Types of Adjectives
What is an adjective?
An adjective is defined as a word that describes or gives more information about a noun. Adjective gives relevant information about a noun. It is placed
just before the noun it modifies. When we have a linking verb, we may not use a noun after an adjective.
Examples: Good, bad, tall, small, clever, few, five, that,
Pakistani, which, etc. are examples of adjectives.
- John is a good student.
- He is happy.
- I have five books in my bag.
- That car is mine.
- Look at the tall building.
- Which book do you want to buy now?
Types of Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives are words that modify nouns by showing
their qualities. They are also called adjectives of quality or qualitative
adjectives.
- They will buy a new house when their father comes back from New York.
- Our teacher told us an amazing story.
- I always wear black shoes.
- The tall building in front of your office belongs to my friend.
- Have you listened to the story of two clever mice?
Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives are words that give more information about nouns and are formed
from proper nouns. In simple words, when a proper noun functions as an adjective or modifies another noun, we call it a proper adjective. It is capitalized as a proper noun.
- I don’t like Chinese food.
- It is a fact that Pakistani mangoes are famous all over the world.
- Afghani refugees are allowed in many countries without visas.
- NATO forces are deployed in many countries.
- Toyota cars are reliable.
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are words that give more information
about nouns based on their positions from the speaker. It can be literally or
symbolically. Demonstrative adjectives include this, that, these, and those. Remember that demonstrative pronouns replace nouns and demonstrative adjectives
are followed by nouns.
We use ‘this’ when a noun is near to the speaker. On the other
hand, we use ‘that’ when a noun is far away from the speaker. ‘These’ is the plural
form of ‘this’ and ‘those’ is the plural form of ‘that’.
- That car is mine.
- This house is older than that house.
- These students are genius.
- I tried my best to tackle those problems but failed.
Quantitative Adjectives
Quantitative adjectives give more information about the
quantity of the concerning nouns. They can be used to answer the question having "how many", or "how much".
- Some students have done their homework.
- We have thirty students in Grade 6th.
- There are many books in the library.
- She drinks much tea.
Possessive Adjectives
Possessive adjectives show possession or ownership. These are
placed before nouns; otherwise, similar to possessive pronouns. Corresponding
possessive adjectives are used with each personal pronoun.
|
Subjective Pronoun |
Possessive Adjective |
|
He |
His |
|
She |
Her |
|
It |
Its |
|
They |
Their |
|
I |
My |
|
We |
Our |
|
You |
Your |
- He has sold his car.
- She likes her dress very much.
- Please give me my pen.
- Our children play games every day.
- We have to change their minds.
Interrogative Adjectives
Interrogative adjectives are used to ask questions about the
nouns they modify. These must be followed by nouns. There are just three interrogative
adjectives what, which, and whose.
- Which book do you want to buy today?
- What game do you play every day?
- Whose car were you driving?
Indefinite Adjectives
Indefinite adjectives give more information about nouns, but
not specific information. It means that they modify nouns non-specifically or
in a non-specific way.
Indefinite adjectives are many, much, most, each, every,
either, some, etc.
- We have some friends who need to be helped.
- Several TV channels reported about our show.
- Each student must bring all the required stuff.
- Many passengers complained about the services.
- Every student has scored above seventy percent.
Compound Adjectives
Compound adjectives are made of more than one word. When two
or more than two words function as a single word to modify a noun is called a compound adjective. The words are usually hyphenated to avoid confusion in
meaning.
- You are so fat. You must eat fat-free snacks.
- Pakistan and China have a never-ending friendship.
- A social worker must not be a narrow-minded person.
- Students will have to write a 200-word letter on paper.
- I want to become a world-famous player.
Predicate Adjectives
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and
modifies a subject of a sentence. In this case, you can use adjectives without
having nouns after.
- He is happy.
- She looks beautiful.
- He was tired after walking for three hours.
- Who is cooking in the kitchen? The smell that comes from is tasty.
- The coat you have worn looks expensive.
Coordinative Adjectives
Coordinative adjectives can be defined as two or more adjectives that modify
the same noun with equal importance. They can be separated by commas. You may
use conjunction between two adjectives in this case.
- Ali is a smart and healthy man.
- John is a small, energetic, and happy boy.
- My friend Ali is a tall, thin person.
- For the first time, I saw a cuckoo with its thick, bushy tail.
Article Adjectives
Articles also give information about nouns; therefore, they are called adjectives. They function the same as adjectives. "A" and "an" are indefinite articles. They refer to unspecific nouns. We use them before singular countable nouns. "The" is a definite article that refers to a specific noun. It is used before specific nouns or nouns that have already been discussed. Note that some grammarians consider articles as a separate parts of speech.- A teacher must be a good helper.
- Doctors suggest eating an apple a day.
- The man who met you yesterday at the park was Mr. John.
