General Grammar

Nomen______________________________ Dies_________________

Latin I - Parts of Speech - Adjectives

(48 words x 5 each = 240 pts.)

Let's take a look at the ADJECTIVE!

What is an adjective? An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Be sure that you do not confuse an adjective with a pronoun. A pronoun replaces a noun, while an adjective must always have a noun or pronoun to describe.

There are different types of adjectives. The various categories of an adjective will describe nouns in a different way.

• what kind of noun it is a: Descriptive Adjective
  • Penelope lived in a large house.
  • The stars are bright.
• whose noun it is a: Possessive Adjective
  • Aeneas loved his mother.
  • Venus often gave comfort to her son.
• which noun it is a: Interrrogative Adjective
  • What goddess did Niobe offend?
  • Which child died last?
• which noun is indicated is a: Demonstrative Adjective
  • Cicero formed this plan.
  • That senator praised the orator.

Activity

Underline the adjectives in the story. (48 adjectives, including possessive adjectives - his, hers, etc. x 5 each = 240 pts.)

Venus and Adonis.

Adonis was extremely handsome that even today we call a man of exceptional attractiveness an "Adonis". This story is the (most famous) of the death and flowery resurrection love myths. Every year the Greek girls mourned for him and every year they rejoiced when his flower, the blood-red anemone, the windflower, was seen blooming again.

Aphrodite saw him when he was born and even then loved him and decided he should be hers. She carried him to Persephone to take charge of him for her, but Persephone fell in love with him too and would not give him back. Zeus had to judge between the two goddesses. He decided that Adonis should spend half the year with each, the autumn and winter with the lovely Persephone; the spring and summer with the beautiful Aphrodite.

Adonis, despite his beauty, was of a (very manly) character and loved hunting above all things. With him in his pursuit of dangerous game went Aphrodite. She left her swan-drawn chariot and followed him along the rough woodland ways dressed as a huntress. But one sad spring day she happened not to be with him and he tracked down a mighty boar. With his hunting dogs he brought the beast to bay. He hurled his spear at it, but only wounded it, and before he could spring away, the boar rushed headlong at Adonis. He buried his great tusks savagely in the sides of the fair youth, who fell dying upon the plain. Aphrodite in her winged chariot heard his groan and flew to him. Cruel as his wound was, the wound in her heart was deeper. But down in the black underworld Adonis could not hear her words, nor see the crimson flower that sprang up where each drop of his blood had stained the earth.