Types of adjectives

1. Adjective Concept

An adjective (abbreviated as adj) is a word used to describe or indicate the characteristics, qualities, or features of people, things, events, or phenomena.

Examples:

• Adjectives describing people: Clear (healthy, sharp), Athletic (muscular, strong), Well-proportioned (well-balanced, attractive).
• Adjectives describing personality: Gentle (kind), Diligent (hardworking), Sensitive (sensitive).

2. Degrees of Adjectives

Depending on the context and the content the speaker wishes to convey, adjectives can have different degrees: positive, comparative, and superlative. Below are examples of adjectives in English for each degree:

2.1. Positive Adjectives

Used to describe without comparison.

Example:

• This is a beautiful girl.

2.2. Comparative Adjectives

Used to compare two objects (used with than).

Example:

• This girl is more beautiful than that girl.

2.3. Superlative Adjectives

Used to compare three or more objects, indicating that a characteristic is the most prominent.

Example:

• This is the most beautiful girl that I have seen.

3. Types of Adjectives

Similar to nouns or verbs in English, adjectives are classified into various types based on their function and purpose.

3.1. Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives are part of a noun phrase and modify the noun. These adjectives are used to express the characteristics of objects or events.

Examples:

• Small, Big, Short, Thin, Fat.

Position of Descriptive Adjectives:

In a noun phrase, these adjectives must follow determiners such as articles (“a,” “an”) and precede the noun they modify.

What if multiple adjectives are used to modify a noun simultaneously? Does their position change?

English adjectives are conventionally arranged in the following order:

• Opinion – Size – Age – Shape – Color – Origin – Material – Purpose + Noun

Examples:

• A big blue plastic bottle
• A square glass table
• A short narrow street

When two adjectives of the same category are used, they are connected with and.

Examples:

• A new black and white T-shirt (a new black and white T-shirt).
• A beautiful white and pink dress (a beautiful white and pink dress).
• Blue and red velvet curtains (blue and red velvet curtains).

3.2. Possessive Adjectives

Among the types of adjectives in English, possessive adjectives are perhaps the most common. They are used to indicate ownership or possession of a noun. Different pronouns have distinct possessive adjectives:

Pronoun	Singular	Plural
First Person	My: mine	Our: ours
Second Person	Your: yours	Your: yours
Third Person	His: his Her: hers Its: its	Their: theirs

Examples:

• My table.
• His friends.
• Their house.

4. Types of Adjectives

4.1. Descriptive Adjectives

The use of descriptive adjectives in English typically provides information and value about objects or events.

Examples:

• A beautiful girl.
• A sweet girl.

4.2. Quantitative Adjectives

In writing and speaking, quantitative adjectives express the quantity or amount of an object, often answering questions like “how many” or “how much.”

Examples:

• How many staff are there in his company?
• He has thirty-three staff in the company.

4.3. Demonstrative Adjectives

English demonstrative adjectives describe pronouns or nouns the speaker refers to, including words like these, those, this, and that.

Examples:

• Which car would you like to give her?
• I would like to give that one.

4.4. Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives, also known as possessing adjectives, indicate the owner of an object, using words like your, his, her, our, and their. When omitting the pronoun or noun, replace them with yours, his, hers, ours, or theirs.

Note:

• For an indefinite pronoun like one, the possessive form is one’s.
• For words like everyone, use their.

Examples:

• This is my car. = This car is mine.

4.5. Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are used when asking questions and always accompany a noun or pronoun, including which, whose, and what.

Examples:

• When “Which” is an adjective: Which house is your favorite?
• When “Which” is not an adjective: Which is your favorite house?

4.6. Distributive Adjectives

Distributive adjectives describe a specific member of a group, including any, either, every, or each. These always accompany a noun or pronoun.

Example:

• Each company has its rules.

4.7. Articles

A, an, and the are the three articles in English.

• A: Singular, begins with a consonant, refers to a general object.
• An: Singular, begins with a vowel, refers to a general object.
• The: Singular or plural, refers to a specific object.

4.8. Cardinal and Ordinal Adjectives

Examples:

• one, two, three…
• first, second, third…

4.9. Relative Adjectives

These are adjectives that resemble relative pronouns.

Examples:

• Whichever, Whatever

5. Adjectives with -ing and -ed Endings

Among English adjectives, those with -ing and -ed endings often confuse learners during grammar exercises or daily conversations.

Adjectives with -ed endings: Express the speaker’s emotions about an object, event, or phenomenon.

Example:

• He’s interested in listening to this song.

Adjectives with -ing endings: Describe something that evokes a feeling or emotion in the speaker.

Example:

• It is an interesting song.

Some common -ing and -ed adjective pairs:

• Shocking – shocked
• Confusing – confused
• Frightening – frightened
• Amusing – amused
• Exhausting – exhausted
• Astonishing – astonished
• Embarrassing – embarrassed
• Exciting – excited
• Terrifying – terrified
• Worrying – worried

6. Compound Adjectives

Besides basic and common adjectives, English also has other forms to create adjectives:

From two simple words forming an adjective:

• Money-making
• Nerve-wracking
• Record-breaking
• Hair-raising
• Heartbreaking
• Top-ranking

Structure of Compound Adjectives in English:

6.1. Noun + Adjective = Adjective

Examples:

• Life + long = lifelong
• Snow + white = snow-white

6.2. Adverb + Participle = Adjective

Examples:

• Well + known = Well-known
• Well + done = Well-done

6.3. Adjective + Participle = Adjective

Examples:

• Ready + made = Ready-made
• High + paid = High-paid

7. Position of Adjectives

There are two common positions for adjectives in English: before a noun and standing alone.

7.1. Adjectives Before a Noun

In English, adjectives placed before a noun combine to form a noun phrase:

Examples:

• A big house
• A good boy

7.2. Adjectives Standing Alone

Adjectives like aware, ashamed, alone, unable, and exempt often stand alone.

Example:

• That girl is alone.

Adjectives can be used after the following linking verbs in English:

• To be: is, are
• Seem: seems
• Sound: sounds
• Smell: smells
• Feel: feels
• Taste: tastes
• Look: looks

8. Identifying Adjectives

English adjectives are diverse in usage and description, which can sometimes cause confusion for learners. Below are simple ways to identify adjectives in English:

Position Before a Noun in a Sentence:

First, identify adjectives by their position:

• After the verb to be: He is handsome,…
• After verbs of emotion: turn, hear, seem, get, smell, become, look, feel, sound.
• After words like: anything, something, someone, anyone,…

English words ending with:

• ful: beautiful, peaceful,…
• ive: competitive, expensive,…
• ish: selfish, childish,…
• ed: bored, excited,…
• ent: different,…
• able: comfortable, affordable,…
• ous: dangerous, delicious,…
• cult: difficult,…
• al: additional, natural,…