Adjectives in English

Whether you’re looking to improve your writing skills or learn the basics of English, adjectives are an important part of the language. Adjectives are words that modify nouns or pronouns, enriching your language with vivid and descriptive details.

Adjectives play a crucial role in English grammar. They help describe objects, people, and concepts, giving more information about them and making your sentences more meaningful. They can modify nouns or pronouns, and there are different types of adjectives to choose from depending on what you want to describe. Let’s dive into some of the most common types of adjectives and explore how to use them correctly in your writing.

What is an Adjective?

Adjective definition: words that describe or modify another person or thing in a sentence. For example, in the sentence “The large, red house is beautiful,” the words “large” and “red” are both adjectives because they describe the house. Adjectives can come before the word they modify or follow the word they modify.

Adjectives can also help compare two things. For example, you could say, “This book is thicker than that one.” In this sentence, the word “thicker” is an adjective because it compares the two books.

Types of Adjectives

There are many different types of adjectives in English. Here are some of the most common:

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives indicate ownership or possession. They are usually used to show that something belongs to a person or thing. For example, “my” is a possessive adjective that shows that something belongs to me. 

They are some of the most commonly used types of adjectives in the English language and are typically made up of only one word.

10 possessive adjective examples:

1. My
2. Your
3. His
4. Her
5. Its
6. Our
7. Their
8. Whose
9. Anybody’s 
10. Nobody’s

Predicate Adjective

Predicate adjectives are used to describe the subject of a sentence. For example, “The cat is cute.” In this sentence, “cute” is a predicate adjective because it is describing the cat.

Predicate adjectives can also come after a linking verb, such as “She looks beautiful today.” In this sentence, “beautiful” is the predicate adjective because it describes how she appears to others.

10 predicate adjective examples:

1. Stunning
2. Lovely
3. Charming
4. Joyful
5. Adorable
6. Impressive 
7. Fabulous 
8. Magnificent 
9. Splendid 
10. Astonishing

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used to point out specific nouns or pronouns. They include words like “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those.” For example, “This book is my favorite.” In this sentence, “this” is a demonstrative adjective because it is pointing out the specific book.

Demonstrative adjectives can also express preference. For example, you could say, “This book is better than that one.” In this sentence, “this” and “that” are demonstrative adjectives because they point out specific books (while “better” is a comparative adjective because it compares the two books and indicates that one is preferred over the other).

Demonstrative adjective examples:

1. That
2. These
3. Those
4. One
5. Any
6. None
7. Each
8. All

Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are used to describe nouns or pronouns. They can be used to describe size, shape, color, age, and many other characteristics. For example, “The blue sky was beautiful.” In this sentence, “blue” is a descriptive adjective because it describes the sky.

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Comparison of Adjectives

There are two ways to compare adjectives:

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives help us compare two things. For example, “This car is faster than that one.” In this sentence, “faster” is a comparative adjective because it compares the two cars.

The comparative form of an adjective is typically made by adding “-er” to the end of the basic adjective. For example, “big” can become “bigger” when making comparison of adjectives. Some adjectives have irregular comparative adjective forms, such as “good’ and “bad,” which can be compared with “better” and “worse.

Superlative Adjectives

Superlative adjectives help us compare three or more things. For example, “This car is the fastest of all.” In this sentence, “fastest” is a superlative adjective because it compares three or more cars.

The superlative form of an adjective is typically made by adding “-est” to the end of the basic adjective. For example, “big” can become “biggest” when making comparisons. Some adjectives have irregular superlative forms of adjectives, such as “good’ and “bad,” which can be compared with “best” and “worst.”

Compound Adjectives

Compound adjectives are made up of two or more words. For example, “He had a well-deserved vacation.” In this sentence, “well-deserved” is a compound adjective because it is made up of two words.

When using multiple adjectives, it’s important to follow the established order (opinion, size, shape, age, color, etc.). For example, in the sentence “This is a long, narrow house,” the adjectives “long” and “narrow” follow the correct order based on their descriptive categories (size and shape). However, some compound adjectives may follow different rules depending on their use in a sentence. For instance, in the phrase “She was dead tired,” the compound adjective is used after the linking verb “was” and describes the subject rather than preceding a noun.

Compound adjectives are usually hyphenated when they come before a noun, especially when the combination could be ambiguous without a hyphen. For example, “well-deserved vacation” is hyphenated, but not all compound adjectives follow this rule.

Order of Adjectives

When using multiple adjectives to describe something, it’s important to follow the correct order to ensure clarity and naturalness in your sentences. Generally, the order of adjectives is opinion, size, shape, age, color, origin, material, type, and purpose. For example, “She wore a beautiful red silk dress.” In this sentence, the adjectives are in the correct order: opinion, color, and material.

Some adjectives, such as “good” and “bad,” can be at the beginning or the end of your list. In general, if there are more than two adjectives being used to describe something, they should be put in front of the noun they are describing. However, if there are only one or two adjectives, the order doesn’t matter.

