UNIT IIIADJECTIVES

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying. An adjective is placed before a noun which it modifies. A noun, pronoun, participle phrase, and articles (the, a, an) can also act as an adjective.

The kinds of adjectives are:

Kinds of adjectives Examples 1. Possessive Adjective My, his, her, your, our, etc

2. Demonstrative Adjective This, that, these, those, etc

3. Indefinite Adjective Any, many , some, several, etc

4. Interrogative Adjective Which, what, whose, etc

5. Present participle Adjectives Walking, reading, cooking, etc

6. Past participle Adjectives Written, polished, painted

7. Adjective of Quality Good, red, tall, stupid, etc.

1. Possessive Adjective

They are: my, your, his, her, its, our, or their. In this case it has the same function as possessive

pronoun.

Examples: a. Her new program is ‘stolen’ by a new

programmer in her office.b. Your friend seems very nice.c. There are many students who show their

English ability.

2. Demonstrative Adjectives

The demonstrative adjective is similar with demonstrative pronoun. They are: this, these, that, and those.

Examples:

1. My father bought this house two years

ago.

2. Those books are yours, while these pens

are hers.

3. Do you recognize that charming girl?

3. Interrogative Adjectives

An interrogative adjective (which, what, whose) is similar with interrogative pronoun.

Examples:

a. Which T-shirt do you want to buy?

b. What colour do you want to paint your house?

c. Whose umbrella is this?

4. Indefinite Adjectives

Indefinite adjective is the same with indefinite pronoun. They are: any, many, some, few, all, and several.

Examples:a. He has many books of computer programming system.b. There are few deer in my father house.c. I hope all students get A score for English

subject.

5. Present Participle

Present participle can be placed before a noun or between two nouns.

Examples:• waiting room• writing book• walking stick• a new reading book• a factory producing cars• a man watching television.

6. Past participle

Past Participle is placed before a noun .

Examples:

• polished chairs

• written law

• painted table

7.Adjective of Quality

1. My sister plants several red rose flowers in her garden.

2. A good dictionary contains a complete description.

3. His house is surrounded with tall trees.

4. Los Angeles is a big city.

The usage of Much, many, little, few, a lot of, plenty

Much n little followed by uncountable nouns.Exp: Much time, much luck, much money much ink

much rice little energy, little money

Many and few with plural nouns.

Exp: Many friend many people many booksfew cars, few countries.

Degrees of ComparisonRegular Adjectives

Positive Comparative Superlative

One syllable + er + est

Big

Tall

Clean

Cold

High

Low

Weak

Bigger

Taller

Cleaner

Colder

Higher

Lower

Weaker

Biggest

Tallest

Cleanest Coldest

Highest

Lowest

Weakest

Two syllables + er +est

Nice

Busy

Pretty

Funny

Easy

Lazy

Wide

Correct

Complete

Careful

Modern

Nicer

Busier

Prettier

Funnier

Easier

Lazier

Wider

Nicest

Busiest

Prettiest

Funniest

Easiest

Laziest

Widest

more + most +more correct

more complete

more careful

more modern

most correct

most complete

most careful

most modern

3/more syllables more+ most +

Difficult

Expensive

Beautiful

Handsome

Important

More difficult

More expensive

More beautiful

More handsome

More important

Most difficult

Most expensive

Most beautiful

Most handsome

Most important

Irregular Adjectives

Positive Comparative Superlative

Good

Well

Bad

Ill

Much

Many

Little

Small

Old

Late

Far

Far

Better

Better

Worse

Worse

More

More

Less

Smaller

Elder

Latter

Farther

Further

Best

Best

Worst

Worst

Most

Most

Least

Smallest

Eldest

Latest

Farthest

Furthest

Notes:

1. We use the form ‘as…as’, ‘not…as’, or ‘not so…as’ to compare two persons/things are equal.

2. We use the comparative with ‘than’ to compare two unequal persons or things.

3. We use the superlative with ‘the…of’ or ‘the…in’ to compare three or more persons or things.

4. The prepositional phrase can be inverted.5. The is used twice, once before each comparative.6. Like and alike have the same meanings but are used

differently. a. Alike follows the entities being compared. b. Like is used at the beginning of the comparison or between the two entities being compared.

1. We use the form ‘as…as’, ‘not…as’, or ‘not so…as’ to

compare two persons/things are equal.

Examples:

a. She is as tall as her sister.

b. I can run as fast as you.

c. Dodyk’s score is not as good as Bagus’.

d. His house is not as large as his brother’s.

e. He is not so handsome as he thinks.

f. Bill is not so smart as Wendy.

2.We use the comparative with ‘than’ to compare two unequal persons or things.

Examples:

a. Detric is more beautiful than Dotic.

b. Heavy’s face is brighter than BCL.

c. Afgan sings more sweetly than Rafly.

d. Rommel is heavier than Vaundra.

3. We use the superlative with ‘the…of’ or ‘the…in’ to compare three or more persons or things.

a. This is the most interesting of the three books.

b. The hall is the largest room in Blue building.

c. Goris is the oldest in his class.

d. Is Tokyo the biggest city in the world?

4. The prepositional phrase can be inverted.

Examples:

a. Of all the months, August is the hottest.

b. Of the three brothers, Peter is the quietest.

c. Of all the students in this class, Teddy did the homework.

5. The is used twice, once before each comparative.

Examples:

a. I’ll come as early as possible.

The sooner the better.

b. Ann complains a lot.

The more she complains the less people listen.

5 a. Alike follows the entities being compared.

Example:

a. Jane and her sister dressed alike.

b. My mother and my aunt are alike in many ways.

c. The two words hour and our are pronounced alike.

d. The two girls look much alike.

5 b. Like is used at the beginning of the comparison or between the two entities being compared.

Examples:

a. Like her sister Jane wears jeans all the time.

b. Tammy dresses like her sister.

c. Final examination like middle test is created by the teacher.

The position of adjectives

1. usually, an adjective is placed before the noun it describes, e.g. red dress, clever boy.

2. An adjective also comes after the word described when:

a. It is after the verb ‘to be’. The moon was bright. b. It is after the words like,’seem’, ‘appear’, ‘look’, ‘grow’,

‘become’ e.g. He looks annoyed. She seems tired. c. It is followed by a descriptive phrase, usually with a preposition, e.g. We bought a vase designed with dragons. The man was accused of murder.