ADJECTIVE

Name : Wulan Andayani

NPM : 16020127

Group : 2K4

Lecturer : Dra. Nurrochmi,M.Pd.

POLITEKNIK SEKOLAH TINGGI TEKNOLOGI TEKSTIL

BANDUNG

2017
Adjectives
What is an adjective?
Adjectives are words that describe or modify other words, making your
writing and speaking much more specific, and a whole lot more
interesting. Words like small, blue, and sharp are descriptive, and they
are all examples of adjectives. Because adjectives are used to identify
or quantify individual people and unique things, they are usually
positioned before the noun or pronoun that they modify. Some
sentences contain multiple adjectives.

Adjective example
In the following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:

1. They live in a big, beautiful

2. Since it’s a hot day, Lisa is wearing a sleeveless
3. The mountaintops are covered in sparkling
4. On her birthday, Brenda received an antique vase filled
with fragrant

Types of Adjectives
Remember that adjectives can modify as well as describe other
words, and you’ll find it much easier to identify different types of
adjectives when you see them.
 Articles

There are only three articles, and all of them are adjectives: a,
an, and the. Because they are used to discuss non-specific things and
people, a and an are called indefinite articles. For example:

 I’d like a
 Let’s go on an
Neither one of these sentences names a specific banana or a certain
adventure. Without more clarification, any banana or adventure will
do.

The word the is called the definite article. It’s the only definite article,
and it is used to indicate very specific people or things:

 Please give me a banana. I’d like the one with the green stem.
 Let’s go on an adventure. The Grand Canyon mule ride sounds
perfect!

Possessive Adjectives

As the name indicates, possessive adjectives are used to indicate

possession. They are: My,Your,His,Her,Its,Our,Their

Possessive adjectives also function as possessive pronouns.

 Demonstrative Adjectives

Like the article the, demonstrative adjectives are used to indicate or

demonstrate specific people, animals, or things. These, those,
this and that are demonstrative adjectives.

 These books belong on that

 This movie is my favorite.
 Please put those cookies on the blue plate.

Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are separated with commas or the word and,

and appear one after another to modify the same noun. The adjectives
in the phrase bright, sunny day and long and dark night are coordinate
adjectives. In phrases with more than two coordinate adjectives, the
word and always appears before the last one; for example: The sign
had big, bold, and bright letters.
Be careful, because some adjectives that appear in a series are not
coordinate. In the phrase green delivery truck, the
words green and delivery are not separated by a comma
because green modifies the phrase delivery truck. To eliminate
confusion when determining whether a pair or group of adjectives is
coordinate, just insert the word and between them. If and works, then
the adjectives are coordinate and need to be separated with a comma.
 Numbers Adjectives

When they’re used in sentences, numbers are almost always

adjectives. You can tell that a number is an adjective when it answers
the question “How many?”

 The stagecoach was pulled by a team of six

 He ate 23 hotdogs during the contest, and was sick afterwards.

Interrogative Adjectives

There are three interrogative adjectives: which, what, and whose. Like
all other types of adjectives, interrogative adjectives modify nouns. As
you probably know, all three of these words are used to ask questions.

 Which option sounds best to you?

 What time should we go?
 Whose socks are those?

Indefinite Adjectives

Like the articles a and an, indefinite adjectives are used to discuss
non-specific things. You might recognize them, since they’re formed
from indefinite pronouns. The most common indefinite adjectives
are any, many, no, several, and few.

 Do we have any peanut butter?

 Grandfather has been retired for many
 There are no bananas in the fruit bowl.
 I usually read the first few pages of a book before I buy it.
 We looked at several cars before deciding on the best one for our
family.

