Reading: Vocabulary in Context: A2 Lesson 2: Understanding Common Adjectives & Adverbs in Descriptions

Reading: Vocabulary in Context

A2 Lesson 2: Understanding Adjectives & Adverbs

Listen to the reading passage audio here.

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to identify adjectives and adverbs in a text and understand how they make descriptions more vivid and clear.

Before You Read 🧠

Key Vocabulary (Click 🔊)

Let's look at the two types of "describing words" for this lesson.

Adjective

| គុណនាម

A word that describes a noun (a person, place, or thing). Example: a red moto.

Adverb

| គុណកិរិយា

A word that describes a verb (an action). Example: He walks quickly.

How to Tell the Difference 🎨 vs. 🏃‍♂️

The easiest way to remember is: Adjectives describe things. Adverbs describe actions.

🎨 Adjectives Describe Nouns

They answer: "What kind?" or "Which one?"

• a beautiful temple
• a slow tuk-tuk
• a careful student

🏃‍♂️ Adverbs Describe Verbs

They answer: "How?" or "In what way?"

• She speaks beautifully.
• It moves slowly.
• He writes carefully.

The "Magic -ly" Rule

The easiest way to make an adverb is to add -ly to an adjective. This is a very common rule in English.

Adjective + -ly = Adverb

( slow + ly = slowly )

Reading Practice Story

Read the story. Pay attention to the adjectives (describing things) and the adverbs (describing actions). Click 🔊 to hear the story.

Sophea loves the market. The colors are so bright. Beautiful red tomatoes and green vegetables are everywhere. An old woman smiles kindly at her. Sophea is a careful shopper. She looks at the ripe mangoes slowly. "I want the best one," she thinks. A moto drives loudly past her. She laughs happily and buys her fruit.

Practice What You Learned 🎯

Quiz: Choose the Correct Word

Complete each sentence by choosing the correct describing word. Click "Check Answers" when you are done.

1. The music is very ________.

• loud (adjective)
• loudly (adverb)

2. He speaks English ________.

• good (adjective)
• well (adverb)

3. She is a ________ driver.

• careful (adjective)
• carefully (adverb)

4. She drives ________.

• careful (adjective)
• carefully (adverb)

Key Vocabulary Reference (Click 🔊)

• Adjective | គុណនាម
  Describes a noun. (e.g., happy person, slow computer)
• Adverb | គុណកិរិយា
  Describes a verb. (e.g., sing happily, work slowly)
• Good (Adjective) | ល្អ
  Describes a thing. (e.g., "He is a good student.")
• Well (Adverb) | បានល្អ
  Describes an action. (e.g., "He speaks English well.") This is a special, irregular adverb!
• Loud / Loudly | ឮ / យ៉ាងดัง
  Loud (adjective) describes a noun: "loud music". Loudly (adverb) describes an action: "He speaks loudly."

Your Reading Mission ⭐

Find the Describing Words

1. Find a simple story or article in English (like on VOA Learning English or a children's book).
2. Read one paragraph and try to find 3 adjectives (describing things) and 1 adverb (describing an action, probably ending in -ly).
3. Write them down. This helps you notice *how* they are used in real sentences.