Types of adjectives
Predicative adjectives are those which follow a linking verb and
Descriptive Adjectives or adjective of quality
Adjective of quantity
Predicative Adjectives
Personal Titles
Possessive Adjectives
Demonstrative Adjectives
Indefinite Adjectives
Interrogative adjectives
Comparative Adjectives
Superlative Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives Or Adjective Of Quality
Descriptive adjectives are those adjectives which describe
nouns or the noun phrases. For example: 'A beautiful day'. In
this case, 'beautiful' is the adjective which qualifies or
describes the noun 'day'. Descriptive adjectives have several
forms as discussed below.
Colors as adjectives: Black, Blue, White,
Green, etc.
Touch as adjective: Slippery, Sticky, etc.
Feelings as adjectives: Happy, Sad, Angry,
etc.
Sizes as adjectives: Big, Small, Thin, Thick,
etc.
Origin as adjectives: European, Latin, Greek,
etc.
Shapes as adjectives: Triangular,
Rectangular, Square, Circular, etc.
Qualities as adjectives: Good, Bad, Average,
etc.
Time as adjective: Yearly, Monthly, etc.
Age as adjectives: Young, Ancient, Old, etc.
Material as adjectives: Wood, Cotton, Gold,
etc.
Opinions as adjectives: Pretty, hot, expensive,
etc.
Adjective Of Quantity Or Numeric Adjective
Adjective of quantity talks about the quantity of the noun being
talked about and provides answer to the question of 'how
much'. It shows the quantity or the numbers present in the
sentence. For example: 'there were three boys playing in the
ground'. Here the word 'three' signifies the quantity or the
number of boys playing. Other examples are:
He has little intelligence.
Sunday is the first day of the week.
Predicative Adjectives
not placed before a noun. Predicative adjective does not act as
a part of the noun it modifies but serves as a complement of a
linking verb which connects it to the noun of the sentence.
Take for instance 'The bag is heavy'. Here the predicative
adjective 'heavy' is associated with the verb 'is' and links to the
noun 'bag'. Other examples are:
The weather will be cool and dry.
That child is young.
Personal Titles
Personal titles are adjectives where the titles such as, Mr.,
Master, Miss, Mrs., Uncle, Auntie, Lord, Dr, Prof. and so on,
are used as adjectives to describe the position of the noun.
These titles could be placed in the front or even at the end. For
example:
The day after tomorrow, you can
visit Auntie Pauline and Uncle John.
The classes on Monday will be presented
by Dr. Mary and Prof. Kate.
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjective is used where the sentence shows
possession or belongingness. They are similar to possessive
pronouns and, in this case, are used as adjectives which
modify a noun or a noun phrase. Here words such as, our, my,
your, his, her, it's and their/s, are used. For example:
Have you seen their house?
This is his room.
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are used when there is a need to
point specific things. The adjectives function as a way to
demonstrate something and are similar to demonstrative
pronouns. Here words such as this, that, these, those and what
are used. Take, for instance, the sentence: 'If I hear that sound
again, I will call the Police'. Here 'that' refers to a specific
sound. Other examples are as follows:
Whose is this bag?
These mangoes are sour.
Indefinite Adjectives
Indefinite adjectives are used when the sentence has nothing
to point out or specify. These adjectives are formed from
indefinite pronouns and do not indicate anything in particular. It
uses words such as, any, many, few and several, etc. Here is
an example explained in detail: 'The chief has heard many
people make the same promise'. The word 'Many' is an
indefinite adjective which does not specify the quantity of
people and modifies the noun 'people' without pointing out
exactly who all have made the said same promise. Other
examples:
Many children like dinosaurs.
Is there any water in the bottle?
Interrogative Adjectives
An Interrogative adjective modifies a noun or a noun phrase
and is similar to the interrogative pronoun. It does not stand on
its own and includes words such as, which, what, who, whose,
whom, where and so on. For example: 'What dress are you
wearing?' Here, 'what' modifies the noun 'dress' and is the
object of the compound verb 'are wearing'. Other examples:
Which leaves turn color first?
Whose son is he?
Comparative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives are those which imply increase or
decrease of the quality or quantity of the nouns. It is used to
compare two things in a clause. Adjectives are generally made
comparative by adding 'er' to the original work like nicer, taller,
smarter, etc; there are some exceptions also. Other examples
are:
The detective is younger than the thief
Science is more important than math in these
days.
This school is better than the last one I
attended.
Superlative Adjectives
Superlative adjectives express the greatest increase or
decrease of the quality; it conveys the supreme value of the
noun in question. For instance, 'He is the richest man in this
town'. Here, the word 'richest' is the superlative adjective which
shows a comparison individually.
Mary is the tallest of all the students.
I am in the smallest class in the school.
This is the most interesting subject for me.
ORDER
The use of adjectives is essential when trying to
describe a noun or pronoun. Good writers and
speakers are able to use adjectives to create clear,
mental images for the reader or listener. As you
continue to work on your English, dont be afraid to
use multiple adjectives to describe something. Using
more than three physically descriptive type
adjectives in sequence to describe one noun or
pronoun would sound a little awkward. When using
multiple adjectives in a sequence, you must be aware
of the correct adjective order. The proper order of
adjectives is listed below along with some examples
for each category.
1. Determiners a, an, the, my, your,
several, etc.
2. Observations lovely, boring,
stimulating, etc.
3. Size tiny, small, huge, etc.
4. Shape round, square, rectangular,
etc.
5. Age old, new, ancient, etc.
6. Color red, blue, green, etc.
7. Origin British, American, Mexican,
etc.
8. Material gold, copper, silk, etc.
9. Qualifier limiters for compound
nouns.
Here are some examples:
"The interesting, small, rectangular, blue car
is parked in my space."
"I bought a beautiful, long, red, Italian, silk
tie."
"My father lives in a lovely, gigantic, ancient,
brick house."
"I have an annoying, small, circular,
American, tin, alarm clock that wakes me
up."
"Lets order a delicious, huge, rectangular,
pepperoni pizza."
"We all love our smart, petite, British
teacher."
"They all received several dazzling, small,
ancient, gold coins."
"She owns a stunning, large, old, brown dog
named Boris."