Adjective
Adjective
Definition: Adjectives describe, or modify, nouns and pronouns. An adjective gives information about the colour, size,
characteristic, quality, quantity or personal traits of a noun or pronoun. Generally an adjective modifies a noun by
answering one of these following questions:
Which? What kind? How many?
Example:
The one-eyed man tells him the story. (Answer the question ‘Which man?’)
Fox is a cunning animal. (Answer the question ‘What kind of animal?’)
Five or six gunmen attack the area. (Answer the question ‘How many gunmen?’)
Classification: There are five kinds of adjective as follow.
tall, good, beautiful honest, kind, large, bulky, thin, fat, smart,
1. Adjective of Quality quality
ugly etc.
2. Adjective some, any, much, few, little, enough, all, many, half, no, great,
quantity
of Quantity etc.
number of first, second, one, two, three, every, each, another, many, some,
3. Numeral Adjective
noun any, few, all, several, neither, either
5. Interrogative
ask a question where, what, which, whose
Adjective
belongs to
6. Possessive Adjective my, your, our, their, his, her and its
someone
Classification of Adjectives
Adjectives can be classified into various categories based on their functions and meanings. Here are the main types
of adjectives:
1. Descriptive (Qualitative) Adjectives
These adjectives describe the qualities or characteristics of a noun or pronoun. They answer questions like “What
kind?” or “What is it like?”
Examples:
The beautiful garden is filled with flowers. (Beautiful describes the garden)
He wore a blue jacket. (Blue describes the color of the jacket)
Common Descriptive Adjectives:
Tall, small, bright, intelligent, strong, delicious, happy, sad.
2. Quantitative Adjectives
These adjectives indicate the quantity or amount of a noun. They answer the question “How much?” or “How
many?”
Examples:
I have two pens. (Two indicates the number of pens)
She has little time to finish the task. (Little indicates the amount of time)
Common Quantitative Adjectives:
Few, many, much, several, all, some, no, one, ten.
3. Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives point out specific nouns. They answer the question “Which one?”
Examples:
This book is mine. (This specifies which book)
Those apples look fresh. (Those specifies which apples)
Common Demonstrative Adjectives:
This, that, these, those.
4. Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives show ownership or possession. They answer the question “Whose?”
Examples:
This is my laptop. (My shows possession of the laptop)
Their house is huge. (Their shows possession of the house)
Common Possessive Adjectives:
My, your, his, her, its, our, their.
5. Interrogative Adjectives
Interrogative adjectives are used to ask questions about a noun. They are placed before a noun in a question.
Examples:
Which movie are we watching? (Which asks about a specific movie)
What time is the meeting? (What asks about a specific time)
Common Interrogative Adjectives:
What, which, whose.
6. Indefinite Adjectives
Indefinite adjectives refer to non-specific amounts or quantities. They do not specify exact amounts.
Examples:
Several students participated in the event. (Several gives an indefinite quantity of students)
Do you have any questions? (Any refers to an indefinite quantity)
Common Indefinite Adjectives:
Some, many, few, several, all, any, each.
7. Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns and are always capitalized. They describe a noun by relating it to a
specific person, place, or thing.
Examples:
She loves Italian food. (Italian is derived from the proper noun Italy)
I bought a Shakespearean novel. (Shakespearean is derived from Shakespeare)
Common Proper Adjectives:
American, Indian, Victorian, African, Shakespearean.
8. Numerical Adjectives
Numerical adjectives express numbers or the order of things. They are of two types: Cardinal and Ordinal adjectives.
Cardinal Adjectives indicate how many.
He has three dogs. (Three indicates the number of dogs)
Ordinal Adjectives indicate the order or position.
This is my second attempt. (Second indicates the position of the attempt)
9. Distributive Adjectives
Distributive adjectives refer to individual elements within a group, addressing each member separately.
Examples:
Each student must submit their homework. (Each refers to every individual student)
Every book on the shelf is new. (Every refers to all books individually)
Common Distributive Adjectives:
Each, every, either, neither.
10. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
These adjectives are used to compare two or more things.
Comparative Adjectives compare two things and often end in “-er” or are used with “more.”
She is taller than her brother. (Taller compares two people)
Superlative Adjectives compare three or more things and often end in “-est” or are used with “most.”
This is the tallest building in the city. (Tallest compares more than two buildings)
Examples of Comparative and Superlative Adjectives:
Tall, taller, tallest
Good, better, best
Beautiful, more beautiful, most beautiful
Conclusion
Adjectives are essential parts of speech that enrich language by providing more detail and clarity to nouns and
pronouns. Understanding the different types of adjectives and their functions allows us to use them effectively to
describe and emphasize various aspects of the subjects we discuss.
Identify Adjectives
The warm days are here. The longest days come in June. Three feet make one yard. Seven days make one week. This
boy will do your errand. Those books belong to Mary. That man is honest. He has eaten three apples. I don’t have
much money. There is so much wine for the guests. This long, thin centipede has many legs. I spent my afternoon
cleaning the toilet. This must be your cap. His arms have a few tattoos. Its skin is dry and rough. Our grandmothers
were classmates. Ety is witty. They live in a beautiful house. Lisa is wearing a sleeveless shirt today. I used to buy this
kind of shirts. The water was clean. The sun is high in the sky. This soup is not edible. She wore a beautiful dress. He
writes meaningless letters. This shop is much nicer. She wore a beautiful dress. Ben is an adorable baby. Linda’s hair is
gorgeous. This glass is breakable. I met a homeless person. She is tired. The cafeteria was attractive. Maria was tried
after the long flight. Whales are larger than sharks. They are amazing. The walkway was small. Dad had a bald
head. No one liked the cold pizza. The hot water boiled. Stay in the big area. Watch out, the table is heavy! It was dry
in the desert. These skates are Frank’s. He had little love for work. There was much work to be done. Some people
remember favors. Any man is liable to make mistakes. No word came from the steamer. Please make more haste. The
less talk the more work. He opened the book at the sixth chapter, the tenth paragraph, the one hundred and eighth
page. The American, French, and English ambassadors are safe. Children like sweet apples. She has an amiable
disposition. It is a beauteous evening, calm and clear. He paid two hundred dollars for the horse. Sixteen ounces
make a pound. Any man here can do a little work. He occupies the fourth seat in the seventh row. Yonder elm was
planted by my grandfather. This house is older than yours. What book do you prefer? Which boy came late? He knew
what value to place upon promises. It was easy to see which boy led his class. She saw the door was open.
Useful More useful Most useful active more active most active
Intelligent More Intelligent Most Intelligent attractive more attractive most attractive
Attentive More attentive Most attentive beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
Difficult More difficult Most difficult brilliant more brilliant most brilliant
courageous more courageous most courageous careful more careful most careful
cunning more cunning most cunning splendid more splendid most splendid
famous more famous most famous proper more proper most proper
faithful more faithful most faithful popular more popular most popular
caring more/less caring most/least caring amazing More amazing most amazing
gifted more/less gifted most/least gifted terrible More terrible most terrible
By adding ‘er’ and ‘est’
Exceptional