Adjectives
Grammar Rules Guide - Chapter 3
Adjectives are words that are used to modify a noun.
Example: tall tree (the adjective tall describes the noun tree)
There are three kinds of adjectives known as the positive, comparative, and superlative forms, as in fresh, fresher, freshest.
Adjectives can be grouped into seven areas:
(1) nouns as adjectives
(2) adjectives that modify an object
(3) numbers as adjectives
(4) pronouns and articles as adjectives
(5) multiple adjectives
(6) compound adjectives
(7) adjectives used as nouns
Nouns as adjectives
A noun can be used to qualify (or describe) another noun, as in chicken fat, in which case there are no comparative or superlative forms such as chickener or chickenest.
Some nouns can be made into an adjective by adding an ending such as -ish, -like, -ly, -y, -en, -al, -ar, -ory. Often the endings -en and -al will be dropped, and the noun form will be used by itself, as in oak table, wool shirt, and, coast line.
Annie acted in a childish manner.
Joan's womanly figure made her very popular with men.
The sky was brownish in color.
He was riding in a wooden cart.
Tom bought stamps at the Postal Office.
That is a spectacular view!
My life is in a transitory period at the moment.
Adjectives that modify an object
Adjectives such as like and worth may be used to modify objects.
Examples: This wine tastes like turpentine. Her happiness made it worth the effort.
Sometimes prepositions, like of and with are used to form adjectives.
Examples: The embezzler was fearful of getting caught. I apologize for my impatience with Rebecca.
Numbers as adjectives
Any words related to numbers are considered adjectives: two, twenty, few, many, dozen, third, etc.
Pronouns and articles as adjectives
Pronouns such as this, that, and those used to modify a noun are called demonstrative adjectives.
Possessive pronouns such as my, your, and his used to modify a noun are called possessive adjectives.
Articles such as a, an, and the are also adjectives.
Multiple adjectives
When using more than one adjective to modify a noun, the adjectives may be separated by a conjunction or by commas.
Example: The cave was big and empty. It was a big, empty cave.
Compound adjectives
Nouns and adjectives may be combined to modify another noun, in which case the word can be hyphenated (although the hyphen is often a matter of personal preference).
Examples: He was a mean-spirited scoundrel. She is an empty-headed bimbo.
Past participles of verbs can also be used as adjectives: native born, foreign made, soft spoken, warmly dressed, well behaved, etc.
Adjectives used as nouns
It is possible to use an adjective as a noun by simply using the adjective as the subject and omitting the noun it modifies. Usually, adjectives used as nouns refer to a specific quality shared by a group (the pleasant) or a specific human characteristic shared by a group of people (the wise).
Example: We moderns are to the ancients what the poor are to the rich.
Grammar Rules Guide Index
Active and Passive Voice - Chapter 1
Adjective, Adverb, and Noun Clauses - Chapter 2
Adjectives - Chapter 3
Adverbs - Chapter 4
Appositives - Chapter 5
Auxiliary Verbs - Chapter 6
Common and Proper Nouns - Chapter 7
Comparatives and Superlatives - Chapter 8
Complements - Chapter 9
Conjunctions - Chapter 10
Conjunctive Adverbs - Chapter 11
Dangling Modifiers - Chapter 12
Direct and Indirect Objects - Chapter 13
Fused Sentences, Run-Ons, and Comma Splices - Chapter 14
Homophones - Chapter 15
Independent and Dependent Clauses - Chapter 16
Interjections - Chapter 17
Mass and Count Nouns - Chapter 18
Misplaced Modifiers - Chapter 19
Noun and Pronoun Case - Chapter 20
Noun and Verb Phrases - Chapter 21
Nouns - Chapter 22
Parallelism - Chapter 23
Perfect and Progressive Verb Forms - Chapter 24
Prepositional Phrases - Chapter 25
Prepositions - Chapter 26
Principal Parts of Verbs - Chapter 27
Pronoun and Antecedent Agreement - Chapter 28
Pronouns - Chapter 29
Regular and Irregular Verbs - Chapter 30
Relative Clauses - Chapter 31
Restrictive and Non-Restrictive Clauses - Chapter 32
Sentence Fragments - Chapter 33
Sentence Types - Chapter 34
Subjects and Predicates - Chapter 35
Verb Mood - Chapter 36
Verbals and Verbal Phrases - Chapter 37
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