Try It: Adjectives and Adverbs

This activity is not graded. The text fields below are purely for self-reflection; you do not need to submit anything for this assignment.

Identify

Read the paragraphs below. Identify any adjectives and adverbs. Record them in the text frame below:

Four different views of the jaw bone: top, bottom, and both sides.

The new fossil, identified as Theriosuchus, in different views

Colleagues from the University of Edinburgh and myself have described the first Scottish crocodile fossil! It’s from the Isle of Skye, from a time known as the Middle Jurassic, and it dates back about 160 million years. Based on a partial bit of a jawbone, it’s not going to be the most spectacular fossil we’ve ever found, but it tells a pretty neat story.

Based on the identifiable features of the jawbone, we were able to identify the specimen as belonging to Theriosuchus. This genus has a quite complicated history, and currently the five species that are assigned to it span 100 million years! That’s pretty long lived for a single genus.

Theriosuchus belongs to a group known as Atoposauridae. Atoposaurids are a pretty cool group of crocodile ancestors, often characterized by a small, dwarfed body size; multiple tooth types; and a costal or an inland habitation. They also show an unusual combination of “primitive” characteristics and features that we associate with more “advanced” crocs.

Look back at the adjectives and adverbs you’ve just identified. Are any of them comparatives, superlatives, or intensifiers? Record your answers in the text frame below:

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