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Adjectives that Describe a Persons Tone or Characteristics

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The English language would be very boring without adjectives. They dress up our nouns whenever we need to punch things up a notch. So, that pain you're feeling is no longer just a "pain," it's a crippling pain or debilitating pain that is tearing you apart, or maybe just a small pain that you'll get over quickly.

Whenever you're speaking or writing, you may want to get your point across with a little extra oomph. When it's time to do so, call in the big dogs: the adjectives.

Adjectives Accentuate the Point

Adjectives help express the tone, feelings, and emotions of our words by accentuating the point. Let's take our example of heartache above. It would be difficult to quickly ascertain how severe (or minor) that heartache is without the use of those adjectives.

Of course, context clues
 would eventually reveal more, but adjectives allow us to succinctly describe a situation so we can continue along in our story, essay, or speech. Keep reading for some examples of these adjectives or download the printable page below.

English Grammar and 11 Guidelines for Making it More Understandable.

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Making the Rules of Grammar Easy to Understand

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Adjectives for Tone

Through tone, a reader is able to gain an overall sense of a character's personality or disposition. It can even shape an entire piece of writing, making it feel serious, funny, dramatic, or upsetting.

Without the adjectives in these examples, we wouldn't know if this was going to be a story about sadness or hope:

  • Tone-Setting (Negative): With a heavy heart, the girl walked to the mailbox and mailed her letter.

  • Tone-Setting (Positive): The excited girl walked to the mailbox and mailed her letter.

Everything you need to know about adjectives.
https://englishforyoutheteachersvoice.blogspot.com/2020/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about.html

60 Negative Adjectives For Describing People.
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30 Positive Adjectives For Describing People.
https://englishforyoutheteachersvoice.blogspot.com/2020/07/30-positive-adjectives-for-describing.html

Tips for Using Adjectives

It can be difficult to find just the right word to describe a tone or feeling being experienced by someone. You never want to come across sounding trite or use an adjective that's too weak to express the gravity of a particular situation.

It's a bit like building your vocabulary. The more you read, the more you'll discover new words and meanings, including adjectives, and how they are used to highlight emotions.

That said, like anything else that's good in life, keep it in moderation. Don't douse every noun in sugar. Instead, sprinkle a little sweetness on the situations or words that will truly benefit from a tasty addition.

Here are three things to remember when describing tone:

  • Clarity: Adjectives should help clarify your writing, not muddy the waters. So, take a quick scan through your work. Do your adjectives illustrate the point or situation? Are they at all unnecessary? For example, do you need to say "the hot, sweaty baseball player" or just "the sweaty baseball player"?

  • Overindulgence: Again, don't pick a slew of different adjectives: "The timid, nervous teacher slowly approached the noisy classroom with fearful trepidation." If you start using too many adjectives, your writing quickly becomes flowery. Not only are you going to confuse your readers, but your writing will appear choppy and even phony.

  • Time: Don't be afraid to take some time to figure out a situation. For example, you might have to analyze the tone of a short composition. Sit back for a while and let the words really sink in.

Descriptive Adjectives for Descriptive Writing

Hopefully, these tips will help you not only use adjectives in your own writing but also teach them to your children or students. Much like their cousin, the adverb, they add so much to our writing when used properly.

Here are some more examples of positive and negative tones:

To Describe a Positive Tone

To Describe a Negative Tone

To Describe Other Tones

agreeable

animated

bright

clever

encouraging

fresh

gentle

hopeful

kind

loving

open

pleased

supportive

sympathetic

warm

annoyed

bitter

disgruntled

disgusted

evil

guilty

hostile

hurtful

nasty

obnoxious

oppressive

overbearing

resentful

sarcastic

sardonic

ambivalent

anxious

bashful

candid

cautious

horrified

intelligent

mysterious

pragmatic

political

quizzical

religious

secretive

secular

strong

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