lesson 3 adjectives

7/26/2019 Lesson 3 Adjectives

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Lesson 3 - Adjectives

Adjectivesare words that describe or modify nouns (people, places, things, or animals) or pronouns.

They describe the noun by telling us its size, shape, age, colour, etc. Adjectives usually come before the

noun or pronoun, or sometimes they can come after it.

The following are the subsections in this lesson:

1. Kinds of Adjectives

2. Comparison of Adjectives

3. Forming Adjectives

4. Adjectives Function as Nouns

5. Position of Adjectives

Adjectives coming before nouns areattributive adjectives

Everyone knows a giraffe has alongneck.

Myoldcar didnt have air conditioning.

Today, we havebluesky.

The words in boldlong,oldandblueare adjectives, and they come before the nounsneck,carandsky.

The adjectives describe the shape of the neck, age of the car and colour of the sky.

Adjectives coming after nouns arepredicative adjectives

That statue of a goddess was quitelarge.

One of my tables isround.

The sky looks veryblack.

The words in boldlarge,roundandblackare adjectives, and they come after the

nounsstatue,tableandsky. Without the adjectives, we wouldnt know the size of the statue, the shape

of the table, and the colour of the sky.

The above adjectiveslarge,roundandblackare predicative adjectives, and the verbs (was, is, looks)

connecting them to their respective subjects (statue, table, sky) arelinking verbs.
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An adjective can take up any position in a sentence, preferably close to the noun that it describes. More

than one adjective can appear in a sentence, and we can make the two or more adjectives describe the

same noun. The adjectives are in bold in the following sentences.

Theprettygirl isangrywith her boyfriend.

Thewarmair isthickwith dust.

Hisbighouse must beexpensiveto maintain.

1. Kinds of Adjectives

The different kinds of adjectives are discussed in detail in under their respective sections:

Descriptive adjectiveoradjective of quality

Descriptive adjectives are the most numerous of the different types of adjectives. These adjectives

describe nouns that refer to action, state, or quality (careless, dangerous, excited, sad, black, white, big,

small, long, fat, English, Mediterranean, three-cornered).

dangerouschemicals

greenvegetables

asquarebox

abighouse

atalltree

acoldmorning

atruestory

Englishlanguage

Mediterraneancountry.

Adjective of quantity

An adjective of quantity tells us thenumber(how many) oramount(how much) of a noun.


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He has eatenthreeapples.

I dont havemuchmoney.

There is somuchwine for the guests.

This long, thin centipede hasmanylegs.

Demonstrative adjective

A demonstrative adjective (this,that,these,those) shows the noun it modifies is singular or plural and

whether the position of the noun is near or far from the person who is speaking or writing. A

demonstrative adjective also points out a fact about the noun.

Thisred balloon is mine andthosethree yellow ;ones are yours.

Thiscute baby is his brother.Thatcute baby is his sister.

Thesetwo fat cats have tails, butthatthin cat doesnt have a tail.

Possessive adjective

A possessive adjective expresses possession of a noun by someone or something. Possessive adjectives

are the same as possessive pronouns. All the possessive adjectives are listed in the following table:

Possessive adjectives/pronouns

Singular Plural

my our

your your

his their

her their

its their


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Examples of possessive adjectives/pronouns:

o I spentmyafternoon cleaning the toilet.

o This must beyourcap.

o Hisarms have a few tattoos.

o Itsskin is dry and rough.

o Ourgrandmothers were classmates.

2. Comparison of Adjectives

When we compare two or more nouns, we make use ofcomparative adjectivesandsuperlative

adjectives. We use the following three forms of comparison when we compare two or more nouns.

The absolute form

We use theabsolute degreeto describe a noun or to compare two equal things or persons.

Examples:

o My uncle isbald.

o My uncle isas bald asa cue ball.

o His head isbig.

o His head isas big asmy head.

o His wife-to-be is verycharming.

o His ex-wife isnot as charming ashis wife-to-be.

The comparative form

When comparing two nouns, we use a comparative form of adjective to describe how one person or thing

is when compared to another person or thing. In making such a comparison, we have to use the

wordthanto show that one noun is bigger, longer, taller, etc. than the other one.


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Examples:

o A hen's egg isbigger thana pigeon's egg.

o Our fingers arelonger thanour toes.

o This basketball player istaller thanthat footballer.

o She says her pet hen walksfaster thanher pet duck.

o His head isbigger thanmy head.

The superlative form

When comparing three or more nouns, we use a superlative form of adjective. We use the wordthewhenusing the superlative adjective to compare.

Examples:

o My great grandfather isthe oldestone in the family.

o She hasthe prettiestface in the whole school.

o He talksthe loudestin his circle of friends.

o Bozo isthe funniestclown in the circus.

o His head is thebiggestin the family.

Moreandmost

We can use the wordsmoreandmostin front of an adjective to form respectively

thecomparativeandsuperlative. Use the adverbialmorewith most adjectives that have two or more

syllables, andmostwith all adjectives that have more than two or more syllables. For example, the

wordbighasone syllable,funnyhastwo syllables, andbeautifulhasthree syllables. Regardless of

the number of syllables, the adjective itself does not change in form when used withmoreormost.

Two syllables

She ismore carelesswith money than her husband is.


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Sometimes, she wasthe most cheerfulperson in the office.

Three syllables

The professor ismore forgetfulthan his students are.

That isthe most foolishthing he has ever done.

We use theComparative degreeto comparetwo unequal nouns.

Example: His house isbigger thanmy house.

We use theSuperlative degreeto comparethree or more Nouns.