Attributive Adjectives

Attributive adjectives talk about specific traits, qualities, or features –

in other words, they are used to discuss attributes. There are different
kinds of attributive adjectives:

 Observation adjectives such as real, perfect, best, interesting,

beautiful or cheapest can indicate value or talk about subjective
measures.
 Size and shape adjectives talk about measurable, objective qualities
including specific physical properties. Some examples include small,
large, square, round, poor, wealthy, slow and
 Age adjectives denote specific ages in numbers, as well as general
ages. Examples are old, young, new, five-year-old, and
 Color adjectives are exactly what they sound like – they’re adjectives
that indicate color. Examples include pink, yellow, blue, and
 Origin adjectives indicate the source of the noun, whether it’s a
person, place, animal or thing. Examples include American, Canadian,
Mexican, French.
 Material adjectives denote what something is made of. Some
examples include cotton, gold, wool, and
 Qualifier adjectives are often regarded as part of a noun. They make
nouns more specific; examples include log cabin,
luxury car, and pillow cover.
Forming adjectives
Typical adjective endings
Some adjectives can be identified by their endings. Typical adjective
endings include:

1. -able/-ible understandable, capable, readable, incredible

2. -al mathematical, functional, influential, chemical
3. -ful beautiful, bashful, helpful, harmful
4. -ic artistic, manic, rustic, terrific
5. -ive submissive, intuitive, inventive, attractive
6. -less sleeveless, hopeless, groundless, restless
7. -ous gorgeous, dangerous, adventurous, fabulous
Sometimes when adding these endings changes have to be made.
Here are some rules for forming adjectives and their exceptions:

Add Exceptions Word Adjective

Nature Natural
-al If ending with an ‘e‘, drop it
Function Functional
Add Exceptions Word Adjective

Ice Icy
-y If ending with an ‘e‘, drop it
Oil Oily

Beauty Beautiful
-ful If ending with a ‘y‘, replace with an ‘i‘
Peace Peaceful

Mystery Mysterious
-ous/-ious If ending with a ‘y‘, drop it
Danger Dangerous

History Historic
-ic If ending with a ‘y‘, drop it
Rust Rustic

Forming adjectives from nouns and verbs

Adjectives can be formed from different words. They can be formed
from nouns:
Noun Adjective

accident accidental
Noun Adjective

danger dangerous

length long

star starry

wind windy

From verbs:
Verb Adjective

enjoy enjoyable

help helpful

obey obedient
Verb Adjective

play playful

talk talkative

Or even from other adjectives:

Adjective Adjective

comic comical

correct corrective

elder elderly

red reddish

sick sickly
Examples of forming adjectives
1. Our house color is a kind of yellow. → We live in
a yellowish house.
2. He often acts like a child. → He often acts in a childish way.
3. The event was a big success. → We enjoyed
a successful event.
4. We enjoyed the sound of the drum’s rhythm. → We enjoyed the
drum’s rhythmic sound.
5. She adopted a dog without a home. → She adopted
a homeless dog.
6. Look out, that plant is poison. → Look out for
that poisonous plant.
7. It looks like it will rain today. → It looks like we’ll
have rainy weather today.
8. She always acts with courtesy. → She always behaves in
a courteousmanner.
9. Her hair is pretty. → She has the prettiest hair.
10. We go for a walk each day. → We go for a daily walk.

Denominal adjectives
What are denominal adjectives?
Denominal adjectives (sometimes called denominal adjectives)
are adjectivesderived from nouns. For example:

1. A mathematical puzzle. (a puzzle based on mathematics)

2. A biological experiment. (an experiment in biology)
3. A wooden boat. (a boat made of wood)
Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns. They commonly
describe something in terms of nationality, religious affiliation, or
culture. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives have their first letter
capitalized. For example:

1. I married a Russian woman.

2. The Jewish community in NY is very large.
Adjectives of this type should be carefully distinguished from
adjectives denoting nationalities (nominal adjectives). For example:

1. Denominal Adjective: The French people are noted for their

wines.
2. Nominal Adjective: The French are noted for their wines.
or:

1. Denominal Adjective: The poor people are more vulnerable.

2. Nominal Adjective: The poor are getting poorer.

Examples of denominal adjectives

 1. A mathematical puzzle.
2. A biological experiment.
3. A wooden boat.
4. I married an American woman.
5. The Jewish community in NY is very big.
6. Mary has a collection of expensive Russian dolls.
7. In the winter you must wear heavy woolen clothes.
8. The polar bear is listed as threatened.

