An adjective is a word that
describes or gives more information about nouns or pronouns.
An adjective is said to qualify
a noun or pronoun because it limits the word it describes in some way by making
it more specific. Thus, qualifying the word book
with the adjective red means that
we know that we are concentrating on a
red book and that we can forget about books of any other colour. Similarly, qualifying the word car with the word large means that we know that we are concentrating on a large car and that we can forget about
cars of another size. See determiner.
Adjectives usually tell us
something about the colour, size, quantity, quality or classification of a noun or pronoun.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are adjectives:
She wore a white dress.
It was a tiny dog.
They had five children.
They were sad people.
It was a Victorian house.
Gradable and non-gradable adjectives
Most adjectives are gradable
adjectives. Such adjectives refer to qualities that can vary in degree.
Such adjectives can take a comparative and a superlative form or can be accompanied by an adverb of degree such as very. Adjectives which do not take a
comparative and superlative form and cannot be modified by an adverb of degree
are called non-gradable adjectives.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are gradable
adjectives:
He drove a small car.
It was a bright shade of red.
We were happy.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are non-gradable
adjectives:
There was a wooden fence round the garden.
It was a plastic toy.
It was a unique experience.
Adjectives can be placed
immediately before nouns or they can be joined to their relevant nouns by a verb. A few adjectives go directly after
the noun. Adjectives are classified
as follows in this respect.
Attributive
adjectives are placed immediately before the nouns which they qualify.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are attributive
adjectives:
The blue dress suited her very well.
They lived in a huge house.
We lived there for six years.
They sell delicious cakes.
They built a wooden hut in the garden.
They live in a Georgian square.
NB: Attributive
position
Some adjectives
are found only in the attributive
position. The underlined words in the following list are examples of these:
my former
boss
her chief
reason for being here
the utter
beauty of the scene
paying scant
attention to his work
in a commanding
lead
the searing
heat
a thankless
task
a fateful
meeting.
Predicative
adjectives are joined to their relevant nouns by a verb. They are so called because they help to form the predicate (see 3) of a sentence.
The curtains in the bedroom were blue.
The dog was huge.
We were hungry.
The result is still uncertain.
Some adjectives are followed
by a preposition such as to, of or with. In the following sentences the underlined words form a predicative adjective plus preposition:
The bug was resistant to the antibiotics.
She is allergic to eggs.
He is afraid of his boss.
The house is devoid of charm.
The behaviour is characteristic of a recovering alcoholic.
Is he capable of murder?
The task was fraught with danger.
A baby is just not compatible with such a lifestyle.
She is reliant on her parents.
She is good at tennis.
Adjectives which are post-modifiers go
immediately after the noun which they qualify.
In the following sentences the underlined words are post-modifiers:
The president-elect takes over the presidency at the beginning
of the year.
The soldier is to appear before a court martial.
There are various types of adjective. The two main groups are qualitative adjectives and classifying
adjectives. Qualitative adjectives tell
you something about a quality that
someone or someone has, as in:
sad, happy, wealthy, foolish, intelligent.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are qualitative
adjectives:
He is a violent man.
It was an effective remedy.
Please give a brief description.
You did some useful work.
They are busy people.
We had a pleasant day.
We have a new car.
It is a huge house.
NB: Qualitative
adjectives include adjectives relating to size, such as tiny and massive.
Classifying
adjectives identify the particular class that something belongs to. For example, if you take the noun pain, there are various kinds or classes
of pain such as mental pain, physical
pain and emotional pain. The
adjectives mental, physical and emotional are all examples of
classifying adjectives. In the following sentences the underlined
words are classifying adjectives:
It is not a democratic government.
They need a financial system.
The country has an agricultural economy.
This is not a medical problem.
We have annual meetings.
Colour adjectives identify the colour
of something, as in black, red, yellow, purple and brown.
In order to give a more precise description of a colour you can precede
the colour adjective with a word such as dark,
pale, bright, light, deep. The underlined words in the following sentences
are examples of this:
She has light brown hair.
He wore a dark blue shirt.
It was a bright green hat.
She wants a deep purple dress.
