Name: ______________________________
Adverbs and Adjectives at the Circus
Directions: read each sentence and determine whether the adverb
or adjective should be used.
Adjectives: modify or describe nouns and pronouns. Ex: The green
house is pretty.
Adverbs: modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Ex: I ran quickly by the very old dog.
1. The students were very quiet / quietly when they entered the
circus tent.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
2. The ring at the center of the tent was colorful / colorfully
decorated.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
3. We were all very eager / eagerly to see what the circus had
in store for us.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
4. A woman in an all silk gown with dragon patterns on it was
singing beautiful / beautifully.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
5. As the show began, the mood in the auditorium was joyous /
joyously.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
6. My friend started laughing quite loud / loudly when the
clowns came out in their little car.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
7. I could barely hear the ringmaster over the crowd because
they were so noisy / noisily.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
8. The man with the popcorn sloppy / sloppily applied butter and
seasoning to his treat.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
9. The trapeze artists performed fantastic / fantastically even
though there was a safety net.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
10. I became very irate / irately when the man with the Abraham
Lincoln hat sat in front of me.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
11. I jealous / jealously watched as a young girl was chosen to
come on stage with the magician.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
12. It was hysterical / hysterically when the clowns came back
during the ringmasters speech.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
13. Perhaps the most astonishing was how all of my money magical
/ magically disappeared.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
14. My teacher truculent / truculently inquired about the
treatment of the circus animals.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
15. The show went by amazing / amazingly quickly and then it was
time to leave.
What word is modified? _________________________ What part of
speech is that? _______________
Try it yourself.
Directions: write six sentences. In each sentence you should use
both an adverb and an adjective. Underline your adverbs and circle
your adjectives.
16.
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
17.
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
18.
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
19.
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
20.
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
21.
________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Adverbs and Adjectives at the Circus Answers
1. The students were very quiet when they entered the circus
tent.
What word is modified? students What part of speech is that?
noun
2. The ring at the center of the tent was colorfully
decorated.
What word is modified? decorated What part of speech is that?
adjective
3. We were all very eager to see what the circus had in store
for us.
What word is modified? we What part of speech is that?
pronoun
4. A woman in an all silk gown with dragon patterns on it was
singing beautifully.
What word is modified? was singing What part of speech is that?
verb phrases
5. As the show began, the mood in the auditorium was joyous.
What word is modified? mood What part of speech is that?
noun
6. My friend started laughing quite loudly when the clowns came
out in their little car.
What word is modified? laughing What part of speech is that?
verb
7. I could barely hear the ringmaster over the crowd because
they were so noisy.
What word is modified? they What part of speech is that?
pronoun
8. The man with the popcorn sloppily applied butter and
seasoning to his treat.
What word is modified? applied What part of speech is that?
verb
9. The trapeze artists performed fantastically even though there
was a safety net.
What word is modified? performed What part of speech is that?
verb
10. I became very irate when the man with the Abraham Lincoln
hat sat in front of me.
What word is modified? I What part of speech is that?
pronoun
11. I jealously watched as a young girl was chosen to come on
stage with the magician.
What word is modified? watched What part of speech is that?
verb
12. It was hysterical when the clowns came back during the
ringmaster's speech.
What word is modified? It What part of speech is that?
pronoun
13. Perhaps the most astonishing was how all of my money
magically disappeared.
What word is modified? disappeared What part of speech is that?
verb
14. My teacher truculently inquired about the treatment of the
circus animals.
What word is modified? inquired What part of speech is that?
verb
15. The show went by amazing / amazingly quickly and then it was
time to leave.
What word is modified? quickly What part of speech is that?
adverb
Try it yourself.
