What are adjectives? Adjectives are words that describe nouns.

Adjectives tell something more about the nouns. Adjectives tell us about the colour, size, shape, quality or condition of nouns. Example: Mr.George stays in a beautiful house. (The adjective beautiful describe the type of house that Mr.George stays in.)

When do we use adjectives? Adjectives can be used to describe nouns which function as the subject or the object of a sentence. Example: The rich man bought a bungalow. The man bought an expensive bungalow. We can use adjective after a non-action verb. Example of non-action verbs are: is, was, are and were. Example: The student is lazy. He does not do his assignments. Types of Adjectives A. Descriptive/Adjectives of Quality B. Adjectives of Quality C. Demonstrative Adjectives D. Interrogative Adjectives E. Possessive Adjectives F. Noun Adjectives A. Descriptive/Adjectives of Quality -These adjectives can be sub-divided into differing degrees such as positive, comparative and superlative. Example: John is tall, his sister is taller but his brother is the tallest. G. Verb Adjectives H. Nationality/Race Adjectives I. Distributive Adjectives J. Compound Adjectives K. Post-modifying Adjectives

B. Adjectives of Quality -These adjectives are words that tell you how much or how many. Example: many, few, several, much, three Example: Several suggestions were made during the meeting.

C. Demonstrative Adjectives -These adjectives are words that point out people, thing, etc Example: Singular This That Plural These Those Usage Example They are used for things This dress is expensive but that that are near. red dress is even more expensive. They are used for things These children are better behaved that are far. than those children.

D. Interrogative Adjectives -These adjectives are used with nouns to ask questions. Example: What time is it? Which book will you lend me? Whose child is missing?

E. Possessive Adjectives -These adjectives come before a noun to show possession. Example: 1 person 2nd person 3rd person
st

Singular My Your His, her Its

Noun Book Friends Letters Ears

Plural Our Your Their Their

Noun Tickets Things Clothes Tails

F. Noun Adjectives -These are nouns which are used as adjectives to describe other nouns. Example: Bus station; chicken vendor; chocolate cake

G. Verb Adjectives -These adjectives are state/condition/usage. Example: The starving child, the leaning tower, the pouring rain ing verbs used as adjectives to describe a

H. Nationality/Race Adjectives -These adjectives are form nationality/race to describe something/someone from a particular country/nationality. Example: The Malaysian flag flies proudly in the wind. Chinese cuisine is distinct from Indian cuisine. Thai Airways no longer fly into Kota Kinabalu.

I. Distributive Adjectives -These adjectives show that person/things are counted collectively. Example: Every school was directed to hold school assembly once a week.

J. Compound Adjectives -These adjectives are made up by two or more words.

Example: His suit was made of lightweight wool. The smog-free morning made everyone sigh with relief. The user-friendly programme sold out within a few hours.

K. Post-Modifying Adjectives -These are adjectives that follow the items they modify. 1. Reduced relative clause Example: The students involved in the fight were detained for questioning. The students who were involves in the flight were detained for questioning. Explanation: The phrase who were have been omitted so involved becomes a reduced relative clause and functions as a post-modifier. 2. Qualifiers ending in body, -one, -thing and where can only be followed by postmodifiers. I have something wonderful to tell you. Somewhere I belong. 3. Special meanings when adjectives occur after nouns. Example: Post-modifying adjective President-elect Kota Kinabalu proper Postmaster General Meaning The person who will be holding the office of President soon. The actual area defined as Kota Kinabalu. The executive head of the National Postal Services.

Adjectives and degrees of comparison When we compare two or more nouns we use different forms of comparison. We can divide adjectives into three groups for this purpose. In group A, when we wish to compare two nouns we add er to original form of the adjective. When we wish to compare three or more nouns we add est to the original form of the adjective.

Example: The red building is big. The blue building is bigger. The green building is biggest. In group B, when we wish to compare two nouns we add more before the original form of the adjective. When we wish to compare three or more nouns we add most before the original form of the adjective.

Example: The English test paper is difficult. The Mathematics test paper is more difficult. The Science test paper is most difficult. In group C, when we wish to compare two or more nouns we use different forms of adjectives. Example: John is a bad boy. He tells lies all the time. Johns younger brother, Mark is worse. He tells lies and steals. Johns eldest brother, Julian is the worst. He tells lies, steals and plays truant all the time.

How adjectives are formed We can form adjectives from nouns by adding suffixes to the nouns, for example, -ful, less, -some, -ish, -y, -en, -ern, -ly, -ous, -able, -ible, -ed, -like, -ic, -al. Example: careful, harmless, troublesome We can form adjectives from verb by adding suffixes to the verbs, for example, -ive, able, -en, -ant, -some. Example: talkative, workable, written We can form adjectives from other adjectives by adding suffixes to the adjectives, for example, -ish, -al, -ly. Example: greenish, comical, widely