Adjectives

  The voice answered, ''NO. IT'S THE MANAGER OF THE ICE RINK." 

Oh dear ...  

    

This week's quiz: 

Find the odd word in each group: 

1. absolute, total, limited, entire 

2. cleanse, adulterate, debase, defile 

3. amnesty, reprieve, discharge, conviction 

4. belabour, repeat, persuade, reiterate 

5. assimilate, reject, accustom, conform 

6. reduce, augment, enlarge, expand 

7. avarice, greediness, generosity, cupidity 

8. askew, straight, aslant, awry 

9. length, brevity, shortness, succinctness 

10.chronic, habitual, acute, incessant 

Here's a new slant on an old tale that Gaile sent me. It was sent to her by one of her male colleagues. Read on and you'll see why we both stress its origin ... 

THE GENIE 

A woman was walking along the beach when she stumbled upon what looked like

an ancient oil lamp. She picked it up and rubbed it, and lo-and-behold a

Genie appeared. The amazed woman asked if she was going to receive the

usual three wishes. The Genie said, "Nope...unfortunately, due to

inflation, constant downsizing, low wages in third-world countries, and

fierce global competition, I can only grant you one wish. So...what'll it

be?" 

The woman didn't hesitate. She reached into her beach bag and pulled out a

map of the Middle East. She said, "You see this map of the Holy Land? It

should be a place of peace and joy but instead it has become the site of

horrible terrorism and reprisals, with every day another atrocity of blood,

fire and death. I want those people to stop fighting each other. I want

eternal peace in the Middle East, now! That's my one wish!" 

 The Genie looked at the map and exclaimed, "Gadzooks, lady! Those countries

have been at war with each other for thousands of years. Hundreds of

diplomats have tried to get the Arabs and Jews together and they have all

failed. I'm good, I'm really good, but I'm not THAT good! In fact, I don't

think it can be done. So, make another wish." 

The woman thought for a minute and said, "Well, I've never been able to

find just the right man. You know, one that's kind and considerate; that's

intelligent and thoughtful; that has a sense of humor and makes me laugh

and is fun to be with; one who knows about food and wine and is a delight

to dine with; who reads serious books and keeps up with the news and can

hold an informed conversation that I always learn from; who cares about

what I think, cares as much about art, theatre and music as he does about

sports; who will help clean up the kitchen without being asked; who may

stop at the club briefly to spend some time with his buddies but who really

would rather leave the group early so he can come home and we can just talk

and share intimate thoughts with each other; who spends time trying to

think of gifts that will delight me; who sends me funny, romantic cards and

notes just when I don't expect them; who values women not as objects but as

equal human beings; who thinks there is nothing wrong with a man being a

feminist; and who is really fabulous romancer because he's a sensitive and

imaginative lover who thinks every bit as much about giving me great

pleasure as he does about his own satisfaction." "So that's what I wish

for.......that's my one wish." 

The Genie went silent for a moment as if lost in deep thought, then let out

a big sigh and said, 

"Lemme see that map of the Middle East again." 

If only we could laugh ...  

I won't comment on what's happening in that part of the world except to say that regardless of your political, religious or racial persuasion, I know that you, like me, will be hoping that sanity prevails - soon - so everyone everywhere can get back to living. All life is too precious and too short to waste ... 

Last week's quiz: 

Match up the words with their meaning:

1. impugn 

2. indigent 

3. languish 

4. metamorphosis 

5. microcosm 

6. nominal 

7. obtuse 

8. parsimonious 

9. patrician 

10.patronise 

challenge in argument 

to experience need  

to exist in miserable conditions 

transformation 

world in miniature 

in name only 

lacking quickness of intellect 

excessively frugal 

having upper class manners 

treat as inferior 
 

If you received this newsletter from a friend and you'd like to have the answers to the quiz delivered to you on Friday, just click here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and why not spread the word? Send your friends a copy and invite them to join our merry band. 

Do you like paradoxes? Try this one from Robert Dato ( http://www.dato-leadership-institute.com/ ) ... he calls it:  

THE Revised ROLEX PARADOX           

Just because you are accurate,  does not mean you are correct. 

Thirty years ago when I worked in a hospital, I bought a Rolex watch hoping to have the most accurate timepiece available at the time.  I wore it to work, but my time was always two minutes behind the wall clock and the time my peers had.  I then checked my time with the national time kept by an atomic clock.  My time was the same as the atomic time.  Yet at work, I was incorrect because everyone else had less accurate timepieces, and the hospital functioned on their time, not mine.  Since then I have called this The Rolex Paradox:  Just because you are accurate does not mean you are correct.  

Something to ponder over the weekend! 

Got a question about grammar, punctuation or any other language matter? Here's the place to go: http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=3170114826  

Then add a flag and message to the Map of the World: http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826 You can read the previous 99 messages by clicking on the List button at the top of the page. NB - check to make sure your message hasn't been replaced ... if it has, add another! 

A Little Something Extra 

"You've been thinking about writing a book ...  

"But thinking is not doing. You need to put your fears and reasons for procrastination to rest if you want to jumpstart that book project. Below are the top ten excuses people give me for not writing; each is followed by my reaction, as an author and writing coach. If you argue yourself out of writing, then this list is for you."  

Read the  top ten list of excuses complied by Debra Koontz Traverso.   

Then, if you're inspired to get started, click for your  free report on How to Write a Book. 

