1. Kinds of Adjectives
2. Comparison of Adjectives
3. Forming Adjectives
4. Correct Usage of Adjectives
Adjectives are words which tell us something about nouns, that is about a person, an animal, a
thing or a place. They usually come before the nouns they describe. But sometimes they come
after the nouns.
His hands and legs are thin.
Everyone knows a giraffe has a long neck.
None of my tables is round.
My old car didn't have air conditioning.
The words 'thin', 'long', 'round' and 'old' tell us something about the nouns: hands and legs, giraffe,
table and car. These words called adjectives tell us about their size, shape and condition. An
adjective is therefore a word added to a noun to describe it so that we know more about the
noun.
Some words can be both adjectives and adverbs as follow: early, fast, andlate. It is important to
distinguish how they are used.
We arrived a little early for lunch. (Adjective)
We arrived early so we still had time before lunch. (Adverb)
You are a fast driver these days. (Adjective)
You drive fast these days. (Adverb)
I overslept and so I was late. (Adjective)
I overslept and so I got up late. (Adverb)
1. Kinds of Adjectives
An adjective that tells us about the quality of the noun. Known asDescriptive
Adjective or Adjective of Quality, it tells us about the colour, shape, size or condition of a
noun.
Example: a white dog, the blue sky, a round table, a square box, a bighouse, a tall tree,
a cold morning, an old lorry.
An adjective that tells us about the quantity of the noun. This adjective is called
an Adjective of Quantity. An adjective of quantity tells us the quantity or amount, and
that is 'how many' or 'how much'.
Example: I have eaten three apples. / I don't have much money. / The pen has not much ink
left. / She has many friends. / The zoo has many animals.
An adjective that tells us about the ownership of the noun. This adjective is called
a Possessive Adjective. A possessive adjective shows ownership or possession. It tells us
that something belongs to a person or thing.
Example: That is your cat. / This is my dog. / Is that their house? / Those are our bicycles.
Example: Which monkey bit you? / Which school do you go to? / What colour is your new
car? / Whose cap is this?
In the example, "which", "what" and "whose" come before the nouns "monkey", "school", "colour"
and "cap" respectively. They tell about the nouns and so "which", "what" and "whose"
are adjectives.
Example: This puppy is mine. / This boy is a member of the club. / Thatpiglet is
yours./ That woman is not my wife. / These spiders have long legs. /Those faces are beautiful.
In the example, "this", "that", "these" and "those" come before the nouns "puppy", "boy", "piglet",
"woman", "spiders" and "faces". They tell something about the nouns and so are adjectives.
2. Comparison of Adjectives
3. Forming Adjectives
There are various ways to form adjectives from nouns and verbs as follow:
Add 'al': music=musical; nation=national; person=personal.
Add 'ful': care=careful; doubt=doubtful; peace=peaceful.
Add 'ic': acrobat=acrobatic; artist=artistic; photograph=photographic.
Add 'ive': attract*=attractive; effect=effective; act*=active; instruct*=instructive;
progress=progressive.
Add 'ous': mountain=mountainous; danger=dangerous.
Add 'y': greed=greedy; oil=oily
Change 'y' to 'i' and add 'ful': beauty=beautiful; pity=pitiful.
Change 'y' to 'i' and add 'ous': mystery=mysterious; glory=glorious.
Drop 'e' and add 'y': anger=angry; ease=easy; ice=icy.
Drop 'e' and add 'al': nature=natural; agriculture=agricultural.
* Verb
4. Correct Usage of Adjectives - 'SOME' and 'ANY'
We can join 'some' and 'any' with 'one', 'body' or 'thing' to formcompound words.
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example:
Example: