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• What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples

What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples

Published on August 21, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on October 3, 2023.

An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun . Adjectives can be used to describe the qualities of someone or something independently or in comparison to something else.

The boy is tall and skinny .

Table of contents

How are adjectives used in sentences, comparative and superlative adjectives.

• Coordinate adjectives

Adjectives vs. adverbs

How to order adjectives, other types of adjectives, other interesting language articles, frequently asked questions about adjectives.

Adjectives modify or describe nouns and pronouns. They can be attributive (occurring before the noun) or predicative (occurring after the noun). Predicative adjectives typically follow a linking verb (such as forms of the verb “to be”) that connects the subject of the sentence to the adjective.

The soldier is proud .

The dedicated employee starts early.

The employee is dedicated . Note While most adjectives can occur in both the attributive and predicative position, some can only be used in one position. For example, the word “main” can only be used in the attributive position, while the word “asleep” can only be used in the predicative position.

• The main reason is that …
• The reason is main.
• The man is asleep.
• The asleep man is …

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Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things. They’re usually formed by adding the suffix “-er” (or “-r” if the word ends in the letter “e”). For two-syllable words that end in “y,” the “y” is replaced with “-ier.”

Comparative adjectives can also be formed by adding “more” or “less” before an adjective that has not been modified. The “more” form is typically used for words with two or more syllables, while the “less” form is used for all adjectives.

The room is cozier with the fire lit and less cozy without it.

Superlative adjectives are used to indicate that something has the most or least of a specific quality. They’re typically preceded by the definite article “the” and usually formed by adding the suffix “-est” (or “-st” if the word ends in the letter “e”). For two-syllable words that end in “y,” the “y” is replaced with “-iest.”

Superlative adjectives can also be formed by adding “most” or “least” before an adjective that has not been modified. The “most” form is typically used for words with two or more syllables, while the “least” form is used for all adjectives.

All the courses were delicious, but the dessert was the tastiest .

Absolute adjectives

An absolute adjective is an adjective describing an absolute state that cannot be compared. For example, the word “dead” is often considered to be an absolute adjective because it’s not possible to be “deader” than someone else.

However, actual usage varies, and absolute adjectives are often modified by words such as “almost.”

Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjectives that modify the same noun in a sentence. Coordinate adjectives can be separated by commas or by the conjunction “and.”

Adverbs can be used to modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, whereas adjectives only modify nouns and pronouns. When used to modify a verb, an adverb describes how an action is being performed (e.g., Brandon runs slowly ).

Adverbs are often formed from adjectives by adding the suffix “-ly.” However, not all words ending in “-ly” are adverbs (e.g., “ugly” is an adjective).

Adverbs can be formed from adjectives in numerous other ways, depending on the ending.

Some words can be used as either an adjective or adverb without being changed (e.g., “fast,” “late,” “early”).

For example, in the sentence “the man left early ,” the word “early” is an adverb because it’s modifying the verb “left.”

Adjectives with linking verbs

Adjectives are often confused with adverbs when they are used as complements for linking verbs (e.g., “the wife is devoted ”). In these instances, a common mistake is to use an adverb in place of an adjective.

While adverbs describe how an action is performed, linking verbs (e.g., “be,” “seem,” “become,” “feel”) often refer to a state rather than an act and therefore take an adjective. In the example below, an adjective is needed because “feel” is a linking verb.

• Jesse feels badly when he doesn’t finish his homework.
• Jesse feels bad when he doesn’t finish his homework.

Attributive adjectives and determiners are typically given in a specific order according to their function. This isn’t an order that English speakers learn as a set of rules, but rather one that people pick up intuitively and usually follow without thinking about it:

• Determiner (e.g., a, the, one)
• Opinion (e.g., beautiful, valuable, indecent)
• Size (e.g., big, small, tiny)
• Shape or age (e.g., round, square, hundred-year-old)
• Color (e.g., white, brown, red)
• Origin (e.g., Dutch, aquatic, lunar)
• Material (e.g., wooden, metal, glass)

There are many types of adjectives in English. Some other important types of adjectives are:

• Appositive adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Participial adjectives
• Proper adjectives
• Denominal adjectives
• Nominal adjectives

An appositive adjective is an adjective (or series of adjectives) that occurs after the noun it modifies. It is typically set off by commas or dashes. It works similarly to an appositive noun .

A compound adjective is an adjective that is formed using two or more words that express a single idea (e.g., in-depth). When a compound adjective occurs before the noun it modifies (attributive), the individual words are typically connected by a hyphen . Frequently, no hyphen is needed when the compound adjective is placed after the noun (predicative).

Mark is well known . Note When a compound adjective is formed using an adverb that ends in “-ly,” no hyphen is used regardless of its position.

• A highly-respected public official.
• A highly respected public official.

A participial adjective is an adjective that is identical to the participle form of a verb (typically ending in “-ing,” “-ed,” or “-en”).

A proper adjective is an adjective formed from a proper noun and used to indicate origin. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives are always capitalized.

A denominal adjective is an adjective formed from a noun, often with the addition of a suffix (e.g., “-ish,” “-ly,” “-esque”).

A nominal adjective (also called a substantive adjective ) is an adjective that functions as a noun. Nominal adjectives are typically preceded by the definite article “the.”

If you want to know more about nouns , pronouns , verbs , and other parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other language articles with explanations and examples.

Nouns & pronouns

• Common nouns
• Types of nouns
• Collective nouns
• Personal pronouns
• Uncountable and countable nouns
• Verb tenses
• Phrasal verbs
• Active vs passive voice
• Subject-verb agreement
• Sentence structure
• Interjections
• Determiners
• Prepositions

There are many ways to categorize adjectives into various types. An adjective can fall into one or more of these categories depending on how it is used.

Some of the main types of adjectives are:

• Attributive adjectives
• Predicative adjectives
• Comparative adjectives
• Superlative adjectives

Cardinal numbers (e.g., one, two, three) can be placed before a noun to indicate quantity (e.g., one apple). While these are sometimes referred to as “numeral adjectives ,” they are more accurately categorized as determiners or quantifiers.

A proper adjective is an adjective that was derived from a proper noun and is therefore capitalized .

Proper adjectives include words for nationalities, languages, and ethnicities (e.g., “Japanese,” “Inuit,” “French”) and words derived from people’s names (e.g., “Bayesian,” “Orwellian”).

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Ryan, E. (2023, October 03). What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/parts-of-speech/adjectives/

Aarts, B. (2011).  Oxford modern English grammar . Oxford University Press.

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015).  Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage  (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016).  Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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8 Types of Adjectives with Examples

Adjectives are an integral part of the English language. They help us to add more meaning to our sentences and make them more descriptive. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They come in different types, each with a specific purpose. In this article, we will be exploring the 8 types of adjectives with examples in sentences.

Table of Contents

What are adjectives?

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They provide more information about a noun or pronoun, such as its size, color, shape, or state. For example, in the sentence “The big red ball bounced down the street,” the words “big” and “red” are adjectives that describe the ball.

Why are adjectives important?

Adjectives are important because they help us to be more descriptive and precise in our language. Without adjectives, our sentences would be bland and uninteresting. Adjectives allow us to paint a picture with our words and create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

The 8 types of adjectives:

Descriptive adjectives.

Descriptive adjectives are the most common type of adjectives. They describe the physical appearance, size, shape, color, or any other quality of a noun. For example:

• The beautiful sunset lit up the sky.
• The tall giraffe reached for the leaves on the tree.

Quantitative adjectives

Quantitative adjectives describe the quantity or amount of a noun. They answer questions like “how much” or “how many.” For example:

• She had six delicious cupcakes for dessert.
• We need more paper to print the report.

Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are used to point out or identify a noun. They can be either singular or plural. For example:

• This book is mine. (singular)
• Those shoes are too big. (plural)

Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives show ownership or possession of a noun. They indicate who owns or has the noun. For example:

• His car is parked in the driveway.
• Our team won the championship.

Interrogative adjectives

Interrogative adjectives are used to ask questions about a noun. They are placed before the noun they modify. For example:

• Which color do you prefer?
• Whose phone is ringing?

Indefinite adjectives

Indefinite adjectives refer to an unspecified or unknown quantity of a noun. They can be used to describe a singular or plural noun. For example:

• Some people like spicy food.
• Several students missed the test.

Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two nouns. They are usually followed by the word “than.” For example:

• She is taller than her sister.
• This car is faster than that one.

Superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives are used to describe the highest or lowest degree of a noun. They are usually preceded by the word “the” and end in “-est.” For example:

• This is the happiest day of my life.
• The tallest building in the city is the Empire State Building.

Examples of each type of adjective in sentences

Here are some more examples of each type of adjective in sentences:

• Descriptive adjectives : The cute puppy wagged its fluffy tail.
• Quantitative adjectives : I ate three juicy oranges for breakfast.
• Demonstrative adjectives : These shoes are too tight for me.
• Possessive adjectives : My mother’s car is parked in the garage.
• Interrogative adjectives : Whose bag is this on the floor?
• Indefinite adjectives : Any student can attend the school assembly.
• Comparative adjectives : This movie is better than the one we watched last night.
• Superlative adjectives : That was the funniest joke I’ve ever heard.

FAQs about adjectives

• Q: Can adjectives be used as nouns? A: Yes, some adjectives can be used as nouns, such as “the poor” or “the wealthy.”
• Q: Can adjectives be used as adverbs? A: No, adjectives describe nouns or pronouns, while adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
• Q: Can adjectives be used in a sentence without a noun? A: Yes, adjectives can be used as predicate adjectives, which follow a linking verb and describe the subject of the sentence. For example: “The cake smells delicious.”

In conclusion, adjectives are an essential part of the English language, allowing us to be more descriptive and precise in our writing and speech. By understanding the 8 types of adjectives and using them correctly in sentences, we can enhance our communication skills and convey our thoughts more effectively. So next time you want to describe something, remember to use the 8 types of adjectives with examples in sentences to create a clear and vivid image in the reader’s mind.

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Learn English

What is adjective types of adjectives with definitions and examples.

An adjective describes or modifies noun /s and pronoun /s in a sentence. It normally indicates quality, size, shape, duration, feelings, contents, and more about a noun or pronoun.

Adjectives usually provide relevant information about the nouns/pronouns they modify/describe by answering the questions: What kind? How many? Which one? How much? Adjectives enrich your writing by adding precision and originality to it.

• The team has a dangerous batsman. (What kind?)
• I have ten candies in my pocket. (How many?)
• I loved that red  car. (Which one?)
• I earn more money than he does. (How much?)

More Examples of Adjectives

However, there are also many adjectives that do not fit into these questions. Adjectives are the most used parts of speech in sentences. There are several types of adjectives according to their uses.

Types of Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Quantitative Adjectives
• Proper Adjectives
• Demonstrative Adjectives
• Possessive Adjectives
• Interrogative Adjectives
• Indefinite Adjectives
• Compound Adjectives
• Absolute Adjectives
• Emphasizing Adjectives
• Exclamatory Adjectives
• Noun as Adjectives
• Adjectives of Origin
• Adjectives or Color
• Adjectives of Position
• Adjectives of Shape

Descriptive Adjectives:

A  descriptive adjective  is a word which describes nouns and pronouns. Most of the adjectives belong in this type. These adjectives provide information and attribute to the nouns/pronouns they modify or describe. Descriptive adjectives are also called qualitative adjectives.

Participles are also included in this type of adjective when they modify a noun.

• I have a fast  car. (The word ‘fast’ is describing an attribute of the car)
• I am hungry . (The word ‘hungry’ is providing information about the subject)
• The hungry cats are crying.
• I saw a flying  Eagle.

Descriptive Adj. is divided into two types.

• Attributive Adj.
• Predicate Adj.

1. Attributive Adjective:

It attributes quality, shape etc. to the Noun. The adjective that comes right before the Noun it defines is an Attributive Adj.

• That's a little baby.
• She is one feisty cat.
• Your dad is an angry man.

2. Predicate Adjective:

Predicate Adj. or Predicative Adj. that comes after a Linking Verb instead of before a Noun. It is also known as Subject Complement.

• I am happy.
• Your dad is proud of you.
• The cat lady was crazy.

Quantitative Adjectives:

A quantitative adjective  provides information about the quantity of the nouns/pronouns. This type belongs to the question category of ‘how much’ and ‘how many’.

• I have 20 bucks in my wallet. (How much)
• They have three  children. (How many)
• You should have completed the whole  task. (How much)

More Examples of Quantitative Adjectives

Proper Adjectives:

Proper adjectives are the adjective form of proper nouns . When proper nouns modify or describe other nouns/pronouns, they become proper adjectives. ‘Proper’ means ‘specific’ rather than ‘formal’ or ‘polite.’

A proper adj allows us to summarize a concept in just one word. Instead of writing/saying ‘a food cooked in Chinese recipe’ you can write/say ‘Chinese food’.

Proper adjectives are usually capitalized as proper nouns.

• American cars are very strong.
• Chinese people are hard workers.
• I love KFC  burgers.
• Marxist philosophers despise capitalism.

More Examples of Proper Adjectives

Demonstrative Adjectives:

A  demonstrative adjective  directly refers to something or someone. Demonstrative adjectives include the words: this, that, these, those .

A  demonstrative pronoun works alone and does not precede a noun, but a demonstrative adj always comes before the word it modifies.

• That building is so gorgeously decorated. (‘That’ refers to a singular noun far from the speaker)
• This car is mine. (‘This’ refers to a singular noun close to the speaker)
• These cats are cute. (‘These’ refers to a plural noun close to the speaker)
• Those flowers are heavenly. (‘Those’ refers to a plural noun far from the speaker)

More Examples of Demonstrative Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives:

A possessive adjective  indicates possession or ownership. It suggests the belongingness of something to someone/something.

Some of the most used possessive adjs are my, his, her, our, their, your. 

All these adjectives always come before a noun. Unlike possessive pronouns , these words demand a noun after them.

• My car is parked outside.
• His cat is very cute.
• Our job is almost done.
• Her books are interesting.

More Examples of Possessive Adjective

Interrogative Adjectives:

An interrogative adj  asks a question. An interrogative adj. must be followed by a noun or a pronoun. The interrogative adjectives are: which, what, whose. These words will not be considered adjectives if a noun does not follow right after them.

• Which  phone do you use?
• What game do you want to play?
• Whose  car is this?

More Examples of Interrogative Adj

Numeral Adjective:

The adjectives defining how many, how much and in what number are usually Numeral Adj.

• There are  four  cats.
• I don’t like doing  two  things at a time
• Rehan has stood  first  in the Board exam.

There are three types of Numeral Adj. and they are –

• Definite Adj.
• Indefinite Adj.
• Distributive Adj.

1. Definite Adjective:

Definite Adj. or Definite Numeral Adj. begets definitive numeric answers as in reply to “How many?” questions.

• Two  doors lead to the main entrance of the castle.
• I am  27  years old.
• I’ve run  3  miles this afternoon.

Definite Adj. are divided into two categories –

• Cardinal Adj.
• Ordinal Adj.

a. Cardinal Adjective:

These indicate definitive numbers in sentences.

• 2  kilos of rice, please.
• Let’s add  two  spoons of sugar to my tea.
• Have one glass of water, you will feel much better.

b. Ordinal Adjective:

These indicate positions in a series or order.

• You are my  first  friend at this school.
• I live on the  third  floor.
• This is my  fourth  glass of milk today.

2. Indefinite Adjectives:

It describes or modifies a noun unspecifically. They provide indefinite/unspecific information about the noun. The common indefinite adjectives are few, many, much, most, all , nobody, several, some, etc.  

• I gave some candy to her.
• I want a few moments alone.
• Several writers wrote about the recent incidents.
• Each student will have to submit homework tomorrow.

3. Distributive Adjectives:

These distribute the numbers indefinitely among each and every noun or pronoun in consideration. “Each” and “every” are the two most widely used adjectives of this type.

• Each  birthday I bake a chocolate cake for my brother.
• I like  every  flavor of this ice cream brand.
• Each  day I wake up at 5 am.

Articles are also adjectives. Articles determine the specification of nouns. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are used to refer to an unspecific noun, and ‘the’ is used to refer to a specific noun.  

• A cat is always afraid of water. (Here, the noun ‘cat’ refers to any cat, not specific.)
• The cat is afraid of me. (This cat is a specific cat.)
• An electronic product should always be handled with care.

Compound Adjectives:

When compound nouns/combined words modify other nouns, they become compound adj. This type of adjective usually combines more than one word into a single lexical unit and modifies a noun. They are often separated by a hyphen or joined together by a quotation mark.  

