Adjectives for Dummies

Determiners

are actually determining adjectives.

Articles: a, an, and the,

Demonstratives: this, that, those, and these.

Possessivness: his, her, their, our, its, your, and my.

Indefinites: some, few, many, several, no, and any.

Incorrect uses of possessive adjectives

Correct: This is my favorite pencil.

Wrong: This is mines favorite pencil.

Descriptive Adjectives

Any word used to desire another word.

Example: The red apples are sitting in the hot sun.

Red describes the color of the apple and hot describes the temperature of the sun.

Most words ending in; ous, ful, able, y, ible, ive, less, and al, are descriptive adjectives.

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are descriptive words derived from proper nouns.

Example: The San Francisco trolley station

San Francisco describes what trolley station.

Predicate Adjectives

Predicate adjectives occur after the verb in a statement. A predicate adjective always describes the subject of the sentence. A sentence containing a predicate adjective must have a linking verb.

Degrees of Adjectives

The comparative form compares two things.

Example: The painting is larger than that one.

The superlative form compares three or more.

Example: Of the three, this painting is the largest.

Comparative adjectives

For most comparative adjectives, add er to most one-syllable adjectives and many two-syllable adjectives.

Higher or Bigger

Place more (or less) before many two-syllable adjectives.

Less loyal or More partial

Some adjectives totally change form.

Good/Better or Bad/Worse

Superlative Adjectives

Add est to most one-syllable and two-syllable adjectives.

High/Highest or Happy/Happiest

Place most or least before many two-syllable and three-syllable adjectives.

Wonderful/Most Wonderful or Expensive/Least Expensive

Some adjectives totally change form.

Good/Best or Bad/Worst

INCORRECT USES OF DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES

Correct: That building is larger than that one.

Wrong: That building is more larger than that one.

Citations

Easy Grammar®: Plus Student Work book