Adverbs and Adjectives Worksheet 2 | Preview - Free Printable

Let's solve each sentence in the worksheet "Adverbs and Adjectives at the Circus" step by step. The goal is to determine whether an adjective or adverb should be used, based on what word it modifies.

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🔹 Key Rules Recap:

- Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.
- Example: *The green house* → "green" describes "house" (noun).
- Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
- Example: *She runs quickly* → "quickly" describes "runs" (verb).

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Now let’s go through each sentence:

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1. The students were very quiet / quietly when they entered the circus tent.

- Correct choice: quiet
- "Quiet" describes students (a noun), which is a subject of the sentence.
- "Were" is a linking verb, so we use an adjective after it to describe the subject.
- ✔ What word is modified? students
✔ What part of speech is that? noun

> ✔️ Use quiet (adjective)

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2. The ring at the center of the tent was colorful / colorfully decorated.

- Correct choice: colorfully
- "Decorated" is a past participle acting as a verb (part of passive voice: "was decorated").
- We need an adverb to describe how it was decorated.
- ✔ What word is modified? decorated
✔ What part of speech is that? verb

> ✔️ Use colorfully (adverb)

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3. We were all very eager / eagerly to see what the circus had in store for us.

- Correct choice: eager
- "Were" is a linking verb; "eager" describes the subject ("we").
- "Eager" is an adjective describing a state of being.
- ✔ What word is modified? we
✔ What part of speech is that? pronoun

> ✔️ Use eager (adjective)

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4. A woman in an all silk gown with dragon patterns on it was singing beautiful / beautifully.

- Correct choice: beautifully
- "Singing" is a verb.
- We need an adverb to describe how she sang.
- ✔ What word is modified? singing
✔ What part of speech is that? verb

> ✔️ Use beautifully (adverb)

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5. As the show began, the mood in the auditorium was joyous / joyously.

- Correct choice: joyous
- "Was" is a linking verb.
- "Mood" is the subject, and we're describing its state — so we need an adjective.
- ✔ What word is modified? mood
✔ What part of speech is that? noun

> ✔️ Use joyous (adjective)

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6. My friend started laughing quite loud / loudly when the clowns came out in their little car.

- Correct choice: loudly
- "Laughing" is a verb.
- We need an adverb to describe how he laughed.
- ✔ What word is modified? laughing
✔ What part of speech is that? verb

> ✔️ Use loudly (adverb)

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7. I could barely hear the ringmaster over the crowd because they were so noisy / noisily.

- Correct choice: noisy
- "Were" is a linking verb.
- "They" refers to the crowd, and "noisy" describes their state.
- So we use an adjective.
- ✔ What word is modified? they (referring to the crowd)
✔ What part of speech is that? pronoun

> ✔️ Use noisy (adjective)

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8. The man with the popcorn sloppy / sloppily applied butter and seasoning to his treat.

- Correct choice: sloppily
- "Applied" is a verb.
- We need an adverb to describe how he applied the butter.
- ✔ What word is modified? applied
✔ What part of speech is that? verb

> ✔️ Use sloppily (adverb)

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9. The trapeze artists performed fantastic / fantastically even though there was a safety net.

- Correct choice: fantastically
- "Performed" is a verb.
- We need an adverb to describe how they performed.
- ✔ What word is modified? performed
✔ What part of speech is that? verb

> ✔️ Use fantastically (adverb)

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10. I became very irate / irately when the man with the Abraham Lincoln hat sat in front of me.

- Correct choice: irate
- "Became" is a linking verb.
- "I" is the subject, and we are describing the state of the speaker.
- So we use an adjective.
- ✔ What word is modified? I
✔ What part of speech is that? pronoun

> ✔️ Use irate (adjective)

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✔ Final Answers Summary:

| # | Correct Word | Modified Word | Part of Speech |
|---|--------------|----------------|----------------|
| 1 | quiet | students | noun |
| 2 | colorfully | decorated | verb |
| 3 | eager | we | pronoun |
| 4 | beautifully | singing | verb |
| 5 | joyous | mood | noun |
| 6 | loudly | laughing | verb |
| 7 | noisy | they | pronoun |
| 8 | sloppily | applied | verb |
| 9 | fantastically | performed | verb |
| 10 | irate | I | pronoun |

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📝 Explanation Tips:

- Look for linking verbs (like *was, were, became, seemed*) → use adjectives to describe the subject.
- Look for action verbs → use adverbs to describe how, when, where, or to what extent the action happened.
- Remember: Adverbs often end in -ly, but not always (e.g., *fast*, *well*, *hard*).

This worksheet helps reinforce understanding of word function in context — essential for strong grammar and writing skills!