Comparing adjectives
Forming comparative adjectives
As well as serving as modifying words like beautiful and
big, adjectives are also used for indicating the position on a scale of
comparison. The lowest point on the scale is known as
the absolute form, the middle point is known as
the comparativeform, and the highest point is known as
the superlative form.
Absolute Comparative Superlative

This book is long. This book is longer than that book. This is the longestbook.
Absolute Comparative Superlative

The airport is farther than the train This is

The airport is far.
station. the farthestairport.

My mom is My mom is a better cook than your My mom is

a good cook. mom. the best cook.

The comparative form

When two objects or persons are being compared, the comparative
form of the adjective is used. The comparative adjective can be
formed in two ways:

1. Adding –er to the absolute form of the adjective.

2. Adding the word more before the adjective.
For example:

1. My essay is longer than yours.

2. She is more beautiful than her sister.
Here are the rules for choosing and forming the right form:
Add When Example Forming and Exceptions

 Words ending with ‘e‘, add ‘r‘

to the end of the word (e.g.,
lame → lamer).
 Words with one vowel and
one consonant at the end,
Words of This is a double the consonant and add
–er
one syllable longerbook.
–er to the end of the word
(e.g., big → bigger).
 Words with more than one
vowel or more than one
consonant at the end, add –
er to the end of the word (e.g.,
hard → harder).

Words of
two syllables This doll is Change ‘y‘ to ‘i‘, and add –er to the
–er
ending with prettier. end of the word.
‘y‘

Words of
He
two syllables
more is morecharming Insert more before the adjective
not ending
than his friend.
with ‘y‘

Three
This is
syllable
more a morepowerful Insert more before the adjective
words or
cable.
longer
When comparing two things, the word than is positioned between the
adjective and the thing being compared. For example:

1. Apples are tastier than oranges.

2. This painting is more interesting than that painting.

Superlatives
The superlative is used to say what thing or person has the most of a
particular quality within a group or of its kind. The superlative can be
formed in two ways:

1. Adding –est to the absolute form of the adjective.

2. Adding the word most before the adjective.
For example:

1. This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.

2. The biggest table in the room.
Here are the rules for choosing and forming the right form:

Add When Example Forming and Exceptions

–est
Words of This is the  Words ending with ‘e‘, add
one syllable longestbook.
‘st‘ to the end of the word
(e.g., large → largest).
Add When Example Forming and Exceptions

 Words with one vowel and

one consonant at the end,
double the consonant and add
–est to the end of the word
(e.g., big → biggest).
 Words with more than one
vowel or more than one
consonant at the end, add –
est to the end of the word
(e.g., blue → bluest).

Words of
two syllables This doll is the Change ‘y‘ to ‘i‘, and add –est to the
–est
ending with prettiest. end of the word.
‘y‘

Words of
He is
two syllables
most the mostcharming Insert most before the adjective
not ending
boy at school.
with ‘y‘

Three
This is
syllable
most the mostpowerful Insert most before the adjective
words or
story.
longer

Superlatives are usually preceded by the word the.

Positive form
The positive form is used in cases where there are no differences
between the two compared things or persons. To form the positive, we
use the word as before and after the absolute form of the adjective.
For example:

1. Danny is as smart as Phillip.

2. She is as beautiful as her older sister.
This can also be applied in a negative context to indicate that the
compared objects are not similar:

1. Danny is not as smart as Phillip.

2. She is not as beautiful as her older sister.

Exceptions (irregular forms)

Certain adjectives have irregular forms in the comparative and
superlative degrees:

Absolute Comparative Superlative

Good Better Best

Bad Worse Worst

Absolute Comparative Superlative

Little Less Least

Much/many/some More Most

Examples of comparing adjectives

1. This house is bigger than that one.
2. This flower is more beautiful than that.
3. He is taller than Mr. Hulas.
4. He is more intelligent than this boy.
5. Jonathan is the most handsome man on campus.
6. This is the prettiest dress in the window.
7. I lost my most comfortable shoes.
8. My job is worse than yours.

