Niranjan Prasad

Tutorial on Adjectives

A word that is used to modify (describe) a noun or pronoun is called an adjective.

Adjectives answer the questions How many? What kind? Which one?

Definition

Adjectives are one of the traditional eight English parts of speech, although linguists today distinguish adjectives from words such as determiners that formerly were considered to be adjectives.

Adjectives form an open class of words in most languages that have them; that is, it is relatively common for new adjectives to be formed via such processes as derivation.

Definition cont’d

Descriptive adjectives Common Proper

Classifying adjectives Limiting adjectives

Types

Common adjectives are like common nouns. They are descriptive words that are not specific to a particular person, place, thing or idea.

Example: The gory movie revolted the children.

Practice1. Sean builds innovative wooden dummies for martial arts students. 2. Most teenagers think that their emotions and problems are unique. 3. Some cupboards are bare. 4. Little crystal gems shine through the dark murky cave walls.5. Some hovels extend to several floors.

Common Descriptive Adjectives

Proper adjectives are like proper nouns. They aredescriptive words that are specific. They are derived fromproper nouns. A proper adjective is capitalized. Example: Yesterday I ate some wonderful Italian fettuccine.

Practice 1. Here is a Italian diamond pendant. 2. His Chilean poncho is made of wool. 3. Did you go to the Brazilian samba?4. The Clydesdale is an English breed of horse. 5. An Indian street-dog has a ton of common sense.

Proper Descriptive Adjectives

Look at the pictures of

international clothes. Try to figure out what country they come from. Use proper adjectives to describe the clothes.

Writing

Images

An adjective can be used to classify a noun. It indicates quantity, number or a limit to the word it modifies.

Classifying adjectives answer the question “what type?”

Examples

1. These two Kenyan tourists know how to speak English. (‘Kenyan' tells us the 'type' (nationality) of the tourists.)

Classifying adjectives cannot be modified by adverbs of degree like 'very' or 'extremely'.

2. I prefer red wine to white wine. ('Very red wine' and 'very white wine' are not acceptable, because 'red' and 'white' function as classifying adjectives here.)

Classifying Adjectives

Numerical adjectives may be cardinal (one, two, three,...) or ordinal *first, second, third,...)

Identifying adjectives are such, same and similar.Articles are a and an (indefinite articles) and the (definite

articles).Nouns used as adjectives modify another noun or a

pronoun.

Pronoun Used as Adjectives Demonstrative adjectives are this, these, that and those. Possessive adjectives show ownership. They are my,

your, his, her, its, our and their. Interrogative adjectives ask questions. They are which,

what, whose and whose. When used they should immediately be followed by a noun.

Indefinite adjectives are grouped into three: used with singular nouns - another, each, either, little, much, neither

and one. used with plural nouns - both, few, many and several. used with singular or plural nouns - all, any, more, most, other and

some.

Limiting Adjectives

Verbs are used with adjectives when they modify a noun or a pronoun. These verbs are usually in the present participle and past participle forms.

Complementary adjectives refer to the direct object and tell the result of the action of the verb on the direct object.

Limiting Adjectives

cont’d

Attributive adjectives - are part of the noun phrase headed by the noun they modify; for example, happy is

an attributive adjective in "happy people". - In some languages, attributive adjectives precede their nouns; in others, they follow

their nouns; and in yet others, it depends on the adjective, or on the exact relationship of the adjective to the noun.

- In English, attributive adjectives usually precede their nouns in simple phrases, but often follow their nouns when the adjective is modified or qualified by a phrase acting as an adverb.

- For example: "I saw three happy kids", and "I saw three kids happy enough to jump up and down with glee." See also Postpositive adjective.

