What is an Adjective?

What is an Adjective? Learning Descriptive and Modifying Words

Wherever we go and whatever we do, we are often asked to describe the people we meet and the places we go. The best way to describe people, places and events is to use adjectives.

An adjective is one of the eight parts of speech that schoolchildren need to master. Adjectives are fun to learn because these are the words that can articulate how you feel. For instance, every time you study grammar and composition, what adjectives below best suits you?.

What is an Adjective?

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are used to describe a person, object, place or event. In many instances, an adjective provides a specific meaning to the word it is describing.

The basic rule in describing a noun or pronoun is by using an adjective that can answer four questions about them. These questions are: What kind? Which one? How many? and How much?

What is an Adjective Example?

Adjective Modifying a Noun

When an adjective describes or modifies a noun, it is often found before the noun. However, there are instances that the adjective may come after a noun.

Adjective Modifying a Pronoun

When an adjective describes a pronoun, it is found after the pronoun. However, there are also instances that they come after the pronoun.

You can use two or more adjectives to describe a noun or a pronoun.

Having two or more adjectives describing a single noun or pronoun can be tricky. For this purpose, practice makes perfect. You may refer to the chart on the standard order of adjectives as a guide.

Articles

The three most common adjectives are the A, AN, and THE, which are known as articles. In particular, A and AN are indefinite articles because they could be used to refer to any class of nouns.

What is an adjective noun?

Nouns can also act as adjectives. In this instance, the noun answers the questions What kind? or Which one? about another noun.

Proper nouns can also be adjectives and these usually begin with a capital letter.

What are adjective pronouns?

Pronouns can also be used as adjectives. These pronouns modify noun, answer the question Which one? and found just before the nouns.

In this instance, there is an antecedent noun “students”, which is being referred to by the noun “their”. Hence, the possessive adjective “their” also acts as a pronoun.

Below are samples of demonstrative adjectives, which are similar to demonstrative pronouns.

Here are samples of interrogative adjectives, which are similar to interrogative pronouns.

The last category of adjective pronouns are the indefinite adjectives, which are similar to indefinite pronouns.

What is an adjective verb?

Verbs can also be used as adjectives and they usually end with “-ing” or “-ed”, which are also known as participles.

Knowing your adjectives opens up a whole new world for you and for others. By finding the right adjectives to describe persons, places and events, you transport your readers and listeners to your world and how you see things. Hence, great writers and eloquent speakers would be armed with expressive and powerful adjectives to tell a story or deliver a speech.

So the next time you are asked to describe a friend, say more than just

be more creative and say…