What are Adjectives in English? A Useful Guide

What is an adjective in English grammar?

Adjectives are most frequently used in English. Their primary purpose is to modify the noun. They always come before nouns, but they could be placed anywhere in the sentence in some situations. Learning the correct use of adjectives is crucial for better language skills. 

In this article, you will learn what is an adjective, degrees of adjectives, usage of adjectives, and examples of adjectives.

What is an Adjective?

Adjectives are words that describe the qualities or states of being of nouns. For example, big, tall, blue, etc. They also describe the quantity. For instance, four, fifteen, million, few, many, etc.

For exmaple;

• He is a great person.
• He is the fastest sportsman.
• He is kind-hearted.
• The boy is tall and skinny.
• I like old houses.
• Jane is smarter than her brother.

1. Adjectives modify nouns

As you may already know, adjectives are words that modify or describe nouns. Adjective do not modify verbs or adverbs or other adjectives.

• He has fifteen beautiful chickens in the backyard.
• She brought a new white car on her birthday.
• They are close friends. 

In the sentences above, the adjectives are easy to spot because they come immediately before the nouns they modify.

But adjectives can modify nouns even without appearing right before them in a sentence. Acting as what’s called a subject complement with the help of a linking verb, a Predicate Adjective modifies the subject of a sentence.

• It stinks bad in the garage.
• He runs fast.
• He is happy.

How to Use Adjectives Correctly?

In English, adjectives modify nouns in the sentence and they provide more information about the noun they are modifying. Adjectives give information about the state, number, and quantity of the noun. 

For example: 

• He bought three houses on the beach.
• She love her red mini car.

Often, when adjectives are used together, you should separate them with commas or conjunctions. See “Coordinate adjectives” below for more details.

• I went to store to buy bread and butter.
• That tall, white house is theirs.
• I have black and white shirts. 

Degrees of Adjectives / Forms of Adjectives

In English grammar, adjectives come in three degrees;

• absolute
• comparative
• superlative

Let’s talk about them one by one in detail!

1. Absolute Adjectives

What is an absolute adjective?

In English grammar, an absolute adjective is an adjective, such ass supreme or infinite, with a meaning that is generally not capable of being intensified or compared. Also known as incompareable, ultimate, or absolute modifier.

Absolute Adjective describe something in its own right.

Examples of an Absolute Adjectives:

• A cool guy
• A messy desk
• A rigid guideline
• An awful situation
• A mischievous cat
• Garrulous squirrels

2. Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives, unsurprisingly, make a comparision between two to more things. For most one-syllable adjective, the combative is formed by adding suffix -er (or just -r if the adjective already ends with and e).

For two-syllable adjectives, some use -er to form the comparative while others ue the ord more. In general, two-syllable adjectives ending in -er, -le, -oe, -ure, or -y can be made comparative by adding -er (in the case of -y words, replace y with -ier) for adjectives of three or more syllables, add the word more.

Examples of Comparative Adjectives

• A cooler guy
• A messier desk
• A rigider/mor regid guideline
• A more awful situation
• A more mischievous cat
• More garrulous squirrels

3. Superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives indicate that something has the highest degree of the quality in question. One-sysllable adjectives become suerlatives by adding the suffix -est (or just -st for adjective that already end in e). As with the combative, some two-syllable adjective use -est to form the superlative while others use the word most. in general, two-syllable adjective ending in -y replace -y with -iest. 

Adjectives of there or more syllables add the word most. When you use an article with a superlative adjective, it will alsmot always be the definte article (the) rather than a or an. Using a superlative inherently indicates that you are talking about a specific item or items. 

Examples;

• The coolest guy
• The messiest desk
• The rigidest/most rigid guideline
• The most awful situation 
• The most mischeivour cat
• The most garrulous squireels

Adjectives vs. Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. However, adjectives describe or modify only nouns or pronouns. 

Coordinate Adjectives

A coordinate adjective modifies the same nouns in the sentence to the same degree. 

Coordinate adjectives are usually separated by a comma or the word “and.“

For example;

• It is hot and humid. 
• He is humble and honest person.