• I have a broken-down  sofa.
• I saw a six-foot-long  snake.
• He gave me an “ I’m gonna kill you now”  look.

Absolute Adjective:

There are some adjectives that cannot be graded, intensified or reduced in intensity with the help of any kind of modifier. Absolute Adj . are often found in the superlative degree.

• I am still alive.
• The color is just perfect.
• This style is very unique.

Exclamatory Adjective:

There are a couple of WH question words that are used as adjectives that help turn a sentence into Exclamatory sentences and they are - W hat and H ow. These are termed as Exclamatory Adj.

• What a day!
• How majestic!
• How lucky I am!
• What a great way to start the day!

Emphasizing Adjective:

These emphasize the preceding noun. "Own" and "very" are the two most commonly used Emphasizing Adj. in the English language.

• We put them out with our own hands.
• Keep playing the piano with your own hands.
• It all went down in front of their very eyes.
• This very moment you should clear out of this apartment.

Noun as Adjective:

There are Nouns that act as Adjectives on particular occasions and they are termed as Adjectival Nouns. They are also known as Noun Modifiers or Attributive Nouns.

• Hadn't you just bought a sports car?
• This is my first cookbook.
• Your dad owns a shabby motorbike.

Adjective of Origin:

The adjective that specifies the origin of the preceding noun is termed as the adjective of origin.

• I'll have one Mexican rice with some fried chicken.
• Romi can play the Hawaiian guitar.
• Let's groove to those Jamaican beats.

Adjective of Color:

The adjective that indicates the color of the preceding noun is termed as the adjective of color.

• Looking at the blue sky makes your heart kinder.
• Red roses are symbols of affection.
• I love the violet curtains at my house.

Adjective of Position:

The adjective that pinpoints the position of the preceding noun is the adjective of position.

• Go to the nearby store.
• That is a faraway destination.
• I choose the middle shade.

Adjective of Shape: 

If the adjective before the noun determines the shape of it, that is the adjective of shape.

• Squats will get you those round buttocks.
• Soccer is played on an oval field.
• I need a plain surface for the project.

The Degree of Adjectives:

There are three degrees of adj: Positive, comparative, superlative.

These degrees are applicable only for descriptive adj.

Positive degree: He is a good boy.

Comparative degree: He is better than any other boy.

Superlative: He is the best boy.

• Adjective Exercise & Practice with Explanation

Types of Questions: Open-ended and Closed-ended

What is Third Person in Grammar

Infinitive: Definition and Types

Independent Clause with Examples

Correct Use of Semicolons

• Parts of Speech
• Preposition
• Conjunction
• Interjection
• Conditionals
• How to Use "Therefore" in Sentences Avoiding Common Mistakes
• How to Use "Whereas" with Examples and Avoid Common Mistakes
• When and How to Use "Thus" Correctly Without Common Mistakes
• How to Use "On the Contrary" Properly with Meaning and Examples
• When and How to Use "Either/Or" with Examples and Common Mistakes to Avoid
• How to Use "On the Other Hand" Effectively without Mistakes
• How to Use "Respectively" with Example and Common Errors to Avoid
• How and When to Use "Moreover" Without Mistakes
• How to Use "Likewise" in Sentences Based on Context & When not to Use
• When & How to Use "Although" in Sentences to Avoid Mistake

Adjectives: 5 Types of Adjectives with Definition & Useful Examples

Adjectives in English! What is an adjective? The following lessons provide you with different types of adjectives and explain how to use them in English sentences with ESL printable infographic.

What are Adjectives?

Adjectives are words that are used to describe (what kind of?) nouns and pronouns and to quantify (how much of?) and identify (which one?) them. In a nutshell, Adjectives are what define nouns and give them characteristics to differentiate them from other nouns. For example:

• He was wearing a blue  shirt.

Here ‘blue’ is an adjective as it is describing the noun ‘shirt’ by answering the question ‘what kind of shirt?’

• There are seven  rooms in the house.

Here ‘Seven’ is also an adjective as it’s telling the quantity/the number of the noun ‘rooms’, answering the question ‘how many rooms?’.

Types of Adjectives

There are different types of adjectives based upon their effect on a noun and what do they tell about the noun. There are five categories of adjectives:

Adjectives of Quality

What are adjectives of quality?

These adjectives are used to describe the nature of a noun. They give an idea about the characteristics of the noun by answering the question ‘what kind’: Honest, Kind, Large, Bulky, Beautiful, Ugly, etc. For example:

• New Delhi is a large  city with many historical monuments.
• Sarah is a beautiful  woman.
• I’d like you to give me an honest  answer.
• I feel really fat and ugly today.
• He carried a very bulky  package on the bus.

Adjectives of Quantity

What are adjectives of quantity?

These adjectives help to show the amount or the approximate amount of the noun or pronoun. These adjectives do not provide exact numbers; rather they tell us the amount of the noun in relative or whole terms: All, Half, Many, Few, Little, No, Enough, Great, etc. For example:

• They have finished most of the rice.
• Many people came to visit the fair.

Adjectives of Number

What are adjectives of number?

These adjectives are used to show the number of nouns and their place in an order. There are three different sections within adjectives of number; they are:

Definite Numeral Adjective

Those which clearly denote an exact number of nouns or the order of the noun.

• One, Two, Twenty, Thirty-Three, etc. also known as Cardinals.
• First, Second, Third, Seventh, etc. also known as Ordinals.

Indefinite Numeral Adjective

Those adjectives that do not give an exact numerical amount but just give a general idea of the amount.

• Some, Many, Few, Any, Several, All, etc. E.g.: There were many people present at the meeting.

Distributive Numeral Adjective

Those adjectives that are used to refer to individual nouns within the whole amount.

• Either, Neither, Each, Another, Other, etc. E.g: Taxes have to be paid by every employed citizen.

Demonstrative Adjectives

What are demonstrative adjectives?

These adjectives are used to point out or indicate a particular noun or pronoun using the adjectives: This , That , These and Those.

• That bag belongs to Neil.
• Try using this paintbrush in art class.
• I really like those shoes.
• These flowers are lovely.

Interrogative Adjectives

What are interrogative adjectives?

These adjectives are used to ask questions about nouns or in relation to nouns, they are: Where,   What , Which and Whose .

• Where did he say he was going?
• What assignment did I miss out on?
• Which is your favorite author?
• Whose pen is this?

In some instances, we find that we need to use more than one adjective to describe a noun in a satisfactory manner. In these cases, commas are used to separate the adjectives but some series of adjectives do not require a comma. Therefore, we need to know the difference between Coordinate and Non-coordinate Adjectives:

Coordinate Adjectives

Are those words which can be re-arranged in the series easily and are still grammatically sound. This kind of series makes use of commas. This series can also insert ‘and’ between them and still be correct.

• She was a kind, generous, loving human being.
• She was a generous, loving, kind human being.
• She was a loving, kind and generous human being.

Here we can see that all three sentences are grammatically correct. In this case, the adjectives only need to be separated by commas.

Non-coordinate Adjectives

These are those adjectives which cannot be rearranged in the series. These do not use commas to separate the adjectives. Also, this kind of series does not make sense if we insert ‘and’ between them.

• She has two energetic playful dogs.
• She has playful two energetic dogs.
• She has energetic and playful and two dogs.

Here we see that only the first sentence makes sense and is grammatically correct. The second and third ones are incorrect. Hence, the sentence uses non-coordinate adjectives and does not need commas.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

When we want to compare two or more nouns using adjectives, we use the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective to show the comparison between the nouns.

E.g. Honey is  sweet , sugar is  sweeter  but victory is the  sweetest .

In this sentence, we are comparing the three nouns using the positive, comparative and superlative forms of the word  ‘sweet’ .

Order of Adjectives

There are certain rules regarding the placement of different kinds of adjectives in a sentence. The general order of adjective is:

• Determiners
• Observations/Quantity and Opinion

Types of Adjectives | Infographic

Adjective Quiz

Related posts:.

When shall I say it’s an adjective or question word in interrogative adjective.?

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well explained

Its just awesome!

explained nice

nice information

Thank you I understand adjectives

Can you please further explain the syntax of “so much” Why can’t I say “I like so much Hershey’s chocolate bars?” Why must it be I like Hershey’s chocolate so much? Thanks

I like it dear

trustworthy, reliable site

what this;-;

you suck at this job

Great, thanks for the work.