Word of the week: Jeffrey Scott sent in this great new word: Scamanged (vb) Combination of scam and scavenge. To weasel something away from someone by using subtle misdirection coupled with outright thievery. This should be done in such a manner that the victim is unsure if they gave it away or if it was stolen. 

Oxymoron of the week: a Fine Mess (another!)  

This week's Latin phrase is a beauty (and don't tell me you can't think of a few politicians you'd like to say this to right now): 

Ascendo tuum! (Up yours!) 

[ass-KEN-doh TOO-oom] 

Regards, 

Jennifer 

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Learning English - Quiznet 
 

Today's topic: Adjective order  More Quizzes >>  
 

      1:  a_______________________________ dress that the movie star wore.   

          silk, long, gorgeous, red    

          red, long, silk, gorgeous  

          gorgeous, long, red, silk  

          long, gorgeous, silk, red   
 
 

      2:  a pair of_____________________________ boots that were kept in the stable.   

          smart, brown, leather, riding    

          brown, smart, riding, leather  

          leather, brown, smart, riding  

          riding, smart, brown, leather   
 
 

      3:  a_____________________________________ glass which we used for special occasions.   

          tall, Czech, drinking, crystal, rare    

          rare, tall, Czech, crystal, drinking  

          drinking, Czech, crystal, rare, tall  

          Czech, rare, crystal, drinking, tall   
 
 

      4:  the _____________________________________ beach we walked along hand-in-hand.   

          wind-swept, sandy, Cornish, vast    

          Cornish, sandy, vast, wind-swept   

          vast, wind-swept, sandy, Cornish  

          Cornish, vast, sandy, wind-swept   
 
 

      5:  a __________________________________ scarf knitted by my grandmother.   

          stripy, warm, winter, woollen    

          winter, woollen, warm, stripy  

          woollen, winter, stripy, warm  

          warm, stripy, woollen, winter   
 
 

      6:  a _____________________________ cake that was in the baker?s window.   

          chocolate, delicious, round, mouth-wateringly    

          round, mouth-wateringly, delicious, chocolate  

          mouth-wateringly delicious, round, chocolate  

          mouth-wateringly, chocolate, delicious, round   

:  a_______________________________ dress that the movie star wore. 

          The possible answers were:

silk, long, gorgeous, red

red, long, silk, gorgeous

gorgeous, long, red, silk

long, gorgeous, silk, red   

       You said:  red, long, silk, gorgeous    

  Correct adjective order is opinion, length, colour, material. Try again!   
 
 

      2:  a pair of_____________________________ boots that were kept in the stable. 

          The possible answers were:

smart, brown, leather, riding

brown, smart, riding, leather

leather, brown, smart, riding

riding, smart, brown, leather   

       You said:  brown, smart, riding, leather    

  Correct adjective order is opinion, colour, material, purpose. Try again!   
 
 

      3:  a_____________________________________ glass which we used for special occasions. 

          The possible answers were:

tall, Czech, drinking, crystal, rare

rare, tall, Czech, crystal, drinking

drinking, Czech, crystal, rare, tall

Czech, rare, crystal, drinking, tall   

       You said:  drinking, Czech, crystal, rare, tall    

  Correct adjective order is opinion, height, origin, material, purpose. Try again!   
 
 

      4:  the _____________________________________ beach we walked along hand-in-hand. 

          The possible answers were:

wind-swept, sandy, Cornish, vast

Cornish, sandy, vast, wind-swept

vast, wind-swept, sandy, Cornish

Cornish, vast, sandy, wind-swept   

       You said:  vast, wind-swept, sandy, Cornish    

  This is the correct answer. Wind-swept and vast are both adjectives of opinion so you could say a wind-swept, vast, sandy Cornish beach or a vast, wind-swept, sandy, Cornish beach.   
 
 

      5:  a __________________________________ scarf knitted by my grandmother. 

          The possible answers were:

stripy, warm, winter, woollen

winter, woollen, warm, stripy

woollen, winter, stripy, warm

warm, stripy, woollen, winter   

       You said:  stripy, warm, winter, woollen    

  Correct adjective order is opinion, pattern, material, purpose. Try again!   
 
 

      6:  a _____________________________ cake that was in the baker?s window. 

          The possible answers were:

chocolate, delicious, round, mouth-wateringly

round, mouth-wateringly, delicious, chocolate

mouth-wateringly delicious, round, chocolate

mouth-wateringly, chocolate, delicious, round   

       You said:  round, mouth-wateringly, delicious, chocolate    

  There is an adverb here (adverbs are used to describe verbs or, as in this case, adjectives). Try again! 
 

Classroom Handout: The Order of Descriptive Adjectives

Yen-Ling Teresa Ting

yltting [at] yahoo.com

University of Calabria (Calabria, Italy)

There are six common types of descriptive adjectives.

age

size

material

shape

colour

nationality

What is the correct order of these adjectives?

Opinion adjectives (e.g. beautiful, fantastic, terrible etc.) precede descriptive adjectives. 

Be a deductive language detective and use your deductive reasoning to find out what the correct order of these six descriptive adjectives is: Read the following dialogue where two friends comment on the contents of their rich friend's house. Opinion adjectives are in italics and all descriptive adjectives are in bold print.

A: David really has a nice big house!

B: He sure does. And I like the beautiful red wooden door with that old yellow bell.

A: Did you see the big round Indonesian teak table in his study?

B: Do you mean that big old black table?

A: Yes, that one. Isn't it nice?

B: No, I think it's just an enormous old round thing. I prefer that small round red table he has in the kitchen. The plastic one.

A: No, I think red plastic looks cheap*.