An adjective is a word that describes modifies a verb

Everybody wants to ensure their English always looks good while speaking or writing. Grammatical errors, punctuation mistakes, misspellings, and other writing issues are widespread if the basics of the English language are not straightforward.

Speech in English grammar plays a critical role as it clears the statement’s context. Eight parts exist in a speech, of which adjectives and adverbs are commonly interchanged and create much confusion.

Key Takeaways

1. An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
2. Adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
3. An adjective provides more information about a noun or pronoun, while an adverb offers more information about a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns, providing additional information about their qualities, features, colour, or characteristics. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, providing additional information about the manner, time, place, or degree of an action or quality.

The word which answers “Which?” or “What kind?” or “How many?” in a statement are Adjective. For example

“The gorgeous princess wore a red gown.” – Here “, Gorgeous” and “Red” tell “What Kind” and hence are Adjectives.

Adverbs usually describe the place, manner, time, degree, frequency, level of certainty, etc. The word which answers “how”, “when”, “where”, and “how much” in the statements are Adverbs.

For example, “Isha slept soundly.” The word “Soundly” answers the question ‘how’, this is an Adverb.

Comparison Table

Parameter of Comparison	Adjective	Adverb
Definition	An Adjective is a word or a set of words that describes (or modifies) the noun or pronoun.	An Adverb is a word or set of words that describe (or modify) adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs.
Classification	An Adjective can be further classified into, 1. Adjective of quality 2. Adjective of number 3. Adjective of quantity 4. Interrogative adjective 5. Demonstrative adjective	An Adverb can be classified into 1. Adverb of frequency 2. Adverb of place 3. Adverb of time 4. Adverb of manner 5. Adverb of affirmation and negation 6. Adverb of degree 7. Adverb of reason 8. Relative adverb 9. Interrogative adverb
Answers	“Which?” or “What kind?” or “How many?”	“How?”, “When?”, “Where?” and “How much?”
Examples	1. Sheena is a cute girl. 2. Koalas like handsome guys. 3. George has a fast bike. 4. Lily is a good dancer.	1. Kean strolls. 2. My sister arrived yesterday. 3. We looked for his toy in the car. 4. Joe starts early.

What is an Adjective?

An Adjective either modifies or describes the noun or pronoun. Simply, it gives more explanatory information in the statement about the noun or pronoun.

Adjective indicates or tells things like shape, size, colour, or more. It also specifies or answers questions such as “How many?”, “What kind?”, “Which one?” or “Whose?”

Without Adjectives, you won’t understand the context of an integral component of the statement; for example, if one has to tell his or her vacation experience, then or one needs to use a “serene” or “disastrous” word, which expresses their state or feeling explicitly.

The adjective also limits or restricts the meaning of nouns or pronouns. Many times Adjective comes before noun.

Some adjectives also describe the qualities that can exist in different degrees or amounts.

“This, that, these, and those” are four demonstrative adjectives. They help to distinguish how the thing or person is being described by others who belong to the same class or category.

“Which, what, and whose” are interrogative adjectives used to begin questions.

There also exist the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. The order of Adjectives may vary, but still, the following is the most common order is

Word > size > age > shape > color > nationality
> material

Examples:

1. This book seemed interesting.
2. That dog looks cute.
3. Serena is a responsible girl.
4. That woman looked angry.
5. Nick performed great.

What is Adverb?

An Adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or a whole sentence. Adverbs often end with “ly”, and some look or mean the same as their counterpart adjectives.

As we said, Adverbs modify the verb. Thus, they describe or define the way of or express action and characterize the state of being. Adverbs can be seen as intensifiers and also come in the form of adverb phrases.

Adverbs also modify adjectives or other adverbs as they provide detailed information about the other characters of the word. For example,

1. Sheena drives very quickly.
2. An incredibly beautiful girl looking at me.

By identifying the function of the word in the sentence, you can quickly tell whether it’s an adverb.

Adverbs also specify or answer “when” and “where”. The primary purpose of the Adverb in the sentence is to add more power to the adjective.

Some adverbs can also modify entire sentences and are called “sentence adverbs.”

Examples:

1. That was extremely nice of you
2. Ram‘s performance was terrible in the show.
3. That good boy just hugged his little sister.
4. Jim lives locally.
5. Sheena speaks loudly.

