22 Apr What Is an Adjective? Definition, Examples, Types, Practice.

What Is an Adjective?

 

An adjective is a word or phrase
that describes a noun’s quality or state of being. The purpose of an adjective
is to essentially provide more information about another word or group of words.
This can include details about size, shape, quantity, color, duration, texture,
emotions, and other qualities.

 

Examples:

·        
The red balloon flew away.

·        
Gabriel and his wife baked five dozen cookies for the event.

·        
I do not like green eggs and ham.

·        
Melissa’s fluffy
dog wagged his tail when he saw her.

·        
Mr. Brown’s speech lasted exactly seven minutes.

 

Adjectives typically appear before
the nouns they modify, as with the examples above. Therefore, they are also
called modifiers. However, when they are used with “to be” verbs and verbs that
involve the five senses, they appear after the verb. These types of verbs are
called linking verbs.

 

Adjectives and “To Be” Verb Examples

 

A “to be” verb (am, are, is, etc.)
is an irregular verb used to describe the condition of a noun. The following
are examples of adjectives used with “to be” verbs:

 

·        
The kids are
tired after a long day of hiking.

·        
I am happy to see you.

·        
The dog’s bark is loud.

·        
Clinton’s friends were confused about what
he said.

 

Adjective and Sense Verb Examples

 

A sense verb is another type of
linking verb that involves taste, touch, smell, sight, or sound. The following
are examples of adjectives used with sense verbs:

 

·        
The chicken Parmesan smells terrific!

·        
She seems
undecided about college.

·        
This sunny, 70-degree day feels great.

·        
Lucy’s guitar sounds out-of-tune.

·        
Juan’s homemade lasagna tastes wonderful.

 

What Are the Different Types of Adjectives?

 

There are a total of eight types of adjectives in the
English language.

·        
Article

·        
Compound

·        
Demonstrative

·        
Indefinite

·        
Interrogative

·        
Possessive

·        
Proper

·        
Quantitative

Article Adjectives

 

Although not as obvious as the other adjectives, articles (the, a, and an) do describe nouns.
Therefore, they belong to the adjective part of speech.

Examples:

·        
An
elephant can’t jump.

·        
The
snow kept falling.

·        
A dog
marks that hydrant every day.

 

Compound Adjectives

 

A compound adjective is one that combines two or more words
to form an adjective phrase.

Examples:

·        
Rebecca has a part-time job.

·        
I can’t believe how well-behaved Buster is!

·        
The run-of-the-mill
conference was poorly attended.

Demonstrative Adjectives

 

A demonstrative adjective specifically refers to a person or
object (this, that, those, these).

Examples:

·        
This cat
is meowing.

·        
Those
houses are beautiful.

·        
That woman
was not very friendly.

 

Indefinite Adjectives

 

An indefinite adjective modifies a noun without specific
information like color, shape, size, etc.

Examples:

·        
Few members
accepted the invitation.

·        
Every parent
should see the movie.

·        
Nobody wanted
to make the trip.

·        
Several students
complained to the principal.

Interrogative Adjectives

 

Interrogative adjectives ask a which, what, or
whose question and must precede a noun.

Examples:

·        
Whose
candy is this?

·        
Which pen
did you use?

·        
What book
are you reading?

Possessive Adjectives

 

Possessive adjectives show ownership and always precede a
noun.

Examples:

·        
Our house
is in the middle of the street.

·        
Her/his phone
cracked.

·        
My parents
are in town.

 

Proper Adjectives

 

Comparable to proper nouns, proper adjectives usually need
to be capitalized because they involve a company, ethnicity, culture, region, etc.

Examples:

·        
Sheila loves Mexican food.

·        
McDonalds
fries are his favorite.

·        
That is a very Texan thing to say.

 

Quantitative Adjectives

 

Quantitative adjectives give details about how much or how many of a certain noun is being described. These adjectives can
be numerical or non-numerical.

Examples:

·        
Solomon counted 15 deer in his yard.

·        
Heidi lost 30
pounds.

·        
The baby was born with only nine fingers.

 

Adjective Practice

Now, it’s time to test your understanding of adjectives.
Find the adjective in the sentences below. Keep in mind that some have more
than one!

1.      
Tunde ran a 5-minute mile.

2.      
She embraced the salty breeze.

3.      
Diana didn’t seem embarrassed by the man’s rude
comments.

4.      
John Green’s The
Fault in Our Stars is a young-adult novel.

5.      
The fluffy cat was the loudest cat.

6.      
Esteban doesn’t like Chinese food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answers:

1.      
5-minute

2.      
Salty

3.      
Embarrassed, rude

4.      
Young-adult

5.      
Fluffy, loudest

6.      
Chinese