Adverbial and Adjectival cluster

Adverbial cluster

Adverbs are words that qualify verbs. They tell us more about an action.

Example: He carried the egg carefully

Sometimes, more than one adverb can describe va particular action. The three major classes of adverbs are:

Adverbs of Manner: which tell us how an action takes place;

Adverbs of Place: which tell  us where an action takes place; and

Adverbs of Time: which tell us when an action takes place.

When a number of adverbs comes together to describe an action, they should be arranged according to a specific pattern.

The formula is MPT where,

M=  Manner

P= Place

T= Time

This formula implies that the adverb of manner should come first, followed by the adverb of place and then adverb of time.

Examples: Re-arrange the adverbs in the following sentences.

See me by 2pm, in my office briefly.

See me briefly (manner) in the office (place) by 2pm (time).

Cut the yam from the bottom carefully.

Cut the yam carefully (manner) from the bottom (place).

Clean the glass tomorrow morning properly.

Clean the glass properly (manner) tomorrow morning (time).

Adjectival cluster

Adjectives are words used to modify, describe or qualify a noun. A number of adjectives can also come together to describe a particular noun. When this occurs, they should be arranged in a specific order. The formula is

OLWSASCPMON: Where:

O  = Others e.g. brilliant, clever, beautiful, etc.

L  = Length e.g. long, short, tall, high, etc.

W  = Weight e.g. heavy, massive, light, etc.

S  = Size e.g. big, small, large, medium, etc.

A  = Age e.g. old, new, ancient, primitive, archaic, modern, etc.

S  = Shape e.g. fat, slim, round, oval, spherical, etc.

P  = Participle e.g. dancing, jumping, cooked, discarded, etc.

M  = Material e.g. wooden, metal, earthen, plastic, ceramic, etc.

O  = Origin e.g. Nigerian, Japanese, Chinese, American, etc.

N  = Noun head e.g. John, table, car, cobra, etc.

Note that any adjective in "others" cannot fit into the other categories.

Examples:

Arrange this adjectives in the right order

1.  The woman would not part with her (discarded, earthen, black) pot.

Answer: The woman would not part with her black discarded earthen pot.

2. The hunter killed a (black, spitting, cobra, big).

Answer: The hunter killed a big black spitting cobra.

3.  The Carpenter made a ( polishes, round, wooden, brown, massive, English, high, table)

Answer: The Carpenter made a high massive round brown polished wooden English table.

4. I saw a (Italian, fair, beautiful, young-looking, shining, tall, slender, girl).

Answer: I saw a beautiful tall young-looking slender fair shining Italian girl.

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