Module No.

2
MODIFIERS: ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS AND ARTICLES

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.
The Articles — a, an, and the — are adjectives.
Example:
a nervous witness
an upright judge
the learned lawyer
handsome as he was, he had no girlfriend.

ARTICLES – A, AN, THE

‘A’ and ‘AN’ are used when the speaker or writer refers to a thing or person net yet
spoken about, seen, or heard of by the speaker, listener, or writer.
On the other hand, the article ‘the’ is used to refer to a person or thing already spoken about,
seen, or heard or otherwise perceived by the senses:

I saw a pencil on a table there yesterday. The pencil and the table are still there now.

Kinds of Adjectives based on their position in the sentence

Depending on the language, an adjective can precede a corresponding noun on a prepositive

basis or it can follow a corresponding noun on a postpositive basis.

1. Prepositive adjectives, which are also known as "attributive adjectives," occur on an

antecedent basis within a noun phrase.
For example: "I put my happy  kids into the car," wherein happy occurs on an antecedent
basis within the my happy kids noun phrase, and therefore functions in a prepositive
adjective.

2. Postpositive adjectives can occur: 

(a) immediately subsequent to a noun within a noun phrase, e.g. "I took a
short drive around with my happy kids;" 
(b) as linked via a copula or other linking mechanism subsequent to a corresponding
noun or pronoun; for example: "My kids are happy," wherein happy is a predicate
adjective
(c) as an appositive adjective within a noun phrase, e.g. "My kids, [who are] happy to go
cruising, are in the back seat."
3. Nominalized adjectives, which function as nouns. One way this happens is by eliding a
noun from an adjective-noun noun phrase, whose remnant thus is a nominalization. In
the sentence, "I read two books to them; he preferred the sad book, but she preferred the
happy", happy is a nominalized adjective, short for "happy one" or "happy book".
 Another way this happens is in phrases like "out with the old, in with the new", where
"the old" means "that which is old" or "all that is old", and similarly with "the new". In
such cases, the adjective may function as a mass noun (as in the preceding example). In
English, it may also function as a plural count noun denoting a collective group, as in
"The meek shall inherit the Earth", where "the meek" means "those who are meek" or
"all who are meek".

Position of Adjectives

Unlike Adverbs, which often seem capable of popping up almost anywhere in a

sentence, adjectives nearly always appear immediately before the noun or noun phrase that they
modify. Sometimes they appear in a string of adjectives, and when they do, they appear in a set
order according to category.

Order of Adjectives

The categories in the following table can be described as follows:

I. Determiners — articles and other limiters.
II. Observation — post determiners and limiter adjectives (e.g., a real hero, a perfect
idiot) and adjectives subject to subjective measure (e.g., beautiful, interesting)
III. Size and Shape — adjectives subject to objective measure (e.g., wealthy, large,
round)
IV. Age — adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new, ancient)
V. Color — adjectives denoting color (e.g., red, black, pale)
VI. Origin — denominal adjectives denoting source of noun (e.g., French, American,
Canadian)
VII. Material — denominal adjectives denoting what something is made of (e.g.,
woolen, metallic, wooden)
VIII. Qualifier — final limiter, often regarded as part of the noun (e.g., rocking chair,
hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover)

 THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES 

Determiner Observation Physical Description Origin Material Qualifier Noun
  Size Shape Age Color  
a beautiful     old   Italian   touring car
an expensive     antique     silver   mirror
long-
four gorgeous     red   silk   roses
stemmed
her     short   black       hair
our   big   old   English     sheepdog
those     square       wooden hat boxes
that dilapidated little           hunting cabin
several   enormous   young   American   basketball players
some delicious         Thai     food

ADVERBS

Definition
Adverbs are words that modify
 a verb (He drove slowly. — How did he drive?)
 an adjective (He drove a very fast car. — How fast was his car?)
 another adverb (She moved quite slowly down the aisle. — How slowly did she
move?)

As we will see, adverbs often tell when, where, why, or under what conditions something
happens or happened. Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not
ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an
adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:

 That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.

If a group of words containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb (modifying the verb of a
sentence), it is called an Adverb Clause:
 When this class is over, we're going to the movies.
When a group of words not containing a subject and verb acts as an adverb, it is called
an adverbial phrase. Prepositional phrases frequently have adverbial functions (telling place
and time, modifying the verb):
 He went to the movies.
 She works on holidays.
 They lived in Canada during the war.

