Adjectives
An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun by providing
descriptive or specific detail. Unlike adverbs, adjectives do not modify
verbs, other adjectives, or adverbs. Adjectives usually
precede the noun or pronoun they modify. Adjectives do not have to
agree in number or gender with the nouns they describe.
Adjectives answer the following questions: What kind?, How many?,
or Which ones?
Example: Tom bought a used car. (used describes what kind of
car Tom bought.)
Sally baked ten pies for the school bake sale. (ten tells
how many pies Sally baked.)
Bob climbed that tree in the backyard. (that specifies which
tree Bob climbed.)
Types of Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives
A descriptive adjective names a quality of the noun or
pronoun that it modifies.
Example: brown dog bigger house fluffy cat
Proper Adjectives
A proper adjective is derived from a proper noun.
Example: French class Spanish food European car
Limiting Adjectives
A limiting adjective restricts the meaning of the word it
modifies.
Example: that car this room the tree
Interrogative Adjectives
An interrogative adjective is used to ask a question.
Example: Whose book is this?
Coordinate Adjectives
A coordinate adjective consists of two or more adjectives
separated by a comma instead of by a coordinating
conjunction.
Example: a cold, rainy day
To determine if you can replace the coordinating conjunction
with a comma, see if the adjectives can be reversed or if
and can be added between the adjectives without changing the
meaning. If the adjectives can be reversed, they are
coordinate and a comma can be used.
Example: The clowns arrived in a bright, shiny car.
The clowns arrived in a shiny, bright car. (Reversing bright
and shiny does not change the
meaning.)
The clowns arrived in a bright and shiny car. (Adding and
between bright and shiny does not
change the meaning.)
if the adjectives
cannot be reversed or if and cannot be used, a comma cannot be used.
Example: The clowns arrived in two colorful cars.
The clowns arrived in colorful two cars. (Reversing two and
colorful changes the meaning.)
The clowns arrived in two and colorful cars. (Adding and
between two and colorful changes the
meaning.)
Compound Adjectives
Compound adjectives consist of two or more words that
function as a unit. Depending on its position within the
sentence, the compound adjective is punctuated with or
without a hyphen. When a compound adjective comes before
the noun it modifies, use a hyphen to join the adjectives.
When a compound adjective follows the noun it modifies, do
not use a hyphen to join the adjectives.
Example: She is taking a class on nineteenth-century
literature. (The adjective nineteenth-century precedes
the noun literature so a hyphen is used.)
She is studying literature from the nineteenth century. (The
adjective nineteenth century comes
after the noun literature so no hyphen is used.)
Determiners as Adjectives
Determiners, such as articles, pronouns, and numbers, can
function as adjectives. When a determiner is used as an
adjective, it restricts the noun it modifies, like a
limiting adjective. Determiners functioning as adjectives tell Which
one?, How many?, and Whose?
Articles (a, an, the)
Possessive pronouns (my, our, your, his, her, its, their)
Relative pronouns (whose, which, whichever, what, whatever)
Demonstratives (this, these, that, those)
Indefinite pronouns (any, each, other, some, etc.)
Cardinal Numbers (one, two, three, etc.)
Ordinal Numbers (last, first, second, etc.)
Possessive proper nouns (Bob’s, Sarah’s)
Example: Bob’s house is only three blocks from that house.
(Bob’s answers the question: Whose house? Three
answers the question: How many blocks? That answers the
question: Which house is three blocks from
Bob’s house?)
Placement and Order of Adjectives
A single noun can be described as a list of adjectives. When
more then one adjective is used to modify a noun, it is important to
consider the order in which the adjectives appear.
Generally, the adjectives most important in completing the meaning of the noun
are placed closest to the noun. Following is the usual order
of adjectives in a series:
1. Determiners: articles (a, the), demonstratives (this,
those), and possessives (his, our, Mary’s, everybody’s), amounts
(one, five, many, few), order (first, next last)
2. Coordinate adjectives (subjective evaluations or personal
opinions): nice, nasty, packed, pitiful
3. Adjectives describing size: big, huge, little, tiny
4. Adjectives describing shape: long, short, round, square
5. Adjectives describing age: young, old, modern, ancient
6. Adjectives describing color: blue, green, red, white
7. Adjectives describing nationality: Italian, French,
Japanese
8. Adjectives describing architectural style or religion:
Greek, Gothic, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim
9. Adjectives describing material: cardboard, plastic,
silver, gold
10. Nouns functioning as adjectives: soccer ball, cardboard
box, history class
Example: a big brick house (article, size, and material)
these old brown cardboard boxes (demonstrative, age, color,
material)
a beautiful young Italian woman (article, personal opinion,
age, nationality)Using Adjectives
Adjectives as Subject Complements
The subject complement is a word that follows a linking verb
and modifies the sentence’s subject, not its verb. Linking
verbs: appear, become, believe, feel, grow, smell, seem,
sound, remain, turn, prove, look, taste, and the forms of the verb to
be.
Example: The crowd appeared calm. (The linking verb appeared
links the noun the subject crowd with the adjective
calm)
Adjectives as Object Complements
The object complement is a word that follows a sentence’s
direct object and modifies that object and not the verb. An object
complement answers the question what? after the direct
object.
Example: Bob considered the experiment a success. (Success
is the object compliment that modifies the sentences
direct object experiment.)
Adjectives with Past and Present Participle Verbs
Adjectives are frequently formed by using the past
participle (-ed, -t, or -en) and the present participle (-ing) verb forms.
Example: The group of children scared the sleeping dog.
(Sleeping describes the baby.)
The students refused to eat the dried fruit. (Dried
describes the cookies.)
K.T.C.H.Abeyratne
Reg. No:
ANU/EN/2018/P/0015
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