Main Differences Between Adjective and Adverb

In English, you need to be very careful with your words while writing or speaking, as even a little mistake or error can change the whole context of the statement.

Correct understanding of Adjectives and Adverbs is essential and imperative as a skinny line of disparity exists between them.

How you use and where you are using those makes a lot of difference.

1. Adjective answers “Which?” or “What kind?” or “How many?” whereas adverb answers “How?”, “When?”, “Where?” and “How much?”
2. Adverbs provide extra information about adjectives.
3. Adjective specifies the intensity of the statement, whereas Adverb gives weight to the statement.
4. An Adjective defines the state of being or action, whereas an Adverb is associated with a verb or adjective.

Examples:

1. Adjective: He’s a good employee.
2. Adverb: He works well.
3. Adjective: She’s a beautiful singer.
4. Adverb: She sings beautifully.
5. Adjective: She’s a careless speaker.
6. Adverb: She speaks carelessly.
7. Adjective: He’s a very quick runner.
8. Adverb: He can run very quickly.

References

1. https://www.english-grammar-revolution.com/what-is-an-adjective.html
2. https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/adverb/

Presentation on theme: «Adjectives/Adverb.»— Presentation transcript:

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Adjectives/Adverb

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Adjective An adjective is a word that provides information about the size, shape, color, texture, feeling, sound, smell, number, or condition of a noun or a pronoun. MOST adjectives come BEFORE the words they modify. Bright sunlight bathed the sandy beach. They answer the questions – Which one? What kind? How Many? “Bright” tells us what kind of sunlight. “Sandy” tells us which beach or what kind of beach.

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Predicate Adjective A predicate adjective always follows a linking verb. It modifies the subject of the sentence. Movies are popular throughout Europe and America. “Popular” is a predicate adjective that tells about the subject, “Movies.”

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Present and Past Participle
The present participle and past participle forms of verbs are often used as adjectives and predicate adjectives. A present participle is formed by adding –ing to a verb. A past participle is usually formed by adding –ed to a verb. Examples: The sound of a thunderstorm is frightening. (present participle) The varied shapes of pasta do not alter its taste. (past participle)

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Articles Articles – “a”, “an”, and “the”
Indefinite Articles – “a” and “an” because they refer to one of a general group of people, places, things, or ideas. “A” is used before words beginning with a consonant sound. “An” is used before words beginning with a vowel sound. Examples: a fountain, a carnival, an orchard, an envelope

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Articles (cont.) “The” is called a definite article because it identifies specific people, places, things, or ideas. The pot of gold was discovered at the end of the rainbow.

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Proper Adjectives Formed from proper nouns. A proper adjective always begins with a capital letter. Maria practiced Irish step dancing on Mondays and Italian cooking on Thursdays.

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Proper Adjectives (cont.)
Some proper adjectives are the same as the related proper nouns. Most proper adjectives are formed from proper nouns by adding an ending such as: –an (German, Moroccan, American, African) -ian (Belgian, Indian, Egyptian, Russian) -ese (Japanese, Portuguese, Sudanese, Chinese) -ish (Irish, Scottish, British, Swedish, English)

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Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
The comparative form of an adjective compares TWO things or people. The superlative form of an adjective compares MORE than two things or people. Examples: *The blue car is larger than the red one. (comparative) *The green truck is the largest vehicle in the parking lot. (superlative)

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Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives
Some adjectives form irregular comparatives and superlatives. Adjective Comparative Superlative good better best bad worse worst many more most much more most little less least

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Examples Tennis is more popular at my school than field hockey. (C or S) Computer games are the most popular form of entertainment. (C or S) Negative Comparatives and Superlatives: *Do you have any styles that are less traditional? (negative comparative) *Eileen is the least traditional member of the family. (negative superlative)

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Demonstratives Include the words: this, that, these, and those. They demonstrate, or point out, people, places, or things. This and these point out people or things close by, and that and those point out people or things at a distances. This and that are singular; these and those are plural.

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Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns
When this, that, these, and those describe nouns they are demonstrative adjectives. They point out something and describe nouns by answering the question which one? Or which ones? When this, that, these, and those point out something and take the place of nouns, they are demonstrative pronouns.

