Adjectives vs. Adverbs
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun, sometimes called a “describing” word because an adjective tells us something about the noun. In the following examples, the nouns are in italics and the adjectives are underlined:
A sentence may contain a noun without an adjective, but an adjective cannot function without a noun. Basically, adjectives answer these questions about nouns: Which? How many? What kind? Multiple adjectives may be used to describe a single noun.
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but does not modify a noun. Like adjectives, adverbs are also descriptive but they generally describe actions or qualities by telling us “how” and sometimes “when, where, and why.” In the following examples, the adverbs are in bold and the other components are explained in parentheses.
It may be helpful to note that adverbs often end in “-y” or “-ly,” as in the examples above. (When do they end in “-y” or “-ly”? Often.)
Sources: The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. Nov. 13, 2012.