And Infinitive phrases can act as adverbs (usually telling why):

 She hurried to the mainland to see her brother.
 The senator ran to catch the bus.

But there are other kinds of adverbial phrases:

 He calls his mother as often as possible.

Adverbs can modify adjectives, but an adjective cannot modify an adverb. Thus we would
say that "the students showed a really wonderful attitude" and that "the students showed
a wonderfully casual attitude" and that "my professor is really tall, but not "He ran real fast."
 Like adjectives, adverbs can have comparative and superlative forms to show degree.

 Walk faster if you want to keep up with me.

 The student who reads fastest will finish first.
We often use more and most, less and least to show degree with adverbs:
 With sneakers on, she could move more quickly among the patients.
 The flowers were the most beautifully arranged creations I've ever seen.
 She worked less confidently after her accident.
 That was the least skillfully done performance I've seen in years.

The as — as construction can be used to create adverbs that express sameness or equality:
"He can't run as fast as his sister."

A handful of adverbs have two forms, one that ends in -ly and one that doesn't. In certain
cases, the two forms have different meanings:
 He arrived late.
 Lately, he couldn't seem to be on time for anything.
In most cases, however, the form without the -ly ending should be reserved for casual situations:
 She certainly drives slow in that old Buick of hers.
 He did wrong by her.
 He spoke sharp, quick, and to the point.
Adverbs often function as intensifiers, conveying a greater or lesser emphasis to something.
Intensifiers are said to have three different functions: they can emphasize, amplify, or downtone.
Here are some examples:

 Emphasizers:
o I really don't believe him.
o He literally wrecked his mother's car.
o She simply ignored me.
o They're going to be late, for sure.
 Amplifiers:
o The teacher completely rejected her proposal.
o I absolutely refuse to attend any more faculty meetings.
o They heartily endorsed the new restaurant.
o I so wanted to go with them.
o We know this city well.
 Downtoners:
o I kind of like this college.
o Joe sort of felt betrayed by his sister.
o His mother mildly disapproved his actions.
o We can improve on this to some extent.
o The boss almost quit after that.
o The school was all but ruined by the storm.
 Adverbs (as well as adjectives) in their various degrees can be accompanied by
premodifiers:

 She runs very fast.
 We're going to run out of material all the faster

Using Adverbs in a Numbered List

Within the normal flow of text, it's nearly always a bad idea to number items beyond three
or four, at the most. Anything beyond that, you're better off with a vertical list that uses numbers
(1, 2, 3, etc.). Also, in such a list, don't use adverbs (with an -ly ending); use instead the
uninflected ordinal number (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.). First (not firstly), it's unclear
what the adverb is modifying. Second (not secondly), it's unnecessary. Third (not thirdly), after
you get beyond "secondly," it starts to sound silly. Adverbs that number in this manner are
treated as disjuncts 

Kinds of Adverbs

Adverbs of Manner
   She moved slowly and spoke quietly.

Adverbs of Place
   She has lived on the island all her life.
   She still lives there now.

Adverbs of Frequency
   She takes the boat to the mainland every day.
   She often goes by herself.

Adverbs of Time
   She tries to get back before dark.
   It's starting to get dark now.
   She finished her tea first.
   She left early.

Adverbs of Purpose
   She drives her boat slowly to avoid hitting the rocks.
   She shops in several stores to get the best buys.

Positions of Adverbs
One of the hallmarks of adverbs is their ability to move around in a sentence. Adverbs of
manner are particularly flexible in this regard.
 Solemnly the minister addressed her congregation.
 The minister solemnly addressed her congregation.
 The minister addressed her congregation solemnly.
The following adverbs of frequency appear in various points in these sentences:
 Before the main verb: I never get up before nine o'clock.

Between the auxiliary verb and the main verb: I have rarely written to my brother

without a good reason.
 Before the verb used to: I always used to see him at his summer home.
Indefinite adverbs of time can appear either before the verb or between the auxiliary and the
main verb:
 He finally showed up for batting practice.
 She has recently retired.

Order of Adverbs
There is a basic order in which adverbs will appear when there is more than one. It is
similar to The Royal Order of Adjectives, but it is even more flexible.

 THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADVERBS 

Verb Manner Place Frequency Time Purpose
Beth swims enthusiastically in the pool every morning before dawn to keep in shape.
Dad walks impatiently into town every afternoon before supper to get a newspaper.
Tashonda
  in her room every morning before lunch.  
naps
In actual practice, of course, it would be highly unusual to have a string of adverbial modifiers beyond two or three (at the most).
Because the placement of adverbs is so flexible, one or two of the modifiers would probably move to the beginning of the
 
sentence: "Every afternoon before supper, Dad impatiently walks into town to get a newspaper." When that happens, the
introductory adverbial modifiers are usually set off with a comma.

