1. Chapter 4 Modifier: A word that describes

2. Modifiers Adverbs: describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs
Adjectives: describe nouns
Adverbs: describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs
How, When, Where, What Extent
Negatives modify words to mean “no” or “not”
Articles: definite & indefinite
Intensifiers are adverbs that tell to what extent (really, very, quite, rather)
*ALL INTENSIFIERS ARE ADVERBS, BUT NOT ALL ADVERBS ARE INTENSIFIERS*

3. Adjectives Adjective: describes a noun Ex: red marker
Marker is the noun; red is describing it
Articles are types of adjectives
Definite Articles: “the” or “that”
“Hand me that book.” – Describes which book
Indefinite Articles: “a” or “and”
Predicate Adjective: always follows a linking verb, serves as both a predicate and an adjective
“I am tired.”: Subject is “I”; Verb is “am”; “Tired” is both the predicate and the adj. describing me

4. Adverbs Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs
I ran quickly. (Quickly describes the verb “run”
The bright, red, marker (“Bright” describes the adjective red)
Adverbs tell us:
-How: “I ran quickly.” How did I run? Quickly.
-When: “We learned this yesterday.” When did we learn this? Yesterday
-Where: “My books are everywhere.” Where are my books? Everywhere
-To What Extent: “I am very relieved.” How relieved am I? Very.

5. Examples of Intensifiers
Intensifiers are types of adverbs that tell us “to what extent”
ALL intensifiers are adverbs, but not all adverbs are intensifiers!
Examples of Intensifiers
Really
Very
Many
Rather
Awfully
Quite
Almost
Only
“I had to do only one hour of homework!”
It would be sufficient to say “I had to do one hour of homework.”
But, saying “only one” intensifies the meaning of “one”

6. Comparing Adjectives/Adverbs
As a general rule…
One syllable modifiers get “er” or “est” added to the end
sweet > sweeter > sweetest
Soon > sooner > soonest
Two syllable or more modifiers will get “more”, “most”, “less”, or “least”
Famous > more famous > most famous
Skillful > more skillful > most skillful
An exception is modifiers that end in “y” (drop the “y” and add “-ier- or “
Happy > Happier > Happiest

7. Positive
Comparative
Superlative
Soon
Sooner
Soonest
Badly
Worse
Worst
Good
Better
Best
Early
Earlier
Earliest
Skillfully
More/Less Skillfully
Most/Least Skillfully
Quickly
More/Less Clearly
Most/Least Cleary

8. Negatives Negatives are modifiers that mean “no” or “not”
None, won’t, don’t, nobody, not
A “double negative” are two negatives used next to each other. It is grammatically incorrect.
“I ain’t have no money.”
In math, two negative make a positive.
In English, they do too.
This literally translates to mean “I have money.”
Correction: “I have no money” or “I don’t have any money.”

9. Using Adverbs vs. Adjectives Good = Adjective Well = Adverb After a linking verb, use an adjective. (Linking Verbs > Intransitive > Predicate Adjective) “I am Good.” “You look good.” After an action verb, use an adverb. “They played poorly.” “She sang well.”

10. Dangling Modifiers
In English, the subject of the main cause should be the doer of the modifying statement.
That means…
The modifying phrase and the subject of the sentence should match.

11. Correct:
“Having finished the assignment, Jill turned the TV on.”
Jill is the subject. She finished her assignment and then turned the TV on.
Incorrect:
“Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.”
- The TV is the subject. This implies the TV was the one to finish the assignment.

12. How To Fix a Dangling Modifier

13. INCORRECT: After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing.
REVISED: After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing.
INCORRECT: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, your home should be a place to relax.
REVISED: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you should be able to relax at home.
INCORRECT: The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully.
REVISED: They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab manual carefully