First Grammar Lessons: Part I, Lesson IV

First Grammar Lessons: Part I, Lesson IV

Lesson IV

This lesson is about words that belong to nouns.

Nouns are the names of things. These words often point out nouns, or tell what the noun-things are like.

They are called adjectives, because they are added to nouns.

Sometimes they point out the noun like a fingerpost:

The house.
man.

Sometimes they come before the noun:

A good boy.

Sometimes they come after the noun:

A boy is good.

Some adjectives tell what a thing is—that is, they describe:

A sweet orange.
The boy is tall.

Other adjectives show the number of things:

Three books.
The first snowdrop.
Nine boys.
The third shelf.

Other adjectives have no particular meaning:

Some apples.
Any cheese.
The other hat.
This knife.
These scissors.

But we can always tell they are adjectives because they belong to nouns.

To be learnt.

Adjectives belong to nouns.

Adjectives point out or tell something about the nouns to which they belong.

Exercise IV

1. Make sentences about nouns, such as birds, cows, boy, eagles, houses, putting ‘the’ before each subject.

The can go before any noun.

means one—we only use it when we speak of one thing.

2. Put subjects (nouns with ‘a’) to: flies, crows, walks, talks, is small, was broken.

We cannot always use ‘a’ before a noun, even when it means one thing.

Point out the difference between ‘a’ and ‘an.’

Make six sentences with ‘an’ and a noun for subject, as,—

_____ fell to the ground.

3. Six describing adjectives for a horse, an apple, etc.

4. Put number adjectives before: cherries, door, seat, house, chairs.

5. Put adjectives without any particular meaning before:

_____ boys.
_____ cherries.
The _____ day.
_____ eggs.

6. Put an adjective after the noun:

The cat is _____.
The child is _____.
The man was _____.
This flower is _____.

7. Put three describing adjectives in:

The _____ _____ _____ boy.
The doll’s house is _____ _____ _____.

8. Point out adjectives in such sentences as:

Give me that book.
I see a red apple.

9. Make sentences yourself containing each of the adjectives printed in italics:

The little black dog lives in the other house.

Exercise Lesson

1. Take ‘boy’ for the subject. Ten sentences about ‘boy.’ A different describing adjective before the subject each time, and a different verb.

The merry boy plays.
A diligent boy learns.

The same with five other nouns.

2. Take ‘girls’ for the subject, ‘came’ for the verb. Ten sentences with adjectives that have no particular meaning before the subject, as, some, these, any, few, this, same, etc. These are adjectives, just because they belong to a noun.

The same with five other nouns.

The same with number adjectives.

3. We can find adjectives out in this way:

What boy? The merry boy.
What girls? Some girls.
What door? The first door.

Any word that in this way belongs to a noun is an adjective.

Make sentences with a different verb in each about ‘a boy’ from every country in Europe, as:

The Prussian boy writes. What boy?

The Prussian boy.

Take these same adjectives and put them after the noun:

The boy is French.

4. Make sentences about a flower, a house, etc., putting four adjectives before each subject.

5. Make sentences about the book, candle, etc., putting three adjectives after each noun.

The key is heavy, large and rusty.

(Many exercises are necessary at this point to fix the idea of an adjective—not as a describing word, but as that which belongs to a noun.)