Parts of Speech- Adjective

Adjectives

• Whenever you are asked to describe something- your favorite animal, your best friend, or the longest trip you ever took- you are likely to give an answer that is filled with adjectives.• An adjective is a word used to describe a noun or pronoun or to give

a noun or pronoun a more specific meaning.• The process by which an adjective describes a word or makes it more

specific is called modification.

The Process of Modification

• To modify means to “change slightly.”• An adjective modifies meaning by answering any of four questions

about a noun or pronoun.• What kind?

• Red boat; sick passenger; silver jewelry; cool water• Which one?

• Third chance; this train; any piece; those apples• How many?

• Six cars; both answers; several reasons; few letters• How much?

• Enough space; no rain; more energy; little effort

Modifiers

• An adjective usually comes before the noun it modifies. It may, however come after the noun.• Before the noun: The sick child lay in bed.• After the noun: The child, sick with a fever, lay in bed.

• An adjective generally comes after a pronoun it modifies, usually directly after a linking verb such as is, was, look or seemed. It may, however come before the pronoun.• After the Pronoun: She was sick for a week.• Before the Pronoun: Sick in bed, he was very bored.

Articles

• Three adjectives- the, a, and an- are called articles. • The is called the definite article• a and an are called indefinite articles.

• The definite article, the indicates that the noun it modifies refers to a specific person, place, or thing.• The indefinite articles, a and an, indicate that the nouns they modify

refer to any one of a class of people, places or things.• Definite: The catcher wore the face mask.• Indefinite: Give me an essay that you think I would enjoy.

Nouns used as Adjectives

• Articles and descriptive words- such as quick, red or new- are not the only kinds of words that can act as adjectives. In fact, nouns themselves may sometimes be used as adjectives before other nouns.• A noun used as an adjective answers the question what kind? or

which one? about a noun that follows.• Guitar guitar music (what kind or music?)• Evening evening meal (which meal?)

Proper Adjectives

• Proper Adjectives:• Can be simply proper nouns. Other are formed from proper nouns.• A proper noun used as an adjective or an adjective formed from a proper noun.• When proper nouns are used as adjectives, the form of the proper noun is not

changed.• However, when an adjective is formed from a proper noun, the form of the proper

noun is changed, as shown below:• Alcott Alcott novel (what kind of novel?) Chicago Chicago storm (what kind of storm?)

• Jefferson Jeffersonian democracy (what kind of democracy?) Mexico Mexican art (what kind of art?)

Compound Adjectives

• Adjectives made up of more than one word are called compound adjectives.• Compound adjectives are often written as hyphenated words.• Far-off land• Hard-shell crabs• Farsighted leader• Hardhearted neighbor

Pronouns used as Adjectives

• A personal pronoun that can be used as an adjective answers the question which one? about a noun that follows it.• Seven of the personal pronouns can be considered both pronouns

and adjectives.• My, your, his, her, its, our and their can be thought of as pronouns

because they have antecedents.• They can also be thought of as adjectives because they modify nouns

by answer the question which one?• My daughter left her new backpack at school. (my and her= adjectives;

daughter and backpack= word modifiers)

Demonstrative Adjectives

• All four of the demonstrative pronouns- this, that, these and those- can be used as adjectives.• When demonstrative pronouns are used as adjectives, they are called

demonstrative adjectives.• Remember that demonstrative means “point out.”• Pronoun: She sailed these.• Adjective: She sailed these boats.

Interrogative Adjectives

• Only three of the interrogative pronouns- which, what and whose- can be used as adjectives.• When used as adjectives, they are called interrogative adjectives.• Interrogate means “ask.”• Pronoun- Which did she see?• Adjective- Which ship did she see?

Indefinite Adjectives

• Many of the indefinite pronouns can also be used as adjectives.• When used as adjectives, they are called indefinite adjectives.• Singular forms of indefinite adjectives can be used to modify singular

nouns; plural forms modify plural nouns.• Each boat had several sails.• They bought more rigging.