If you wish to be less precise about the colour of something you can
add the suffix –ish to the relevant
colour, as in greenish, yellowish.
See number determiners.
Emphatic adjectives are adjectives which
you place in front of a noun to emphasise
your feelings about something or to emphasise the degree of something, as in absolute, pure. In the following
sentences the underlined words are emphatic
adjectives:
The play was an utter disaster.
It was pure magic.
He is an utter idiot.
She is a complete fool.
The whole thing was a positive nightmare.
The campaign was a total failure.
The adjectives which? and what? are known as interrogative
adjectives. They are used to ask questions about the nouns which they
qualify. In the following sentences the underlined words are interrogative adjectives:
Which book would you like
to borrow?
Which bus goes to the
centre of town?
What school did you go
to?
What plans have you made
for the wedding?
Which dress did you
choose in the end?
What restaurant have
they gone to?
Formerly demonstrative
determiners were commonly known as demonstrative
adjectives. See
determiners (see 1) and demonstrative determiners.
Formerly possessive determiners were commonly known
as possessive adjectives. See
determiners (see 2) and possessive determiners (see 2).
Compound adjectives are made up of two
or more words, usually separated by a
hyphen. In the following list the underlined words are compound adjectives:
a grey-haired man
a part-time post
a black-and-white cat
an air-conditioned office
a kind-hearted woman
a good-looking young woman
a broken-hearted young man
a first-class hotel.
If several adjectives are
used to qualify a noun they tend to be placed in a certain order. The usual
order is qualitative adjectives, such as pretty,
adjectives relating to size, such as large,
verb participles used as adjectives, such as exciting, depressing, broken, disappointed, worried, adjectives
relating to colour, such as orange, adjectives relating to
nationality or region, such as American
or northern, adjectives relating to
classification, such as wooden, Victorian, followed by adjectives relating to purpose or use such as dining table. The following sentences
show the usual sequence of adjectives:
They live in a pretty little white house.
She wore a beautiful short black dress.
There was a large deep circular pond in the garden.
The roses were growing in the small enchanting Italian country
garden.
They lived in an ugly depressing city suburb.
They sat round a large polished mahogany dining table.
NB: Order of
adjectivesa
English is a very flexible language and the usual
order of adjectives can be changed for emphasis.
Sometimes adjectives can be used as nouns, especially when they are preceded by the definite article.
In the following sentences the underlined words are adjectives used as nouns.
It is sometimes considered offen-sive to use this construction, such as the disabled, as it can sound as though
you are just lumping people together rather than considering them as
individuals:
There are few opportunities for the unemployed around here.
The poor seem to keep getting poorer.
The old are often lonely.
Sometimes colour adjectives function as nouns
without the definite or indefinite article:
Yellow is meant to make
people feel more optimistic.
Blue is her favourite
colour.
He always wears black.
NB: List commas
In
cases where there is a list of adjectives before a noun, the use of commas
between the adjectives is now optional although it was formerly standard
practice. When the adjective immediately before the noun has a closer
relationship with it than the other adjectives, and indeed often helps to
define the noun, no comma should be used before that adjective, as
We want to buy some
large juicy green peppers.
See The comma as a separating device in a list of adjectives.
Some words can be
used both as adjectives and adverbs.
Which part of speech they are is obvious
from the context in which they appear. The word early is an adjective in
the first of the following sentences and an adverb in the second.
We caught the early train.
The train left early and we missed it.
Comparative forms of adjectives
Many adjectives have a comparative form used to indicate
that something has more of a quality than something else. It is mostly
qualitative adjectives that take comparative forms, although a few colour
adjectives can also do so.
Some adjectives add -er to the absolute form to form their comparative form such as braver and louder. Some other adjectives are preceded by the word more to form their comparative form such
as more beautiful and more suitable.
Which is the correct form of the comparative
to use is often largely a matter of length. Adjectives which consist of one
syllable, such as loud, usually add -er to make louder.
Comparative and number of syllables
When a one-syllable adjective ends in a single vowel followed by a
single consonant, the consonant is doubled before the -er ending is added, as in big,
bigger.
Some adjectives which consist of two
syllables form their comparative by adding -er.
