I am 40 and I can't work out these 7-8 (years, not grade) test questions...

[Toddlerone]

I wouldn't feel so bad if it was maths but this is literacy!!
I did not know that numbers are classed as adjectives. I also don't know why 'nearest' and 'both' are adjectives.
So what I need is a simple explanation of different types of adjectives, something that will work for me and for my 7 year old DS.
And while we're on the subject, a simple online resource explaining the different sentence components would be great, maybe that way I'll manage to be ahead of my son for once!
Thanks so much.

Are they? I have never given it much thought. Has this lack of knowledge ever held you back in anyway? I would say that numbers on their own are nouns but when used to describe a group, such as 'seven trees' then they are adjectives. I can easily see why 'nearest' is an adjective, whereas 'both' seems a bit of an oddity.

Perhaps someone else can come up with an online resource.

I hadn't really thought about it, but an adjective is a describing word, so if a person says three cats, I guess they are describing the trees in the same way as if they said there were black and white cats.

technically to be correct an adjective describes a noun (thing) and adverb describes a verb (doing word)

This should help
www.english-online.org.uk/int3/adj3i1.htm

See, using phrases like "a describing word" is what gets people confused! An adjective modifies (adds information to) a noun. So "three" is an adjective, because it tells you how many of [noun] there are. "Nearest" is telling you which of the [nouns] you're talking about. "Both" means you have two [nouns] and you're talking about them together, not individually.

Is this any use?

www.english-online.org.uk/int3/intro3_1.htm

It looks like an English for non native speakers site...

The 'parts of speech':

web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/parts.htm

A sentence has, at the very least, a verb and a subject (the thing doing the action)

e.g I am smiling. I = subject am smiling = verb

It can also have an 'object' (the thing the verb is being done to)

e.g I am smiling at you I = subject, am smiling = verb, you = object

Basic sentence structure can be padded out in hundreds of ways, but the subject/verb (object) can usually be clearly identified. If a sequence of words doesn't contain a verb it is a 'phrase'.

[sits back and waits to be -howled down- gently corrected ....]

BB,

I think that 'three' and 'nearest' are both descriptive...but I'm glad you explained what 'modify' means in this context because it has puzzled me for quite a while as I see 'modifying' as altering something...

CecilyP, your question Has this lack of knowledge ever held you back in anyway?, well no, not that I'm aware of, but literacy is my thing, you know what I mean? My DS grants me no credit whatsoever for anything numeracy related, but literacy was my domain, I was the one in the know.... or so I thought!!!. I am relieved to see a lot of confusion here though!! I'm going to check the links provided by farmazon and maizieD. Cheers.

I know what you mean, Toddlerone. Kids can be very unforgiving, can't they?

Maizie - yes, they ARE "describing words" - that's not wrong, but it's misleading when it comes to words like "both", which is why it's an unhelpful explanation.

I'd describe adjectives as qualifiers rather than modifiers...anyhow, one way to distinguish an adjective from a noun is whether it makes sense alone as part of a full sentence. Sometimes adjectives get used alone in speech but the noun is implicit from what came before ('How many cats are there? There are three {cats}'). 'Do you want cream or custard? Both {cream and custard}'.

Just you wait till he gets to prepositions....

It doesn't help that many English words can be different parts of speech depending on context. Any number, for example, can be a noun or an adjective. "Both" can be an adjective, a preposition or a conjunction.

Try 'The Crown of Success' by ALOE, chapter 9.

There are plenty of age appropriate English resources at WH Smiths I was recommended to google the creative writing cards the BBC featrured which cover the basics.

When I started my teacher training, I realised to my horror that I had been taught nothing more than the terms noun, verb and adjective! (Product of 1980's education?) I was advised to get the Usbourne Book of Better English. www.amazon.co.uk/Usborne-Book-Better-English/dp/0860207056 It covers grammar, spelling and punctuation. It explained the basics really well and was my Bible while I got to grips with some of the finer points of English. It is great!

Well I think if you can use them before a noun they are adjectives - both cats, the nearest tree - but they are poor examples

Both" can be an adjective, a preposition or a conjunction.

bugger - this is why I teach early years

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives tell what kind, which one, how many, whose. Three and both tell how many; nearest tells which one.