VERY NICELY DESCRIBED. THANKS.

can have be an adjective?

I appreciate it.

I don’t know

Understanding an Adjective (Definition, Examples, Types)

What is an adjective? How does an adjective work? An adjective is a word that’s used to describe places, people, or things. Words like ‘young’, ‘happy’, and even ‘red’, are some examples of adjectives. Learn what are adjectives  through this article.

What is an Adjective?

Adjectives are used to describe the qualities or the states of being, of nouns . They are defined as, “a word or phrase naming an attribute, added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.”

What Do Adjectives Do?

Adjectives are used to modify nouns and sometimes pronouns as well. They enable you to add meaning to the noun, and also to describe it. The adjective meaning  essentially states that adjectives are used to modify nouns.

Why Do We Have Adjectives In The English Language?

Adjectives help you to add meaning to the sentence , and when used correctly, can help you reduce your word count as well. Adjectives are essential in the English language as they help you to describe the subject of the sentence.

Learn about adjective meaning through this guide.

Understanding Adjectives Before a Noun

Usually, adjectives will be placed before the noun that it’s describing. This way, it modifies the noun. They can also be called attributive adjectives.

Grammar Rules

When an adjective is placed before a noun, it ends up modifying that noun.

Without the adjective, the meaning of the noun would change.

Take for example the term ‘old man.’

Here, the word ‘old’ is an adjective that’s used to modify the word ‘man’.

Without this adjective, the man can be of any age. But when you say ‘old man’, you’re describing what the overall age of the man is.

You can also use adjectives to modify pronouns as well. Take, for example, the sentence, ‘She’s a happy one.’ Here, the adjective ‘happy’ is used to modify the pronoun ‘one.’

Sentence Examples

1) ‘He is a young man.’

The adjective ‘young’ lets the listener know that the man in question is of a younger age.

2) ‘Bring me the red coat’.

Here, the adjective ‘red’ informs the listener that the coat they should bring is one colored red.

Understanding Adjectives Immediately After a Noun

An adjective can also be placed after a noun. An example of this is the sentence ‘Jill was young.’ In this example, the adjective comes after the linking verb ‘was’. These kinds of adjectives are known as predicate adjectives.

But sometimes, you’ll also find adjectives being used immediately after a noun. These kinds of adjectives are known as postpositive adjectives. More commonly, these are used following pronouns.

Adjectives can be placed after a noun or a pronoun. The term ‘time immemorial’ is an example of this. Here, the adjective ‘immemorial’ adds meaning to the noun ‘time’.

Adjectives that are placed immediately after a noun, are usually used following pronouns.

You can also add an adjective after a linking verb . Take, for example, the sentence ‘She seemed happy.’

Here, the adjective ‘happy’ follows the linking verb ‘seemed.’

1) ‘He looks like someone interesting.’

2) ‘She wasn’t among those present.’

Descriptive Adjectives (Word List)

Descriptive adjectives, as the name suggests, are used to describe a noun or a pronoun. You’ll usually find them in certain categories.

Which include:

• Appearance: Clean, dirty, beautiful
• Color: Red, green, dark
• Condition: Carefree, absent, dead
• Personality: Brave, kind, simple
• Quantity: Countless, ample, bountiful
• Sense: Warm, cold, sweet
• Shape and Size: Circular, angular, rectangular
• Time: Daily, old, ancient

Sentence Examples With Descriptive Adjectives

Here’s a sentence example for each kind of descriptive adjective.

1) Appearance: ‘She was an attractive girl.’

2) Color: ‘He had blue eyes.’

3) Condition: ‘The chair is broken .’

4) Personality: ‘He was really brave .’

5) Quantity: ‘The harvest was bountiful .’

6) Sense: ‘The food was bitter .’

7) Shape and Size: ‘The swimming pool was deep .’

8) Time: ‘I go to school daily .’

The descriptive adjectives are marked in bold .

How Do Adjectives and Determiners Work Together?

Traditionally, words such as ‘his,’ ‘many,’ ‘a’, ‘this,’ and more, are placed in the same classification as adjectives. More recently, these words are being classified using the term ‘determiners.’

This is why when people usually think of adjectives, descriptive adjectives come to their minds. Now that you know what is an adjective , it’s time to learn about determiners.

With determiners in the picture, there are now a total of nine parts of speech .

Possessive Determiners and Adjectives

Possessive determiners include the words ‘my,’ ‘his,’ ‘her,’ ‘your,’ ‘their,’ ‘our,’ ‘whose’ and ‘its.’

Now let’s look at an example sentence. ‘The man opened the door for his wife.’

Here, the possessive determiner is ‘his,’ and it shows whose wife the man opened the door for.

Demonstrative Determiners and Adjectives

Demonstrative determiners include the words ‘these,’ ‘that,’ ‘those,’ and ‘this.’

Now let’s look at an example sentence to see how they work.

‘ That man has been silent for a long time.’

Here, the demonstrative determiner ‘that’ is used to denote which man is being spoken of.

Nouns Used as Adjectives

Sometimes, nouns can also be used as adjectives . Take, for example, the term ‘silk gloves.’

Here, the noun ‘silk’ is used to describe what kind of a glove it is. In the term ‘donut shop,’ both ‘donut’ and ‘shop’ are nouns.

However, when put together, they modify each other. You’re able to tell what kind of a shop it is – a donut shop.

In order to use a noun as an adjective, that noun should be capable of modifying the noun it’s being placed next to. In the term ‘electricity board,’ the noun ‘electricity’ is helping to determine what kind of a board it is.

Consider the term ‘fall colors,’ as well. The noun ‘fall’ describes what kind of colors can be seen . The two nouns work together to add meaning to the sentence.

1) ‘There was a fruit fly on my glass.’

2) ‘Our team won the boat race.’

Infinitives Used As Adjectives

You can also use infinitives as adjectives. An infinitive verb, such as ‘to run , ‘to swim,’ and ‘to walk,’ can all be used to modify nouns.

Nouns can be modified using infinitive verbs. Infinitives can also end up heading the phrase itself.

1) ‘He gave her the order to run.’ Here, the infinitive verb ‘to run’ describes the noun ‘order.’

2) ‘He told his friend to jump.’ In this case, the infinite verb ‘to jump’ describes what the noun ‘friend’ was asked to do.

• Order of Adjectives

In case you want to use more than two adjectives together, then there’s a particular order that you need to follow. Knowing the meaning of adjectives is also important to understand the order of adjectives .

Although it’s rare for people to use more than three adjectives in the same sentence, if you find yourself using more adjectives, follow the following order:

Placement and Type of Adjective

The placement and type of adjective help determine the order that two or more adjectives can be placed.

The order is as follows:

1) Article and demonstrative or possessive determiners. Words like ‘a,’ ‘the,’ ‘my,’ ‘that,’ ‘this,’ and other similar words come first.

2) Quantity: These could be any number, such as ‘one,’ ‘seven,’ ‘thirty-three,’ and more.

3) Observation And Opinions: These include words like ‘smart,’ ‘pretty,’ ‘witty,’ and more.

4) Size: Words like ‘small’ and ‘large’, are placed next.

5) Physical Quality: This can include words like ‘clean,’ ‘cluttered,’ and ‘dirty.’

6) Shape: Words like ‘circular,’ ‘square’, and ‘short’ are used next.

7) Age: Words like ‘old,’ ‘young,’ and others come next.

8) Color: Any colors, like ‘red,’ ‘green,’ and ‘blue’, come next.

9) Religion Or Origin: The nationality of a person, like ‘German,’ or the religion they follow, like ‘Christianity,’ comes next.

10) Material: Words like ‘wooden,’ ‘metal,’ and others, fall into this category.

11) Type: Terms like ‘all-purpose’ and ‘L-shaped’ among others, should be placed next.

12) Purpose or Attributive Noun: These should be used last and includes words like ‘service,’ ‘cooking,’ and ‘drinking.’

You should note that while this list is not universally agreed upon, it’s still commonly used. Age and shape are the two areas that people often disagree upon.

1) ‘Have you seen my two brown wooden spoons?’

Here, the possessive determiner ‘my’ comes first, followed by the quantity ‘two,’ and then the color ‘brown.’ Finally, the material ‘wooden’ is the last adjective used.

