Chapter 4
Expanding the Sentence
4.1 Adding Details with Adjectives
The sentences you completed for the exercises in the first three chapters are just a beginning. Readers usually ask more of the writer—more color, more variety, more information—in short, more specific details. Adjectives added to nouns, and adverbs added to verbs give the reader additional information by further describing and qualifying the nouns and verbs.
Adjectives
An adjective makes a noun or pronoun specific or concrete by limiting and describing it.
Kinds of Adjectives
Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Nouns The possessive form of the pronoun is called an adjective because it describes and qualifies nouns: his book, my book. The possessive form of a noun is also called an adjective. Your reader knows exactly what house you are talking about when you write Gene’s house or the Martins’ house. The possessive nouns are modifying the noun “house” and are, therefore, adjectives.
Exercise 4.1
Bracket all possessive pronouns and possessive nouns.
Example: The bike [riders’] protests were loud when they heard that [their] lanes of traffic would be closed.
1. New York City’s chief engineer maintains its highways and bridges.
2. His main job is to keep the city’s bridges from decaying and collapsing.
3. Today’s larger trucks have ruined many of America’s roads and bridges.
4. In addition, although salt is used successfully to melt snow, the salt’s acidity has destroyed our highways.
5. The chief engineer’s judgments about repairs affect many people’s lives.
Noun Markers Noun markers indicate that a noun will follow.
Noun Markers
Some of these words seem to point to the noun: |
that truck. |
Others limit the noun: |
few people. |
Numbers All numbers are adjectives. They modify and qualify the noun by telling how many.
Examples: five apples fifty dollars twenty-four hours
Descriptive Adjectives The adjectives above do not actually describe nouns. To give the reader a mental picture of something, the writer chooses adjectives that describe the qualities or characteristics of it.
Position of Adjectives
1. The adjective usually appears in front of the noun:
2. But the adjective can follow the noun it modifies:
These adjectives are completers following the linking verb was.
These present participles are adjectives modifying the noun team. Notice that two of them, laughing and shouting, follow the noun.
Special Forms of Adjectives
1. Sometimes present and past participles are used as adjectives:
2. When a noun precedes another noun, the first noun is used as an adjective to describe or limit the second noun:
3. Prepositional phrases are also used as adjectives.
Of application specifies the kind of letters that Toshiro sent; therefore, the phrase is an adjective.
Exercise 4.2
In the following sentences, bracket all the participles and nouns used as adjectives.
Example: Alex spent an [exciting] time at the [opening pro-football] game.
1. In his box seat, Alex watched a closely fought battle.
2. The turning point came for the home team during the last few minutes of the game.
3. Everyone praised the winning pass of the rookie quarterback and the clever tactics of the head coach.
4. The excited fans roared as the place kicker sent the ball through the uprights of the goal post for the extra point.
5. The winning team, laughing and shouting, ran off the football field.
How to Choose Adjectives
When writers choose adjectives to create a picture for the reader, they are asking themselves questions about their subjects.
1. What kind?
Example: dancing lessons |
“Dancing” tells what kind of lessons. |
2. How many?
Example: ten lessons |
“Ten” tells how many lessons. |
3. Which one?
Example: the last lesson |
“Last” tells which one. |
4. Whose?
Example: Judy’s lesson |
“Judy’s” tells whose. |
Questions like these can help writers to add details to a sentence.
Exercise 4.3
Bracket all the adjectives in the following paragraph.
It is [a] [beautiful], [sunny] day in [a] [popular] [theme] park in [the] United States. Mr. and Mrs. Tomita, on their first trip to this country, listen attentively to a tour guide’s claim that thirty-five thousand adults and children visit the park every day. Most visitors to this magical place are attracted by an amazing variety of shows, rides, exhibits, and restaurants. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tomita, however, are impressed by the clean surroundings. They are staying at the vacationland’s hotel where all the rooms have immaculately clean blue plastic furniture, green and beige walls, and beds covered with purple-green spreads. The hotel’s parking lot, with its carefully planted vegetation, is also sparkling clean. The smallest scrap of litter is sucked underground and rushed via pipes to a fabulous trash compactor. Even the friendly birds do their part by picking some bread crumbs off the restaurant’s patio at the hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Tomita know that they will enjoy themselves in this spotless American tourist attraction.
