Adjectives

In linguistics, an adjective is a word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent.

	Adjectives

	Are words that describe nouns.

4.1

Types of Adjectives

Adjectives

Examples

Describes colour

(a)		She puts on brown robes and a gold chain.
(b)		She likes red lipstick.

Describes size

(a)		My uncle has a long moustache.
(b)		My sister has tiny feet.

Describes quality

(a)		He is an ideal candidate for the Teenage Hero Programme.
(b)		That resort has excellent service.

Possessive adjectives

(a)		She likes your hat.
(b)		I think her dog has eaten my gerbil.

4.2

Prefixes

You can form negative adjectives by adding prefixes such as 'dis-', 'un-', or 'im-' before the adjectives.

4.3

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns or pronouns.

You must add '-er' and 'than' to the adjective when comparing two objects.
Note: When comparing two objects, the word 'than' must follow after the comparative adjective.

For two syllables adjectives ending with '-y', change the 'y' to '-i' and add '-er'.

For some adjectives with two or more syllables, use 'more' followed by the adjective and 'than'.

Superlative adjectives are used to compare at least three nouns or pronouns.
You must add '-est' to the adjective and 'the' before it.

Some adjectives are irregular.