What is an Adjective?
The simplest definition of an adjective is that it is a word that describes or clarifies a noun. Adjectives describe nouns by giving some information about an object’s size, shape, age, color, origin or material. They also clarify which thing (noun) the speaker means by giving those kinds of information as well as the speaker’s opinion or observations about it and its purpose.
What Do Adjectives Look Like?
English can be very tricky, so you have to be careful, but a lot of English adjectives end with these suffixes:
-able/-ible – adorable, invisible, responsible, uncomfortable
-al – educational, gradual, illegal, nocturnal, viral
-an – American, Mexican, urban
-ar – cellular, popular, spectacular, vulgar
-ent – intelligent, potent, silent, violent
-ful – harmful, powerful, tasteful, thoughtful
-ic/-ical – athletic, energetic, magical, scientific
-ine – bovine, canine, equine, feminine, masculine
-ile – agile, docile, fertile, virile
-ive – informative, native, talkative
-less – careless, endless, homeless, timeless
-ous – cautious, dangerous, enormous, malodorous
-some – awesome, handsome, lonesome, wholesome
Many adjectives also end with -y, -ary and -ate, but lots of nouns and adverbs also end with -y, lots of nouns also end with -ary, and lots of nouns and verbs also end with -ate, so be careful with those.
Kinds of Adjectives
1. Adjectives of Quality - These adjectives are used to describe the nature of a noun. They give an idea about the characteristics of the noun by answering the question ‘what kind’.
o Honest, Kind, Large, Bulky, Beautiful, Ugly etc.
New Delhi is a large city with many historical monuments.
Sheila is a beautiful woman.
2. Adjectives of Quantity - These adjectives help to show the amount or the approximate amount of the noun or pronoun. These adjectives do not provide exact numbers; rather they tell us the amount of the noun in relative or whole terms.
o All, Half, Many, Few, Little, No, Enough, Great etc.
They have finished most of the rice.
Many people came to visit the fair.
3. Adjectives of Number - These adjectives are used to show the number of nouns and their place in an order. There are three different sections within adjectives of number; they are -
o Definite Numeral Adjective - Those which clearly denote an exact number of nouns or the order of the noun.
One, Two, Twenty, Thirty-Three etc. also known as Cardinals.
First, Second, Third, Seventh etc. also known as Ordinals.
4. Indefinite Numeral Adjective - Those adjectives that do not give an exact numerical amount but just give a general idea of the amount.
Some, Many, Few, Any, Several, All etc.
E.g.: There were many people present at the meeting.
o Distributive Numeral Adjective -Those adjectives that are used to refer to individual nouns within the whole amount.
Either, Neither, Each, Another, Other etc.
Taxes have to be paid by every employed citizen.
4. Demonstrative Adjectives - These adjectives are used to point out or indicate a particular noun or pronoun using the adjectives - This, That, These and Those.
o That bag belongs to Neil.
o Try using this paintbrush in art class.
o I really like those shoes.
o These flowers are lovely.
5. Interrogative Adjectives - These adjectives are used to ask questions about nouns or in relation to nouns, they are - Where, What, Which and Whose.
o Where did he say he was going?
o What assignment did I miss out on?
o Which is your favorite author?
o Whose pen is this?
The comparative form of an adjective is used for comparing two people or things (e.g., he is taller than me), while the superlative is used for comparing one person or thing with every other member of their group (e.g., he was the tallest boy in the class).
Adjectives make their comparative and superlative forms in different ways, depending on the base adjective itself. Here’s a quick-reference guide to the spelling of comparative and superlative adjectives:
Adjectives with one syllable
In general, if the adjective has one syllable, then the letters -er or -est are added:
warm warmer warmest
quick quicker quickest
tall taller tallest
Adjectives with one syllable ending in e
If the adjective has one syllable and ends in e, just add -r or -st:
late later latest
nice nicer nicest
large larger largest
Adjectives with two syllables
Adjectives with two syllables vary. Some add -er/est or -r/-st:
feeble feebler feeblest
Some use the words ‘more’ for the comparative and ‘most’ for the superlative:
famous more famous most famous
Many, such as clever, can do either:
clever cleverer/more clever cleverest/most clever
Adjectives with three syllables or more
If the adjective has three syllables or more, then the words ‘more’ and ‘most’ are used:
interesting more interesting most interesting
attractive more attractive most attractive
Adjectives that change their spelling
Some adjectives change their spelling when forming the comparative and superlative:
Some one-syllable adjectives that end with a single consonant (e.g., big, wet, sad, fat) double this consonant before adding -er or -est:
big bigger biggest
wet wetter wettest
sad sadder saddest
If the adjective ends in y (e.g., happy, greedy, or tidy), change the y to an i and add -er or -est:
happy happier happiest
greedy greedier greediest
tidy tidier tidiest
Some common adjectives have irregular comparative and superlative forms that you just have to learn:
bad worse worst
good better best
little (of a quantity) less least
much more most
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