This is especially true of adjectives which end in -y, such as merry/merrier,
but it is also true of some other two-syllable adjectives such as clever/ cleverer and quiet/quieter. In other cases, such as famous or careful, the comparative
form is formed with more, as in more famous, more careful. In some cases
the comparative of a two-syllable adjective can be formed either by adding -er to the positive or absolute form or
by preceding this with more. Thus the
word gentle can have the comparative
form gentler or more gentle and the word pleasant
can have the comparative form pleasanter
or more pleasant.
Adjectives which consist of three or more
syllables usually have comparative forms using more, such as more dangerous.
Some three-syllable adjectives which begin with the prefix -un can form their comparative forms by adding -er , such as unhappy/unhappier,
unlucky/unluckier.
The above are regular ways of forming the comparative
of adjectives. In the following sentences the underlined words are examples of
these:
She is prettier than her sister.
It was a brighter day.
The walls are whiter now.
He is younger than his wife.
It’s a safer place now.
The house is even dirtier.
It’s a heavier burden.
She is the more careful worker.
He was the cleverer student.
She is madder than ever.
That death was sadder still.
The child is quieter than her brother.
He is the more honest of the two business partners.
I chose the bigger room.
She gets lovelier each year.
This is an even riskier venture.
This essay is far more interesting.
This doorway is narrower than the other.
This is a politer/more polite way of saying the same thing.
This is certainly a pleasanter/more pleasant way of spending the
day.
That is the likelier/more likely solution.
That is an even more ridiculous idea.
The adjectives good and bad have the irregular comparative forms
better and worse, as in a good day/a
better day and a bad experience/a
worse experience.
Some adjectives have only an absolute form and do not normally have a
comparative form. These include mere,
perfect, real, right, unique and utter.
You can also describe something by saying that something has more of a
quality than anything else of its kind. In order to do this you use the superlative form of an adjective. The
regular superlative form of an adjective is formed in the same way as the
comparative form, except that the comparative ending -er is replaced by the superlative ending -est, and the word more,
which is used to form the comparative, is replaced by the word most. Thus, in the following sentences
the underlined words are examples of the superlative form of adjectives:
I want the largest size.
It was the longest journey I’ve ever taken.
That is the maddest idea yet.
He is the unhappiest person I know.
It was the most disappointing news that I had had all year.
This is the quietest room in the hotel.
He is certainly the cleverest student.
She was the most beautiful woman there.
The rose is the loveliest flower.
This seems the most dangerous plan.
The adjectives good and bad have the irregular superlative forms best and worst, as in a good day/the best day and a bad experience/the worst experience.
Some adjectives have
only an absolute form and do not normally have a superlative form. These
include mere, perfect, real, right,
unique and utter.
A determiner (see 1, 2) is a word that is used in front of a noun or pronoun to give some
information about it. Formerly, determiners
were classified as adjectives.
However, because, unlike adjectives, determiners do not, strictly speaking ‘describe’ a noun or pronoun,
the modern grammatical practice is to draw a distinction between them. Thus,
the category determiner has been
created.
Definite and indefinite articles
The definite and indefinite articles are
often categorized as determiners.
The definite article is the and it can be used in various ways.
It can be used in a sentence to refer back to a person or thing that has
already been mentioned or identified.
In the following
sentences the is used in this way:
Mrs Brown gave birth to a boy and the boy was called John.
I was asked to
choose a restaurant and the restaurant I chose was The Olive Tree.
Father bought a new dog and the dog is a Labrador.
The definite article can
also be used to identify someone or something as the only one of its kind. In
the following sentences the is used
in this way: He is reading the Bible.
Tourists often visit the Tower of London.
He has been declared the new Prime Minister of the UK.
The definite article is used to refer to a
whole class or group of things or people.
In the following
sentences the is used in this way: Lions belong to the big cats.
She really does not like the English.
Because of a
long-lasting family feud the Smiths did not speak to the Simpsons at
John and Jane’s wedding.
Less commonly, the definite
article can be used to indicate the unique quality of someone or something.
