Adjective

An adjective is a word that describes. Adjectives convey a sense of which, what kind, or
how many/much. Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns.
Last summer I climbed that mountain. (which)
I prefer red apples. (what kind)
I want si oran!es. (how many)
It was a cold, !ray, and ominous dawn. (what kind)
"he dawn was bri!ht, clear, and invi!oratin!. (what kind)
"he #osemont team is better than the $iddlesboro team, but Ashland is the best team.
(comparative and superlative adjectives)
"imothy is a fast runner% &arold is faster than "imothy, and $artin is the fastest runner.
"he sentence immediately above displays the base adjective fast and the comparative and
superlative forms of the adjective. 'ote that an adjective, epressed in comparative
de!ree, is meanin!less if it is not compared to somethin!. Advertisers fre(uently use a
comparative adjective without a comparison, e.!., )ur laundry soap is better. "heir
laundry soap is better than what* 'o soap* Leavin! your clothin! out in the rain*
adjective comparison eamples
positive (base) comparative superlative
hot hotter hottest
new newer newest
pretty prettier prettiest
bri!ht bri!hter bri!htest
+ome adjectives have irre!ular comparative and superlative forms.
irre!ular adjective forms
!ood better best
bad worse worst
some more most
,or some adjectives formation of the comparative re(uires the word more, and formation
of the superlative re(uires the word most.
adjectives formed with more/most
popular more popular most popular
famous more famous most famous
!or!eous more !or!eous most !or!eous
-onsult your dictionary to determine how to form the comparative and superlative
versions of the adjective. ,ind the word new in your dictionary. It will be listed as an
adjective. .ou will find the comparative endin! (er) and the superlative endin! (est)
listed. -onse(uently, the comparative form is newer, and the superlative form is newest.
,ind the word hot in your dictionary. "he spellin! of the comparative and superlative
forms re(uires the (er) and the (est), but another spellin! chan!e is also re(uired.
-onse(uently, the comparative form is listed as hotter, and the superlative form is listed
as hottest. 'ote the addition of a second letter (t) in the comparative and superlative
forms of the adjective.
,ind the word !ood in your dictionary. "he dictionary lists !ood as an adjective. "he
comparative form is listed as better, and the superlative form is listed as best.
,ind the word popular in your dictionary. It is listed as an adjective, but neither a
comparative form nor a superlative form is listed. "hat is a clue that we must preface the
comparative form with the word more and the superlative form with the word most.
+ome adjectives cannot, lo!ically, be epressed in de!ree, i.e., comparative or
superlative. "here are no de!rees for infinite, perfect, uni(ue, or pre!nant.
+tran!ely, the word dead has comparative and superlative forms.
In /n!lish !rammar the function of a word in a sentence determines the classification of
the word. +ome words can function in more than one classification. -onsider the
followin! eamples.
0ater sustains life. (noun)
0ater the lawn. (verb)
&e likes water sports. (adjective)
A few more eamples of adjective usa!e are shown below.
&ave you seen )rville1s flyin! machine*
"hat was an inspirin! lecture.
"his is the ultimate analysis.
+ome verbs and nouns may function as adjectives. "he word fly is a verb, but when the
verb is used to describe a noun as in flyin! machine, the verb fuctions as an adjective.
Inspire is a verb, but when it is used to describe a noun as in inspirin! lecture, the verb
functions as an adjective.
"he word compass is a noun, and the word needle is a noun. &owever, when nouns are
employed in pairs as in compass needle, the first noun may function as an adjective that
describes the second noun.
"he compass needle is broken.
0hat kind of needle* Answer2 compass3not a sewin! needle. "he word compass
functions as an adjective that describes the needle.
,re(uently used noun pairs are eventually joined to form a sin!le word. "hus, the nouns
basket and ball became basketball. "he nouns base and ball became baseball, and the
nouns foot and ball became football. 0ords so joined are called compound words. "he
compounded noun retains the adjectival information, e.!., the compound noun basketball
describes the kind of ball. 4se your dictionary to determine whether words have been
compounded.
A pronoun may fuction as an adjective. "he word this is a demonstrative pronoun that
functions as an adjective in the followin! eample.
I like this book.
0hich book* Answer2 this. "he word this identifies which book I like.