Detailed Explanation of Choosing Between Adjectives and Adverbs ✍️
When you are learning about choosing between adjectives and adverbs in Year 6 English, it is important to understand their differences, how to spot them, and how to use the correct one in a sentence. This helps you follow the UK National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 and improve your writing and speaking skills.
What Are Adjectives? 📝
An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. It tells us more about a person, place, thing, or idea. Adjectives answer questions like:
- What kind?
- Which one?
- How many?
Examples:
- The happy dog barked loudly.
- She wore a red dress to the party.
- There are three apples in the basket.
In these examples, happy, red, and three are adjectives because they describe the dog, dress, and apples.
What Are Adverbs? 🕒
An adverb is a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs often explain:
- How something happens
- When it happens
- Where it happens
- To what extent or degree
Most adverbs end in -ly but not all. They answer questions like:
- How?
- When?
- Where?
- How much?
Examples:
- She runs quickly. (How does she run? Quickly)
- He arrived early. (When did he arrive? Early)
- The cat jumped up. (Where did the cat jump? Up)
- It is very cold today. (How cold is it? Very cold)
How to Identify Adjectives and Adverbs 🔍
To decide if a word is an adjective or an adverb, look at what it is describing in the sentence:
- If the word is describing a noun or pronoun, it’s an adjective.
- If the word is describing a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, it’s an adverb.
Example sentence:
- She has a beautiful voice. (Beautiful describes the noun “voice” → adjective)
- She sings beautifully. (Beautifully describes how she sings → adverb)
How to Choose the Correct One in a Sentence ✅
Choosing the right word mostly depends on what you want to describe:
- Describing a person, place, or thing? Use an adjective.
– The bright stars shone at night. - Describing how an action happens? Use an adverb.
– The stars twinkled brightly at night. - Describing another adjective or adverb? Use an adverb.
– She is really kind. (Really describes the adjective kind.)
– He runs very quickly. (Very describes the adverb quickly.)
Summary 🧠
- Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns (people, places, things).
- Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs and often end in -ly.
- Always ask: “What is this word describing?” to pick the correct one.
Helpful Tip for Year 6 Students 💡
Try making two sentences to check your choice:
- Change the sentence to describe a noun with an adjective.
- Change the sentence to describe the verb with an adverb.
Example:
– She is a fast runner. (Adjective describes runner)
– She runs fast. (Adverb describes runs)
Practice sorting adjectives and adverbs by spotting them in your reading and writing. This will help you get better at choosing the correct word!
10 Examination-style 1-Mark Questions with 1-Word Answers on Adjectives and Adverbs 📝
- Which word describes a noun: adjective or adverb?
Answer: adjective - Which word tells us how an action is done: adjective or adverb?
Answer: adverb - In the sentence “She runs ___,” should you use an adjective or an adverb?
Answer: adverb - In “The ___ dog barked,” is the blank best filled by an adjective or adverb?
Answer: adjective - What do you add to most adjectives to make an adverb?
Answer: ly - “He speaks ___” – which type of word fits here, adjective or adverb?
Answer: adverb - Choose the correct word type: “The cake smells ___.”
Answer: adjective - Does the word “quickly” act as an adjective or adverb?
Answer: adverb - In “The exam was ___ hard,” what word describes “hard”? Adjective or adverb?
Answer: adjective - To describe the verb “run,” should you use an adjective or an adverb?
Answer: adverb
10 Examination-style 2-Mark Questions with 1-Sentence Answers on Adjectives and Adverbs 🖋️
- Identify whether the word in brackets should be an adjective or an adverb: She sings (beautiful) in the school choir.
Answer: The word should be an adverb because it describes how she sings, so the correct form is “beautifully.” - Choose the correct word: He is a very (quick/quickly) runner.
Answer: The correct word is “quick” because it describes the noun “runner,” so we use an adjective. - Fill in the blank with an adjective or adverb: The dog barked (loud/loudly) last night.
