fj Let's Get Started

Read this passage on a house.

The house came into view after taking a sharp turn off
the main road. It was tall and old. The red bricks had
turned black. Cobwebs hung on the broken windows.
The door had a broken knob. By the side of the house
stood a leafless tree. A raven was sitting on one of the
branches. It looked black as the night.

Which are the words that describe the house

and its surroundings?

Read these sentences.

This story is more interesting than I expected it to be.
The grass is always greener on the other side.
She is intelligent and takes an interest in chess.
In the first two sentences, the adjectives tell us more about the nouns story and grass. In the third
sentence, the adjective intelligent tells us more about the pronoun she.

An adjective is a word chat tells us more about a noun or a pronoun.

Types of Adjectives
Adjectives can be of different types depending on the function they perform in a sentence.

Proper Adjectives

Adjectives fo rmed from pro per nouns are called proper adjectives.

Examples: The Gangetic plain is very fertile.

Swiss chocolate is famous throughout the world.

Adjectives of Quality
n has.
Ad. • 1· · a nou -
of quality te.11us about the qua ioeS -

Examples: The Pearl Mosque is a majestic building.

te[ul king.
The honest citizen was rewarded by the grtl

Adjectives of Quantity
. . . . in is being referred co.
Adjecnves of quanbty show how much of a th g

Examples: He has /;ide intelligence.

She did not eat any food.
Adjectives of Number
h·n s are being referred co, or in what 0
I
Adjectives of number show how many persons or t g rder a
person or thing stands.

Examples: There are no pictures in this book.

Sunday is the prst day ofthe week.

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives show belongi ng or possession .

Examples: His watch is expensive.

Is this your coat?

Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are used to ask questions.

Examples: Whose pen is this?

Which road leads to New Town?
Oemonstrative Adjectives

. o n ~ adjectives poi nt.out which person _or thing is

Dem
6e1rig rererr.ed .to in a -s.entenc.e.
This that these and those are
de~ons:radve adj ectives
Examples: Those girls play for the school team. when they are followed
This girl is smart. by nouns. They are
demonstra tive prono.uns
Distributive Adjectives when they replace the
nouns in .a sentence.
This bat belongs to Rotan.
Distributive adjectives ref-er to each person or t hing in a group. (demonstr.ariv.e adjective)
This is my cousin's house.
Examples: Every child has to attend the summer camp. (demonstrative pronoun)
Each house has two balconies.
a
Nouns used as Adjectives
Common nouns are often used as adjectives.
Examples:/ met an island boy.
She bought.a silk dress.

f) Underline the adjective in each sentence.

1. The roads of Delhi are wide.
2. Trains are a cheap means of travel.
3. Ocean ia is the smallest continent.
4. Mr Mitra is a respectable citizen.
5. Dheeman is the tallest boy in the class.
6. Ashokan pillars can be seen even today.
7. Mount Kanchenjunga is a Himalayan peak.
8. The bhangra is a popular Punjabi dance form .
9. All the Gupta rulers were good administrators.
1O. Japanese people are known for their hard work.
11. The poor girl is starving.
12. The nec kl ace looks expensive.
13 _ That was a silly question from the audience.
14 _ A friend ly elephant pulled me out of the pit.
15_ Lil ian was walking through a dark forest.
 This table shows the order in which different types of adjectives are placed in a sentence.
Determiner Quantity/ Quality/
Number 0 inion Size Age Shape Colour Origin Material Qualifier Noun
an antique oval blue Chinese ceramic plate
a sturdy long black wooden walking stick
the two expensive sil k stoles
\.

Ci) Rewrite these sentences using the correct order of adjectives.

1. Give me good three reasons why you didn't finish your homework.
2. The Singhs live in a blue large house.
3. She went for a ride on the red big double-decker bus.
4. I wish I could buy that red Japanese pretty kimono.
5. My neighbours own a brown, big, ferocious German shepherd .
6. He met a young brown-haired beautiful woman .
7. I got my father three printed new nice ties.
8. Please hang your coat in the brown old little almirah.
9. I was shocked to find a little, cute, brown new born puppy on
my doorstep.
10. When I was young, I had red and wh ite floppy rubber sandals.

Comparison of Adjectives
-~ ,\
Adjectives do not only show the qual ities of a noun but also to I
I

what degree the noun possesses that quality. : An adjective in the

: superlative degree always
Look at these sentences. : has the article the before
: it.
Charl ie is a clever student. I

: the smallest bird

Jack is cleverer than Charlie. I

~- the shortest play

Tina is th e cleverest student in the class. ~--- ----- ----------- ----'
The adjective clever refers to a quality wh ich Charlie has. The adjective cleverer shows that Jack has
that quality more than Charl ie. The adjective cleverest shows that Tina has more of that quality
than all the other students in the class.

When we use an adjective to compare the qualities of two or more nou ns, we are using the degrees
of comparison.

The three degrees of comparison of an adjective are: positive, comparative and superlative.