ADJECTIVES

what is Adjectives?

Adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. In general, adjectives usually give us more information about a noun or pronoun by describing it or providing more information about it. For example, the adjective funny is used to say something causes fun or laughter.

Common types of adjectives

1.Comparative adjectives
2.Superlative adjectives
3.Predicate adjectives
4.Compound adjectives
5.Possessive adjectives
6.Demonstrative adjectives
7.Proper adjectives
8.Participial adjectives
9.Limiting adjectives
10.Descriptive adjectives
11.Interrogative adjectives
12.Attributive adjectives
13.Distributive adjectives

1. Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two different people or things to each other. Some examples of comparative adjectives include words such as smaller, faster, more expensive, and less reasonable.

Comparative adjective examples
-Whales are larger animals than dolphins.
-We moved to a cheaper apartment.
-The sequel was even more incredible than the first movie.

2. Superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives are used to compare more than two people or things by indicating which one is the most supreme or extreme. Some examples of superlative adjectives include words such as smartest, loudest, most impressive, and least valuable.

Superlative adjective examples
-Adrian is the fastest member of our team.
-Out of all of my books, this one is the oldest.
-We are trying to figure out the least confusing way to explain the lesson to the new students.

3. Predicate adjectives

Predicate adjectives are adjectives that appear in the predicate of a sentence as a subject complement rather than directly next to the nouns or pronouns that they modify. Predicate adjectives follow linking verbs in sentences and clauses.

Predicate adjective examples
-Andrea is tall.
-Freddy became angry.
-The steak looks delicious.

4. Compound adjectives

Compound adjectives are adjectives that are formed from multiple words, which are usually connected by hyphens. Some examples of compound adjectives include never-ending, cross-eyed, and run-of-the-mill.

Compound adjective examples
-She had enough of the double-dealing salesman.
-My happy-go-lucky daughter loved our trip to Disneyland.
-The better-off members of the city live by the river.

5. Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are often used to express possession or ownership. The most commonly used possessive adjectives are my, your, its, her, his, our, their, and whose.

Possessive adjective examples
-My favorite food is pizza.
-Sydney spent the day with her parents.
-Canadians celebrated their team’s victory at the Olympics.

6. Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used to express relative positions in space and time. The most commonly used demonstrative adjectives are this, that, these, and those.

Demonstrative adjective examples
-This watch is cheaper than that one.
-This weekend is going to be really fun.
-Watch out for those prickly rose bushes next to you.

7. Proper adjectives

Proper adjectives are adjectives formed from proper nouns. In general, proper adjectives are commonly used to say that something is related to a specific person or place. Proper adjectives include words such as African, Napoleonic, and Shakespearian.

Proper adjective examples
-He was reading a Russian newspaper.
-I think Haitian food is tasty.
-We studied the history of Victorian England in school today.

8. Participial adjectives

Participial adjectives are adjectives that are based on participles, which are words that usually end in -ed or -ing and derive from verbs. Participial adjectives include words like amazing, impressed, and fascinating.

Participial adjective examples
-Travis was late for his swimming lessons.
-Please hand me my reading glasses.
-The silly clown cheered up the bored children.

Participial adjectives
Participial adjectives are adjectives that are based on participles, which are words that usually end in -ed or -ing and derive from verbs. Participial adjectives include words like amazing, impressed, and fascinating.

Participial adjective examples

-Travis was late for his swimming lessons.

-Please hand me my reading glasses.

-The silly clown cheered up the bored children.

9. Limiting adjectives

Limiting adjectives are adjectives that restrict a noun or pronoun rather than describe any of its characteristics or qualities. Limiting adjectives overlap with other types of adjectives such as demonstrative adjectives and possessive adjectives. Limiting adjectives include words such as these, your, and some.

Limiting adjective examples
-I bought some eggs at the store.
-She found three pennies under the couch cushions.
-Take a look at that house over there.

10. Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are adjectives that describe the characteristics, traits, or qualities of a noun or pronoun. Most adjectives are descriptive adjectives. Words such as purple, friendly, and attractive are examples of descriptive adjectives.

Descriptive adjective examples
-A lot of interesting people visit this park.
-She told a scary story.
-The leaves turned orange and red.

11. Interrogative adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are adjectives that are used to ask questions. The interrogative adjectives are what, which, and whose.

Interrogative adjective examples
-What color is your favorite?
-Which button turns off the lights?
-Whose turn is it to wash the cat?

12. Attributive adjectives

Attributive adjectives are adjectives that are directly next to the noun and pronoun that they modify. Usually, attributive adjectives come directly before nouns and pronouns but they modify. But they can sometimes appear after them.

-Attributive adjective examples
She has beautiful handwriting.
-The hungry gorilla ate the fresh mangoes.
-Keith gave his dad something special for his birthday.

13. Distributive adjectives

Distributive adjectives are used to refer to members of a group individually. Examples of distributive adjectives include each, every, either, and neither.

Distributive adjective examples
-Each puppy got their own little doghouse.
-Every member of the team scored a goal.
-I’ll be happy if either candidate wins the election.