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Definition
Adjectivesarewordsthatdescribeormodifyanotherpersonorthinginthesentence.
TheArticlesa,an,andtheareadjectives.
thetallprofessor
thelugubriouslieutenant
asolidcommitment
amonth'spay
asixyearoldchild
theunhappiest,richestman
Ifagroupofwordscontainingasubjectandverbactsasanadjective,itiscalledan
AdjectiveClause.Mysister,whoismucholderthanIam,isanengineer.Ifanadjective
clauseisstrippedofitssubjectandverb,theresultingmodifierbecomesanAdjective
Phrase:Heisthemanwhoiskeepingmyfamilyinthepoorhouse.
Beforegettingintootherusageconsiderations,onegeneralnoteabouttheuseor
overuseofadjectives:Adjectivesarefrail;don'taskthemtodomoreworkthan
theyshould.Letyourbroadshoulderedverbsandnounsdothehardworkofdescription.
Beparticularlycautiousinyouruseofadjectivesthatdon'thavemuchtosayinthefirst
place:interesting,beautiful,lovely,exciting.Itisyourjobasawritertocreatebeautyand
excitementandinterest,andwhenyousimplyinsistonitspresencewithoutshowingitto
yourreaderwell,you'reconvincingnoone.
ConsidertheusesofmodifiersinthisadjectivallyrichparagraphfromThomas
Wolfe'sLookHomeward,Angel.(CharlesScribner's,1929,p.69.)Adjectivesare
highlightedinthiscolor;participles,verbformsactingasadjectives,arehighlightedin
thisblue.Somepeoplewouldarguethatwordsthatarepartofanamelike"EastIndia
TeaHousearenotreallyadjectivalandthatpossessivenounsfather's,farmer's
arenottechnicallyadjectives,butwe'veincludedtheminouranalysisofWolfe'stext.
He remembered yet the East India Tea House at the Fair, the sandalwood, the turbans,
and the robes, the cool interior and the smell of India tea; and he had felt now the
nostalgic thrill of dew-wet mornings in Spring, the cherry scent, the cool clarion earth, the
wet loaminess of the garden, the pungent breakfast smells and the floating snow of
blossoms. He knew the inchoate sharp excitement of hot dandelions in young earth; in
July, of watermelons bedded in sweet hay, inside a farmer's covered wagon; of
cantaloupe and crated peaches; and the scent of orange rind, bitter-sweet, before a fire
of coals. He knew the good male smell of his father's sitting-room; of the smooth worn
leather sofa, with the gaping horse-hair rent; of the blistered varnished wood upon the
hearth; of the heated calf-skin bindings; of the flat moist plug of apple tobacco, stuck with
a red flag; of wood-smoke and burnt leaves in October; of the brown tired autumn earth;
of honey-suckle at night; of warm nasturtiums, of a clean ruddy farmer who comes
weekly with printed butter, eggs, and milk; of fat limp underdone bacon and of coffee; of
a bakery-oven in the wind; of large deep-hued stringbeans smoking-hot and seasoned
well with salt and butter; of a room of old pine boards in which books and carpets have
been stored, long closed; of Concord grapes in their long white baskets.
Anabundanceofadjectiveslikethiswouldbeuncommonincontemporaryprose.
Whetherwehavelostsomethingornotisleftuptoyou.
Position of Adjectives
UnlikeAdverbs,whichoftenseemcapableofpoppingupalmostanywhereina
sentence,adjectivesnearlyalwaysappearimmediatelybeforethenounornounphrase
thattheymodify.Sometimestheyappearinastringofadjectives,andwhentheydo,they
appearinasetorderaccordingtocategory.(SeeBelow.)Whenindefinitepronouns
suchassomething,someone,anybodyaremodifiedbyanadjective,theadjective
comesafterthepronoun:
Anyone capable of doing something horrible to someone nice should be punished.
Something wicked this way comes.
Andtherearecertainadjectivesthat,incombinationwithcertainwords,arealways
"postpositive"(comingafterthethingtheymodify):
The president elect, heir apparent to the Glitzy fortune, lives in New York proper.