Compound adjectives
What are compound adjectives?
A compound adjective is formed when two or more adjectives are
joined together to modify the same noun. These terms should be
hyphenated to avoid confusion or ambiguity. For example:

1. Diana submitted a 6-page document.

2. She adopted a two-year-old cat.

Compound adjectives – Exceptions

Note that combining an adverb and an adjective does not create a
compound adjective. No hyphen is required because it is already clear
that the adverb modifies the adjective rather than the subsequent
noun. For example:

1. It was a terribly hot day.

2. It is an amazingly good idea.
In addition, you should not place a hyphen in a compound adjective if
the adjectives are capitalized, such as when they are part of a title.

Examples of compound adjectives

1. This is a four-foot table.
2. Daniella is a part-time worker.
3. This is an all-too-common error.
4. Beware of the green-eyed monster.
5. He is a cold-blooded man.
 6. I love this brightly-lit room!
7. Danny’s dog is well-behaved.
8. You have to be open-minded about things

Order of adjectives
How to order adjectives in English
In many languages, adjectives denoting attributes usually occur in a
specific order. Generally, the adjective order in English is:

1. Quantity or number
2. Quality or opinion
3. Size
4. Age
5. Shape
6. Color
7. Proper adjective (often nationality, other place of origin, or
material)
8. Purpose or qualifier
For example:

1. I love that really big old green antique car that always parked at
the end of the street.
2. My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.
When there are two or more adjectives that are from the same group,
the word andis placed between the two adjectives:

1. The house is green and red.

2. The library has old and new books.
When there are three or more adjectives from the same adjective
group, place a comma between each of the coordinate adjectives:

1. We live in the big green, white and red house at the end of the
street.
2. My friend lost a red, black and white watch.
A comma is not placed between an adjective and the noun.

Order of adjectives – examples

Qua Qu Pur
Pro
ntit alit pos
Dete Si A Sh C per N
y or y or e or
rmin z g ap ol adje ou
nu opi qua
er e e e or ctiv n
mbe nio lifie
e
r n r

A
bea
ol Itali spor ca
utif
 Qua Qu Pur
Pro
ntit alit pos
Dete Si A Sh C per N
y or y or e or
rmin z g ap ol adje ou
nu opi qua
er e e e or ctiv n
mbe nio lifie
e
r n r

ul d an ts r

bea lit pl
thre go
The utif tl at
e ld
ul e es

re
he
d
art
ama an
- so
An zin d
sha fa
g w
pe
hit
d
e

More examples:

1. I love that really old big green antique car that always parked at
the end of the street. [quality – age – size – color – proper
adjective]
2. My sister has a big, beautiful, tan and white, bulldog. [size –
quality – color – color]
3. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion – age – origin]
 4. A big square blue box. [dimension – shape – color]
5. A disgusting pink plastic ornament. [opinion – color – material]
6. Some slim new French trousers. [dimension – age – origin]
7. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion – age – origin]
8. I bought a pair of black leather shoes. [color – material]

Lists of adjectives
Common adjectives
Good,New,First.Last,Long,great,little,own,other,old,right,big,high,diffe
rent,small,large,next,early,young,important,few,public,bad,same,able

Appearance adjectives
Adorable,beautiful,clean,drab,elegant,fancy,glamorous,handsome,lon
g,magnificent,old-fashioned,plain,quaint,sparkling,ugliest,unsightly,
wide-eyed

