Eight Parts of Speech
- —Adjectives
- —Adverbs
- —Conjunctions
- —Interjections
- —Nouns
- —Prepositions
- —Pronouns
- —Verbs
What are Adjectives?
Definition of Adjective
Adjectives are describing words. Large, grey and friendly are all examples of adjectives.
In the examples below, these adjectives are used to describe an elephant.
—Examples:
—Large elephant
Grey elephant
Friendly elephant
Adjectives Modify Nouns
The word elephant is a noun. Adjectives are added to nouns to state what kind, what color, which one or how many. Adjectives are said to modify nouns and are necessary to make the meanings of sentences clearer or more exact.
Adjectives Modify Pronouns
Although less common, adjectives can also modify pronouns.
Examples (Adjective nouns):
—Follow the yellow cab.
—(In this example, the adjective 'yellow' modifies the noun 'cab'.)
—Craig caught another large bass.
—(In this example, the adjective 'large' modifies the noun 'bass'.)
—
Examples (Adjectives pronouns):
—It is a blue one.
—(In this example, the adjective 'blue' modifies the pronoun 'one'.)
—Only a brave few have received a recommendation.
THE DIFFERENT TYPE OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are describing words. However, there are many other words that are classified as adjectives, some of which do not fall easily under this description.
PERSONAL TITLES
—Personal titles such Mr, Mrs, Auntie, Uncle, Dr and Lord are classified as adjectives when they are attached to a name.
—The day after tomorrow, you can visit Auntie Pauline and Uncle Joe.
—The lecture on Friday will be presented by Dr Ingols and Prof. Munro.
—
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
—Possessive adjectives are used to show possession. They are my, your, his, her, its, our and their. (They are also called possessive pronouns.)
—THE ARTICLES
—The words a, an and the are known as articles and are classified as adjectives too. 'A' and 'an' are called the indefinite articles, as they do not indicate a specific noun; whereas, 'the' is called the definite article, because it does point to a specific noun.
—A cup (< any cup)
—The cup (< a specific cup)
—
DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES
Demonstrative adjectives are used to demonstrate or indicate specific things. This, that, these and those are all demonstrative adjectives.
If I hear that parrot again, I will call the RSPCA.
('That' is a demonstrative adjective. It refers to a specific parrot.)
—Medals will only be given to those runners who complete the marathon in less than 8 hours.
('Those' is a demonstrative adjective. It refers to specific people.)
Unlike demonstrative adjectives, which indicate specific items, indefinite adjectives do not point out specific things. They are formed from indefinite pronouns. The most common indefinite adjectives are no, any, many, few and several.
INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES
—The chief has heard many people make the same promise.
—(The indefinite adjective 'many' modifies the noun 'people'.)
—According to a council spokesman, there are no wallabies left in Derbyshire.
—However, over the past few months, many walkers have reported seeing several adults with young.
—(The indefinite adjectives in this example are no, few, many and several.)
—
NUMBERS
—Numbers are classified as adjectives too.
—Four dolphins stayed with the boat until dawn.
—(The adjective 'four' modifies the noun 'dolphins'.)
—All we could muster was 9 cans of beans.
—(The adjective '9' modifies the noun 'cans'.)
COMPOUND ADJECTIVES
—
A compound adjective is an adjective that comprises more than one word. Usually, hyphens are used to link the words together to show that it is one adjective.
Often adjectives are formed from proper nouns (i.e., the names of things), which should be written using capital letters. In these circumstances, there is no need to group the words together using hyphens.
Examples:
—Please request a four-foot table.
—('Four-foot' is an adjective describing the table. A hyphen is used to link 'four' and 'foot' to show that it is one adjective.)
—It is a 6-page document.
—Claire worked as a part-time keeper at the safari park.
—That is an all-too-common mistake.
—Compound Adjectives from Proper Nouns
—Examples:
—Did you manage to get the Billy Elliot tickets?
—(The words 'Billy Elliot' are one adjective describing the tickets. As the capital letters group the words, there is no need to use a hyphen.)
— 'Waking the Dead' (This is correct. It's a compound adjective using title case.)
Although a less common practice, it is also possible to group the words in a compound adjective using quotation marks, italics or a combination of the two. (Italics tend to be used for foreign words.)
—Compound Adjectives with Quotation Marks and Italics
—
Examples:
—Amber looked at the stick in the water, looked me in the eye and then turned
—away, giving me a "get it yourself" look.
—(quotation marks used to group the adjective)
—Adverbs and Compound Adjectives
—As covered in the lesson Adverbs, an adjective is often preceded by a word like very, well, beautifully or extremely. (These are adverbs.) Usually, there is no need to link an adverb to an adjective using a hyphen.
—
Examples:
—Young Tracey is an extremely brave girl.
(The adverb 'extremely' modifies the adjective 'brave' but is not part of it.
—There is no need to group it and 'brave' together with a hyphen.
—It was a beautifully painted portrait in a skillfully carved frame.
(The adverb 'beautifully' adds to the adjective 'painted' but is not part of it)
—It is the same with 'skillfully' and 'carved'. (There is no need for hyphens.)
Ambiguous Adjectives/Adverbs
However, with words like well and fast (which are both adjectives and adverbs),
a hyphen can be used to avoid ambiguity.
—Example:
—Jacob took the well-fatted calf to the riverside.
('well-fatted calf' as in a very plump calf)
—Jacob took the well fatted calf to the riverside.
('well fatted calf' could be construed as a 'well' (i.e., healthy) and 'fatted' calf.
—In the first example, the 'well-fatted calf' could be ill.)
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