See,also,thenoteonaadjectives,below,forthepositionofsuchwordsas
"ablaze,aloof,aghast."
Degrees of Adjectives
Adjectivescanexpressdegreesofmodification:
Gladysisarichwoman,butJosieisricherthanGladys,andSadie'sthe
richestwomanintown.
Comparative
Superlative
rich
richer
richest
lovely
lovelier
loveliest
beautiful
more beautiful
most beautiful
Certainadjectiveshaveirregularformsinthecomparativeandsuperlativedegrees:
Irregular Comparative and Superlative Forms
good
better
best
bad
worse
worst
little
less
least
much
many
some
more
most
far
further
furthest
Becarefulnottoformcomparativesorsuperlativesofadjectiveswhichalready
expressanextremeofcomparisonunique,forinstancealthoughitprobablyis
possibletoformcomparativeformsofmostadjectives:somethingcanbemoreperfect,
andsomeonecanhaveafullerfigure.Peoplewhoarguethatonewomancannotbemore
pregnantthananotherhaveneverbeenninemonthspregnantwithtwins.
Becareful,also,nottousemorealongwithacomparativeadjectiveformedwither
nortousemostalongwithasuperlativeadjectiveformedwithest(e.g.,donotwritethat
somethingismoreheavierormostheaviest).
Theasasconstructionisusedtocreateacomparisonexpressingequality:
Heisasfoolishasheislarge.
Sheisasbrightashermother.
Wewerealotmorecarefulthistime.
Heworksalotlesscarefullythantheotherjewelerintown.
Welikehisworksomuchbetter.
You'llgetyourwatchbackallthefaster.
Thesameprocesscanbeusedtodownplaythedegree:
Theweatherthisweekhasbeensomewhatbetter.
Heapproacheshisschoolworkalittlelessindustriouslythanhisbrother
does.
Andsometimesasetphrase,usuallyaninformalnounphrase,isusedforthispurpose:
Hearrivedawholelotsoonerthanweexpected.
That'saheckofalotbetter.
Iftheintensifierveryaccompaniesthesuperlative,adeterminerisalsorequired:
Sheiswearingherveryfinestoutfitfortheinterview.
They'redoingtheverybesttheycan.
Occasionally,thecomparativeorsuperlativeformappearswithadeterminerandthe
thingbeingmodifiedisunderstood:
OfallthewinesproducedinConnecticut,Ilikethisonethemost.
Thequickeryoufinishthisproject,thebetter.
Ofthetwobrothers,heisbyfarthefaster.
Authority for this section: A University Grammar of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum.
Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. Used with permission.
It'slessthantwentymilestoDallas.
He'slessthansixfeettall.
Youressayshouldbeathousandwordsorless.
Wespentlessthanfortydollarsonourtrip.
Thetownspentlessthanfourpercentofitsbudgetonsnow
removal.
In these situations, it's possible to regard the quantities as sums of countable
measures.
Taller than I / me ??
When making a comparison with "than" do we end with a subject form or object
form, "taller than I/she" or "taller than me/her." The correct response is "taller
than I/she." We are looking for the subject form: "He is taller than I am/she is
tall." (Except we leave out the verb in the second clause, "am" or "is.") Some
good writers, however, will argue that the word "than" should be allowed to
function as a preposition. If we can say "He is tall like me/her," then (if "than"
could be prepositional like like) we should be able to say, "He is taller than
me/her." It's an interesting argument, but for now, anyway in formal,
academic prose, use the subject form in such comparisons.
Wealsowanttobecarefulinasentencesuchas"Ilikehimbetterthan
she/her."The"she"wouldmeanthatyoulikethispersonbetterthanshelikes
him;the"her"wouldmeanthatyoulikethismalepersonbetterthanyoulikethat
femaleperson.(Toavoidambiguityandtheslipperyuseofthan,wecouldwrite
"Ilikehimbetterthanshedoes"or"IlikehimbetterthanIlikeher.")
thisorderbecomesinstinctive,becausetheorderoftenseemsquitearbitrary(ifnot
downrightcapricious).Thereis,however,apattern.Youwillfindmanyexceptionstothe
patterninthetablebelow,butitisdefinitelyimportanttolearnthepatternofadjective
orderifitisnotpartofwhatyounaturallybringtothelanguage.
