English Grammar - Adjective

 

Adjective – Complete Explanation

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. It gives more information about quality, quantity, number, size, color, shape, ownership, or condition.

Examples:

• a beautiful flower

• a red car

• three books

• my bag

The adjectives are beautiful, red, three, my.

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Functions of Adjectives

Adjectives answer questions such as:

• What kind? → a smart student

• Which one? → this book

• How many? → five pens

• How much? → some water

• Whose? → my phone

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Position of Adjectives

1. Before a noun (Attributive adjective)

Examples:

• a small house

• a happy child

Sentence:

• She bought a new dress.

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2. After a linking verb (Predicative adjective)

Common linking verbs:

• is

• am

• are

• was

• were

• seem

• become

• look

Examples:

• The sky is blue.

• She looks tired.

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Types of Adjectives

1. Descriptive (Qualitative) Adjective

Describes quality or characteristics.

Examples:

• beautiful

• tall

• intelligent

• honest

Sentences:

• She is an intelligent student.

• We saw a beautiful bird.

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2. Quantitative Adjective

Shows quantity.

Examples:

• some

• much

• little

• enough

Sentences:

• I need some rice.

• There is little milk left.

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3. Numeral Adjective

Shows number or order.

Cardinal numbers

• one

• two

• five

Example:

• I have three books.

Ordinal numbers

• first

• second

• third

Example:

• She won first prize.

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4. Demonstrative Adjective

Points out specific nouns.

Examples:

• this

• that

• these

• those

Sentences:

• This pen is mine.

• Those flowers are beautiful.

Difference:

Demonstrative adjective:

• This book is interesting.

Demonstrative pronoun:

• This is interesting.

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5. Possessive Adjective

Shows ownership.

Examples:

• my

• your

• his

• her

• our

• their

Sentences:

• My bag is blue.

• Their house is large.

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6. Interrogative Adjective

Used with nouns in questions.

Examples:

• which

• what

• whose

Sentences:

• Which book do you want?

• Whose pen is this?

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7. Distributive Adjective

Refers to individuals separately.

Examples:

• each

• every

• either

• neither

Sentences:

• Each student received a certificate.

• Every child participated.

• Either answer is acceptable.

  You can take either road.

  Either book will help you learn English.

  Either student can represent the class.

  I don't mind either option.

• Neither answer is correct.

  Neither road leads to the village.

  Neither book belongs to me.

  Neither student passed the exam.

  Neither option is suitable.

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8. Proper Adjective

Formed from proper nouns.

Examples:

• Myanmar food

• Chinese culture

• English language

Sentences:

• I enjoy Chinese food.

• She studies English literature.

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Degrees of Comparison

Adjectives have three degrees.

1. Positive Degree

Basic form.

Examples:

• tall

• fast

• beautiful

Sentence:

• John is tall.

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2. Comparative Degree

Compares two things.

Rules:

Add -er

• tall → taller

• fast → faster

Use more for longer adjectives

• beautiful → more beautiful

Sentence:

• John is taller than Tom.

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3. Superlative Degree

Compares more than two things.

Rules:

Add -est

• tall → tallest

• fast → fastest

Use most for longer adjectives

• beautiful → most beautiful

Sentence:

• John is the tallest student.

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Irregular Comparisons

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
many/much	more	most
little	less	least
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest

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Order of Multiple Adjectives

When several adjectives come before a noun, a common order is:

Quantity → Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Purpose → Noun

Example:

• a beautiful small old round red Myanmar wooden tea table

Usually:

• a beautiful small red wooden table

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Adjective vs Adverb

Adjective	Adverb
Describes a noun/pronoun	Describes a verb/adjective/adverb
beautiful girl	sings beautifully

Examples:

• She is a careful driver. (adjective)

• She drives carefully. (adverb)

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Common Errors

❌ She is more taller than me.
✅ She is taller than me.

❌ He is a smartly student.
✅ He is a smart student.

❌ This flower smells beautifully.
✅ This flower smells beautiful.

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Quick Summary Table

Type	Examples
Descriptive	tall, beautiful
Quantitative	some, much
Numeral	three, first
Demonstrative	this, those
Possessive	my, our
Interrogative	which, whose
Distributive	each, every
Proper	English, Chinese

Easy definition to remember:

Adjective = a word that describes a noun or pronoun.