Structure: Adjectives - JSS2 English language Lesson Note
Structure: Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They provide additional information about an object's size, shape, age, colour, origin, or material, and can indicate qualities or quantities. Understanding adjectives and their usage is essential for creating detailed and vivid descriptions in both spoken and written English.
Types of Adjectives
1. Descriptive Adjectives:
- Describe qualities or states of being.
- Examples: happy, blue, large, cold, beautiful
Example Sentences:
- The happy child played in the garden.
- She wore a blue dress.
2. Quantitative Adjectives:
- Indicate the quantity of nouns.
- Examples: some, many, few, several, all
Example Sentences:
- There are many apples in the basket.
- He has few friends.
3. Demonstrative Adjectives:
- Point out specific nouns.
- Examples: this, that, these, those
- Example Sentences:
- This book is interesting.
- Those cars are expensive.
4. Possessive Adjectives:
- Show ownership or possession.
- Examples: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
- Example Sentences:
- My house is near the park.
- Their dog is very friendly.
5. Interrogative Adjectives:
- Used to ask questions about nouns.
- Examples: which, what, whose
- Example Sentences:
- Which movie do you want to watch?
- Whose bag is this?
6. Comparative Adjectives:
- Compare differences between two nouns.
- Examples: taller, smarter, more beautiful
- Example Sentences:
- She is taller than her brother.
- This exam is more difficult than the last one.
7. Superlative Adjectives:
- Show the highest degree of a quality among three or more nouns.
- Examples: tallest, smartest, most beautiful
- Example Sentences:
- He is the tallest boy in the class.
- This is the most beautiful painting here.
8. Proper Adjectives:
- Derived from proper nouns and usually capitalised.
- Examples: American, Shakespearean, Victorian
- Example Sentences:
- She loves Italian food.
- They visited a Victorian mansion.
Position of Adjectives
Adjectives can appear in different positions in a sentence:
1. Attributive Position:
- Placed before the noun they modify.
- **Example Sentences**:
- The red car is fast.
- He adopted a cute puppy.
2. Predicative Position:
- Placed after a linking verb (such as be, seem, look).
- Example Sentences:
- The sky is blue.
- The cake tastes delicious.
Order of Adjectives
When multiple adjectives are used to describe a noun, they typically follow a specific order:
1. Quantity or Number (e.g., three, some)
2. Quality or Opinion** (e.g., beautiful, boring)
3. Size (e.g., big, small)
4. Age (e.g., old, new)
5. Shape (e.g., round, square)
6. Color (e.g., red, blue)
7. Origin (e.g., American, Chinese)
8. Material (e.g., wooden, plastic)
9. Purpose (e.g., sleeping (in sleeping bag), cooking (in cooking utensils))
Example Sentence:
- She bought a beautiful (opinion) small (size) old (age) round (shape) Italian (origin) marble (material) table.
Forming Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
1. One-Syllable Adjectives:
- Comparative: add -er (e.g., taller, older)
- Superlative: add -est (e.g., tallest, oldest)
- Examples:
- tall → taller → tallest
- old → older → oldest
2. Two-Syllable Adjectives:
- For adjectives ending in -y, change y to i and add -er/-est (e.g., happier, happiest)
- For other two-syllable adjectives, use more/most (e.g., more careful, most careful)
- Examples:
- happy → happier → happiest
- careful → more careful → most careful
3. Adjectives with Three or More Syllables:
- Use more/most (e.g., more interesting, most interesting)
- Examples:
- interesting → more interesting → most interesting
- beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful
Irregular Adjectives
Some adjectives have irregular forms for comparatives and superlatives:
- good → better → best
- bad → worse → worst
- far → farther/further → farthest/furthest
Using Adjectives Effectively
1. Vivid Descriptions: Use descriptive adjectives to create clear and vivid images in the reader's mind.
2. Clarity: Ensure adjectives are used appropriately to avoid confusion.
3. Conciseness: Avoid overloading sentences with too many adjectives, which can make them cumbersome.
By understanding the types, positions, and proper usage of adjectives, students can enhance their writing and speaking skills, making their communication more precise and engaging.