2) ‘Talk to the old French policeman.’ Here, the first adjective is ‘old,’ as age comes before origin. ‘French’ is used to describe the origin of the policeman.

Commas and Adjectives

To better understand when you should place a comma between adjectives, you’ll need to know what coordinate and cumulative adjectives are.

Cumulative Adjectives

In the case of cumulative adjectives, you can build specificity with each adjective. This is why you should never insert commas between two cumulative adjectives. They should also follow the order of adjectives that’s been listed above.

1) ‘A dark brown wooden spoon.’

2) ‘A beautiful red butterfly.’

In both cases, the order of adjectives needs to be followed. You also won’t be adding commas between the adjectives.

Coordinate Adjectives

When it comes to coordinate adjectives, they describe the noun independently. As a result, you can place them in any order you like.

You should use commas to separate the adjectives, and you may use the word ‘and’ as well.

1) ‘A red, lumpy vase.’

2) ‘A lumpy, red vase.’

Changing the order of coordinate adjectives doesn’t affect the sentence’s meaning.

The Many Types of Adjectives

There are different types of adjectives that you should know about. They include:

Compound Adjectives

Adjectives aren’t always used in isolation. You can use two or more adjectives to modify a noun as well. When you use more than one adjective, you’re using compound adjectives .

You’ll need to use hyphens to combine the two adjectives and indicate that they are one term.

1) ‘He was a good-looking man.’

2) ‘They have a close-knit family.’

Adjective Phrases

An adjective phrase is a word group that uses the adjective describing the noun.

In sentences, adjectives can be used alongside modifiers, such as adverbs and prepositional phrases . This means that a single adjective can end up being featured in a phrase where more than one adjective is used.

1) ‘The butterfly is a really beautiful insect.’ Here, the adjective phrase ‘really beautiful’ is used to describe the insect.

2) ‘The tiger is an especially deadly predator.’ Here, ‘especially deadly’ are used together to describe what the tiger is.

Adjective Clauses

Clauses can also be used as adjectives. An adjective clause contains multiple adjectives alongside a subject and a verb.

When using an adjective clause, the clause will be linked to the noun that’s being described. A relative pronoun or a relative adverb is used to make this link. As with clauses in general, there should be a subject and a verb.

1) ‘People who write about history aren’t always the people who make history.’

2) ‘People who make history are the ones who get to tell their story ‘

Personality Adjectives

These are adjectives that are used to describe the personality of a person. It can include words like ‘brave,’ ‘cheerful,’ ‘cowardly,’ and more.

Personality adjectives can help you describe the character of a person or their personality. It is usually placed before the noun that is being modified.

1) ‘She was a brave girl.’

2) ‘He is a kind boy.’

In both these cases, the adjectives provide a personality attribute to the person, the noun.

Comparative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare two things, two people, and more. Words like ‘smarter,’ ‘taller,’ and ‘longer’ are some examples of comparative adjectives.

Comparative adjectives help compare two people or things. It shows what quality one has that’s better compared to the other.

1) ‘His cat is nicer than my cat.’

2) ‘Isaac is smarter than Mike.’

Predicate Adjectives

A predicate adjective modifies or describes the subject present in the sentence. It’s usually linked to the subject using a linking verb.

To use a predicate adjective, you’ll need to place it after the linking verb. It is used to describe the subject of the sentence.

1) ‘The boy is very happy.’

2) ‘The joke was very funny.’

Possessive Adjectives

These adjectives are used to indicate possession. They include words like ‘my,’ ‘your,’ ‘her,’ and more.

Possessive adjectives are used to express ownership or possession within a sentence.

1) ‘This is my home.’

2) ‘That is her notebook.’

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are also referred to as common adjectives . These can be used to describe people , places, and things.

Proper adjectives should always be used such that they modify the noun or pronoun in the sentence. They can be placed before or after the noun. Proper adjectives are usually capitalized , as they are derived from proper nouns .

1) ‘That is a Japanese melon.’

2) ‘The book has Orwellian influences.’

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives are specifically used to describe the position that an object or a person has, in space as well as time.

Demonstrative adjectives are called determiners as well. They are used to identify nouns or pronouns and to express the position of the noun or pronoun.

1) ‘This is her home.’

2) ‘That’s the direction to her home.’

• Superlative Adjective

Superlative adjectives are used to describe objects at the higher or lower limit of a certain quality. Examples include words like ‘the tallest,’ ‘the highest’, and more.

Superlative adjectives are used in sentences where the subject is being compared to a group of objects. Superlative adjectives are usually used to describe extremes.

1) ‘He is the tallest boy in the class.’

2) ‘That building is the tallest in the city .’

Irregular Adjectives

An irregular adjective is an adjective that doesn’t change form when er/est is added to it. An example of this is the word ‘good.’ You can’t turn the word into ‘gooder’ or ‘goodest,’ as that would be grammatically incorrect.

Where Irregular adjectives are concerned, you’ll need to know the comparative and superlative form of the adjective. For the word ‘good,’ the comparative term is ‘better’ while the superlative term is ‘best.’

1) ‘He is a good boy.’

2) ‘He is the best athlete on the team.’

Adjectives That Start With A

Adjectives that start with A .

• Accomplished

Adjectives That Start With B

Adjectives that start with B .

Adjectives That Start WithC

Adjectives that start with C .

• Compassionate

Adjectives That Start With D

Adjectives that start with D .

Adjectives That Start With E

Adjectives that start with f.

Adjectives that start with F .

Adjectives That Start With G

Adjectives that start with G .

Adjectives That Start With H

Adjectives that start with H .

Adjectives That Start With I

Adjectives that start with I .

Adjectives That Start With J

Adjectives that start with J .

Adjectives That Start With K

Adjectives that start with K .

Adjectives That Start With L

Adjectives that start with L .

Adjectives That Start With M

Adjectives that start with M .

Adjectives That Start With N

Adjectives that start with N .

Adjectives That Start With O

Adjectives that start with O .

Adjectives That Start With P

Adjectives that start with P .

Adjectives That Start With Q

Adjectives that start with Q .

Adjectives That Start With R

Adjectives that start with R .

Adjectives That Start With S

Adjectives that start with S .

Adjectives That Start With T

Adjectives that start with T .

Adjectives That Start With U

Adjectives that start with U .

Adjectives That Start With V

Adjectives that start with V .

Adjectives That Start With W

Adjectives that start with W .

Adjectives That Start With Y

Adjectives that start with Y .

Adjectives That Start With Z

Adjectives that start with Z .

More on adjectives

More resources on adjectives:

• Demonstrative Adjective
• Adjective Clause
• Possessive Adjective
• Nouns as Adjectives
• Adjective Phrase
• Irregular Adjective
• Compound Adjective
• Proper Adjective
• Comparative Adjective
• Predicate Adjective
• Coordinate Adjective
• Cumulative Adjective
• Adjectives Describing Personality
• Superlatives and Comparatives
• Adjectival Participle

Adjective Lists:

• Adjectives that start with A
• Adjectives that start with B
• Adjectives that start with C
• Adjectives that start with D
• Adjectives that start with E
• Adjectives that start with F
• Adjectives that start with G
• Adjectives that start with H
• Adjectives that start with I
• Adjectives that start with J
• Adjectives that start with K
• Adjectives that start with L
• Adjectives that start with M
• Adjectives that start with N
• Adjectives that start with O
• Adjectives that start with P
• Adjectives that start with Q
• Adjectives that start with R
• Adjectives that start with S
• Adjectives that start with T
• Adjectives that start with U
• Adjectives that start with V
• Adjectives that start with W
• Adjectives that start with X
• Adjectives that start with Y
• Adjectives that start with Z

The definition of an adjective  is that they are words that describe the traits, qualities, or the number of a noun.

If you’re wondering how to use adjectives , then this guide should be able to help you. There are several ways you can add adjectives to your sentence, depending on the noun or pronoun and what you’re trying to say about the noun or pronoun.

The types of adjectives include comparative adjectives, predicative adjectives, superlative adjectives, and compound adjectives. Also included in this list are demonstrative adjectives, participial adjectives, possessive adjectives, and proper adjectives.

many of us learned in school that adjectives modify nouns and that adverbs modify verbs. Adjectives can also act as complements for linking verbs.

Look for the first word in a group of words that may modify the pronoun or noun.

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Dalia Y.: Dalia is an English Major and linguistics expert with an additional degree in Psychology. Dalia has featured articles on Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Grammarly, and many more. She covers English, ESL, and all things grammar on GrammarBrain.