In this context the is emphasized and
is pronounced thee. In the following
sentences the is used in this way: In the sixties it was the restaurant to go to in London.
It is currently the city venue for fashionable wedding
receptions.
The musical is the show to see this Christmas.
The form of the indefinite
article is either a or an. The form a is used before words that begin with a consonant sound such as a box, a garden, a road, a star, a wall. The form an is used before words that begin with an initial vowel sound such as an apple, an egg, an igloo, an
ostrich, an uncle.
NB: It’s the sound
that counts
It
is the sound of the initial letter and not the spelling that counts in
this case. Thus, a is used before
words beginning with the letter u
when these are pronounced as though they began with the consonant y, as a unit. Similarly, an is
used before words beginning with the letter
h where this is not pronounced,
as an heir, an hour, an honest man.
Formerly it was quite common to use an
before words which begin with the h
sound and also begin with an unstressed syllable, as an hotel, an historic
occasion, an habitual criminal and an
hereditary disease. Nowadays, it
is more usual to use a in these
cases, as in a hotel, a historic occasion, a habitual criminal, a hereditary
disease.
The indefinite article can also be used in
various ways.
It can be used in
the same way as the adjective one. In
the following sentences a/an is used
in this way: The town is exactly a
mile away. We waited an hour
for the bus to come.
A year ago we were
happy, but things have changed.
NB: Just the one
If
you wish to stress that you are referring to just one of something, rather than to several, you use the pronunciation
ay to rhyme with hay, as in: I wanted a (ay) biscuit, not a packet of them.
It’s OK to have a (ay) drink, but you will
certainly not be fit to drive if you have
half a bottle of wine.
The indefinite article is
also used to refer to or single out a specific person or thing. In the
following sentences a/an is used in
this way: Jim married a girl called Mary from the
next village.
The family had a black cat called Sooty.
Sue is going out with a young man called Tom.
The indefinite article is
also used with an indefinite meaning, in the same way that any is. In the following sentence a/an is used in this way: He
was as big as a house.
An island is a
piece of land entirely surrounded by water.
A paediatrician is a
doctor who specializes in children’s illnesses.
The indefinite article is also used in the
following way, with the word ‘for’ implied but omitted before it: The grapes are £3 a kilo. The gardener will charge you £12 an
hour.
The cake is £2 a slice.
NB: Zero article
The absence of both the definite or indefinite articles is sometimes
referred
to as zero article. The following
sentences contain examples of this: We
went by train.
He is in hospital.
Have you had lunch?
She’s at work.
Formerly known as demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative determiners are used to point
out or indicate the nouns which they qualify.
The demonstrative determiners
are this, that, these and those, as in this book, that house, these
flowers and those girls.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are examples of demonstrative determiners: This cake is absolutely
delicious. I do admire those flowers.
I used to live in that house.
These students are all
taking the exam.
I love this dress, but I can’t afford it.
Who is that man over there?
Why are those people laughing at us?
These trees are huge.
Those red grapes are delicious.
These green grapes are sour.
When you wish to
indicate that something belongs to someone or something or
that it is connected
in some way with someone or something you use the
possessive determiners (see 1, 2)my, our, your,
his/her/its, their. Formerly,
possessive determiners were commonly known as possessive adjectives. In the
following sentences
the underlined words are possessive
determiners: I would
like my book back, please.
Where are your children?
Dad let me borrow his car.
He was brushing his teeth.
She looks very like her mother.
Unfortunately, the dog broke its leg in the accident.
The children loved their new bikes.
(See possessive pronouns under personal pronouns.) Indefinite
determiners The indefinite determiners,
also called general determiners, are
used to qualify nouns or pronouns when you are talking about people or things
in a general or indefinite way, without identifying them.
The indefinite or general determiners include all, any, both, each, either, every, few, little, less, many, much, more,
neither, no, several, some and neither, as underlined in the following
sentences: Any room in the hotel will do.
Both students are to
blame.
Neither house is really
suitable.
Either bus will take you
to the village.
Every car has been
damaged.
Many books were
destroyed in the fire.
Few patients have
survived such an operation.
No facts are known yet.
Some gardens are
beautifully kept.