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Examples: Demonstrative Adjectives
That piano is too heavy to move. Consider buying this bicycle. Those mountains are enormous. Who can play these games?

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Examples: Demonstrative Pronouns
That is a beautiful piano. This is the world’s best bicycle. Those are the Alps. Who can play these?

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Exception to the rule! The words here and there should not be used with demonstrative adjectives. The words this, these, that, and those already point out the locations here and there. The object pronoun them should not be used in place of the demonstrative adjective those. This ancient rattle is called a sistrum. (NOT..This here ancient rattle) Those finger cymbals are the smallest cymbals. (NOT Them finger cymbals)

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Adverbs A word that modifies, or describes, a verb, and adjective, or another adverb. When modifying a verb, an adverb may describe how, when, or where the action is done. Many adverbs are formed by adding –ly to adjectives. However not all words that end in –ly are adverbs. The words friendly, lively, kindly, and lonely are usually adjectives.

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Adverbs (cont.) Not all adverbs end in –ly. The following words are all adverbs that do NOT end in –ly. Afterward, sometimes, later, often, soon, here, there, everywhere, not, fast, hard, long, and straight.

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Examples Jennifer smiled broadly at the audience. (modifies verb)
The first-place medal went to a very worthy contestant. (modifies adjective) The conversation ended rather abruptly. (modifies adverb)

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Examples (cont) When modifying a verb and adverb may describe how, when, or where the action is done. Erin approached Mrs. Binder cautiously. (describes how) Try to get to school early. (describes when) Ron and I have looked there. (describes where)

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Intensifiers An adverb that emphasizes or intensifies an adjective or adverb is called an intensifier. This information is rather new, so it wont be in the encyclopedia. Jeff finished just slightly behind Audrey in the two-mile race. Common intensifiers: almost, extremely, just, nearly, practically, quite, rather, really, so, somewhat, such, too, and very.

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Adjectives and Adverbs
Adverbs and adjectives are often confused when they are used AFTER verbs. The winner seemed breathless as she crossed the finish line. (predicate adjective) She collapsed breathlessly when the race was over. (adverb) Sean and Lila should be good after so much practice. (predicate adjective) The weather was bad when we left. (PA) Katie sang well today even though she has a cold. (adverb) The number of absentees badly affected the band’s performance. (adverb)

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Avoiding Double Negatives
Negative words express the idea of “no.” The negative word not often appears in shortened form as part of a contraction. Is + not = isn’t Can + not = can’t Will + not = won’t Two NEGATIVE words used together in the same sentence create an error called a double negative. Doesn’t nobody understand the question? (double negative) Doesn’t anybody understand the question? (correct use of negative) Correct a double negative by removing one of the negatives and adding an affirmative word.

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Negative vs. Affirmative Words
NEGATIVE AFFIRMATIVE never ever, always nobody anybody, somebody none one, all no one everyone, someone nothing something, anything nowhere somewhere, anywhere scarcely, hardly some, any

The monster sat down to write. A sentence like this one is perfectly fine and tells us what the monster did. However, it looks a bit plain. How about we spice this sentence up a bit? The jaunty, dapper monster sat down to write. Suddenly, things get a lot more exciting. Let’s try it again: The monster skillfully wrote a poem while hanging upside down. Another exciting sentence!

In both of our new sentences, we used modifying words to give more details about the monster who was doing something or about what the monster did. In these sentences, we used two major parts of speech known as adjectives and adverbs. While both of these are used to jazz up sentences by modifying words, they do it in different ways.

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. In general, the purpose of an adjective is to describe a noun or pronoun by stating its characteristics or by providing more information about it. For example, in the sentence She has a big dog, the adjective big tells us that the dog (a noun) is large in size and mass.

Adjectives can be placed directly adjacent to the nouns/pronouns they modify or can function as a subject complement following a linking verb:

• The hungry elephants ate tasty leaves. (The adjectives hungry and tasty are directly adjacent to the nouns elephants and leaves.)
• I am tired. (Tired is a subject complement following the linking verb am.)