Answer: The correct word is “loudly” because it describes how the dog barked, so an adverb is needed. - Decide which word is correct: She feels (happy/happily) today.
Answer: The correct word is “happy” because it describes her feeling, so an adjective is used. - Choose the right word: The cake tastes (delicious/deliciously).
Answer: The correct word is “delicious” because it describes the cake, a noun, so we use an adjective. - Pick the correct form: They danced (graceful/gracefully) at the party.
Answer: The word should be “gracefully” because it tells us how they danced, so we use an adverb. - Complete the sentence with adjective or adverb: The exam was (easy/easily) harder than I thought.
Answer: The correct word is “easily” because it modifies the verb “harder,” so an adverb is needed. - Choose the right word: The small boy ran (fast/fastly) to the playground.
Answer: The word “fast” is correct because it is an adverb that describes the verb “ran”; “fastly” is not a correct word. - Fill in the blank: She is (careful/carefully) with her homework.
Answer: The correct word is “careful” because it describes “she,” so we use an adjective. - Decide which to use: The teacher spoke (soft/softly) during the lesson.
Answer: The word “softly” is correct because it describes how the teacher spoke, so an adverb is needed.
10 Examination-style 4-Mark Questions with 6-Sentence Answers on Adjectives and Adverbs 📚
Question 1:
Explain why in the sentence “She sings beautifully,” we use the word “beautifully” instead of “beautiful.”
Answer: In the sentence “She sings beautifully,” we use the word “beautifully” because it describes how she sings. The word “beautifully” is an adverb, and adverbs often describe verbs, telling us more about the action. The verb in the sentence is “sings,” so we need an adverb to describe the action of singing. “Beautiful” is an adjective, which describes nouns, not verbs. Since we are talking about the manner of singing, the correct word is “beautifully.” This shows us the difference between adjectives and adverbs.
Question 2:
Choose the correct word in the sentence and explain: “He runs (fast/fastly) every morning.”
Answer: The correct word is “fast.” In this sentence, “runs” is a verb, and the word we use to describe how he runs should be an adverb. Some adverbs, like “fast,” do not change at all and are the same as the adjective form. The word “fastly” is not correct English, so we never use it. Because “fast” can act as an adverb here, it correctly tells us how he runs. This is why “fast” is the right choice.
Question 3:
Why do we say, “She felt happy” but “She felt happily”?
Answer: We say, “She felt happy” because “felt” here is a linking verb, connecting the subject to a feeling or state. When a verb links the subject to an adjective, we use an adjective to describe the subject’s feeling or condition. “Happy” describes how she felt. If we said “She felt happily,” it sounds incorrect because “happily” is an adverb, and it does not describe feelings or states here. Adverbs like “happily” describe actions, but “felt” is not describing an action in this sentence. So, “happy” is the correct word to show her feeling.
Question 4:
In the sentence “The quick fox ran quickly,” explain why “quick” and “quickly” are used differently.
Answer: In this sentence, “quick” and “quickly” have different jobs. “Quick” is an adjective. It describes the noun “fox,” telling us what kind of fox it is. “Quickly” is an adverb. It describes the verb “ran,” telling us how the fox ran. Adjectives always describe nouns or pronouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. This sentence is a perfect example of using both to describe different parts of a sentence. They help us understand more about the fox and its action.
Question 5:
Explain why we say “He is a careful driver” but “He drives carefully.”
Answer: In “He is a careful driver,” the word “careful” is an adjective describing the noun “driver.” It tells us what kind of driver he is. In the sentence “He drives carefully,” we are describing the verb “drives,” telling how he drives. Since verbs are described by adverbs, “carefully” is the correct form. Adjectives like “careful” do not describe actions but nouns, while adverbs like “carefully” describe how actions happen. This shows how adjectives and adverbs work differently in sentences.
