The Adjective belongs to the category of Parts of Speech known as Modifiers. It may be defined as a word that tells us something about a Noun. Usually the Adjective is placed before the Noun, e.g.
Tall man, grand building, new car etc.
Adjectives are classified in many ways. The main kinds of Adjectives are given below :
1) Demonstrative Adjectives e.g
this , that , these , those
2) Distributive Adjectives e.g
each, every, either , neither
3) Quantitative Adjectives e.g
some, any, no, little, few, many, much, one , two, three,
4) Interrogative Adjectives e.g
which, what, who etc.
5) Possessive Adjectives e.g
my, your, his, her etc.
Possessive adjectives are also known as Possessive Pronouns.
6) Adjectives of Quality e.g
brave, dry, fat , good, red, green etc
Present and Past Participle forms of Verbs ( --ing and Third form) are used as Adjectives. e.g
interesting story
driving license
broken chair
stolen car
When an Adjective is placed before a Noun, it is known as Attributive use of Adjective e.g
He is a rich man.
When an Adjective is placed after the Noun and the Verb, it is known as Predicative use of Adjective. e.g
Business made him rich.
Adjectives in Comparison
Look at these sentences:
- Aslam is a tall boy.
- Aslam is taller than Arshad.
- Aslam is the tallest boy in the class.
In the first sentence there is only one person, Aslam.
When an Adjective modifies one person or thing, it is known as Adjective of Positive Degree.
In the second sentence, Aslam is compared with Arshad. The form of Adjective in this sentence (taller) is known as Comparative Degree, which is used to compare two persons or things.
In the third sentence, Aslam is compared with more than one persons. The form of Adjective in this sentence ( tallest) is known as Superlative Degree
How to make Degrees of Comparison:-
Normally, the Comparative Degree of an Adjective of one or two syllables is formed by adding er to the positive form e.g
old : older
young : younger
narrow : narrower
When an Adjective of this type ends in y , and there is no vowel before y , the y is replaced with ier e.g
easy : easier
early : earlier
The Superlative Degree of these Adjectives is formed by adding est or iest e.g
tall : tallest
easy : easiest
When the last letter of an Adjective is a Consonant and there is a Vowel before the last letter, the consonant is doubled while adding er or est : e.g
big : bigger : biggest
thin : thinner : thinnest
In case of Adjectives of two or more syllables, more is used to form the Comparative Degree, and most to form the Superlative Degree.e.g
beautiful : more beautiful : most beautiful
important : more beautiful : most beautiful
A few Adjectives have their own Comparative and Superlative Degrees, so the above rules don’t apply to them e.g
good : better : best
bad : worse : worst little : less : least
much/many : more : most
Correct use of Some Confusing Adjectives
Some of the Adjectives of Quantity and Degree have specific use which must be understood clearly.
The rules for use of these Adjectives are briefly given below:
1. much/many
The Adjective much is used with Uncountable Nouns e.g.
much water
much work
much money
The Adjective many is used with Countable Nouns e.g.
many books
many trees
many things
The Comparative and Superlative Forms of much and many are the same i.e. more and most, e.g
There is more water in the jug than in the cup.
I have more books than you.
Note: more and most are also used with other Adjectives to denote the degree of quality. e.g
more beautiful most beautiful
more active most active
2. Little, Less, Least
The Adjectives little, less and least are the opposite of much, more and most. They denote small quantity. Little is used in a negative sense, to mean no or nil. e.g
He has little money.
I have less money than you.
Aslam has the least money of us all
The Adjective least in however rarely used in this sense. It is mostly used in phrases like.
least interested
least important
3. little, a little, the little
little means not much ( hardly any) e.g
There is little hope of his success.
A little means some or a small quantity e.g
I need a little more money to buy this bike.
You should be a little more careful.
The little means a known small quantity. e.g
The little money that I have is enough to buy this pen.
4. Few, a few, the few
Few means not many or hardly any e.g
An ill-tempered person has few friends
A few means a small number (some) e.g
I have a few books of history
The few means a known number or quantity.
The few books that I have are all new.
5. Some, any
Some is normally used in statements (affirmative sentences). It can be used with Countable as well as Uncountable Nouns , e.g.
1. Please give me some water.
2. I have bought some new books
Any is used in Negative and Interrogative Sentences e.g
1. I have not read any novel by Jane Austen.
2. Have you got any letter from your father?
Note: Some, may be used in offers or requests in the question form.
1. Would you have some tea?
2. Could you give me some money?
6. Each and every
Each may be used for two or more than two things or persons e.g.
1. Each of these two cars is a Toyota
2. Each of the five brothers got Rs.5000/-
Every can be used only for more than two things or persons e.g.
1. Everyone has to die.
2. Every boy in the class can answer this question.
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