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Descriptive Language: Adjectives, Adverbs and Phrases — Answers

Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 7 adjectives & adverbs worksheet.

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Year 7 · English · Adjectives & Adverbs

Descriptive Language: Adjectives, Adverbs and Phrases — Answers

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Part A — Words and phrases

Circle the best answer. Remember: adjectives add detail to nouns; adverbs add detail to verbs (and sometimes adjectives or other adverbs).

1.Which word is an adjective? 'The exhausted swimmer climbed slowly from the pool.'
  1. Aswimmer
  2. Bexhausted
  3. Cslowly
  4. Dclimbed

Answer: exhausted

'Exhausted' describes the noun 'swimmer'. 'Slowly' is an adverb describing how she climbed.

2.Which word is an adverb? 'He answered the question confidently and sat down.'
  1. Aanswered
  2. Bquestion
  3. Cconfidently
  4. Ddown

Answer: confidently

'Confidently' tells us how he answered. Most, though not all, adverbs of manner end in -ly.

3.'The girl with the red umbrella waved.' The bolded words are:
  1. Aan adverbial phrase
  2. Ban adjectival phrase describing 'girl'
  3. Ca verb group
  4. Da clause

Answer: an adjectival phrase describing 'girl'

The phrase tells us which girl. Because it adds detail to a noun, it works as an adjective.

4.'We left as soon as the rain stopped.' The bolded words tell us:
  1. Awhich 'we'
  2. Bwhen we left
  3. Cwhere we left from
  4. Dwhat we left

Answer: when we left

The group answers 'when?', so it is adverbial. (Strictly it is an adverbial clause, since it has its own verb, 'stopped'.)

5.Which sentence contains an adverbial phrase of place?
  1. AShe sang beautifully.
  2. BShe sang after dinner.
  3. CShe sang on the back verandah.
  4. DShe sang a sad song.

Answer: She sang on the back verandah.

'On the back verandah' answers 'where?'. 'After dinner' is time; 'beautifully' is manner; 'a sad song' is the object.

Part B — What does it describe?

Find the phrase and name what it adds detail to.

6.Write the adjectival phrase and the noun it describes: 'The bike with the broken chain was left by the gate.'

Answer: 'with the broken chain' describes 'bike'. ('by the gate' is an adverbial phrase of place, telling where it was left.)

7.Write the adverbial phrase and say whether it shows time, place or manner: 'Before sunrise, the fishing boats headed out.'

Answer: 'Before sunrise' — time.

8.Write the adverbial phrase and say whether it shows time, place or manner: 'The toddler stacked the blocks with great care.'

Answer: 'with great care' — manner.

9.This sentence has one adjectival phrase and one adverbial phrase. Write both: 'The dog from next door barked all night.'

Answer: Adjectival: 'from next door' (which dog). Adverbial: 'all night' (when / for how long).

10.Underline the adverb and circle the word it modifies: 'The water was dangerously cold.'

Answer: Adverb: 'dangerously'. It modifies the adjective 'cold', not a verb.

Part C — Add the detail

Complete each sentence with the kind of phrase requested. Many answers are possible.

11.Add an adverbial phrase of time: 'The fire alarm rang .'

Answer: Model: 'in the middle of the maths test' (any phrase answering 'when?')

Phrases of time often begin with during, after, before, at, in or on.

12.Add an adverbial phrase of place: 'Grandad fell asleep .'

Answer: Model: 'in the armchair by the window' (any phrase answering 'where?')

Phrases of place often begin with in, on, under, beside, near or behind.

13.Add an adverbial phrase of manner: 'The goalkeeper dived .'

Answer: Model: 'with outstretched arms' or 'like a cat' (any phrase answering 'how?')

Phrases of manner often begin with 'with', 'like' or 'in a ... way'.

14.Add an adjectival phrase after the noun: 'The letter was never opened.'

Answer: Model: 'from her grandmother in Scotland' (any phrase that tells us which letter)

Adjectival phrases usually sit straight after the noun they describe.

Part D — Write it

15.Replace the tired adjectives (nice, big, good) with precise ones: 'It was a nice day, so we walked to the big park and had a good time.'

Answer: Model: It was a mild, cloudless day, so we walked to the sprawling park and had a glorious time. (Any precise, well-chosen adjectives accepted.)

16.Write a descriptive paragraph (5–7 sentences) about a busy place (a market, a train station, a school canteen at lunchtime). Include at least two adjectival phrases and three adverbial phrases (time, place and manner), and underline them.

Model answer: At ten past one, the canteen is the loudest room in the school. A queue of Year 7s with crumpled five-dollar notes snakes past the drink fridge and out the door. Behind the counter, Mrs Dao moves with astonishing speed, sliding sausage rolls into paper bags without looking. A seagull with one leg watches hopefully from the railing. By half past one the noise has drained away, leaving only crumbs on the benches and a single lost jumper under the table.

Success criteria:

  • At least two adjectival phrases, each placed after the noun it describes
  • At least three adverbial phrases covering time, place and manner
  • Precise adjectives rather than nice, big, good
  • Phrases underlined and correctly identified
  • Five to seven complete, varied sentences
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