Two Adjectives Next to Each Other

When two adjectives appear next to each other and modify the same noun, the adjective that is closer to the noun makes a semantic unit with the noun, and therefore, we don’t use commas or “and” to separate them as we do in the coordinate adjective case. 

Sometimes, when two adjectis appear next to each other and modify the same noun, the one slocer to the nouns is so closely related to the noun that ehy form single sementic untie together, and that unit is what is modified by the first adjective. in this case, the adjectives are not coordinated and should not be separate by a coma.

Examples

• My cat, Goober, loves sleeping on this tattered woolen sweater.
• No one could open the older silver locket.

When nouns are adjectives and adjectives are nouns

One more thing you should know about adjectives is that, sometimes, a word that is normally used as a noun can function as an adjective, depending on its placement.

examples;

• Never try to pet someone’s guide dog without asking permission first.

Explanation:

Guide is a noun, but in this sentence, it is being put to use as an adjective to modifying dog.

It works the other way too: Sometimes words that are normally adjectives shift into use as nouns. Many times this happens with adjectives used to denote a group of people, with the addition of the:

Examples:

• The French are known for valuing their leisure time.
• Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor.

Explanation:

In the above examples, the word people has been elided and the adjectives French, rich, and poor are functioning as nouns. 

This kind of shift happens with other kinds of adjective-noun Paris too, however, especially when they commonly used together:

Examples:

• Our English class took our final this morning. 
• Camille tens to focus on intagibles like communication style and a sense of camaraderie when deciding whether to accept a job offer.

Explanation:

in these sentence, the nouns exam and qualities have bee elided.

Adjectives usage advice

We will end with a few wors about adjectives and styles. it is one thing to know how to use an adjective; it is another to know when using one is a good idea.

Good writing is precise and concise. Sometimes you need an ajedetive to convey exactly what you mean. it is hard to describe a red sports car without eh ordl red. but often, choosing the right noun eliminates the need to tack on an adjective.

• is it a big house, or is it a mansion?
• A large croud or a throng?
• A mixed-breed dog or a mutt?
• A dar night or just …night?

Alaways aim to make every word count in your writing. if you need an adjective, just it. but if it s not pulling its weight, delete it.

Examples of Adjective

Consider the following everyday examples of sentences to learn how to use adjective words in English.

• He is an honest person.
• He lives in a big house.
• They are awsome people.
• This book is beautiful.
• The cow is a happy animal.
• We ate delicious food.
• You are a smart and handsome person.
• I love my cool, intelligent cat.
• That show was awful. 
• I love deep sleep at night.
• Can you please give me a glass of cold water?
• Kids love to drink warm milk before going to bed. 
• She is having good dreams.

Adjectives FAQs

What is an adjective?

An adjective is a word that describes the traits, qualities, or numbers of a noun.

What are examples of adjectives?

Descriptive words like beautiful, smooth, and heavy are all adjectives, as are numbers (“twelve eggs”)

What is the difference between adjectives and adverbs?

Adjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. For examples, in the phrase “very funny movie,” funny is an adjective describing the noun movie, and very is an adverb describing the adjective funny.

Can Adjectives modify adverbs?

Adjective can modify only nouns. Only adversb can modify other adverbs.

I hope this article helped you learn about adjectives in detail. If you liked it, please share it and subscribe to our newsletter for updates and the latest blog posts. 

You can also see articles on grammar, vocabulary, and learning tips to improve your English language skills.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

• How to speak English fluently: 13 effective ways
• 13 Easy ways to learn English grammar
• Learn English Fast: 9 Easy Ways
• 11 Practical Ways to Improve English Writing Skills
• Improve your English reading comprehension: 8 Best Tips
• 10 Effective Tips to Improve English Vocabulary
• 15 Easy Tips to Improve English Speaking Skills Fast
• Improve your English Pronunciation: 10 Best Tips
• 9 Easy Tips to Improve English Listening Skills
• 8 Effective Methods to Improve English Grammar