Adjectives
What is an Adjective?
Adjectives are used almost exclusively to modify nouns, as well as any phrase or part of speech functioning as a noun.
For example:
- Sunil wears red glasses.” (Red modifies the noun glasses.)
- A loud group of students passed by. (Loud modifies the noun phrase group of students.)
- Excellent writing is required for this job. (Excellent modifies the gerund
writing.)
An adjective is a describing word. It tells you more about a noun. An adjective usually appears before the noun it describes. Sometimes, though, the adjective appears after the noun, later in the sentence.
Examples:
- A small dog
- An old building
- A tall basketball player
- A busy street
- A dark corner
- A deep sea
- A large bed
- It is windy.
- Rahul’s handwriting is very neat.
- All the players are very tall.
- Raju is very quiet today.
- That problem is too difficult.
- Sunita is very quiet today.
Types of Adjectives
Adjectives can be divided into different categories based on their functions when used in a sentence.
Possessive Adjectives
Any word that is used to describe the ownership or possession of something by someone can be called a possessive adjective.
Some Examples:
- Juber is my brother.
- Suhel is my student.
- My laptop is broken and has to be serviced.
- Her father is working as a heavy vehicle mechanic in Saudi Arabia.
- Did you pick up your bag from the deposit counter?
- Rocky is their pet dog.
Difference between Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns
| Possessive Adjectives | Possessive Pronouns |
| A possessive adjective is employed in a sentence in order to show ownership and provide more information about the noun, which plays the role of the subject or object in a sentence. | A possessive pronoun, on the other hand, is used to substitute a noun in order to represent the possession or ownership of something or someone. |
| Possessive adjectives can be seen to occur in the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. | Unlike possessive adjectives, possessive pronouns cannot be placed at the beginning of a sentence. |
| Examples of possessive adjectives include his, her, my, its, your, and their. | Examples of possessive pronouns include mine, yours, his, hers and theirs. |
Interrogative Adjectives
An interrogative adjective is a word like ‘whose’, ‘what’ and ‘which’ that is employed in order to modify the noun or the pronoun by asking a question.
Examples:
- Whose laptop is this?
- Whose chair is that?
- Did you find out whose bags those were?
- What kind of grammar books would you suggest for students of English learners?
- Do you know what sort of ice-creams Sunita likes?
- Do you have any idea which teacher would be teaching us mathematics?
- Around 3 movies were released in the theaters last Friday. Which movie would you like to watch?
Difference between Interrogative Adjectives and Interrogative Pronouns
| Interrogative Adjectives | Interrogative Pronouns |
| Interrogative adjectives are those words which are used to modify a noun by asking a question. | Interrogative pronouns, on the other hand, are used to substitute or replace a noun in a question. |
| An interrogative adjective is usually followed by a noun. | Unlike interrogative adjectives, an interrogative pronoun is followed by a verb. |
| Examples of interrogative adjectives include what, whose and which. | Examples of interrogative pronouns include who, whom, whose, what and which. |
| Which city did you visit recently?Do you know whose bags these are? | Which of these is your favorite dish?Whose is this? |
Demonstrative Adjectives
A demonstrative adjective is an adjective that can be used to specifically describe the position of someone or something.
In the English language, ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’ and ‘those’ are used as demonstrative adjectives.
Examples:
- This school was where I studied.
- This hospital was where I was born.
- I am not in a situation to lend you money at this moment.
- That boy was the one who won the first prize for English speech.
- Can you send those packages to my home?
- These mangoes on the table here are ripe. You can have them.
- Did you bring this necklace for me?
- All those students who had scored 100 in Math and Science last year were awarded with gold medals and cash prizes.
