literature

A Beginners' Guide to Grammar - Adjectives

Deviation Actions

MagicalJoey's avatar
By
Published:
500 Views

Literature Text

A Beginners’ Guide to Grammar
Information from:
Rose. A & Purkis. R. 1991. English Grammar: A reference book for schools and colleges. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter.


Section #1 – Parts of Speech
Part #4 – The Adjective

Adjectives are the group of words that give us more information about a noun or pronoun. They are usually placed immediately in front of a noun or pronoun.
:bulletred: E.g. a broken bottle; square pegs in round holes; lucky you

There are eight kinds of adjectives:
1. Demonstrative:
:bulletred: E.g. this poem; those tulips; such skill

2. Possessive:
Do not confuse these with possessive pronouns. Possessive adjectives always come in front of the noun they belong to.
:bulletred: E.g. my fingers; your garbage; its nest

3. Interrogative:
:bulletred: E.g. Which house? Whose car?

4. Numerical:
:bulletred: E.g. seven cars; one hundred diseases; each student

5. Indefinite:
:bulletred: E.g. some people; several answers; few ideas

6. To Indicate Order:
Ordinal Numbers.
:bulletred: E.g. first team; second thought; final answer

7. Descriptive:
These are probably the most common kind of adjective.
:bulletred: hasty decisions; blue moon; beautiful flowers

8. The Article:
8.1. Definite Article:
:bulletred: The word ‘the’
8.2. Indefinite Article:
:bulletred: The words ‘a’ and ‘an’
:bulletred: NOTE ‘an’ is used before a noun starting with a vowel (e.g. an orange).


Recognition of Adjectives:

An adjective is usually placed immediately in front of the noun it refers to. Sometimes it is linked to the noun by a linking verb. Adjectives can often be identified by their suffix (i.e. ending).
The most common of these are:
:bulletred: -able (or –ible) --> noticeable; feasible; sociable
:bulletred: -al --> general; actual; total; musical
:bulletred: -ary --> cautionary; stationary; military
:bulletred: -en --> fallen; sunken; broken
:bulletred: -ful --> hopeful; pitiful; helpful
:bulletred: -ic -->poetic; scenic; artistic
:bulletred: -ish --> childish; pinkish; mulish
:bulletred: -ive --> active; persuasive; massive
:bulletred: -less --> hopeless; motherless; coverless
:bulletred: -ous --> serious; marvellous; hideous
:bulletred: -some --> troublesome; handsome; loathsome
:bulletred: -y --> happy; tricky; bumpy


Comparison of Adjectives:

Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

1. Positive:
The basic form of the adjective:
:bulletred: E.g. happy; old; honest

2. Comparative:
This form shows more of the quality expressed by the positive form:
:bulletred: E.g. happier; older; more honest

3. Superlative:
This form shows the maximum possible amount of the quality expressed by the positive form:
:bulletred: E.g. happiest; oldest; most honest

The usual way of showing comparative form is adding –er to the basic form, while the usual way of showing superlative form is by adding –est.

1. Adjectives Ending in –y preceded by a consonant:
These drop the –y and add –ier and –iest respectively:
:bulletred: E.g. happy – happier – happiest; sturdy – sturdier – sturdiest; dry – drier – driest

2. Long Adjectives:
Adjectives longer than two syllables, or where adding –er and –est would sound awkward. In these cases the comparative is shown by adding –more- and the superlative by adding –most-:
:bulletred: E.g. honest – more honest – most honest; logical – more logical – most logical; complimentary – more complimentary – most complimentary

3. Irregular Forms:
Some adjectives do not add either the –er/-est or the more/most. These adjectives are said to have irregular forms:
:bulletred: E.g. good – better – best; many – more – most

NOTE When you are comparing TWO things the COMPARATIVE form is used:
:bulletred: E.g. I am quite tall but my brother is taller; of the two plans I prefer the simpler

NOTE When comparing THREE or more things the SUPERLATIVE form is used:
:bulletred: E.g. This is the best answer of them all; money is the least of all our problems


Attributive and Predicative Adjectives:

When an adjective is placed BEFORE a noun it is said to be an attributive adjective.

When an adjective is used after a linking verb (i.e. in the predicate) it is said to be a predicative adjective. This is also known as an adjective complement since it complements the subject.


Next: Adverbs
Adjectives. Next, Adverbs
© 2012 - 2024 MagicalJoey
Comments0
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In