Predicative adjectives- are linked via a copula or other linking mechanism to the noun or pronoun they

modify; - for example, happy is a predicate adjective in "they are happy" and in "that made me

happy.“

Types of use

Absolute adjectives- do not belong to a larger construction (aside from a larger adjective phrase), and

typically modify either the subject of a sentence or whatever noun or pronoun they are closest to;

- for example, happy is an absolute adjective in "The boy, happy with his lollipop, did not look where he was going.“

Nominal adjectives- act almost as nouns. One way this can happen is if a noun is elided and an attributive

adjective is left behind. In the sentence, "I read two books to them; he preferred the sad book, but she preferred the happy", happy is a nominal adjective, short for "happy one" or "happy book".

- Another way this can happen is in phrases like "out with the old, in with the new", where "the old" means, "that which is old" or "all that is old", and similarly with "the new". In such cases, the adjective functions either as a mass noun (as in the preceding example) or as a plural count noun, as in "The meek shall inherit the Earth", where "the meek" means "those who are meek" or "all who are meek".

Types of use

Directions: Circle the demonstrative adjectives.

Remember, they must be followed by nouns.

1. This experiment requires three small mirrors.

2. Tape those mirrors together to form a triangle.

3. Make sure this side faces toward the center.

4. Pour these clear plastic shapes into the triangle of mirrors.

5. Look at this!

Practice

Web resources

Try out the exercises at:- http://

learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/adjectives http://

www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/adjectives-adverbs/adjectives/exercises

http://www.englishexercises.org/buscador/buscar.asp?nivel=any&age=0&contents=adjectives

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/adjectives.html http://

grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/adjectives_quiz.htm

In many languages, attributive adjectives usually occur in a specific order. In general, the adjective order in English is:

1. Determiners — articles, adverbs, and other limiters.2. Observation — postdeterminers and limiter adjectives (e.g., a real

hero) and adjectives subject to subjective measure (e.g., beautiful), or objects with a value (e.g., best, cheapest)

3. Size and Shape — adjectives subject to objective measure (e.g., wealthy, large, round), and physical properties such as speed.

4. Age — adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new, ancient)5. Color — adjectives denoting color (e.g., red, black, pale).6. Origin — denominal adjectives denoting source of noun (e.g.,

French, American, Canadian).7. Material — denominal adjectives denoting what something is made

of (e.g., woolen, metallic, wooden).8. Qualifier — final limiter, often regarded as part of the noun (e.g.,

rocking chair, hunting cabin, passenger car, book cover).

Adjective order

Many languages, including English, distinguish between adjectives and adverbs, which modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Many languages, including English, have words that can function as both. For example, fast is an adjective in "a fast car" (where it qualifies the noun car), but an adverb in "he drove fast" (where it modifies the verb drove).

In Dutch and German, almost all adjectives are implicitly also adverbs, without any difference in form.

Adjectives and Adverbs

An adjective describes or modifies a noun or a pronoun. Adds info about what kind,

which one, or how many Describes how things look,

smell, feel, taste, soundAn adverb describes or

modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adds info about how, how

much, when, where, or to what extent.

Often ends in –ly.

Adjective vs. Adverb

It is critical to identify which word is being modified in order to determine whether to use an adjective or an adverb as the modifier.

I: She runs slow. C: She runs slowly.

I: He is real tall. C: He is really tall.

Which one do I use?

Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form. early, far, fast, hard, high, late, often, past,

right, soon

The only way to distinguish them is to identify what they modify. Adj: The fast car drove around the curve. Adv: The car drove fast around the curve.

Adj. & Adv. With Same Form

Linguists today distinguish determiners from adjectives, considering them to be two separate parts of speech (or lexical categories), but formerly determiners were considered to be adjectives in some of their uses.

A determiner occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and serves to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context.

That is, a determiner may indicate whether the noun is referring to a definite or indefinite element of a class,

to a closer or more distant element, to an element belonging to a specified person or thing, to a particular number or quantity, etc.

Common kinds of determiners include definite and indefinite articles (like the English the and a[n]), demonstratives (like this and that), possessive determiners (like my and their), and quantifiers (like many, few and several).

The girl is a student. I've lost my keys.

Determiners

Some folks get all the luck. Which book is that?