Thecategoriesinthefollowingtablecanbedescribedasfollows:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
Determinersarticlesandotherlimiters.SeeDeterminers
Observationpostdeterminersandlimiteradjectives(e.g.,arealhero,a
perfectidiot)andadjectivessubjecttosubjectivemeasure(e.g.,beautiful,
interesting)
SizeandShapeadjectivessubjecttoobjectivemeasure(e.g.,wealthy,
large,round)
Ageadjectivesdenotingage(e.g.,young,old,new,ancient)
Coloradjectivesdenotingcolor(e.g.,red,black,pale)
Origindenominaladjectivesdenotingsourceofnoun(e.g.,French,
American,Canadian)
Materialdenominaladjectivesdenotingwhatsomethingismadeof(e.g.,
woolen,metallic,wooden)
Qualifierfinallimiter,oftenregardedaspartofthenoun(e.g.,rocking
chair,huntingcabin,passengercar,bookcover)
Physical Description
Size
Shape
Age
beautiful
old
an
expensive
antique
four
gorgeous
her
our
that
several
Italian
red
short
black
old
touring
mirror
silk
roses
sheepdo
wooden
young
car
silver
English
little
enormous
Noun
hair
square
dilapidated
Material Qualifier
Color
longstemmed
big
those
Origin
American
hat
boxes
hunting
cabin
basketball players
some
delicious
Thai
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Itwouldbefolly,ofcourse,torunmorethantwoorthree(atthemost)adjectives
together.Furthermore,whenadjectivesbelongtothesameclass,theybecomewhatwe
callcoordinatedadjectives,andyouwillwanttoputacommabetweenthem:the
inexpensive,comfortableshoes.Theruleforinsertingthecommaworksthisway:ifyou
couldhaveinsertedaconjunctionandorbutbetweenthetwoadjectives,usea
comma.Wecouldsaytheseare"inexpensivebutcomfortableshoes,"sowewouldusea
commabetweenthem(whenthe"but"isn'tthere).Whenyouhavethreecoordinated
adjectives,separatethemallwithcommas,butdon'tinsertacommabetweenthelast
adjectiveandthenoun(inspiteofthetemptationtodosobecauseyouoftenpausethere):
a popular, respected, and good looking student
SeethesectiononCommasforadditionalhelpinpunctuatingcoordinated
adjectives.
SeethesectiononCapitalizationforfurtherhelponthismatter.
Collective Adjectives
food
Whenthedefinitearticle,the,iscombinedwithanadjectivedescribingaclassor
groupofpeople,theresultingphrasecanactasanoun:thepoor,therich,theoppressed,
thehomeless,thelonely,theunlettered,theunwashed,thegathered,thedeardeparted.
ThedifferencebetweenaCollectiveNoun(whichisusuallyregardedassingularbut
whichcanbepluralincertaincontexts)andacollectiveadjectiveisthatthelatteris
alwayspluralandrequiresapluralverb:
Theruralpoorhavebeenignoredbythemedia.
TherichofConnecticutareresponsible.
Theelderlyarebeginningtodemandtheirrights.
Theyoungatheartarealwaysajoytobearound.
Adjectival Opposites
Theoppositeorthenegativeaspectofanadjectivecanbeformedinanumberof
ways.Oneway,ofcourse,istofindanadjectivetomeantheoppositeanantonym.
Theoppositeofbeautifulisugly,theoppositeoftallisshort.Athesauruscanhelpyou
findanappropriateopposite.Anotherwaytoformtheoppositeofanadjectiveiswitha
numberofprefixes.Theoppositeoffortunateisunfortunate,theoppositeofprudentis
imprudent,theoppositeofconsiderateisinconsiderate,theoppositeofhonorableis
dishonorable,theoppositeofalcoholicisnonalcoholic,theoppositeofbeingproperly
filedismisfiled.Ifyouarenotsureofthespellingofadjectivesmodifiedinthiswayby
prefixes(orwhichistheappropriateprefix),youwillhavetoconsultadictionary,asthe
rulesfortheselectionofaprefixarecomplexandtooshiftytobetrusted.Themeaning
itselfcanbetricky;forinstance,flammableandinflammablemeanthesamething.