With multiple adjectives that are used to describe a noun, it’s important to remember that they should be in descending order of importance. For example, if you say, “The red car is fast,” then the adjective “red” should be placed before “fast.” However, if you say, “The fast car is red,” then the adjective “red” should be placed after “fast.” Adjectives that are used to show quantity or number can also go in any order.

Adjectives Examples

Here are some examples of adjective words in sentences:

• “The old man shuffled slowly.” (“Old” is an adjective describing the man.)
• “She had long, brown hair.” (“Long” and “brown” are adjectives describing the hair.)
• “This is the best strawberry cake I’ve ever had.” (“Best” is an adjective comparing the cake to others.)
• “He bought a brand-new car.” (“Brand-new” is a compound adjective describing the car.)

List of Adjectives

There are a few different types of adjectives, and the list is long. Here are some of the most used adjectives in the English language:

• Good
• Bad
• Big
• Small
• Happy
• Sad
• Rich
• Poor
• Young
• Old
• Hot
• Cold
• Dry
• Wet
• Easy
• Hard
• Long
• Short
• Loud
• Quiet
• Famous
• Unknown
• Fresh
• Stale
• Bright
• Dull
• Light
• Heavy

Adjectives Ending in -ED and -ING

Adjectives can also end in -ED and -ING. Adjectives ending in -ED typically describe how someone feels, while those ending in -ING describe the characteristic that causes that feeling. For example, 'bored' (feeling) vs. 'boring' (characteristic). For example, “They looked bored.” In this sentence, “bored” is an -ED adjective because it describes the state or feeling of the person (how they feel). Similarly, “The music sounded exciting.” In this sentence, “exciting” is an -ING adjective that describes the quality or effect of the music (how the music makes people feel).

Adjectives ending in -ED or -ING, like other adjectives, typically appear before the noun they describe but can also follow linking verbs as predicate adjectives. Generally, when multiple adjectives are present, they are placed before the noun. For example, in the sentence, “The excited dancers were performing a complicated routine,” both “excited” and “complicated” are adjectives that describe the dancers and the routine, respectively, so they are placed before the nouns they modify.

However, if there is only one adjective, it usually comes before the noun, but its placement can change depending on sentence structure, especially with predicate adjectives. For example, “The excited children were jumping up and down.” In this sentence, “excited” is an adjective describing the children, and it correctly comes before the noun “children.” On the other hand, in the sentence “The jumping children were excited,” “jumping” functions as an adjective that describes the children, and “excited” is a predicate adjective that comes after the verb "were" to describe the state of the children.

Adjective Suffixes

Adjectives can also have suffixes that change the meaning of the word. For example, adding the suffix -able to the word “understand” will create the adjective “understandable.” Other common adjective suffixes include -ful, -less, and -ish. Each suffix can create many different adjectives depending on the word they are used with.

For example, the suffix -ful can be used with many different words to create adjectives, such as “hopeful” and “thoughtful.” Similarly, the suffix -less can be used with a variety of words to create adjectives like “useless” and “meaningless.”

Adjectives and Prepositions

Adjectives & Prepositions often come together. For example, “The cat is afraid of the dog.” In this sentence, “afraid” is an adjective that is used with the preposition “of,” which links the adjective to its object (“the dog”). Prepositions are used to describe relationships between different words in a sentence and can be used with many different adjectives.

Adjectives can be used together with prepositions to form phrases that connect the adjective to a noun or pronoun. For example, in the sentence “The cat is afraid of the dog,” “afraid” is an adjective, and “of” is a preposition that links the adjective to its object, “the dog.” Some common adjective-preposition combinations include “afraid of,” “interested in,” “good at,” and “responsible for.”

Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase is a phrase that modifies a noun or pronoun. For example, “The cat with the black fur is mine.” In this sentence, “with the black fur” is an adjective phrase because it modifies the cat.

Adjective phrases can be made up of single words but often consist of multiple words. For example, “The man who won the race is very excited.” In this sentence, “who won the race” describes which man the speaker is talking about, and it is an adjective phrase because it modifies the noun “man.”

Adjective Clause

An adjective clause is a clause that modifies a noun or pronoun. For example, “The cat that I bought is mine.” In this sentence, “that I bought” is an adjective clause because it modifies the cat.

Like other clauses, an adjective clause can be made up of a subject and a verb. It can also contain relative pronouns like “that” or “which,” as well as other descriptive words. Adjective clauses are used to modify nouns or pronouns, providing additional information about them.

For example, “The cat, which was very small and cute, belonged to my little sister.” In this sentence, “which was very small and cute” is an adjective clause that describes the cat.

Summary

Now you know how to identify adjectives in English! They can be used to describe nouns and pronouns, compare two things, and modify other words in a sentence. By understanding what adjectives are and how they describe things, you can improve your writing and become more fluent as a speaker.

Whether you’re writing an essay, a blog post, or anything else, knowing how to use adjectives effectively is essential. So, next time you’re struggling with your writing or speaking, be sure to add great adjectives to your sentences.

Looking for additional resources on adjectives? Explore some of our other articles on grammar and writing. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced English learner, there’s something here for everyone! Happy studying! :)​