List of adjectives

There are tons of adjectives that all have different functions. This list gives just some examples of the many different types of adjectives that we use:

• angry, busy, careful, dizzy, eager, fearful, glad, hot, icy, jittery, klutzy, lazy, missing, nice, opened, patient, quiet, ready, soft, transparent, unlucky, victorious, wobbly, yellow, zesty

 Examples of adjectives in a sentence

• The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
• He is smart.
• Vanessa is taller than her older sister.
• This picture looks better than that one.
• She loves to eat spicy Indian food.

Don’t worry, we have an excellent primer on 13 types of adjectives ready for you to review.

What is an adverb?

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, a clause, or even another adverb. In general, adverbs provide more information that answer questions such as When?, Where?, How?, and Why? For example, in the sentence Ann walked slowly, the adverb slowly tells us how Ann walked: she took her time and didn’t go fast. When modifying verbs, adverbs can come before or after the word that they modify:

• He read quietly.
• He quietly read.

An adverb may even be separated from the verb it modifies by an object:

• She completed her chores quickly.

When adverbs modify adjectives or other adverbs, they are usually placed directly before the words they modify:

• They were really bored.
• Henrietta danced very gracefully.

List of adverbs

As was the case with adjectives, there are loads of adverbs that we use in our sentences. Here are just some examples:

• appropriately, boldly, cautiously, dangerously, effortlessly, flatly, gallantly, hastily, ironically, joyfully, kindly, longingly, masterfully, needlessly, openly, perfectly, quickly, rashly, silently, tragically, unknowingly, vocally, wastefully, yesterday, zealously

Examples of adverbs in a sentence

• We sat quietly.
• Tyler carefully opened the box.
• The ninja crept nimbly and stealthily.
• She will do it tomorrow.
• Are we there yet?

You can stop waiting patiently and head over to this thorough review on adverbs for more!

How to differentiate between adjectives and adverbs

It is easy to confuse adjectives and adverbs because they are both modifiers that provide us with more information. Some words, such as slow, well, and late can even be used as either an adjective or an adverb. So, how do we tell the difference? The main way to figure out if a word is being used as an adjective or an adverb is to check the word that it modifies. If it is modifying a noun or a pronoun, it is an adjective. If it is modifying anything else, it is an adverb. Adjectives only modify nouns and pronouns, while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, clauses, or other adverbs. Adverbs do not modify nouns or pronouns.

When it is an adjective

Adjectives modify nouns or pronouns. But is there another way to determine if a word is an adjective? Yes, there are some jobs specific to adjectives that can also give away their identity. Adjectives are likely to be:

Words that answer What kind?, How many?, or Which thing?

Because the above questions typically refer to nouns or pronouns, words that answer any of these questions are most likely to be adjectives:

• I bought new shoes. (What kind of shoes? New shoes. New is an adjective.)
• She has four cats. (How many cats? Four cats. Four is an adjective.)
• This sculpture is beautiful. (Which sculpture? This sculpture. This is an adjective.)

Words that describe feelings

Words that refer to feelings, such as happy, excited, or scared, usually only make sense if they are used to refer to living things. Because we use nouns and pronouns to refer to living things, these words are most likely to be adjectives:

• Salisa was delighted by her birthday present. (Delighted is an adjective that modifies the noun Salisa.)
• Gary is afraid of clowns. (Afraid is an adjective that modifies the noun Gary.)
• The veterinarian calmed down the terrified kitten with gentle pats. (Terrified is an adjective that modifies the noun kitten.)

Words that appear before the noun

In most cases, it doesn’t make grammatical sense to use an adverb immediately before a noun. If a modifying word appears immediately before a noun, it will almost always be an adjective.

• We counted the purple marbles. (The noun marbles is preceded by the modifying word purple. Because it comes right before marbles, purple is an adjective.)
• Gordon is a very large man. (The noun man is preceded by the modifying word large. Because it comes right before man, large is an adjective. You’ll notice that the adverb very does NOT come right before the noun man.)

This, that, these, or those followed by a noun

The words this, that, these, and those are demonstrative adjectives. However, all of these words can also be used as pronouns, and the words this and that can be used as adverbs. When these words are immediately followed by a noun or pronoun (which means they are modifying a noun or pronoun), they are functioning as adjectives.

• Adjective: I am going to give her this cupcake. (The word this is followed by the word cupcake. Cupcake is a noun, so the word this is being used as an adjective).
• Adverb: A turtle isn’t supposed to move this fast. (The word this is followed by the word fast. Fast is not a noun but is still being modified by this, so the word this is an adverb.)
• Pronoun: This is a cool toy. (The word this is not modifying anything. It is being used alone as the subject of a sentence. The word this is a pronoun in this sentence.)

