Adjectives are the words we use to describe people, places, things, and even our feelings. They make our sentences clearer, more colorful, and more interesting. Whether you want to talk about a beautiful place, a funny story, or a tired day, adjectives help you express yourself better. In this article, you’ll learn what adjectives are, how they work, and how to use them confidently in everyday English.
What are Adjectives?
What are adjectives? An adjective is a part of a speech that describes or modifies a noun or a pronoun. It provides information by indicating the quality, quantity, size, color, shape, emotion, and more about the noun or pronoun. In sentence construction, adjectives make your idea more specific and detailed.
Rules of Adjectives
Adjectives are important because they add extra details to a sentence by describing the attributes of a noun. This means that adjectives can be used to make sentences more complex and interesting. Adjectives also add specificity to sentences and help us to better describe and explain things. Without the use of adjectives, we could not express our thoughts or experiences in any detail because we would be unable to describe them.
How to Identify An Adjective in A Sentence
You can usually identify an adjective by its placement in a sentence. An adjective usually comes before a noun, so to use the example “beautiful day”, “beautiful” is the adjective that precedes the noun “day”. Adjectives also commonly end in -ful, -ous, -able, and -al, among other endings.
It is important to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs. Where an adjective is the component of a sentence that modifies the noun, an adverb is a component that modifies an adjective, or a verb, or another adverb. Adverbs usually end in -ly. Below is an example of the difference between a sentence with an adjective and a sentence with an adverb.
Adjective– “She is beautiful”
Adverb– “She smiles beautifully”
Types of Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives
A descriptive or qualitative adjective is a word that expresses the attributes or qualities of the noun. This includes opinions and expressions of what can be seen, felt, smelled, heard, or tasted by the speaker. Most of the adjectives used in writing belong to this type.
Examples:
- He chose the white horse.
- The lady is attractive.
- The road has a rough surface.
Quantitative Adjectives
This type provides the number, amount, or quantity of the noun that is being modified. Quantitative adjectives answer the question “how many” or “how much.”
Examples:
- Five children are playing in the field.
- He has no regrets even after losing the competition.
- Jin ensures that he always has enough exercise every day.
Demonstrative Adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate the relative position of a noun in time and space. It is different from demonstrative pronouns for the fact that those pronouns can stand alone. If the demonstrative pronoun is followed by another noun, then it already acts as an adjective.
Examples:
- That dog is Jack’s pet.
- A guy brought those flowers for you.
- This cake is for your sister’s birthday.
Possessive Adjectives
These adjectives are found before a noun to show ownership.
Examples:
- He placed his wristwatch on the table.
- I’ve been using my laptop for four years.
- The members of the council cast their votes.
Proper Adjectives
Proper nouns that are converted into their adjective form and are used to describe another noun are called proper adjectives. The term proper, in this context, refers to something specific. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives are also capitalized.
Examples:
- These days, Korean dramas have been gaining popularity.
- Starbucks coffees are good, but they can be quite pricey.
- Arthur wants to travel to different European countries.
Position of Adjectives
Adjectives can be placed in different positions inside a sentence. An adjective can be in:
Attributive Position
An adjective in attributive position is found before the noun that it modifies.
Example: That tall building has a height of 50 meters.
Postpositive Position
An adjective is in a postpositive position if it is placed directly after the noun that it describes.
Example: The hotel promised them the best room available.
Predicative Position
If an adjective is found in the predicate of a sentence and is separated from the noun by a linking verb, then it is predicative in position.
Example: That building is tall.
For a series of adjectives that modify the same noun, the correct order of the enumeration of such adjectives must be followed. This proper order is as follows: determiners or quantity, opinion, size, age, color, shape, origin, material, and purpose.
List of Adjectives
| Adjective | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Happy | Feeling joy or pleasure |
| Sad | Feeling unhappy |
| Angry | Feeling strong displeasure or irritation |
| Brave | Showing courage |
| Calm | Relaxed, not stressed or upset |
| Careful | Paying attention to avoid mistakes or danger |
| Careless | Not paying attention; likely to make mistakes |
| Confident | Feeling sure about yourself |
| Confused | Not understanding something |
| Creative | Able to make new and interesting ideas |
| Curious | Wanting to learn or know more |
| Dangerous | Likely to cause harm |
| Delicious | Very tasty |
| Difficult | Hard to do |
| Easy | Not hard; simple |
| Excited | Feeling very happy and enthusiastic |
| Famous | Known by many people |
| Friendly | Kind and pleasant |
| Generous | Willing to give or share |
| Grateful | Feeling thankful |
| Hardworking | Putting effort into work |
| Helpful | Willing to help |
| Honest | Telling the truth |
| Huge | Very big |
| Important | Something that matters a lot |
| Impossible | Not able to happen or be done |
| Interesting | Something that catches your attention |
| Jealous | Wanting what someone else has |
| Kind | Caring and helpful |
| Lazy | Not wanting to work or use energy |
| Lucky | Having good fortune |
| Mysterious | Hard to understand or explain |
| Nervous | Worried or afraid about something |
| Polite | Showing good manners |
| Powerful | Having great strength or influence |
| Quick | Fast |
| Quiet | Making little or no noise |
| Rude | Not polite; disrespectful |
| Smart | Intelligent |
| Strong | Having power, strength, or stamina |
| Tall | Of great height |
| Tiny | Very small |
| Tired | Feeling needing rest or sleep |
| Useful | Helpful for a purpose |
| Weak | Lacking strength |
| Wonderful | Very good; amazing |
| Young | Not old; in early life |