Athirdmeansforcreatingtheoppositeofanadjectiveistocombineitwithlessor
leasttocreateacomparisonwhichpointsintheoppositedirection.Interestingshadesof
meaningandtonebecomeavailablewiththisusage.Itiskindertosaythat"Thisisthe
leastbeautifulcityinthestate."thanitistosaythat"Thisistheugliestcityinthestate."
(Italsohasaslightlydifferentmeaning.)Acandidateforajobcanstillbeworthyandyet
be"lessworthyofconsideration"thananothercandidate.It'sprobablynotagoodideato
usethisconstructionwithanadjectivethatisalreadyanegative:"Heislessunluckythan
hisbrother,"althoughthatisnotthesamethingassayingheisluckierthanhisbrother.
Usethecomparativelesswhenthecomparisonisbetweentwothingsorpeople;usethe
superlativeleastwhenthecomparisonisamongmanythingsorpeople.
Mymotherislesspatientthanmyfather.
Ofallthenewsitcoms,thisismyleastfavoriteshow.
ReviewthesectiononPossessivesforadistinctionbetweenpossessiveformsand
"adjectivallabels."(DoyoubelongtoaWritersCluboraWriters'Club?)
AdjectivesthatarereallyParticiples,verbformswithingandedendings,canbe
troublesomeforsomestudents.Itisonethingtobeafrightenedchild;itisanaltogether
differentmattertobeafrighteningchild.Doyouwanttogouptoyourprofessorafter
classandsaythatyouareconfusedorthatyouareconfusing?Generally,theedending
meansthatthenounsodescribed("you")hasapassiverelationshipwithsomething
something(thesubjectmatter,thepresentation)hasbewilderedyouandyouare
confused.Theingendingmeansthatthenoundescribedhasamoreactiveroleyou
arenotmakinganysensesoyouareconfusing(toothers,includingyourprofessor).
Theedendingmodifiersareoftenaccompaniedbyprepositions(thesearenotthe
onlychoices):
Wewereamazedatallthecircusanimals.
Wewereamusedbytheclowns.
Wewereannoyedbytheelephants.
Wewereboredbytheringmaster.
Wewereconfusedbythenoise.
Weweredisappointedbythemotorcycledaredevils.
Weweredisappointedintheirperformance.
Wewereembarrassedbymybrother.
Wewereexhaustedfromalltheexcitement.
Wewereexcitedbytheliontamer.
Wewereexcitedaboutthehighwireact,too.
Wewerefrightenedbythelions.
Wewereintroducedtotheringmaster.
Wewereinterestedinthetent.
Wewereirritatedbytheheat.
Wewereopposedtoleavingearly.
Weweresatisfiedwiththecircus.
Wewereshockedatthelevelofnoiseunderthebigtent.
Weweresurprisedbythefans'response.
Weweresurprisedattheirindifference.
Weweretiredofallthelightsafterawhile.
Wewereworriedaboutthetrafficleavingtheparkinglot.
A- Adjectives
Themostcommonofthesocalledaadjectivesareablaze,afloat,afraid,aghast,
alert,alike,alive,alone,aloof,ashamed,asleep,averse,awake,aware.Theseadjectives
willprimarilyshowupaspredicateadjectives(i.e.,theycomeafteralinkingverb).
Thechildrenwereashamed.
Theprofessorremainedaloof.
Thetreeswereablaze.
Occasionally,however,youwillfindaadjectivesbeforethewordtheymodify:thealert
patient,thealoofphysician.Mostofthem,whenfoundbeforethewordtheymodify,are
themselvesmodified:thenearlyawakestudent,theterriblyalonescholar.Anda
adjectivesaresometimesmodifiedby"verymuch":verymuchafraid,verymuchalone,
verymuchashamed,etc.
RecognizingAdjectives
AdjectiveOrder
Adjectives
Guide to Grammar
and Writing
Principles of
Composition
Index