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Your Ultimate Guide to Adjective Lesson Plans

Adjective lesson plans are here! If you are looking for alternatives to adjective worksheets, I have ideas. 

My goal with any grammar instruction is to carry the ideas to other parts of class. For an adjectives lesson plan (especially if you’re teaching multiple types of adjectives), you’ll have plenty of opportunity to work adjectives into informational texts, literature, and writing. Advertisers love to use adjectives, and your classes probably can identify them through a quick scroll through their phones.

Because students typically respond well to an adjectives lesson plan and the activities are diverse, teaching adjectives is normally fun for me.

What are some effective strategies for teaching adjectives in lesson plans?

Some effective strategies for teaching adjectives include using visual aids, engaging students in interactive activities, providing real-life examples, and incorporating adjective games or exercises. Diversify your adjective lesson plans!

These adjective activities are easy to personalize and will support your grammar lessons. I never want to talk down to my older classes, and I’m sensitive to that during eight parts of speech lessons with older students. When you’re writing adjective lesson plans for high school students, you’ll want age-appropriate adjectives activities.

For instance, a primary teacher (a friend of mine) said she asks students to get out their whiteboards and write adjectives that describe her. The younger students take turns flipping their boards over to surprise her. That sounds so sweet, and I can picture her third graders thinking of different words like “nice” and “pretty.” They probably have a lovely list of fun adjectives!

But you know. . . I’m not risking teaching adjectives with that activity for tweens and teens. Over the years, I’ve developed adjectives activities for older students, even adjective worksheets for high school.

Middle school and high school approaches

Sometimes I will use an adjective worksheet to start my lesson and turn the process into a creative endeavor with higher order thinking. You are welcome to download my activity sheet to consult while teaching adjectives:

As always, a fast way to connect grammar to writing is to take a normal activity (worksheet, mentor sentences) and ask students to expand the writing already present. I often attach the candy-writing assignment (below) to creative writing lessons.

Finally, you’ll see how many of the activities below can meet multiple standards and connect to students’ lives with a few twists. If you’re introducing the parts of speech, reviewing adjectives before working with coordinate adjectives, or sorting out adjective and adverb confusion, you can use these adjective lesson plans.

Basic approach including a worksheet

With many older learners, they simply need a quick adjective review, and your adjectives lesson plan might include printables! I’ve had classes that need a fast (like five minutes!) of discussion concerning adjectives. These sort of classes remember an adjective’s definition and can locate them, but they might miss a few tricky ones. For example, before teaching the rules of coordinate adjectives , we will quickly find adjectives from an adjective worksheet . I try to address what will help students the most without boring them. A quick adjective worksheet might be an easy fix.

Next, it’s worth mentioning that coordinate adjectives can positively add to student essays. Coordinate adjectives are two adjectives in a row that modify the same noun. The adjectives can be exchanged and the message will still make sense. Another trick to explain to students is that a writer can add “and” between the two adjectives and they will still make sense. (You can also write more than two adjectives with coordinate adjectives, but typically writers only use two.) For instance:

• The sharp, pointy scissors easily cut the paper. (Both sharp and pointy modify scissors . You could replace the commas with and .)
• The itchy wool sweater sits on my closet shelf. (Switching itchy and wool will not made sense. They both modify sweater , but they are not coordinate adjectives.)

Before students can implement coordinate adjectives, they must be able to recognize adjectives. If your lesson plan on adjectives doesn’t include a worksheet, try task cards or a graphic organizer.

Advanced approaches

If students struggle with adjectives and adverbs in writing or vocabulary lessons, we will work on task cards for a lengthier discussion. Task cards allow for older students to problem-solve together and are a quick add to adjective lesson plans. Plus as students break into smaller groups, I can articulate finer points.

Finally, we might review adjectives with all parts of speech . As I continue with vocabulary lessons (for example), I might realize that students struggle to switch between the different forms of a word. A review of parts of speech connected to vocabulary lessons fixes a few of those errors.

So! Decide what detail your students need. Older students can identify adjectives most of the time. I don’t always jump in with a full lesson, but if they are simply not grasping adjectives, I expand my lessons.

Sticky note review (build on nouns)

If you read my post about teaching nouns , you know that I ask students to label nouns in my room. Typically, I provide plain yellow sticky notes for the nouns. Students identify nouns, and I leave the sticky notes as reminders. We enjoy ourselves as we label ALL of the classroom objects.

Then, when students work on adjectives, I distribute colorful sticky notes for colorful adjectives. Students label those nouns with adjectives. “Door” has new sticky notes: gray, hard, ugly, plain, rectangular, thick, and cold.

As an extension activity, grab the noun and adjective sticky notes and turn them into sentences. It’s a great opportunity to practice power verbs and review punctuation. When students enjoy a engaging activities and find success, connect the grammar to writing. It is important that students find grammar enjoyable and that they realize the can apply the concepts to writing. Activities about adjectives can easily include fun writing topics.

If you haven’t guessed from the images in this post, I often ask students to write about candy. You can use any food item or any object, really. I’ve found that a variety of candy brings about a variety of adjectives. Plus, candy. The “writing about candy adjective activity” makes for a perfect Friday afternoon grammar lesson. Add candy to your adjectives lesson plan for fun grammar. Here’s how I manage.

Grab some bags of candy and inexpensive coffee filters from the store. Set out the bags and ask students to put a few pieces in a coffee filter. (Coffee filters are great for classroom snacks. They don’t tip over, are inexpensive, and hold tons of food.) A great way to model is together, to brainstorm a list of adjectives for the candy.

The next step depends on what your students can handle. I’ve done a variety of activities:

• Ask students to describe at least two different kinds of candy with different adjectives.
• Describe one candy to another piece of candy. This encourages students to write about both types of candy, and you .
• Create a marketing piece for the candy using adjectives.

You could also present those three ideas to students and allow them to choose. If you need a collaborative activity, provide a Google Slides presentation to groups and encourage multiple descriptions of each piece of candy. Ask them to to work beyond common adjectives!

Finally, starting with manageable and fun activities like the candy project is a great springboard into adjective clauses.

Adjective one-pager

Students understand language when they play with it and when they see it in areas outside of a worksheet. Ask students to find examples of adjectives in what they are reading. You can find adjectives in book spine poetry, for example. When you cover characterization with a particular character, ask students to identify the adjectives the author used about that character. With a graphic organizer, the students can organize the adjectives. You can easily scaffold the process concerning where students find the adjectives.

Another alternative is to hunt for adjectives in books. I pull books from my classroom library and let students sort through them, searching for adjectives in the titles. Not only are students searching for adjectives, but they are also interacting with books. For students who enjoy a language arts class because of the language aspect, this is a nice opportunity for connecting books to their interest. I have students complete a one-pager to visualize the adjectives.

The one-pager also allows me to sneak in creative writing. Students can imagine the first page of a book, of course using adjectives.

Adjective station work

No adjective lesson plan is complete without station work. Classes love to move, and teachers can gather informal data and answer questions.

After a whole class abides by procedures and routines, I begin grammar stations with them. Everyone can work together and move. Plus, if it feels like a class is on the verge of grasping adjectives, I get real-time feedback. When students finish their work, I can take notes as to what students understand where we need to work more and adjust future activities about adjectives. Stations also allow me to rotate throughout the room and provide feedback to individual groups. Someone who might be reluctant to ask questions in front of everyone are more comfortable talking one-on-one.

Station work can be made from anything. You can use sentences from an adjective worksheet and change the directions to make them more engaging. (If you want to make a grammar worksheet more engaging, try an activity I’ve outlined in my higher order thinking grammar activities.) I do have my adjective station work incredibly organized, and that allows me to add task cards or extra practice to the rotations.

Not all of station work needs to be graded, either! Many times, I ask classes to take a picture of their best station for credit.

Where do I find mentor sentences for adjective lesson plans?

Mentor sentences are perfect adjective activities! The beauty of mentor sentences is that you can find them anywhere. Plus after teaching adjectives a few times, you’ll have plenty of examples of mentor sentences. Mentor sentences allow teachers some freedom because they do not have to create sentences, and the activity naturally connects grammar to other parts of class.

Here are some places I commonly find mentor sentences for adjective lesson plans.