Color adjectives
Red,orange,yellow,green,blue,purple,gray,black,white

Condition adjectives
Alive,better,careful,clever,dead,easy,famous,gifted,helpful,important,i
nexpensive,mushy,odd,powerful,rich,shy,tender,uninterested,vast,wr
ong

Personality adjectives – Positive

agreeable brave calm delightful eager faithful gentle happy jolly kind

lively nice obedient proud relieved silly thankful victorious witty

zealous

Personality adjectives – Negative

angry bewildered clumsy defeated embarrassed fierce grumpy
helpless itchy jealous lazy mysterious nervous obnoxious panicky
repulsive scary thoughtless uptight worried

Shape adjectives
Broad chubby crooked curved deep flat high hollow low narrow round
shallow skinny square steep straight wide

Size adjectives
Big colossal fat gigantic great huge immense large little mammoth
massive miniature petite puny scrawny short small tall teeny teeny-
tiny tiny
 Sound adjectives
Cooing deafening faint hissing loud melodic noisy purring quiet raspy
screeching thundering voiceless whispering

Time adjectives
Ancient brief earlyfast late long modern old old-fashioned quick rapid
short slow swift young

Taste/touch adjectives

Bitter delicious fresh greasy juicy hot icy loose melted nutritious

prickly rainy rotten salty sticky strong sweet tart tasteless uneven

weak wet wooden yummy

Touch adjectives
boiling,breeze,broken,bumpy,chilly,cold,cool,creepy,crooked,cuddly,c
urly,damaged,damp,dirty,dry,dusty,filthy,flaky,fluffy,freezing,hot,warm
,wet

Quantity adjectives
Abundant empty few full heavy light Many numerous sparse

 substantial
Examples of adjectives
Typical adjective endings
1. They live in a beautiful house.
2. Lisa is wearing a sleeveless shirt today. This soup is not edible.
3. She wore a beautiful dress.
4. He writes meaningless letters.
5. This shop is much nicer.
6. She wore a beautiful dress.
7. Ben is an adorable baby.
8. Linda’s hair is gorgeous.
9. This glass is breakable.
10. I met a homeless person in NY.

Denominal adjective examples

1. A mathematical puzzle.
2. A biological experiment.
3. A wooden boat.
4. I married an American woman.
5. The Jewish community in NY is very big.
6. Mary has a collection of expensive Russian dolls.
7. In the winter you must wear heavy woollen clothes.
8. The polar bear is listed as threatened.

Order of adjective examples

1. I love that really big old green antique car that is always parked
at the end of the street. [quality – size – age – color – qualifier]
2. My sister has a beautiful big white bulldog. [quality – size –
color]
3. A wonderful old Italian clock. [opinion – age – origin]
4. A big square blue box. [size – shape – color]
5. A disgusting pink plastic ornament. [opinion – color – material]
6. Some new slim French trousers. [age – shape – origin]
7. My small new red sleeping bag. [size – age – color – purposee]
8. I bought a pair of black leather shoes. [color – material]

Comparing adjective examples

1. This house is bigger than that one.
2. This flower is more beautiful than that.
3. He is taller than Mr. Hulas.
4. He is more intelligent than this boy.
5. Jonathan is the most handsome man on campus.
6. This is the prettiest dress in the window.
7. I lost my most comfortable shoes.
8. My job is worse than yours.

Compound adjectives examples

1. This is a four-foot table.
2. Daniella is a part-time worker.
3. This is an all-too-common error.
4. Beware of the green-eyed monster.
5. He is a cold-blooded man.
6. We saw a man-eating shark!
7. Danny’s dog is well-behaved.
8. You have to be open-minded about things.

Adjectival phrase examples

1. Susan is really clever.
2. The doctor is very late.
3. My sister is fond of animals.
4. I am happy to meet you.
5. The kids are ready to go.
6. Don’t be afraid of the dark.
7. Tony lost his dark brown briefcase.
8. He’s an extraordinary looking man.