An adjective is a word that describes a noun

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Nouns are words that name a place, a person, a thing, or an idea. An adjective is a word that gives more information about the noun that goes with it. It is a part of speech.

Often, the adjective is before the noun it describes. Sometimes an adjective is not followed by a noun:

• The sky is blue.
• The joke she told was so funny, I could not stop laughing all day.

• It is still an adjective, because we could have "the blue sky", "the funny joke", and "the crazy man". The adjective is still describing the noun though they are not side by side.
• There is a tall man.

An adjective is a word that gives instant information about a noun to make a clear picture of the noun in the mind of the reader and create a feeling to the writer.

Comparative and superlative[change | change source]

Sometimes there are different forms of the same adjective. If one joke makes a person laugh more than another joke, then that joke is funnier. This is called the comparative form. The day that is colder than any other is the coldest day. This is the superlative form of "cold". Some adjectives need additional words when we want to compare them. For instance, one car may be cheaper than another, but the second car may be more reliable (we use "more reliable", instead of "reliabler"). Reliable means worthy of trust.

The rule is:

For short adjectives ending in a consonant like "cold," "black," or "fast," one adds the suffix er to make a comparison of greater magnitude. Example: "The North Pole is colder than Florida." The greatest possible comparison is made by adding the suffix est. Example: "The North Pole is the coldest place on the Earth." For long adjectives like intelligent, conscientious, comprehensive, one uses the word more to make a comparison of greater magnitude. Example: "Children are more intelligent than adults."

A superlative makes the greatest possible comparison. One uses the word most. Example: "She is the most conscientious person I have ever known."

Nouns as noun modifiers[change | change source]

In the English language, it is possible for a noun to modify (describe) another noun. Example: take the noun "angel" and the noun "face." Put them together and the result is "angel face." The first noun is acting as an adjective, because it is giving us information about the second noun.

Adjectives and adverbs[change | change source]

Adjectives are words we use to describe the noun. Simple words like "warm" and "fat" are adjectives commonly used in writing. One can make adverbs from some adjectives by adding the suffix ly. Example: take the adjective "beautiful," the adverb is beautifully. One can do it the other way around: take an adverb like "presumably," the adjective is "presumable". "Presumable innocence" means the accused is assumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

The adjective "guilty" becomes the adverb "guiltily" and vice versa (the opposite), the adverb "guiltily" becomes the adjective "guilty."

100 Adjectives used in Basic English[change | change source]

able • acid • angry • automatic • beautiful • black • boiling • bright • broken • brown • cheap • chemical • chief • clean • clear • common • complex • conscious • cut • deep • dependent • early • elastic • electric • equal • fat • fertile • first • fixed • flat • free • frequent • full • general • good • great • gray • hanging • happy • hard • healthy • high • hollow • important • kind • like • living • long • male • married • material • medical • military • natural • necessary • new • normal • open • parallel • past • physical • political • poor • possible • present • private • probable • quick • quiet • ready • red • regular • responsible • right • round • same • second • separate • serious • sharp • smooth • sticky • stiff • straight • strong • sudden • sweet • tall • thick • tight • tired • true • violent • warm • wet • wide • wise • yellow • young

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As one of the eight parts of speech, adjectives provide further information about a noun. Specifically, they explain more about a noun’s size, shape, age, color, origin, or material. 

Examples of adjectives modifying the same noun (table) include:

• It's a lovely table. (expresses opinion)
• It's a big table. (shows size)
• It's a round table. (shows shape)
• It's an old table. (shows age)
• It's a brown table. (shows color)
• It's an English table. (shows origin)
• It's a wooden table. (shows material)
• It's a broken table. (make an observation)
• It's a coffee table. (expresses purpose)

The Correct Order for Using Multiple Adjectives

And you’re not limited to just one adjective per noun. When using cumulative adjectives that describe different parts of a noun, you can use any combination of adjectives (just make sure you’re putting them in the correct order).

• It’s an old coffee table.
• It’s a brown English table.
• It’s a lovely wooden coffee table.
• It’s a big round English coffee table.

What Do Adjectives Do?

Adjectives Modify Nouns and Pronouns

Adjectives modify, or further describe, nouns. For example:

• Marcy chose the chocolate cake. (The adjective chocolate modifies the noun cake)
• The antique clock ticks all night. (The adjective antique modifies the noun clock)

But adjectives can also modify pronouns.

• He is so funny. (The adjective funny modifies the pronoun he)
• It smells really bad. (The adjective bad modifies the pronoun it)

Adjectives Act as Complements

When an adjective comes after a noun and a linking verb, such as is, becomes, or seems, it’s a complement. Not every complement is an adjective, but some adjectives can be complements. 

Subject complements modify the subject of a sentence.

• Mike seems hungry. (The adjective hungry modifies the subject Mike)
• My neighbor is kind. (The adjective kind modifies the subject my neighbor)

Object complements modify the object of a sentence.

• You make me happy. (The adjective happy modifies the object me)
• Ken found the meal delicious. (The adjective delicious modifies the object the meal)

Adjectives Answer Questions

Adjectives answer questions such as "Which one?" "How many?" and "What kind?" to help describe a noun. For example:

• Which cat did you see? It was the gray cat.
• What kind of potatoes did you buy? I bought red potatoes.
• How many cars were in the parking lot? There were few cars.
• How many people like ice cream? Most people like ice cream.
• Which spoon did you use to stir the soup? I used the wooden spoon.
• What kind of coffee do you like? I like black coffee.

Adjectives Compare Nouns

Sometimes, adjectives can both describe and compare two different nouns. Comparative adjectives (adjective + -er, or sometimes the word more) compare the qualities of two nouns.

• Granite is harder than marble.
• The action movie looks more interesting than the romance.

When there’s no comparison because a noun is the highest degree of an adjective, use a superlative adjective (adjective + -est, or sometimes the word most).

• Diamond is the hardest material on Earth.
• That’s the most interesting movie I’ve ever seen.

How To Identify Adjectives in a Sentence

Look for Common Adjective Suffixes

Many English adjectives are actually different parts of speech with certain suffixes added to them (such as adore into adorable). 

These suffixes usually mean “having the quality of,” and they include:

• -ible - invisible, responsible
• -al - educational, gradual, illegal, nocturnal, viral
• -an - American, Mexican, urban
• -ar - cellular, popular, spectacular, vulgar
• -ent - intelligent, potent, silent, violent
• -ful - harmful, powerful, tasteful, thoughtful
• -ic - athletic, energetic, scientific
• -ine - bovine, canine, equine, feminine, masculine
• -ile - agile, docile, fertile, virile
• -ive - informative, native, talkative
• -less - careless, endless, homeless, timeless
• -ous - cautious, dangerous, enormous, malodorous
• -some - awesome, handsome, lonesome, wholesome

Look at Adjective Placement in a Sentence

Although adjectives typically come before a noun, there are lots of places to find them.

Adjectives can be:

• before a noun (blue plate)
• between an article and a noun (the blue plate)
• between a possessive adjective and a noun (Carol’s blue plate)
• between a demonstrative adjective and a noun (that blue plate)
• between another determiner and a noun (several blue plates)
• after a noun and a linking verb (the plate is blue)

More Adjective Examples and Ways To Practice Using Them

What is a word that describes an adjective?

What is a word called when it describes a noun?

Is adjectives a noun or verb?

What type of adjective is a word which describes nouns and pronouns?