Beloved classroom story

If you have a story students enjoy, pull a few sentences and focus on the adjectives. (Save the story and use it again with another grammatical concept.) You can also use the adjectives to investigate what the author stated about characters, the setting, or conflicts. How did those adjectives add to the reader’s image of the story?

First Chapter Friday

Not only do I find mentor sentences as I read throughout the year, but I also use sentences I find as we read First Chapter Friday books. Then I have a starting point with a new lesson: Last week when we were reading our First Chapter Friday, I noticed this sentence. (Supply the sentence.) What made that sentence memorable was the use of modifiers. What are they? Do they reveal something about the story?  Adjective activities can be simple and quick!

One part of teaching grammar is acknowledging that some students may have never looked at their language in a positive manner. Understanding grammar is more than identifying what is wrong with a piece of writing. Take a few moments to positively connect grammar to literature like with a First Chapter Friday book. Your efforts will be rewarded when learners engage with other grammar activities.

Student-created

Another method of using mentor sentences is for writers to find sentences that hold meaning for them. One way to organize this is to ask individuals (maybe a pair of students) to supply a sentence in a digital form as an exit ticket. Then, assemble those sentences to start the next day’s discussion.

I have also handed students a note card as they enter class with instructions to find a quote from literature, a speech, or a television show that contains an adjective. Not only will you be reviewing grammar, but you will also be building relationships.

The more learners engage with their language in a variety of ways, the more willing they are to learn more. Soon you’ll have mentor sentence examples for every type of adjective, and you will be proud of your lesson plan for adjectives.

Finally, when teaching adjectives with older learners, think about what will move them to mastery. Sometimes, you won’t need to spend multiple class periods working with adjective activities. Adjective worksheets can provide direct instruction and a quick review. If your classes need in-depth practice with adjectives, add a one-pager, anchor charts, station work, or task cards to your adjective lesson plans. Mentor sentences or a writing opportunity can mold grammar lessons for mature students.

Overall, once we engage students with adjectives and provide multiple opportunities to interact with them, we will have successful adjective lesson plans. You can add one of these activities to creative writing or literary analysis lessons too.

If you are teaching the eight parts of speech, you might be interested in more parts of speech activities in my blog posts: verbs , adverbs , and  prepositions . As always, I’ve provided grammar activities that go beyond the grammar worksheet.

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Do you need more examples of mentor sentences for adjectives, adjective worksheets for high school, activities about adjectives, and another adjectives lesson plan? Check out my Facebook group, Grammar Gurus . Teachers have deep conversations about a lesson plan for adjectives and activities about adjectives.

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Free English Lessons

How to use adjectives – video.

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In this lesson, you can learn about using adjectives in English.

You’ll see basic information about english adjectives, what they do, and how you can use them. then, you’ll see some more details about different types of adjectives and what they mean., quiz: how to use adjectives.

Now, test your knowledge of what you learned in the lesson by trying this quiz. You can get help with some questions if you press ‘Hint’. You will get your score at the end, when you can click on ‘View Questions’ to see all the correct answers.

Most of the questions follow the order of the lesson and test the vocabulary you saw. Towards the end, the questions get harder and use new vocabulary. Good luck!

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1 . Question

What type of word do adjectives describe?

• prepositions

2 . Question

True or false: adjectives always go before nouns.

3 . Question

Which words are adjectives? Choose as many as you think are right.

4 . Question

5 . question, 6 . question, 7 . question.

Sort the three words into normal, comparative and superlative forms.

Sort elements

8 . question.

Which adjectives are ungradable? Choose as many as you think are right.

You can review the section on ungradable adjectives in part two of the lesson.

9 . Question

Which adjectives are ungradable? Choose two answers.

If the adjective works in the sentence ‘that’s not very ____’ then it is gradable; if something either is or isn’t the adjective, then it’s ungradable.

10 . Question

Which sentences use modifiers (the words before ‘boiling’) correctly? Choose two answers.

• I've never known such a hot day – it was really boiling.
• I've never known such a hot day – it was absolutely boiling.
• I've never known such a hot day – it was very boiling.

11 . Question

Which sentence is correct? Choose both if you think they are both possible.

• He was alone all evening.
• He’s a very alone person.

Check the section on adjective position in part three of the lesson.

12 . Question

• Be quiet! There's a baby asleep in the next room.
• Be quiet! There's an asleep baby in the next room.

13 . Question

• She probably had an unhappy childhood.
• Why is she so unhappy?

14 . Question

Match the sentences with the meanings of the adjective ‘professional’.

• = how the person earns money
• = appropriate to a business situation

Check the section on adjectives that can change their meaning, in part four of the lesson.

15 . Question

Which adjective is missing from these sentences?

1. Only 50% of members were _______ at the annual general meeting 2. We are unable to fulfil your request at the _______ time.

Write the adjective once in the answer space below.

16 . Question

Which words cannot be adjectives? Choose as many as you think are right.

• fortunately

Many words can be used as adjectives or adverbs in different sentences, e.g. ‘only’. Also, some words which end in ‘-ly’ are adjectives, like ‘hourly’, ‘likely’ or ‘friendly’. See this video for more information about adverbs and the difference between adjectives and adverbs: https://www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/adverbs-in-english

17 . Question

Which sentences contain adjectives? Choose as many as you think are right.

• John’s a friendly person.
• Canadians talk too quickly.
• That dog’s so ugly!
• You should leave immediately.

Check what is being described in each sentence: a noun or a verb?

18 . Question

Which of the adjectives in these sentences are ungradable? Choose two answers.

• It was a really wet day.
• I think the design needs to be more modern.
• He was found dead this morning.
• I was absolutely astonished to hear the news.

Remember, ‘ungradable’ means that the adjectives are either binary (they are or they aren’t – there’s no in between) or strong (impossible to be any stronger).

19 . Question

In which sentence(s) can ‘awake’ be in the position shown? Choose as many as you think are right.

• Are your parents awake?
• The noise kept me awake for hours.
• I’ve been having a lot of awake nights.

20 . Question

Can you identify the adjective that is missing from both of these sentences? It is the same word each time, but with different meanings.

1. Her _____ husband was a very rich man. In spite of her loss, she has inherited millions. 2. Her husband was always _____ for things. Everyone knew half an hour would always go by before he arrived.

Write the word once in the answer space below.

The two meanings of the adjective are ‘dead’ and ‘not on time’.

1. Adjective Basics

First, a question: what do adjectives do? Adjectives describe nouns—they add information to a noun or noun phrase. For example:

• The sea was blue and clear.

The adjectives—‘blue’ and ‘clear’—add information to the noun—‘sea’. Adjectives can be used in many ways, but there are two common patterns. With adjective order , you can put adjectives directly before the noun they describe, like this:

• red high-heeled shoes
• a reliable friend
• He gave me an expensive Italian leather wallet.

Secondly, you can use a linking verb plus an adjective after a noun, like this:

• She felt happy.
• It’s sunny.
• He seems quiet today.

By the way, what are ‘ linking verbs ’? Linking verbs add information to a subject. Common linking verbs include ‘be’, ‘seem’, ‘become’, ‘feel’ and ‘appear’, although there are many others. You don’t need to worry about this right now. Remember the basic point: adjectives can go before a noun, or after it. This will become more important later in the lesson—keep watching to find out why! Here’s another question for you: how can you find the adjectives in a sentence? What do adjectives look like? There’s no simple answer to this question. With all parts of speech, it’s better to look at full sentences and think about context and meaning. Let’s do a quick test! Here are five sentences. Can you find the adjective or adjectives in each one?

• I’ve always been afraid of flying.
• That was one of the hardest exams I’ve ever done.
• The only way to solve this problem is to talk together and try to come to an agreement.
• Things turned out better than we expected.
• Police are looking for a 25-year-old man who was seen leaving the area shortly after the burglary took place.

Pause the video if you need more time to think. You’ll see the answers in a few seconds. Ready? Here are the answers.

You can see a few useful points here. Firstly, adjectives don’t look similar to each other. Adjectives can have many different endings, and they can even end with -ly, like many adverbs do.

Want more practice? Watch this Oxford Online English lesson on adverbs in English .

Secondly, adjectives also have different forms. For example, many adjectives have comparative forms, like ‘good-better’, or superlative forms, like ‘hard-hardest’.

Thirdly, some adjectives are compound, meaning they’re made from two or more other words. This is common with numbers, as in ‘a 25-year-old man’.

