English Language Arts
Grade 9
15 min
Identify adjectives
Identify adjectives
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Identify attributive and predicate adjectives in simple sentences.
Locate adjectives within each independent clause of a compound sentence.
Distinguish and identify adjectives in both independent and dependent clauses of complex sentences.
Systematically analyze compound-complex sentences to find all adjectives present.
Differentiate between adjectives, adverbs, and nouns used as modifiers.
Explain how an author's choice of adjectives in complex sentence structures contributes to tone and meaning.
How can a single descriptive word, buried in a long sentence, completely change the hero into a villain? 🦸♂️➡️🦹♂️
This tutorial will sharpen your ability to identify adjectives, the words that add color and detail to writing. We will focus on finding t...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
AdjectiveA word that modifies (describes or gives more information about) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives typically answer the questions: What kind? How many? Which one? Whose?The *resilient* protagonist faced *many* challenges.
Attributive AdjectiveAn adjective that comes directly before the noun it modifies.The *ominous* clouds gathered.
Predicate AdjectiveAn adjective that follows a linking verb (like 'is', 'seems', 'becomes', 'feels') and modifies the subject of the sentence.The character's motivation seems *unclear*.
Simple SentenceA sentence consisting of one independent clause, with a single subject and predicate.The *old* book contained *ancient* secrets.
Compound SentenceA sentence with two or more independent claus...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The Clause-by-Clause Scan
Isolate each clause (independent and dependent) first. Then, scan each clause individually for adjectives.
Complex and compound-complex sentences can be overwhelming. Breaking them down into their component clauses makes it much easier to spot the nouns in each part and the adjectives that modify them.
The Linking Verb Check
After finding adjectives before nouns, always check for linking verbs (is, am, are, was, were, seem, feel, look, become, etc.). If you find one, check if the word following it describes the subject.
This rule helps you find predicate adjectives, which are often missed because they don't appear directly before a noun. For example, in 'The hero is brave,' 'brave' describes 'hero'.
The Questio...
4 more steps in this tutorial
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Challenging
An author writes: 'The sky was gray, and the wind was bitter.' To create a more hopeful tone, the author revises it to: 'The sky was blue, and the breeze was gentle.' How does this change in adjectives contribute to the new meaning?
A.The adjectives change the sentence structure from compound to complex.
B.The new adjectives ('blue', 'gentle') have positive connotations, shifting the tone from bleak to pleasant.
C.The new adjectives are predicate adjectives, whereas the old ones were attributive.
D.The adjectives 'gray' and 'bitter' are more objective and scientific.
Challenging
Analyze the following sentence: 'While his initial argument seemed logical, the new evidence was irrefutable, so the jury made a swift decision.' Which of the following words is NOT an adjective?
A.initial
B.logical
C.swift
D.evidence
Challenging
In the compound-complex sentence, 'The detective, who was famously observant, knew the suspect was deceptive, but she needed tangible proof,' where is a predicate adjective located?
A.In the dependent clause, modifying 'detective'.
B.In the first independent clause, modifying 'suspect'.
C.In the second independent clause, modifying 'she'.
D.In the dependent clause, modifying 'who'.
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