One way to work on adjective use is to unscramble sentences. Begin with a base sentence with each word on a separate card. Give the cards to students and have them arrange themselves in a sentence at the front of the class.
The boy chased the puppy around the table.
Next, give adjectives to students and have them join the sentence in the proper place. Note that English grammar places adjectives before the nouns they modify, but in Spanish, adjectives follow the nouns they describe, so provide practice for English learners with this activity.
The happy boy chased the chubby puppy around the kitchen table.
When we add kitchen to the sentence, I demonstrate that kitchen could be used as a noun and replace table.
The happy boy chased the chubby puppy around the kitchen.
Or, I can use kitchen as an adjective that modifies table.
The happy boy chased the chubby puppy around the kitchen table.
Therefore, it is the function of the word in a sentence that determines its part of speech, not the word itself or in isolation.
Add another adjective.
The happy boy chased the chubby fluffy puppy around the kitchen table.
Now we need to decide whether or not we need a comma between the two adjectives.
Here are two tests for the comma.
- Does the sentence sound right if I switch the order of the adjectives? If yes, add a comma between the describing words.
Chubby fluffy puppy or fluffy chubby puppy YES
- Can I put the word and between the two describing words? If yes, add a comma between the adjectives.
Chubby and fluffy puppy YES
Here is the sentence with the correct punctuation:
The happy boy chased the chubby, fluffy puppy around the kitchen table.
Now add the adjective purple.
The happy boy chased the chubby, fluffy puppy around the purple kitchen table.
Do I need a comma? Apply the test.
1. Does the sentence sound right if I switch the order of the adjectives? If yes, add a comma between the adjectives.
The purple kitchen table or the kitchen purple table NO
2. Can I put the word and between the two describing words? If yes, add a comma between the describing words.
The purple and kitchen table NO
So there is no comma between purple and kitchen. Here is the sentence with the correct punctuation:
The happy boy chased the chubby, fluffy puppy around the purple kitchen table.
There actually is an order for arranging adjectives in a series:
Determiner
Opinion
Size
Age
Shape
Color
Origin
Material
Purpose
If the adjectives are in the same level, they need to be separated by commas. If they are in different levels, there are no commas, but they need to follow the correct order. If students have difficulty answering the questions correctly, this may be a useful resource.
Resource to accompany this blog can be found at http://literacyleader.com/node/811.