Adjectives — Definition, Examples, and Uses
What is an adjective?
An adjective is a part of speech used to modify (describe) a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase. These descriptions typically include characteristics (e.g., colossal, blue, speedy, cautious) or quantity (e.g., several, few, nine, hundreds).
When a group of words contains a subject and verb and functions as an adjective, it is an adjective clause:
The car that Chris bought ten years ago finally broke down.
Noun: car
Subject: Chris
Verb: bought
Adjective: ten years ago
When the subject and verb are removed from an adjective clause, it becomes an adjective phrase or compound adjective and usually uses hyphens:
The ten-year-old car finally broke down.
Noun: car
Adjective: ten-year-old
Multiple adjectives can be strung together to describe the same noun. These are called coordinate adjectives and are separated by commas:
It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day.
What do adjectives describe?
1) The main role of an adjective is to describe a noun:
The sneaky dog was able to lift the lid of the metal trash can.
2) They can act as a complement to linking verbs or the verb "to be." A linking verb describes a state of being, such as "to feel" or "to taste." These adjectives are called predicate adjectives.
She felt bad about accidentally dropping her friend's birthday cake.
Flying across the country is faster than driving.
3) Adjectives identify how much or what kind of something:
The bride wanted each of her bridesmaids to have three yellow lilacs.
4) Within comparisons, adjectives come in two forms: comparative and superlative.
Comparative adjectives are used when comparing two people or things.
Jack had a messier desk than Jill.
Jill was more attentive than Jack.
Superlative adjectives describe a noun by comparing it to the highest or lowest degree.
Mark was voted the most popular student at the end of his senior year.
As the valedictorian, Lisa was the smartest student in her class.
Adjective examples
Adjectives fall into multiple categories. Detailed below are the most common categories along with example sentences using each specific type of adjective:
Descriptive adjectives describe the characteristics of a noun.
The hollow tree fell during the intense storm, crashing into the telephone wires.
Elijah noticed that the new student was not used to a large school.
Quantitative adjectives define how much of something there is.
The whole class decided to work as one group.
There were only a few tickets left for the next train to New York.
Numeral adjectives show the number or order of items.
Mia was the first person to finish the entire project on her own.
Alex thought he would need at least eight hours of sleep.
Demonstrative adjectives identify which person or item is being referenced.
Was the teacher talking about this Ben or that one?
Who dropped all of these pencils scattered across the floor?
Distributive adjectives refer to members of a group.
Each player was given a trophy after winning the championship game.
Emma was allowed to place signs on either side of the road.
Interrogative adjectives ask a question.
Which path will provide the shortest hike down the mountain?
Whose coat is that in the corner of the room?
Possessive adjectives express who owns something.
It was her bedroom before she left for college.
They left their house early so they wouldn't hit traffic.
The following examples of adjectives are some of the most commonly used within each category:
| Descriptive | Quantitative | Numeral | Demonstrative | Distributive | Interrogative | Possessive |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| good | all | one | this | each | whose | her |
| great | any | two | that | every | which | his |
| large | enough | three | those | either | what | its |
| little | few | first | these | neither | my | |
| long | little | second | our | |||
| new | no | third | their | |||
| old | none | single | whose | |||
| pretty | some | double | your | |||
| young | whole | triple |
Adjectives, adverbs, and nouns
Adverbs and adjectives are both used for descriptive purposes. Adverbs modify a verb, adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs commonly end in -ly, but many do not.
In the English language, nouns often function as adjectives. These are called attributive nouns. For example:
a business meeting
the apartment building
income tax
These nouns modify another noun.