English Lessons in Adjective

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English Grammar: Lessons in Adjective

S.N. Singh Jun 03,2010

The ADJECTIVE

An Adjective is a word used to qualify a Noun or Pronoun or Noun-equivalent, for example, great, conscientious, beautiful, high, much, many, righteous, etc.

The Use of Adjectives

1.

An adjective used before a word (noun, etc.) is called an 'attributive use'
(a) Milton was a great poet.
(b) She is an intelligent girl.

2. An adjective used just after a word (noun, etc.) is called a 'predicative use'
(a) We were asleep that time.
(b) The princess was very beautiful.
(c) I found ten students absent from the class.
(d) They made me happy and contented.
(e) Is your father awake?

Kinds of Adjectives

1. Descriptive Adjectives: Adjectives of quality show the kind or quality of a person or thing. For example -
(a) India is a vast country.
(b) Harish Chandra was a truthful man.
(c) Kabir Dar was a great poet.
(d) The brave boy did not leave the burning deck.
(e) John is an industrious student.

2. Proper Adjectives: Adjectives formed from proper nouns are called proper adjectives. For example -
(a) The English people are my loyal to their duties.
(b) The Japanese people are great patriots.
(c) Most of the Indian people are fatalists.
(d) The Chinese language is very difficult.
(e) Some of the American people are my suspicious.

An American plane, a Chinese pilgrim, the Roman empire, the French army, the Russian culture, etc.

3. Numeral Adjectives: Adjectives of Numbers (Numeral Adjectives) show how many persons or things are meant, or, in what order a person or thing stands. For example -
(a) There are seventeen hundred students in our college.
(b) Few Indians hate their culture.
(c) How many players were awarded for their best performance?
(d) No teachers were present in the meeting.
(e) The cat drank up all the milk in the pot.

Kinds of Numeral Adjectives

1. Definite Numeral Adjectives: These Adjective denote an exact number. They are of two kinds: -
(a) Cardinals: three, five, one, ten, six, eight, seventeen, thirty four, twenty seven, twenty five, etc.
(b) Ordinals: first, second, third, fifth, sixth, eighth, etc.

2. Indefinite Numeral Adjectives: These adjectives denote indefinite number without an exact number.

Pay Attention - A Roman Numeral take the same form in cardinal and ordinal numbers, I, V, X, L, XC, C, etc. For example: -

1. Many men come; many men go.
2. All the boys of our college were shouting slogans with much zeal and happiness.
3. A few people took part in the procession.
4. Have you eaten any food?
5. They had no houses to live in.

All, no, many, few, some, any, certain, several, sundry, etc.

3. Distributive Numeral Adjectives: These adjectives refer to each one of a number. For example: -

1. Each student must take his turn.
2. Every boy, girl, man, and woman was enjoying the fine weather in the rainy season.
3. Neither side was safe.
4. Gandhiji wanted every Indian to do his duty honestly & efficiently.
5. Either book will solve my purpose.

4. Adjectives of Quantity: These adjectives denote (show) the quantity of a thing. Some adjectives many be used as of quantity or number, according to their use. For example: -

S.No. Adjectives of Quantity Adjectives of Number

1. The cat drank all the milk. The boy sold all his books.

2. I have no difficulty. I have no pens.

3. The man did not eat any bread. Are there any mango trees in the garden?

4. There is enough sugar in the milk. I have not enough plates in my kitchen at present.

5. My grandfather lost all his wealth. All the books in the bookshelf have gone out-dated.

Pay Attention - We have already studied Demonstrative Adjectives, Interrogative Adjectives, Distributive Adjectives along with the pronoun. Study the following in this context: -

1. These grapes are very sweet.
2. Those mangoes in the basket are not worth eating.
3. What kind of man are you?
4. Whose car has been stolen from the park?
5. Which animal has tusks?

5. Emphasizing Adjectives: The adjectives which are used to emphasize the statement are called emphasing adjectives. For example: -

1. I saw all this with my own eyes.
2. This is the very man who was disturbing the meeting.
3. This is the very toy my grandson wants to buy.
4. Mind your own business.
5. I am my own master.

6. Exclamatory Adjectives: The word 'what' is sometimes used as an exclamatory adjective. For example: -

1. What a boy you are!
2. What folly!
3. What a lucky girl she is!
4. What an idea!
5. What a game!

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