Meaning & use
adjective
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Meanings
nouncountable
A word that describes a noun or pronoun, such as its quality, size, or color.
Grammar: Countable; you can say 'an adjective' or 'adjectives'.
Patterns
- an adjective + noun
- a noun + is + adjective
In the phrase 'a red car', 'red' is an adjective.
Adjectives like 'happy' and 'tall' can come after the verb 'be': She is happy.
The teacher asked us to underline all the adjectives in the paragraph.
adjectivebefore a nountechnical
Relating to or functioning as an adjective.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'adjective phrase'.
Patterns
- adjective clause
- adjective phrase
An adjective clause can begin with 'who' or 'which'.
The phrase 'very happy' is an adjective phrase.
Word forms
| plural | adjectives |
|---|
Common combinations
- possessive adjective
- 'My' and 'your' are possessive adjectives.
- comparative adjective
- 'Taller' is the comparative adjective of 'tall'.
- superlative adjective
- 'Biggest' is a superlative adjective.
- adjective order
- In English, adjective order usually puts opinion before size, as in 'a lovely big house'.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modifier
- A broader term for any word that describes another; an adjective is a specific type of modifier.
Word family
- adjectival adjective
- Relating to adjectives.
- adjectivally adverb
- In a way that functions as an adjective.
Commonly confused: adjective or adverb?
adjective vs adverb
An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb (e.g., 'quickly'), while an adjective describes a noun (e.g., 'quick').
Practice
Which word in the sentence 'She wore a beautiful dress' is an adjective?
Choose one answer.
'Beautiful' describes the noun 'dress', so it is an adjective. 'She' is a pronoun, 'wore' is a verb, and 'dress' is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “adjective”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.