Several buses go into the
centre of town.
Little information has
been released.
We have enough children to start a new class.
He does not have enough knowledge.
He has no more work.
There have been more accidents on that stretch of road.
Are there any jobs available?
Numbers when they are used before a noun are
sometimes classified as determiners, and
sometimes as adjectives. Numbers
such as one, two, ten, twenty, etc are called cardinal
numbers, while numbers such as first,
second, tenth, twentieth, etc are called
ordinal numbers.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are cardinal
numbers:
We only have one chance to succeed.
There are seven people in the house.
More than sixty soldiers died in the battle.
There are five hundred and fifty pupils in the school.
In the following
sentences the underlined words are ordinal
numbers:
This is the third time he’s been in prison.
This is the little girl’s fourth birthday.
They’re celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
1 Which
of the underlined adjectives in the following sentences are attributive and which are predicative?
It was a delightful trip.
The bride was beautiful.
She has an interesting job.
The job was boring.
The meal was delicious.
The basket was full of ripe fruit.
The dog was safely behind iron gates.
The hungry children ate all the food quickly.
They aren’t busy today.
The violent man was arrested by the police.
The weather was very pleasant.
The carpet was red.
The difficult task took a long time.
The white dress stained very easily.
She combed her long hair.
Her eyes were brown.
They do a useful job.
The story was brief.
The new car was expensive.
The child was sad.
2 Write
out the following sentences replacing the blanks with the appropriate prepositions.
There was a garden, but it was devoid … flowers.
He is not at all good …
administration.
Do you think they are capable … such
deceit?
Some people are naturally resistant … the
disease.
The child is allergic … dairy
products.
His symptoms are characteristic … a
neurological disorder.
Such investments are fraught … risk.
3 Write out the
sentences which contain an emphatic
adjective, underlining the emphatic
adjectives.
She is an absolute idiot to trust that man.
She gave the right answer.
The whole evening was a total success.
It was a true story.
The end-of-school play was a positive triumph for the drama department.
She gave a positive response to his queries.
The situation was a complete disaster.
The prince requires his bride to be virtuous and pure.
He must be an utter maniac to do such a thing.
4 Write out those of
the following sentences which contain an
adjective, underlining the adjectives.
He ran fast, but failed to win the race.
The early flight leaves at 7 a.m.
If you arrive late you will not be allowed into the concert.
It was a fast race and several of the runners did not finish.
There’s a late bus that leaves at midnight.
We got there early for our appointment.
5 Write out the
following sentences, inserting in each blank the comparative form of the adjective given in bold in brackets.
She is … than ever. (lovely) The streets here are much … than they are in other areas of the town. (dirty) This week’s lecture was … than last week’s. (interesting)
Her story is even … than that of the
other orphans. (sad) They are
… now than they have ever been. (unhappy)
You must be … when walking in that area. (careful).
He seems to be the … of the two brothers. (honest) This load seems to get … the further I walk. (heavy)
The writer is over-shadowed by his …
brother. (famous) The place is … now since the students moved out. (quiet) 6 Write out the following sentences, inserting in each
blank the superlative form of the
adjective given in bold in brackets.
This is the … result that we could have had. (disappointing) The teenager had the … birthday of her life (good) It is the … village
on that coast. (beautiful) It
was the … experienceof my life. (bad) She was the … woman
at the ball. (lovely) This is the … day of the year. (long) That was the …
period of his entire life. (unhappy)
7 Write out the following sentences, inserting the correct form of
the indefinite article in the blanks.
He lives … mile away from the city centre.
The fee will be £15 … hour.
They’re building … wall round the back garden.
The child was eating … apple.
We packed up all the books in … box.
The house has no heating and it’s like … igloo.
We need … star for the top of the
Christmas tree.
She’s like … ostrich that’s burying its head
in the sand.
He has … hereditary heart disease that
is likely to shorten his life.
The metre is … unit of length.
8 Write
out the sentences which contain ordinal
numbers and underline these numbers.
They have six children.
Jack is her second husband.
The businessman owns three local companies.
The baby is their first grandchild.
There were five members of the gang.
This is your third, and final, warning.