When it is an adverb

There are some important clues that will help you identify adverbs as well. Adverbs are likely to be:

Words that explain how, when, or where something happened

All of the above questions refer to actions that happen. We use verbs to describe things that happen. Adjectives never modify verbs, only adverbs do. If a word is explaining how, when, or where something happened, it must be an adverb.

• Joshua skillfully tied the knot. (How did Joshua tie the knot? He tied it skillfully. Skillfully is an adverb that modifies the verb tied.)
• Rachel is coming tomorrow. (When is Rachel coming? Tomorrow. Tomorrow is an adverb that modifies the verb coming.)
• We drove here. (Where did we drive? Here. Here is an adverb that modifies the verb drove).

Words that end in -ly

Many—but not all—adverbs end in -ly. If you see a modifying word ending in -ly, there is a good chance that it is an adverb. This is especially true if the word is an adjective with -ly attached to it.

• Arnold slowly cooked the turkey. (Slowly is an adverb ending in -ly.)
• Maggie joyfully chased the butterflies. (Joyfully is an adverb ending in -ly.)

You need to be careful, though, because some adjectives such as ugly and silly do end in -ly. Always consider what word is being modified to pin down if a word is an adverb or adjective.

• Santa Claus is a jolly fellow. (In this sentence, jolly modifies the word fellow. Fellow is a noun, which means the word jolly isn’t an adverb even though it ends in -ly.)

Words that describe how you perform the action 

If a word describes how you feel while doing an action, it is most likely an adverb. Remember that adverbs and not adjectives are used to modify verbs (which refer to actions). Similarly, if a word is describing how you experience a feeling, it is most likely an adverb.

• Isabella calmly performed yoga. (The word calmly describes how Isabella felt while performing yoga. Calmly is an adverb.)
• Chris finally felt relieved after he saw his test scores. (The word finally describes how Christ performed his feeling of relief. Finally is an adverb.)

Words that appear after the verb (and can move freely in a sentence)

If a modifying word appears after a verb that is not a linking verb, it is most likely an adverb. If you can freely move that same word somewhere else in a sentence and the sentence still makes grammatical sense, it is more than likely an adverb.

• Adverb: She slept peacefully in her bed. (The word peacefully comes after the verb slept. We can also move the word peacefully before the verb or to the end of the sentence and the sentence will still make sense. The word peacefully must be an adverb.)
• Adjective: She is sleepy. (The word sleepy comes after the linking verb is. This sentence does not make sense if we move the word sleepy anywhere else in the sentence. The word sleepy must not be an adverb.)

What are linking verbs exactly? Learn about them here.

How to turn adjectives into adverbs

Most of the time, it is relatively easy to turn an adjective into an adverb. As you may have noticed already, many adverbs are simply an adjective with a -ly stuck on at the end.

To turn most adjectives into adverbs, simply put -ly at the end of the adjective:

• sad becomes sadly
• tired becomes tiredly
• perfect becomes perfectly

If the adjective ends in a –y, change it to an -i and then add -ly.

• easy becomes easily
• lazy becomes lazily
• hasty becomes hastily

If the adjective ends in -le, change the -e to a -y. An exception to this method is the adjective vile, which becomes vilely.

• believable becomes believably
• probable becomes probably
• gentle becomes gently

If an adjective ends in -ic, add -ally. An exception to this method is the adjective public, which becomes publicly.

• tragic becomes tragically
• frantic becomes frantically
• specific becomes specifically

Some words can be used as either an adjective or an adverb. In this case, you wouldn’t change the word at all. Some examples include the words early, wrong, and straight.

Adjective or adverb? Maybe you need Grammar Coach™!

You’ll never mistake adjectives and adverbs again when you check your writing on Thesaurus.com’s Grammar Coach™. This writing tool uses machine learning technology uniquely designed to catch grammar and spelling errors. Its Synonym Swap will find the best nouns, adjectives, and more to help say what you really mean, guiding you toward clearer, stronger, writing.

