4. He bought a pink new nice bouquet of flowers.

Adverbs

Intensifiers and Adverbs of Degree

Read the following passage and identify the adverbs. Are the intensifiers and adverbs or degree being used well? Or would you suggest revision? The sentences have been numbered to aid you in your comments.

(1) Wojtek (usually spelled Voytek in English) was a Syrian brown bear found in Iran and literally adopted by soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. (2) Wojtek initially had problems swallowing and was fed with condensed milk from an old vodka bottle. (3) Later in life, he was oftenly rewarded with beer, which became his favorite drink. (4) He really also enjoyed smoking (or eating) cigarettes.

(5) To get him onto a British transport ship when the unit sailed from Egypt, Wojtek was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a Private and was listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. (6) As an enlisted soldier of the company, with his own paybook, rank, and serial number, he lived either with the other soldiers in tents or by himself in a special wooden crate, which was transported by truck. (7) According to numerous accounts, Wojtek helped by carrying ammunition during the Battle of Monte Cassino—he never dropped a single crate. (8) In recognition of the bear’s immensely popularity, the HQ approved a depiction of a bear carrying an artillery shell as the official emblem of the 22nd Company.