Punctuating Adjectives Before a Noun
Use commas to separate two or more adjectives that modify the same noun if they are not linked by a coordinating connective such as and or but.
Examples: a. The irritated candidate
spoke in a loud, indignant voice.
b. The reporter’s harsh and probing questions annoyed the candidate, (no comma needed)
Exercise 4.4
Insert commas as needed in the following sentences.
1. Bradley and Carol tried to talk to the instructor in the cluttered noisy office he shared with two other people.
2. Twenty-five airline passengers were rescued from the frigid ice-covered Potomac River.
3. Driving a battered rusty old Volkswagen is more fun than driving a luxurious shiny new Cadillac.
4. Walt admired the graceful elegant and stately style of the dancer.
5. Mary insisted on wearing the old-fashioned clumsy worn-out slippers around the house.
Study Chapter 8 for additional material on this use of the comma.
Comparison of Adjectives
Adjectives have three forms: positive (base form), comparative, and superlative. Most adjectives change their form for use in comparisons. For example, soft, softer, softest show differences in degree.
Comparative Degree
a. Walt is strong.
b. Dan is stronger than Walt.
The first sentence simply tells us about one quality of Walt: his strength. The second sentence compares Walt’s strength to Dan’s strength. Stronger is the comparative form of the adjective strong.
Superlative Degree
a. Pete is the strongest of all.
b. He the strongest wrestler on the team.
Strongest is the superlative form of the adjective strong. Superlative forms are often followed by prepositional phrases as shown in the examples just given.
Forming Comparatives and Superlatives
1. Add -er to adjectives of one syllable. |
Add -est to adjectives of one syllable. |
2. Place the words more or most before adjectives of two or more syllables.
brilliant |
more brilliant |
most brilliant |
dangerous |
more dangerous |
most dangerous |
exciting |
more exciting |
most exciting |
Exception: To form the comparative of two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, change the -y to -i and add -er. To form the superlative add -est.
happy |
happier |
happiest |
lovely |
lovelier |
loveliest |
lazy |
lazier |
laziest |
Use the comparative form to compare two or more persons, places, ideas, or things.
Use the superlative form to compare more than two persons, places, ideas, or things.
Example: Marion is the tallest player on our team.
Less and Least Less and least may be substituted for more and most to show a lesser degree in a comparison.
Comparative (followed by than) |
Superlative (followed by of or other prepositions) |
less dangerous |
least dangerous |
less comfortable |
least comfortable |
Exercise 4.5
Fill in the blanks with words that show a lesser degree of comparison.
1. The speaker was _______________ interesting than I had expected.
2. Highway 10 is the _______________ dangerous way of all through the mountains.
3. That house is _______________ expensive than the one we looked at this morning.
4. I am the _______________ creative member of our family.
5. The baby seems _______________ sleepy than she was an hour ago.
Exercise 4.6
Change the adjective in parentheses into the comparative or superlative degree. The first sentence is completed as an example.
1. Buying a computer for home or business may be the 
purchase you will make in the next ten years.
2. The computer you choose for the home will soon be 
to use than the telephone.
3. It will enable you to have a 
method of controlling the family budget.
4. You should be sure to buy a computer that can be upgraded to a 
model sometime in the future.
5. The data-processing computer has become the 
addition to the business world.
6. Some computerized information systems offer businesses 
productivity.
7. They even promise 
use of energy.
8. The use of computers encourages 
business procedures.
9. The 
computer systems are powerful enough to process company payrolls.
10. The computer you buy for home or business should be the 
quality at the 
price.
4.2 Adding Details with Adverbs
Another kind of modifier is an adverb. Adverbs add further information about verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Study the following tests for an adverb.
Tests for Adverbs
1. Ask the question, When?
Example: I ran five miles yesterday.
The word yesterday tells when I ran five miles.
2. Ask the question, How?
Example: I ran five miles slowly.
The word slowly tells how I ran five miles.
3. Ask the question, Where?
Example: I ran five miles around the track.
The words around the track tell where I ran five miles.
4. Ask the question, Why?
Example: I ran five miles for my health.
The words for my health tell why I ran five miles.
From these examples, you can see that an adverb can be a single word (yesterday) or a phrase (around the track). To determine if a word or group of words is an adverb, ask when, where, how, or why. Adverbs answer these questions.
Function of Adverbs
Adverbs are usually added to a basic sentence to give the reader more information.