Have you ever seen a photo of the Great Wall of China? If not, look at the picture on your left. It’s simply enormous. It’s incredibly long, snaking its stony way across the mountains and valleys of Asia, with beautiful towers standing tall every couple
of hundred feet. But without modifiers, «the Great Wall» would simply be «the Wall». We need adverbs and adjectives in order to be descriptive in our writing. Adjectives, like «great», «enormous», «stony», «long», and «beautiful» modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbs, like «simply» and «incredibly» modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Adjectives

Adjectives describe, quantify, or identify pronouns and nouns. Remember, a noun is a person, place, or thing. Pronouns, such as I, me, we, he, she, it, you, and they, take the place
of nouns. Adjectives also answer the following questions: What kind? How many? How much? Which one?

Descriptions concerning What kind? offer descriptive details about the noun or pronoun. It may describe physical characteristics or emotions. Here are a few examples: the black car, the angry customer, the fashionable teen.

The questions How many? and How much? refer to quantity of the noun or pronoun being described by the adjective. Quantity can be specific (four ducks) or general (some ducks). Here are some more examples: fourteen cents,
a few puppies, several kittens, a dozen books.

Which one? specifically describes which object is being referred to. These are workhorse words like «this», «that», «these», and other words like «them»: that car, this letter, those volunteers.

Adjectives are helpful when additional description is needed for a noun or pronoun. Like adjectives, adverbs can also help add details to your writing.

• Compound Adjectives

In some situations, two adjectives may be used to describe a noun. Sometimes these two adjectives remain separate, as two distinctive words describing the noun. But other times, the adjectives combine to become one adjective joined by a hyphen.

• The phrase a heavy metal detector refers to a metal detector that is heavy in weight. Heavy and metal are separate adjectives describing the detector in this situation.
• The phrase a heavy-metal detector refers to a detector of heavy metals. Heavy-metal is the compound adjective describing the detector.

As you can see, the hyphen completely changes the meaning of the phrase by combining two words into one. Here’s another example:

• The phrase man eating shark refers to a man who is eating a shark.
• The phrase man-eating shark refers to a shark that eats men.

• Adjectives for Comparison

Adjectives are also used to compare items:

• This year’s graduating class was smaller than last year’s class.
• This book is the best one we’ve read so far.

The standard form for using adjectives for comparison is to add -er to the end of an adjective being used to compare two items (brighter, cooler) and -est to the end of an adjective used to compare more than two items (brightest, coolest).
However, some adjectives, such as ones that are three or more syllables like beautiful, are changed to say «more beautiful» and «most beautiful» rather than adding these endings.

• Pronouns as Adjectives

Sometimes, pronouns can be used as adjectives. In addition to demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns like «his» or «their» can also identify specific objects within a set. For example:

• Which car should we drive? We should drive her car.
• Whose house is closest? Your house is closest.

• Prepositional Phrases as Adjectival Phrases

Prepositional phrases can act as adjectives, normally modifying the noun that precedes them.

• Which books should we read? The books on the curriculum.
• Whose stories did we listen to in class? Those of the teacher.

Lastly, in addition to single words, you can use adjectival phrases. These are phrases that begin with an adjective but then have a noun that adds further detail, such as «full of toys» instead of just «full». They are most frequently used as a modifier
placed right after a noun or as a predicate to a verb. For example, you could say «The child loved his bin full of toys» or «That bin is full of toys».

Which Should You Use: Adjectives or Adverbs?

Writers often have a choice in wording a sentence to use either an adjective or an adverb:

• Adjective: We had a quick lunch.
• Adverb: We ate lunch quickly.

So, how do you choose when to use an adjective and when to use an adverb? One way to choose is simply to figure out whether the word you want to modify is a noun or a verb. In the first sentence, you are describing the lunch; in the second sentence, you
are describing the manner of eating.

A better approach, though, is not to think about the words you could modify but the information you want to convey. You do not need to describe every noun or verb, just the ones whose details are important to the sentence. If you want to emphasize the
meal, you would pick the first sentence; if you want to emphasize the act of eating, you would pick the second.

Remember, adjectives and adverbs can be separated by which types of information they provide. Think about the details that are necessary to include, and then choose your modifiers accordingly.

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Source: Lumen Learning, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-writing/chapter/modifiers-adjectives-and-adverbs/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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