Common problems in the use of Adjectives/Modifiers

A. Misplaced Words
In general, place single-word modifiers near the word or words they modify, especially
when a reader might think that they modify something different in the sentence. Consider the
following sentence:

 [WRONG] We could understand the Spanish spoken by our visitors from

Madrid easily.

Do we understand the Spanish easily, or do the visitors speak it easily? The following

revision eliminates the confusion:

 [RIGHT] We could easily understand the Spanish spoken by our visitors from

Madrid.
 It is particularly important to be careful about where you put limiting modifiers. These
are words like almost, hardly, nearly, just, only and merely. Many writers regularly
misplace these modifiers. You can accidentally change the entire meaning of a sentence if
you place these modifiers next to the wrong word:

 [WRONG] Randy has nearly annoyed every manager he has worked for. (he

hasn’t nearly annoyed them)
 [RIGHT] Randy has annoyed nearly every manager he has worked for.
 [WRONG] We almost ate all of the Thanksgiving turkey. (we didn’t almost
eat it)
 [RIGHT] We ate almost all of the Thanksgiving turkey.

B. Misplaced phrases and clauses

It is important to place the modifying phrase or clause as close as possible to the word or

words it modifies:

 [WRONG] By accident, he poked the little girl with his finger in the eye.
 [RIGHT] By accident, he poked the little girl in the eye with his finger.
 [WRONG] I heard that my wife intended to throw a surprise party for me while I
was outside her bedroom window.
 [RIGHT] While I was outside her bedroom window, I heard that my wife
intended to throw a surprise party for me.
 [WRONG] After the wedding, Ian told us at his stag party that he would start
behaving responsibly.
 [RIGHT] Ian told us at his stag party that he would start behaving
responsibly after the wedding.

C. Squinting modifiers

A squinting modifier is an ambiguously placed modifier that can modify either the word
before it or the word after it. In other words, it is squinting in both directions at the same time:

 [WRONG] Defining your terms clearly strengthens your argument. (does

defining clearly strengthen or does defining clearly strengthen?)
 [RIGHT] Defining your terms will clearly strengthen your argument. OR A clear
definition of your terms strengthens your argument

D. Split infinitives

The infinitive form of the verb consists of the preposition to followed by the base form

of the verb: to be, to serve, to chop, etc. Inserting a word or words between to and the verb of an
infinitive creates what is known as a split infinitive. Prescriptive grammarians once decreed that
 a split infinitive was an error, but now it is growing increasingly acceptable even in formal
writing. Nevertheless, some careful writers still prefer to avoid splitting infinitives altogether.
In general, avoid placing long, disruptive modifiers between to and the verb of an infinitive.

 [WRONG] The marketing team voted to, before they launched the new software,
run an anticipatory ad campaign. (the infinitive to run should not be split)
 [RIGHT] The marketing team voted to run an anticipatory ad campaign before
they launched the new software.

However, use your judgement when it comes to single-word modifiers. Sometimes a sentence
becomes awkward if a single-word modifier is placed anywhere but between the elements of the
infinitive.

Additional Notes on Dangling modifiers

The dangling modifier, a persistent and frequent grammatical problem in writing, is often

(though not always) found at the beginning of a sentence. A dangling modifier is usually a
phrase or an elliptical clause—a dependent clause whose subject and verb are implied rather
than expressed—that functions as an adjective but does not modify any specific word in the
sentence, or (worse) modifies the wrong word. Consider the following example:

 Raised in Nova Scotia, it is natural to miss the smell of the sea.

The introductory phrase in the above sentence looks as if it is meant to modify a person or
persons, but no one is mentioned in the sentence. Such introductory adjective phrases, because
of their position, automatically modify the first noun or pronoun that follows the phrase. In this
case, the connection is illogical because it was not raised in Nova Scotia. You could revise the
sentence in a number of ways:

 For a person raised in Nova Scotia, it is natural to miss the smell of the sea. (the phrase no
longer functions as an adjective)
 Raised in Nova Scotia, I often miss the smell of the sea. (the phrase functions as an adjective but
now automatically modifies the pronoun I, a logical connection)

A dangling modifier can also appear when an elliptical clause is placed improperly:

 Although nearly finished, we left the play early because we were worried about our sick cat.