Example: |
She arrived. |
basic sentence |
|
She arrived early. |
tells when she arrived |
|
She arrived suddenly. |
tells how she arrived |
|
She arrived at my door. |
tells where she arrived |
|
She arrived to stay with me. |
tells why she arrived |
Basic Pattern 1 sentences need added information to make them more interesting to your reader. Adverbs add interest and information.
Note: A few words that are usually nouns sometimes function as adverbs.
They tell where he walked: |
He walked home. |
They tell how far: |
He walked a mile. |
They tell when: |
He walked yesterday. |
The adverb tells the time the action happened, the place it happened, the manner in which it happened, and the purpose of the action.
Position of Adverbs
The position of an adverb in a sentence is flexible; that is, it can be moved around in a sentence. The position of the adverb occasionally is correct in all the sentences in the following example:
Example: Occasionally she eats in the cafeteria.
She occasionally eats in the cafeteria.
She eats occasionally in the cafeteria.
She eats in the cafeteria occasionally.
Exercise 4.7
In the following sentences, write in one-word or prepositional-phrase adverbs of your choice on the lines. The sentences form a paragraph.
Example: Kimiko had been planning her vacation 
1. Kimiko arrived after 
after a long flight 
2. The pilot landed the plane 
and 
3. All the passengers 
applauded .
4. Kimiko walked toward the exit door 
5. She was thrilled to be 
after so many years.
Comparison of Adverbs
Adverbs, like adjectives, have degrees of comparison: the positive, the comparative, the superlative.
Forming Comparatives and Superlatives
1. To form the comparative of adverbs of one syllable, add -r or -er. To form the superlative, add -st or -est.
Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
late |
later |
latest |
fast |
faster |
fastest |
2. A few adverbs of one syllable are exceptions to rule 1. To form the comparative and superlative of these words, change the spelling of the adverb. Consult your dictionary.
Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
far |
farther |
farthest (physical distance) |
far |
further |
furthest (mental degree) |
well |
better |
best |
3. To form the comparative of adverbs of more than one syllable, place more before the adverb. To form the superlative, place most before the adverb.
Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
beautifully |
more beautifully |
most beautifully |
carefully |
more carefully |
most carefully |
Exception: badly worse worst
Use the comparative form when comparing two actions. Use the superlative form when comparing three or more actions.
Example: I had thought that Jan skated more gracefully than Marie. But then I saw Adele skate after the other two girls. Adele skated most gracefully of all.
Exercise 4.8
Change each adverb in parentheses into the comparative or superlative degree. The first is completed as an example.
1. Marty Porter, a night school student and the mother of three children under the age of ten, had decided 
to give up her full-time job.
2. She found herself performing these three demanding roles 
than her own high standards required.
3. The inability to organize her activities was not the problem; she planned each day 
than the last.
4. The company she worked for, however, 
did not want to lose a valuable employee like Mrs. Porter.
5. Her supervisor arranged a flexible schedule that allowed her to fulfill 
her obligations at home, at school, and at work.
4.3 Adding Details with Verbal Phrases
Verbal phrases can be indispensable additions to a basic sentence because they greatly increase the possibilities for expanding it.
Example: Carla waited.
Breathless and exhausted, Carla waited to hear the choreographer’s opinion of her audition.
Anxious to hear the choreographer’s opinion of her dancing, Carla waited, forgetting her exhaustion.
Verbals are formed from verbs and introduce verbal phrases. They usually include a noun and/or a prepositional phrase. They are used as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs in sentences.
1. to choose a pet |
The verbal is to choose, formed from to plus the present form of the verb. |
2. chosen for its intelligence |
The verbal is chosen, the past participle. |
3. choosing a Seeing Eye dog |
The verbal is choosing, the present participle. |
Pay special attention to the first type of verbal phrase (to choose a pet) because it looks like a prepositional phrase. Read the information below carefully.
The word to is used to introduce both verbal phrases and prepositional phrases. TO + A VERB = A VERBAL PHRASE
Example: to travel
TO + A NOUN AND ITS MODIFIERS =
A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
Example: to the moon
Exercise 4.9
A. In the following sentences, bracket all verbal and prepositional phrases.
B. Underline the auxiliary verb once and the main verb twice.
C. Circle the subjects.
Example: Many years ago 
[leading 200 of his Seminole tribe,] hid [in the Florida Everglades.]