Example: His house isthe biggestin the neighbourhood

Positive Comparative Superlative

big bigger biggest

black blacker blackest

bold bolder boldest

brave braver bravest

bright brighter brightest

busy busier busiest

clean cleaner cleanest

clear clearer clearest

clever cleverer cleverest

cold colder coldest

cool cooler coolest

dark darker darkest

dear dearer dearest

deep deeper deepest


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dirty dirtier dirtiest

dry drier driest

easy easier easiest

fair fairer fairest

fast faster fastest

fat fatter fattest

fine finer finest

funny funnier funniest

great greater greatest

green greener greenest

happy happier happiest

hard harder hardest

healthy healthier healthiest

heavy heavier heaviest

high higher highest

hot hotter hottest

kind kinder kindest

large larger largest

late later latest

lazy lazier laziest

light lighter lightest

long longer longest

low lower lowest

lucky luckier luckiest

mad madder maddest

merry merrier merriest

narrow narrower narrowest


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naughty naughtier naughtiest

near nearer nearest

new newer newest

noisy noisier noisiest

old older oldest

pale paler palest

poor poorer poorest

pretty prettier prettiest

proud prouder proudest

quick quicker quickest

red redder reddest

rich richer richest

sad sadder saddest

safe safer safest

shallow shallower shallowest

sharp sharper sharpest

short shorter shortest

slow slower slowest

small smaller smallest

smooth smoother smoothest

strong stronger strongest

sweet sweeter sweetest

tall taller tallest

thick thicker thickest

thin thinner thinnest

tiny tinier tiniest


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ugly uglier ugliest

warm warmer warmest

wealthy wealthier wealthiest

wet wetter wettest

white whiter whitest

wide wider widest

wild wilder wildest

wise wiser wisest

young younger youngest


ancient more ancient most ancient

beautiful more beautiful most beautiful

brilliant more brilliant most brilliant

careful more careful most careful

careless more careless most careless

cheerful more cheerful most cheerful

comfortable more comfortable most comfortable

dangerous more dangerous most dangerous

delightful more delightful most delightful

difficult more difficult most difficult

enjoyable more enjoyable most enjoyable

foolish more foolish most foolish

forgetful more forgetful most forgetful

frightening more frightening most frightening


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generous more generous most generous

handsome more handsome most handsome

helpful more helpful most helpful

ignorant more ignorant most ignorant

important more important most important

intelligent more intelligent most intelligent

interesting more interesting most interesting

pleasant more pleasant most pleasant

powerful more powerful most powerful

prosperous more prosperous most prosperous

sensible more sensible most sensible

terrible more terrible most terrible

thoughtful more thoughtful most thoughtful

unusual more unusual most unusual

useful more useful most useful

valuable more valuable most valuable

wonderful more wonderful most wonderful


bad worse worst

far farther farthest

far further furthest

good better best

little less least

many more most


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much more most

3. Forming AdjectivesAdjectives derived from verbs are formed by addingingoredto the verbs.

ed/ing: amazed/amazing, annoyed/annoying, damaged/damaging,

decayed/decaying, interested/interesting

ed: theescapedprisoners,improvedversion,pollutedriver

Examples:

o We need to get more young peopleinterestedin the subject.

o We need to make the subject moreinterestingto more young people.

o We were totallyamazedby the brilliance of the player.

o What anamazingplayer he was.

o She was quiteannoyedat the way he behaved.

o She found his behaviour quiteannoying.

o The chunk of meat was completelydecayed.

o The smell ofdecayingmeat wafted towards him.

o His health appears badlydamagedby excessive smoking.

o Smoking is seriouslydamagingto his health.

4. Adjectives Function as Nouns

Some adjectives are used as nouns to describe groups of people. Each of these groups follows the

determinerthe(definite article). There arethe blind,the deaf,the elderly,the homeless,the old,the

rich,the sick,the young, etc.


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Examples:

o The injuredwere in the thousands.

o Every year, millions join the ranks ofthe unemployedworldwide.

o There seems to have no plans to provide cheap housing forthe homeless.

5. Position of Adjectives

Adjectives appear in different positions in a sentence. The two positions we often encounter are before a

noun and after a linking verb which comes after a noun.

(1) The adjective that comes before a noun is called an attributive adjective.

The attributive adjective modifies the noun that follows it. There can be more than one adjective appearing

side-by-side to modify the same noun.

Adjectives (in bold) that come before a noun.

Examples:

o afreshfish.

o asmalltree.

o alongdress.

o asquarebox.

o abeautifulhouse.

More than one adjective can come before a noun.

Examples:

o anugly oldwitch.

o afunny littleclown.

o atall youngmanager.

o abig powerfulsound.


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(2) The adjective that comes after a noun is called a predicative adjective.

A predicative adjective says something about the subject of the sentence. In the following sentence, the

subject is the bulls and the adjective black modifies the subject. The adjective is joined to the subjectby a verb look, alinking verb. Linking verbs are used here as they connect the subject with the adjective

that describes it. Examples of linking verb include all forms ofbe(am,is,are, was, were) and other verbs

such as grow, remain, sound, taste, etc.

Adjectives that come after the BE-verb:

Examples:

o Heisthin.

o Wearehungry.

o Shewastired after work.

o Theywerefriendly towards me.

Adjectives that come after other linking verbs:

Examples:

o The beeftasted delicious.

o Shegrewboredbeing alone.

o The questionsounds silly.

o The childremained silentwhen questioned.

Adjectives that cannot come before the subject noun:

Examples:

o The boys arereadyto go. (Not: The ready boys are to go.)

o The parents weregladabout their daughter's success. (Not: The glad parents were ..)
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o Her mother is seriouslyillin hospital.

lesson 3 adjectives

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