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    Adjective

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    Amna Khaliq

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Adjective

    Uploaded by

    Amna Khaliq
    6 views3 pages

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    6 views3 pages

    Adjective

    Uploaded by

    Amna Khaliq

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Parts Of Speech

    (part#5)
    Defination of adjectives:
    Adjectives describe or modify—that is, they limit
    or restrict the meaning of—nouns and pronouns. They may name qualities of all kinds:
    huge, red, angry, tremendous, unique, rare, etc. An adjective usually comes right before a noun:
    "a red dress," "fifteen people.

    Forms of Adjectives – Degrees of Comparison


    Did you know that adjectives can be used to compare similar qualities of different subjects that
    perform the same action. There are three forms of adjectives or rather three degrees of comparison.
    The are:

     Positive or Absolute Form


     Comparative Form
     Superlative Form

    Positive Degree of Comparison:


    The positive form or the positive degree of comparison is the form of the adjective used in the
    original form. For example: This book is interesting. This form of adjective is used when there is no
    other subject to be compared.

    Comparative Degree of Comparison


    The comparative form of the adjective is used when two subjects performing the same action or
    possessing the same quality are compared. For example: The book I read yesterday was more
    interesting than the one I read today.

    Superlative Degree of Comparison


    The superlative degree of comparison is used when comparing the same quality of two or more
    subjects and to represent that a subject is superior to two or more subjects in performing an action.
    For example: This fantasy novel is the most interesting book that I have ever read.

    Types of Adjectives
    Adjectives can be divided into different categories based on their functions when used in a sentence.
    The different types of adjectives are:

     Possessive Adjectives
     Interrogative Adjectives
     Demonstrative Adjectives
     Compound Adjectives

    Possessive Adjectives:
    These adjectives, like possessive pronouns, are used to show or represent possession of a quality.
    For example: my, your, his, her, their, its, whose, etc.

    Interrogative Adjectives:
    An adjective that is used to modify a noun or a pronoun by asking a question is called an
    interrogative adjective. There are only a few adjectives that can be termed as interrogative
    adjectives. They are whose, what and which.

    Demonstrative Adjectives:
    Demonstrative adjectives are mainly used to describe the position of a subject (a noun or pronoun)
    in space or time. This, that, these and those are the demonstrative adjectives in English.

    Compound Adjectives:
    Compound adjectives consist of two or more adjectives that are combined together to form an
    adjective that can be used to modify the subject. Some examples of compound adjectives are
    cotton-tailed, curly-haired, absent-minded, happy-go-lucky, etc.

    How to Use Adjectives in Sentences?


    Adjectives are known to give your writing and speech a very flowery look. It aids in making it
    descriptive and to give your readers and listeners a visual treat. However, stuffing it with too many
    adjectives can make it look or sound vague and unclear. This would only lead to misunderstanding
    of your content. Knowing when, where and how to use adjectives is a skill that you should master.
    Any piece of writing should be clear and precise. Find out if there is a word that specifically means
    whatever you are trying to convey. For example: quick, swift, hasty, fleet, etc. are all adjectives that
    mean ‘very fast’. Likewise, contented, cheerful, merry, joyful, ecstatic, delighted, etc. are all words
    that describe different degrees of happiness. There is also another concept that you should know.
    There is a particular order in which you should place adjectives when you are using two or more
    adjectives to describe the same subject or object. Check out the order of adjectives to learn more.

    Examples of Adjectives
    If you are wondering what part of speech a colour or a number belongs to, do not waste any more
    time thinking about it. All colours and numbers are classified as adjectives. Adjectives are words that
    modify nouns but in most cases, they can be seen to be doing much more than that. Given below
    are the various ways in which adjectives can function and be used.

    Adjectives as Complements
    Adjectives can act as complements that modify nouns that act as subjects and objects. When the
    adjective describes the object in a sentence, it is called an object complement and when it is used to
    describe the subject in a sentence, it is referred to as a subject complement. They are seen to be
    used in sentences which are seen to use the following patterns:

     SVC – Aaron is good.


    In the above example, the adjective is ‘good’ and it is used to describe the subject ‘Aaron’ and so it
    is called a subject complement.

     SVOC – The movie made Karthik sleepy.


    Here, the adjective ‘sleepy’ describes the object ‘Karthik’ and so comes under the category of object
    complements.

    Adjectives as Coordinates
    When two or more adjectives are used to describe the same noun in a sentence, they are called
    coordinate adjectives. Coordinate adjectives are often separated by a comma or
    the conjunction ‘and’.
    For example:

     The mobile phone is easy to use and handy.


     My cousin is tall and thin.

    Multifunctional Adjectives
    Adjectives can be made to function like or take the role of nouns in a sentence, and sometimes, a
    noun, when used to describe or provide more information about another noun, can perform the role
    of an adjective.
    For example:

     I like my English teacher.


    In the above example, the word ‘English’ is generally considered a noun as it represents a language
    and it is a proper noun. But here, it is used to describe the noun ‘teacher’ which makes it an
    adjective.

     It is our duty to tend to the poor and the oppressed.


    In this sentence, the words ‘the poor’ and ‘the oppressed’ pass off as nouns as it refers to ‘poor
    people’ and ‘oppressed people’. So, when adjectives are preceded by the article ‘the’, it often refers
    to a category of people which makes the adjective a noun.
    In addition to these types of adjectives, there are also phrases and clauses which act just like an
    adjective. To know what they are and how they work in a sentence, check out the articles
    on adjective phrases and adjective clauses.

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