1. Today 1,500 Seminole Indians live on the reservation built on 120,000 acres of swamp in the Florida Everglades.
2. A group of these Indians, living near Tampa, has defied the law.
3. In addition to a shrine and a museum, the Seminoles have built a drive-thru smoke shop there.
4. The Indians have been selling cigarettes without charging sales tax.
5. From the first, state and local law enforcers did not like these Indians to sell cigarettes.
Punctuation
At the beginning of a sentence, use a comma after an introductory verbal phrase.
Examples: Standing at the end of the line, I had little hope of getting a ticket.
Discouraged by the long line, I gave up and went home.
Exercise 4.10
Insert commas after the introductory verbal phrases.
1. Hoping to make a profit Carolyn invested in the stock market.
2. Trying to get to the airport on time Josephine got a ticket for speeding.
3. Snowed in for a week in the mountains we couldn’t get back in time to take our final exams.
4. Having spent the day shopping unsuccessfully for shoes Tina decided to wear her old ones to the party.
5. Finding a wallet on his way to school Jerry had visions of a generous reward.
For a more detailed discussion of this use of the comma, see Chapter 8.
4.4 Misplaced Modifiers and Dangling Modifiers
When you use modifiers in your sentences, be sure that the word order of each sentence is clear and logical. Placing a modifier in an incorrect position can change or confuse the meaning of the sentence. Modifiers should be placed close to the words that they describe or qualify. Learn to identify and correct misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers.
Misplaced Modifiers
Misplaced modifiers are exactly what the term suggests: these modifiers are called misplaced because they have been incorrectly placed next to words that they are not intended to modify.
Examples:
a. I nearly ate all the brownies. (misplaced modifier)
This sentence suggests that you didn’t eat anything at all. You should place nearly in front of all the brownies.
I ate nearly all the brownies. (correctly placed modifier)
b. I heard that our nation needs additional engineers on the television news. (misplaced modifier)
The engineers are not needed on the television news, are they? You should place on the television news after the verb heard.
I heard on the television news that our nation needs additional engineers. (correctly placed modifier)
c. Coretta bought a German shepherd dog alarmed by the robberies in the neighborhood. (misplaced modifier)
If the dog is alarmed by the robberies, it is not going to make a good watchdog. You should place the verbal phrase modifier in front of Coretta.
Alarmed by the robberies in the neighborhood, Coretta bought a German shepherd dog. (correctly placed modifier)
Exercise 4.11
Revise the following sentences by placing the words or phrases in parentheses next to the words that they modify.
Examples: Eileen ran after the bus. (carrying a heavy briefcase)
Carrying a heavy briefcase, Eileen ran after the bus.
1. Nick saved $100 by making his own repairs on his car. (almost)
2. The candidate promised that he would reduce unemployment. (at the political rally)
3. Alfredo ordered a pizza to go. (with mushrooms and pepperoni)
4. The painters told us that they would begin painting the house. (on Wednesday)
5. Rex saw a woman in the front row jump up and run out the side exit. (suddenly)
Dangling Modifiers
A word or a phrase is called a dangling modifier when there is no word in the sentence for it to modify.
Example: Showing an interest in computers, personnel offices are flooded with applications.
Were the personnel offices showing an interest in computers? Of course not. The verbal phrase modifier, Showing an interest in computers, is left dangling. There is no word in the sentence for it to modify. To correct this problem, write the sentence as follows:
Showing an interest in computers, students are flooding personnel offices with applications.
A word such as students must be added to the sentence to eliminate the dangling modifier.
Another method of eliminating dangling modifiers changes the dangling word or phrase into a subordinate clause. You could correct the example given above as follows:
Because students are showing an interest in computers, personnel offices are flooded with applications.
You cannot get rid of a dangling modifier by moving it around in a sentence. Since there is no word in the sentence for it to modify, you must rewrite the sentence and add the word that the phrase modifies.
Exercise 4.12
Rewrite this paragraph on the lines provided. Correct the dangling modifiers in each sentence.
Expecting a robot like R2D2, the robot that was demonstrated to Willy was disappointing. Propelling itself on large wheels, Willy had hoped for useful arms and legs. Having limited mobility, stairs could not be climbed. Responding to voice command, a distance of less than seventy feet was necessary between the robot and its owner. Frustrated by the poor quality, his decision to buy a robot would have to be delayed.