Dear Readers,
Let me remind those of you who have forgotten what an adjective is. It's a word that modifies or describes a noun. That being said, read below to see them referenced in the following situations.
Example: Seattle weather girl Sylvia Miller, in the titular movie "Weather Girl," has an on-air breakdown. She starts ranting, "Day after day as I stood in front of this stupid map repeatedly trying to find new adjectives to describe the word rain, ..." *Bravo, Weather Girl. You know your grammar as well as you know the weather.
Example: "Castle" is a TV show where mystery writer Richard Castle teams with the NYPD to help solve murders. In one episode, a suspect is holding some hostages and asks to have the author help prove her innocence. When it is revealed that she has a juvenile record, she says to Castle, "What's the point of a sealed record when the cops can open it whenever they like? I'm sure they all had a laugh off all the adjectives describing me, right? 'Manic, bi-polar, violent, murderer!'" Castle says, "Not to be a stickler but 'murderer' isn't an adjective." *Well, the writer would know, wouldn't he?
And he's right. Murderer is a noun, not an adjective.
Example: On TV's "The Big Bang Theory," Dr. Leslie Winkle from Cal Tech is visiting Leonard's and Sheldon's apartment. Before leaving, she notices a mistake and fixes an equation on Sheldon's whiteboard. Being upset about it, he tells her, "I don't come into your house and touch your whiteboard." She retorts, "There are no incorrect equations on my board." Sheldon stammers," Oh, that is so..., so..." Leslie impatiently says, "I'm sorry. I've gotta run. If you come up with an adjective, text me." After she has gone, Sheldon blurts out, "Inconsiderate! That is the adjective, inconsiderate." *Yea, the writers got the correct part of speech and a correct adjective!
Example: I thought this one was cute. In the episode "Wheel of Pain" on the TV show "The Middle," the Heck children are in cahoots to withhold the truth about a broken window in their house. When the parents figure out that someone is lying, they come up with a possible punishment: Daughter Sue will not get to have her Sweet Sixteen birthday party. Being very upset at this prospect, Sue beseeches her brothers to confess by explaining, "I can't lose my party. It's my Sweet Sixteen, the only birthday that has its own adjective." *Sweet, indeed.
In the following examples, we will see where grammar has not been learned.
Example: Judge Howie Mandel, on "America's Got Talent," praises singer Cami Bradley by saying, I think you're beautiful. I think you're a star, I think you're an angel. I have more adjectives but I'm not going to use them." *Considering he only used one adjective but two nouns, I wonder why he was being stingy.
Example: During Season 9 of "The Bachelorette," Desiree and Brooks are on a date. He tells her, "People are, like, 'So we know you like Des, but ...'" and she chimes in with, "But do you love her?" He responds, "We need more adjectives." *WHAT?? There were absolutely no adjectives in either of their comments to begin with. But wait, we continue.
Later, Brooks brings up the adjectives he had mentioned and she says, "I have them." He says, "The adjectives between like and love are ..." and she fills in, "stepping, skipping, running, and then finish line!" *Aww, so adorable. I just wish that they both knew the difference between an adjective and a verb.
Well, I hope this month's topic has been enlightening, entertaining and educational (all adjectives, by the way).