Difference between Demonstrative Adjectives and Demonstrative Pronouns
| Demonstrative Adjectives | Demonstrative Pronouns |
| Demonstrative adjectives are used in order to describe or specify an object. | Demonstrative pronouns, on the other hand, are used instead of a noun. It points out to the subject or object doing or receiving the action in the sentence. |
| Examples of demonstrative adjectives are this, that, these and those. Their position and function in a sentence is what differentiates them from demonstrative pronouns. | Examples of demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those. |
| Eg: Can I take this bag to put in all my clothes? Here, ‘this’ describes the bag. | Eg: You can take this to put in all your clothes. Here, ‘this’ is the demonstrative pronoun that substitutes the noun ‘bag’. |
Compound Adjectives
A compound adjective is a combination of two or more words which can perform the role of an adjective in a sentence. A compound adjective is formed by adding a noun, a present participle, or a past participle to the adjective. In some cases, the adjective is preceded by either of these or in other cases, the adjective is followed by either of them. Compound adjectives are mostly hyphenated.
Example: fire engine, bottle-green, and force-feed.
Example sentences:
- Raju works as a part-time trainer. (Adjective + Noun)
- All my students are well-behaved. (Adverb + Past Participle)
- The villain in that movie seemed to be a cold-blooded man. (Adjective + Past Participle)
Types of Compound Adjectives with Examples
| Word 1 | Word 2 | Compound Words | Examples |
| White (Adjective) | Collar (Noun) | White-collar | Do you have a white-collar job? |
| Eye (Noun) | Opening (Present Participle) | Eye-opening | The trek to the Himalayas happened to be an eye-opening experience for many reasons. |
| Brand (Noun) | New (Adjective) | Brand-new | Rohit came to college today in his brand-new Audi car. |
| Sun (Noun) | Dried (Past Participle) | Sun-dried | Sun-dried tomatoes seem to add a tangy taste to the dish that makes it even more delicious. |
| Cruelty (Noun) | Free (Adjective) | Cruelty-free | All these cosmetics are cruelty-free and affordable. |
| Ten (Number/Adjective) | Page (Noun) | Ten-page | The students of class VI were asked to write a ten-page assignment which would be considered for internal marks. |
| Cold (Adjective) | Blooded (Past Participle) | Cold-blooded | Everyone would think you are too cold-blooded if you continue to behave so. |
| Brightly (Adverb) | Lit (Past Participle) | Brightly-lit | The brightly-lit room definitely elevated the mood of the entire gathering. |
| Man (Noun) | Eater (Noun) | Man-eater | The tiger that was killed was a man-eater. |
List of Compound Adjectives Examples
- Blue-collar
- Short-term
- White-washed
- Short-handed
- Ill-minded
- Ice-cold
- Grass-fed
- Home-bred
- East-facing
- Mouth-watering
- Overcooked
- Undercooked
- Deep-fried
- Seasick
- Well-known
- Tightly-wound
- Fifty-storey
- 100-page
- Last-minute
- Full-length
- Heavy-laden
- Short-lived
- Long-distance
- High-quality
- Quick-thinking
- Nail-biting
- Three-hour
- Record-breaking
- Time-saving
- Ready-made
- World-famous
- English-speaking
- Middle-aged
- Densely-populated
- Highly-qualified
- Long-forgotten
- Highly-respected
- Old-fashioned
- Smoke-free
- Waterproof
- Shatterproof
- Break-free
- Four-week
- Good-looking
The main difference between a compound adjective and a compound noun is the kind of role they play when used in a sentence. A compound adjective behaves like an adjective that modifies the noun or pronoun in a sentence whereas, a compound noun behaves like a noun that does or receives the action in a sentence. A bedroom, a water tank, a washing machine, an air conditioner, a bird watcher, a skyscraper, etc. are compound nouns. On the other hand, ill-natured, kind-hearted, Telgu-speaking, long-lasting, everlasting, densely-populated, old-fashioned, etc., are all examples of compound adjectives.
types of compound adjectives
- A Noun and a Noun
- A Noun and an Adjective
- A Noun and a Present Participle
- A Noun and a Past Participle
- An Adjective and a Noun
- An Adjective and a Past Participle
- An Adverb and a Past Participle
- A Number and a Noun