Question 6:
Choose and explain the correct word: “The children played (happy/happily) in the park.”
Answer: The correct word is “happily.” The verb here is “played,” and we want to describe how the children played. Since “played” is a verb, it needs an adverb for the description. “Happy” is an adjective and describes nouns, so it does not fit here. “Happily” is the adverb form of “happy” and tells us the manner of playing. Therefore, “The children played happily in the park” is correct. This helps clarify when to use adjectives and adverbs.
Question 7:
Describe why in “She looks tired,” we use an adjective and not an adverb.
Answer: In “She looks tired,” the verb “looks” is a linking verb, which connects the subject to a description. Linking verbs use adjectives to describe states or conditions of the subject. “Tired” is an adjective that describes how she is feeling. If we replaced it with an adverb like “tiredly,” it would not sound right because it would be describing the verb action, which is not happening here. We use adjectives after linking verbs to show how someone or something is. This is why “tired” is correct.
Question 8:
Explain the difference in meaning between: “He is loud” and “He speaks loudly.”
Answer: “He is loud” uses “loud” as an adjective to describe the person. It tells us about his character or personality. “He speaks loudly,” however, uses “loudly” as an adverb to describe how he speaks. “Loudly” describes the action of speaking, not the person. Adjectives describe nouns, so “loud” describes the person himself. Adverbs describe verbs, so “loudly” describes the action of speaking. This shows how adjectives and adverbs change the meaning by describing different parts of the sentence.
Question 9:
Why do we say “The dog is fast” but “The dog runs fast”?
Answer: “The dog is fast” uses “fast” as an adjective to describe the dog, a noun. It tells us about the dog’s quality or ability. In “The dog runs fast,” “fast” describes the verb “runs,” showing how the dog runs. Some words like “fast” can be both adjectives and adverbs without changing form. Here, “fast” works as an adverb to explain the action of running. This is why “fast” appears the same but serves different purposes in the two sentences. Understanding this helps with choosing adjectives or adverbs.
Question 10:
Explain why the sentence “He feels badly” is usually incorrect, and what the correct form should be.
Answer: The sentence “He feels badly” is usually incorrect because “feels” is a linking verb here. When linking verbs like “feel” describe a state or condition, they should be followed by adjectives, not adverbs. “Badly” is an adverb and would mean he has difficulty feeling with his sense of touch. Instead, we say “He feels bad” to describe that he feels unwell or upset. The adjective “bad” tells us his condition or feelings. This shows the important difference between using adjectives and adverbs with linking verbs.
10 Examination-style 6-Mark Questions with 10-Sentence Answers on Adjectives and Adverbs for Year 6 📖
- Explain how you can tell whether to use an adjective or an adverb in the sentence, “She sings _______.” Write your answer in 10 sentences.
- In the sentence “The dog is very _______,” which part of speech fits best, an adjective or an adverb? Explain your answer in detail, using 10 sentences.
- Write a paragraph of 10 sentences explaining the differences between adjectives and adverbs, including examples of when to use each.
- Look at the sentence “He ran _______ to catch the bus.” Should you use an adjective or an adverb? Explain why, writing a full 10-sentence answer.
- In the sentence “The weather was surprisingly _______ today,” discuss whether an adjective or adverb is needed. Write your explanation in 10 clear sentences.
- Explain why adjectives are used before nouns and adverbs usually modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Use 10 sentences with examples.
- Describe how the word “quick” changes when it becomes an adverb and how this changes its meaning in a sentence. Write 10 sentences to explain this.
- Why do we say “She feels happy” (adjective) but “She sings happily” (adverb)? Give a detailed 10-sentence answer explaining this difference.
- Choose the correct word to complete this sentence: “The cat looks _______ (sleepy / sleepily).” Write a 10-sentence answer explaining your choice.
- Write 10 sentences explaining how to use adjectives and adverbs correctly when describing actions and feelings. Include examples in your answers.