There is only one thing to be done.
They’re having a party to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding
anniversary.
Sue is their seventh child.
We need at least twenty workers to finish the job in time.
They’ve been on four holidays this year.
He is celebrating his ninetieth birthday.
This is the third cold I’ve had this winter.
9 Write
out the sentences which contain
indefinite determiners and underline
these determiners.
That man looks ill.
He owns this house.
Several trains have been cancelled today.
Her dog attacked my cat.
Less help was given to pensioners this year.
The monkey broke out of its cage.
These paintings are lovely.
Both men were charged with the offence.
Is this your coat?
Neither jacket is mine.
Every bag must be searched.
There is no room in the hall for all these people.
We do not have enough information on which to act.
Dad took his car to work.
This is a complete disaster.
Why blame this error on me?
Some children will have to go to the school in the city.
10 Write out the sentences which contain possessive determiners and underline these determiners.
You lied to me.
This book is mine, not yours.
He parked his car in the next street.
She took her children with her.
Jack and Sue have left their flat empty for the whole summer.
We must get back there before nightfall.
I think this note book is yours.
Our rose garden is lovely at this time of year.
They need to take action right away.
Their assistance is required.
Your experience will be invaluable.
His attitude to his work annoys his colleagues.
Her neglect of her children is absolutely shameful.
1 attributive adjectives delightful,
interesting, ripe, iron, hungry, violent, difficult, white, long, useful, new.
predicative
adjectives beautiful, boring,
delicious, busy, pleasant, red, brown, brief, sad.
2 There
was a garden, but it was devoid of flowers.
He is not at all
good at administration.
Do you think they
are capable of such deceit?
Some people are
naturally resistant to the disease.
The child is
allergic to dairy products.
His symptoms are
characteristic of a neurological
disorder.
Such investments are
fraught with risk.
3 She is an absolute idiot to trust that
man.
The whole evening
was a total success.
The end-of-school
play was a positive triumph for the drama department.
The situation was a complete
disaster.
He must be an utter
maniac to do such a thing.
4 The early flight leaves at 7
a.m.
It was a fast
race and several of the runners did not finish.
There’s a late
bus that leaves at midnight.
5 She is lovelier than ever.
The streets here are much dirtier
than they are in other areas of the town.
This week’s lecture
was more interesting than last week’s.
Her story is even sadder than that of the other orphans.
They are unhappier now than they have ever been.
You must be more careful when walking in that area.
He seems to be the more honest of the two brothers.
This load seems to
get heavier the further I walk.
The writer is
over-shadowed by his more famous
brother.
The place is quieter now since the students moved
out.
6 This is the most
disappointing result that we could have had.
The teenager had the
best birthday of her life.
It is the most beautiful village on that coast.
It was the worst experience of my life.
She was the loveliest woman at the ball.
This is the longest day of the year.
That was the unhappiest period of his entire life.
7 He lives a mile away from the city centre.
The fee will be £15 an hour.
They’re building a wall round the back garden.
The child was eating
an apple.
We packed up all the
books in a box.
The house has no
heating and it’s like an igloo.
We need a star for the top of the Christmas tree.
She’s like an ostrich that’s burying its head in
the sand.
He has a hereditary heart disease that is
likely to shorten his life.
The metre is a unit of length.
8 Jack is her second husband.
The baby is their first
grandchild.
This is your third,
and final, warning.
They’re having a
party to celebrate their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
Sue is their seventh
child.
He is celebrating
his ninetieth birthday.
This is the third
cold I’ve had this winter.
9 Several trains have been
cancelled today.
Few victims recovered.
Less help was given to pensioners this year.
Both men were charged with the offence.
Neither jacket is mine.
Every bag must be searched.
There is no
room in the hall for all these people.
We do not have enough
information on which to act.
Some children will have to go to the school in the city.
10 He parked his car in the next
street.
She took her
children with her.
Jack and Sue have
left their flat empty for the whole summer.
Our rose garden is lovely at this time of year.
Their assistance is required.
Your experience will be invaluable.
His attitude to his work annoys his colleagues.
Her neglect of her children is absolutely shameful.
