The nerdy grammatical term for this is “attributive nouns”: Nouns can also function as adjectives when they’re used to describe another noun. Watch out for hungry bears on your hike.I baked dozens of cupcakes for the birthday party.Īdjectives also describe a state of being or a sensory experience:.My grandmother was always generous to her neighbors.They describe its quality, quantity, or state of being-what kind or how many: What is an adjective?Īdjectives are used to describe a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea). If you include enough sensory or observational description, the character’s tone will speak for itself. Rather than describe Jackson’s clenched jaw or how he slammed the door as he said it, the writer uses an adverb as a label for Jackson’s delivery-and the reader doesn’t get the full experience of the scene. It’s okay for characters to just say something.

Not everything needs to be said dramatically, angrily, joyfully, emphatically, or brightly.

“Fine, I’ll do it myself,” Jackson said angrily.

This is especially true when they’re used to describe a character’s speech. The general recommendation in writing fiction is to use adverbs sparingly, as they can become a crutch that takes away from the full expression of the story. In this example, “bright” is an adverb because it’s describing the color yellow (adjective), which is describing the flowers (noun). “While adverbs and adjectives are both parts of speech that are used to describe something, the difference between them is what they describe.”

What do adjectives describe