In this sentence, the clause although nearly finished illogically modifies we, the pronoun directly
following the clause. You can rectify the problem by reinserting the subject and verb that are
understood in the elliptical clause:

 Although the play was nearly finished, we left early because we were worried about our sick cat.
A modifier does exactly what it sounds like: it changes, alters, limits, or adds more info to
something else in the sentence. A modifier is considered dangling when the sentence isn't clear
about what is being modified. For example, "The big" doesn't make sense without telling what is
big which leaves "big" as a dangling modifier; but, "the big dog" is a complete phrase.

How Modifiers Dangle

Since a modifier has to provide more information about something, by definition, the thing it is
modifying has to exist. That means that you can't just say, "The happy." If you did, people would
immediately ask you, "The happy what?" That missing "what" is the thing being modified.
It seems pretty obvious and intuitive when written in a simple sentence, and it seems hard to
imagine a situation in which a modifier would be left dangling, without a thing to modify.
However, modifiers don't always have to be simple words or phrases like "happy," and sentences
aren't always simple.
Phrases can also act as modifiers, providing additional information about something else in the
sentence. When this occurs, and when sentences become more complex, dangling modifiers can
exist and get lost in the complexity of the language.

Correcting Dangling Modifiers

Here follow several examples of dangling modifiers and how to fix them.

Example 1
The following is an example of the most severe and obvious problem with a dangling modifier:
sometimes the resulting sentence just doesn't make sense.
Hoping to garner favor, my parents were sadly unimpressed with the gift.
Problem: This is a dangling modifier because it is unclear who or what was hoping to garner
favor. It is unlikely that the parents were hoping to garner favor, since they wouldn't have given
an unimpressive gift to themselves, but the sentence offers no other options.
Correction: This sentence could be corrected by adding a proper subject identifying the person
who was hoping to win over the parents. For example:
Hoping to garner favor, my new boyfriend brought my parents a gift that sadly failed to impress
them.
Now, the modifier is no longer dangling, since the subject - in this case, the boyfriend - is clearly
identified.

Example 2
This example is clearer than the first, but still lacks the clarity and detail of good writing.
Hoping to excuse my lateness, the note was written and given to my teacher.
Problem: Here, it seems as though we have a subject: "my lateness." However, "my lateness" is
part of the modifier, rather than being part of the subject itself.
Correction: We need a subject that is modified by "hoping to excuse my lateness," since
obviously the note itself didn't have any hopes, because it's a note.
Hoping to excuse my lateness, I wrote a note and gave it to my teacher.
Now, the problem is resolved. I am the person who is hoping to excuse my lateness, so I wrote a
note and gave it to my teacher. My note may not get me out of trouble, but at least I won't have
bad grammar too!

Example 3
Here, some relevant information is implied rather than being explicitly stated. Being explicit
makes writing clearer and easier to understand.
After reading the great new book, the movie based on it is sure to be exciting.
Problem: Again, we are left wondering exactly who read the great new book. The phrase can't
possibly be modifying the movie, since the movie can't read.
Correction: A subject must be added so the modifier has something to describe, change or limit.
After reading the great new book, Anna thought the movie based on it was sure to be exciting.
Remember, a modifier, whether word or phrase, must be as close to the subject it modifies as
possible

Example 4
In some situations, a dangling modifier can render a whole sentence meaningless.
Stuck standing in line, the elevator was keeping people from getting to the party.
Problem: Elevators can't stand in line. Logically, it's "people" who are stuck standing in line, but
with the way this sentence is structured, grammatically that phrase must refer to "the elevator,"
making the sentence nonsensical.
Correction: Rearranging the sentence resolves all confusion.
Stuck standing in line for the elevator, people were getting impatient to get to the party.

Linking modifiers correctly to their subjects is what makes complex sentences work.

Example 5
A dangling modifier isn't always a whole phrase. Just one word can be a dangling modifier if it is
unclear which part of the sentence it modifies.
Unbeaten, the regular season championship belonged to the Wildcats.
Problem: "Unbeaten" is left dangling here, apparently modifying a phrase to which it doesn't
apply.
Correction: Reordering the sentence makes a clear result.
Unbeaten, the Wildcats claimed the regular season championship.
Whether a word or a whole phrase, a dangling modifier can confuse meaning and complicate
writing.

References:

Legal Writing, Franciso Javines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjective

http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/adjectives.htm
https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-dangling-modifiers.html
http://guidetogrammar.org/grammar/adverbs.htm