Hello guys, what are adjectives?
Answers
Answer: In linguistics, an adjective is a word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Adjectives are one of the main parts of speech of the English language, although historically they were classed together with nouns.
Eg:
- They live in a beautiful house.
- Lisa is wearing a sleeveless shirt today. This soup is not edible.
- She wore a beautiful dress.
- He writes meaningless letters.
Explanation
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns (or pronouns). "Old," "green," and "cheerful" are examples of adjectives. (It might be useful to think as adjectives as "describing words.")
This infographic shows where an adjective sits in relation to the noun it describes:
Examples of Adjectives
Here are some examples of adjectives. (In each example, the adjective is highlighted.)
Adjective Before the Noun
An adjective usually comes directly before the noun it describes (or "modifies," as grammarians say).
old man
green coat
cheerful one
("One" is a pronoun. Don't forget that adjectives modify pronouns too.)
When adjectives are used like this, they're called attributive adjectives.
Adjective After the Noun
An adjective can come after the noun.
Jack was old.
It looks green.
He seems cheerful.
In the three examples above, the adjectives follow linking verbs ("was," "looks," and "seems") to describe the noun or pronoun. (When adjectives are used like this, they're called predicative adjectives.)
Adjective Immediately After the Noun
Sometimes, an adjective comes immediately after a noun.
the Princess Royal
time immemorial
body beautiful
the best seats available
the worst manners imaginable
When adjectives are used like this, they're called postpositive adjectives. Postpositive adjectives are more common with pronouns.
someone interesting
those present
something evilMore about Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives and Determiners
In traditional grammar, words like "his," "this," "many," and even "a" and "the" are classified as adjectives. However, in contemporary grammar, such words are classified as determiners (see below). Be aware that, for many people, the word adjective refers only to descriptive adjectives. A descriptive adjective will usually fit into one of the following categories:
Category Example
Appearance attractive, burly, clean, dusty
Colour azure, blue, cyan, dark
Condition absent, broken, careful, dead
Personality annoying, brave, complex, dizzy
Quantity ample, bountiful, countless, deficient
Sense aromatic, bitter, cold, deafening
Size and Shape angular, broad, circular, deep
Time ancient, brief, concurrent, daily
The rise of determiners means that we now have nine parts of speech not the traditional eight.
Traditional Grammar Contemporary Grammar
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raditional Grammar Contemporary GrammarAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbs
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raditional Grammar Contemporary GrammarAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsDeterminersInterjectionsNouns
raditional Grammar Contemporary GrammarAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsDeterminersInterjectionsNounsPrepositions
raditional Grammar Contemporary GrammarAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsDeterminersInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronouns
raditional Grammar Contemporary GrammarAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbsAdjectivesAdverbsConjunctionsDeterminersInterjectionsNounsPrepositionsPronounsVerbs
Read more about determiners.
Determiners indicate qualities such as the following:
Possession (e.g., "my dog")
Specificity (e.g., "that dog")
Quantity (e.g., "one dog")
Definiteness (e.g., "a dog")
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