Adjective

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. It describes, explains, or tells something about the noun. Most adjectives answer the questions: What kind? Which one? and How much/many?

For examples,
  •  happy girl (which girl?)
  •  his desk (which desk?)
  •  that boy (which boy?)
  •  five books (How many book?)
  •  a lot of water (How much water?)
  •  first class (Which class?)

TYPES OF ADJECTIVES

[1] Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjectives tell quality/condition, appearances/looks, personality, feeling, shape, size, touch, and color. They answer the question “what kind?”

For examples,
  • Qualities/conditions: rich, poor, healthy, bright, advanced, modern...
  • Appearances/looks: beautiful, handsome, pretty, short, tall, build, good-looking, tough...
  • Personalities: honest, helpful, friendly, kind, industrious, hard-working, stingy...
  • Feelings: happy, sad, distressed, painful, excited, worried, anxious...
  • Shapes: oval, round, rectangle, tall, high, long, spherical...
  • Sizes: big, small, narrow, wide, spacious, tiny...
  • Touches: smooth, rough, bumpy, sandy, sharp, blunt...
  • Colors: red, yellow, brown, cyan, purple, white, black, blue, blur...

[2] Quantitative adjectives

Quantitative adjectives (or adjective of numbers) tells the number or amount. They answer to the questions "how much or how many?" The quantitative adjectives are classified into 3 smaller groups:

(i) Definite numeral adjectives: They tells the number (cardinal) and order (ordinal).

For examples,
  • Cardinal: one, two, three, hundred, million...
  • Ordinal: first, second, third, hundredth, millionth...

(ii) Indefinite numeral adjectives: They tell the amount, but not the exact ones. They are: some, any, a lot of, much, many, plenty, large amount of, a great deal of...

For examples,

  • I have some money.
  • They have a lot of paper.

(iii) Distributive numeral adjectives: They tell the number which refers to one at a time. They are: each, every, either, neither.

For examples,
  • Each student has an ID Card.
  • Either staff can represent the group.
  • Neither policeman are allowed to torture suspects.

[3] Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns. Just like proper nouns, they start with a capital letter. They normally answer the adjective question, "What kind?"

Look at the examples,
  • Proper Noun: America, Japan, Cambodia ...
  • Proper Adjective: American, Japanese, Cambodian...

[4] Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives restrict the ownership or possession of nouns. They are: my, our, your, his, her, its, and their.

For examples,
  • I visited their hometown.
  • I left my book at home.

[5] Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives point out which nouns. They are: this, that, these, and those.

For examples,
  • This book is not mine.
  • I want that T-shirt.
  • These cars are brand new.
  • Those motorbikes are second hand.

[6] Interrogative adjectives

Interrogative adjectives introduce direct or indirect questions. They are: what, which, and whose.

For examples,

  • He asked which way I should go.
  • He wondered what problems we are having.
  • Whose book is this?
  • Which subjects should he take?
  • What requirements do you need?

[7] Relative adjectives

Relative adjectives introduce clauses and modify the nouns that follow. They are: whose, whichever, and whatever.

For examples,
  • The student whose work is admired works very hard.
  • Carry whatever foods you can.
  • He will choose whichever solution is practical.

POSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES

We place or put adjectives in two main positions:

[1] Before nouns 

Adjectives are placed before nouns so that they modify nouns.

For examples,
  • She is a hard-working student.
  • It is a big and expensive house.

[2] After linking verbs

Adjectives are placed after linking verbs and they complete the meaning of the subjects.

For examples,
  • She looks unhappy.
  • They are friendly and helpful.

[3] After nouns

However, adjectives in some cases, adjective phrases, and adjective clauses may be placed after the nouns they modify.

For examples,
  • It is not easy to make everyone satisfied.
  • I don't know the man who is standing over there. (adjective clause)
  • I don't know the man standing over there. (adjective phrase/particle phrase)

FUNCTIONS OF ADJECTIVES

Adjectives perform two roles in sentences. They:

[1] Modifying nouns

For examples,

  • I prefer red apples.
  • It was a cold, gray, and ominous dawn.

[2] Modifying pronouns

For examples,

  • He is friendly.
  • He is the happiest one.