Adjectives

3.7 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
Adjectives describe colour	(a) My sister bought some green vegetables. (b) She puts on the red dress for the annual dinner.
Adjectives describe size	(a) Jenny read a short passage. (b) My sister has long and curly hair.
Adjectives describe quality	(a) That resort has good service and delicious food. (b) He is an excellent student that always strives for the best.
Possessive adjectives	(a) I think her dog has eaten my steak. (b) She likes your hat.

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.

(a) This box is lighter than that one.

(b) The dictionary is thicker than the novel.

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

(a) happy \(\rightarrow\) happier

(b) lovely \(\rightarrow\) lovelier

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

(a) modern \(\rightarrow\) more modern than

(b) comfortable \(\rightarrow\) more comfortable than

Superlative adjectives are used to compare at least three nouns or pronouns.

You must add '-est' to the adjective and 'the' before it.

(a) Sarah is the prettiest girl in the school.

(b) KLCC is the tallest tower in Malaysia.

Some adjectives are irregular.

4.4

Comparing Without 'Than'

Comparative adjectives can also be used without 'than'.

Example:

From this sentence	:	That luggage is heavier than this.

To this sentence	:	This luggage is heavy but that is heavier.

Note: Both examples above have the same meaning.

4.5

Comparing Similar Things

We use 'as...as' when comparing two objects that have the same quality or quantity.
Add 'not' to 'as...as' when the two objects do not have the same quality or quantity.

Examples:

1. Tom is as heavy as Bob.

(This is a comparison of quality. The sentence means that if Bob is 50 kg, GTom is 50 kg too.)

2. Lily has as many books as Amy.

(This is the comparison of quantity. Amy has three books and Lily has three as well.)

3. Helen is not as pretty as her sister.

(This shows that her sister is prettier than her.)

Quick Notes