Now, you know some of the basics about adjectives in English and how to use them. Let’s go into more detail about different types of adjectives.

2. Gradable, Ungradable and Strong Adjectives

Look at four sentences. Two are right, and two are wrong. Can you see which sentences are correct? Do you know why the other two sentences are incorrect?

• This stew is very nice.
• This stew is very delicious.
• This picture is more unique than the others.
• This picture is more interesting than the others.

Pause the video if you need more time to think about it.

Ready? Let’s look together. Sentences one and four are correct. Two and three are incorrect. Did you get the right answers? And, can you explain why sentences two and three are incorrect? To explain this, you need to know about an important idea: gradability. Some adjectives are gradable. That means they can have different levels. For example, ‘nice’ and ‘interesting’ are gradable. Something can be more interesting, or less interesting. There are different levels of ‘interesting’. Some adjectives are ungradable. That means that they’re binary—either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. For example, ‘unique’ is ungradable. Either something is unique, or it isn’t. You can’t have different levels of uniqueness. It’s a yes-or-no property. Ungradable adjectives have two types. Firstly, there are words with a strong meaning, like ‘delicious’, ‘exhausted’ or ‘furious’. Secondly, there are words with an absolute meaning, like ‘unique’, ‘true’ or ‘possible’. When we talk about ungradable adjectives, we mean both of these types.

What does this mean for you? Well, there are two important rules you should know. First, you can’t make comparatives or superlatives from ungradable adjectives. You can’t say ‘more delicious’ or ‘most delicious’. You can’t say ‘truer’ or ‘most possible’. Secondly, if you want to emphasise an adjective by adding a word like ‘very’, ‘really’ or ‘absolutely’ before it, you need to use different words for gradable and ungradable adjectives. ‘Very’ is used with gradable adjectives. So, you can say ‘very beautiful’, ‘very cold’ or ‘very funny’, but you can’t say ‘very gorgeous’, ‘very freezing’ or ‘very hilarious’. You can’t say ‘very freezing’, but what can you say? With ungradable adjectives, use ‘absolutely’; you can say ‘absolutely freezing’, ‘absolutely exhausted’ or ‘absolutely unique’. What if you’re not sure? Use ‘really’, which can be used with both gradable and ungradable adjectives. So, you can say ‘really cold’ or ‘really freezing’. They’re both fine!

Understanding the difference between gradable and ungradable adjectives is important if you want to use adjectives in English correctly. There’s also one more important point you should know. Let’s look!

3. Adjective Position

You heard in part one that adjectives can go before the noun, or after the noun if you use a linking verb. So, are these sentences correct, or not?

• There’s an asleep cat on the wall.
• This problem is main.
• My brother is elder than me.

As always, pause the video if you want to think about it for longer. Ready? Here’s the answer. All three sentences are incorrect; none of them are possible. Do you know why? Many adjectives can be used either before or after the noun they describe. For example, you can say ‘the car is new’ or ‘the new car’. Both are possible, and it doesn’t change the meaning. However, some adjectives can only be used in one position: either before or after the noun. That’s the problem with the three sentences you saw just now. ‘Asleep’ can only be used after the noun it describes. You can say ‘The cat is asleep on the wall’, but you can’t say ‘an asleep cat’. ‘Main’ and ‘elder’ are examples of adjectives which can only go before the noun. So, you could say ‘This is the main problem’ or ‘He is my elder brother.’

Now, let’s do a test. Look at six adjectives:

Here’s the question: can these adjectives be used before the noun, after the noun, or in both positions? To do this, try making sentences with the six adjectives, or go to an online dictionary, such as the Cambridge dictionary or Longman , and find example sentences. When you make sentences, try saying them out loud. Use your instinct. Does it sound strange or wrong? It probably is. Pause the video and do the test. You’ll see the answers in a few seconds!

Ready? Let’s check together. ‘Alone’ can only be used after the noun it describes. For example: ‘He was alone for most of the summer.’ ‘Ill’ is also generally used after the noun it describes. For example: ‘I didn’t work yesterday because my daughter was ill.’ ‘Complete’ can be used in both positions. For example: ‘It was a complete disaster!’ Or, ‘The first stage of the work is now complete.’ ‘Only’ is used before the noun. For example: ‘The only way to do it is to do it yourself.’ ‘Unhappy’ can be used in both positions. For example: ‘They had an unhappy marriage,’ or ‘He didn’t enjoy the last year of school and was often unhappy.’ Finally, ‘afraid’ is only used after the noun. For example: ‘I was afraid of the dark when I was a child.’

So, you’re probably thinking: how do I know? How do I know whether an adjective can be used before or after a noun? It’s a good question. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple answer. Dictionaries don’t usually include this information. However, we have good news! Most adjectives can be used in both positions. Also, for most adjectives which can’t, you already know the answer. For example, remember the sentence, ‘The problem is main’? Most of you knew that this sentence sounded wrong. Your instincts can be helpful!

Anyhow, now you know about gradability and adjective position. There’s a reason we’ve shown you these two topics, because our last idea depends on these points.

4. Changing Meaning

You know that adjectives can be gradable or ungradable, or that they can go before or after the noun, but in some cases, the same adjective can be used in different ways with different meanings. For example, look at these two sentences:

• She handled the situation in a very professional way.
• She’s a professional tennis player.

Both these sentences use the adjective ‘professional’, but in different ways. Can you see the difference? In the first sentence, ‘professional’ is used as a gradable adjective, and it means something like ‘effective’ or ‘competent’. In the second sentence, ‘professional’ is ungradable: it means that playing tennis is her job, and she makes money from it. Let’s do another example:

• Jerome was present at the meeting.
• The present situation looks more hopeful than it has for several months.

What about here? Can you explain the difference between these two uses of ‘present’? In the first sentence, ‘present’ is used after the noun, with a linking verb. It means that Jerome was there. In the second sentence, ‘present’ is used before the noun, and it means ‘relating to now’. So, in this case, the adjective has different meanings in different positions. To be clear, this isn’t flexible. You can’t choose to use ‘present’ before a noun to mean ‘there’. If you use ‘present’ before a noun, then it means ‘relating to now’.

So, what should you take away from this? What do you need to focus on? We aren’t showing you these points because you need to learn lists of all the gradable and ungradable adjectives. This lesson gives you tools to help you understand adjectives in English more deeply. The most important point is that adjectives don’t follow one simple set of rules. Like with all vocabulary, you need to use context to understand what an adjective means in a sentence. Next—and this is also a general point—one word doesn’t have one meaning. With adjectives, whether a word is gradable or not can make a difference. Where an adjective is used can make a difference. You can’t simply rely on a dictionary or a translator. Again, you need to understand the context to understand the words.

Get more practice with grammar and sentence structure in our Grammar Lesson #1 .

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• Transcription

Adjectives: the essentials

Adjectives are one of the main classes of words in any language.  How they work and how they are used, however, vary.

By the end of this guide, you should be able to understand and apply these technical concepts (and there's a test at the end):

An adjective is usually defined something like

a word grammatically attached to a noun to modify or describe it

Easy question: Spot the adjectives in these examples:

• The tall trees bent in the fierce winds.
• He finally came along half an hour late for the first meeting.
• The green-jacketed, first-form students looked nervous.
• The audience was fascinated by the short lecture.
• The policeman involved in the nasty incident was quite upset.
• The small, green sports car was thoroughly washed and polished till it shone as bright as a new pin.

Click here when you have answers .

The adjectives are highlighted in black in the following:

• The green-jacketed , first-form students looked nervous .
• The policeman involved in the nasty incident was quite upset .
• The small , green sports car was thoroughly washed and polished till it shone as bright as a new pin.

Some are easier to identify than others, aren't they?  Here are some comments:

• Adjectives in English usually come before the noun they modify.  We can see this with tall trees, fierce winds, first meeting, green-jacketed, first-form students, short lecture, nasty incident, small, green sports car and new pin. This use of adjectives is called attributive . Some adjectives are only used attributively.  Examples are entire, outright, pure .  We can have, e.g.:     He ate the entire packet     It was the pure truth and     That was an outright lie but we can't say:     *The packet was entire     *The truth was pure or     *The lie was outright
• In sentences 3., 4. and 5., however, we have the alternative adjective position: looked nervous , was fascinated , was quite upset . Here the adjectives follow the noun they modify and are connected to it either by the verb be or by another verb which works in the same way.  These are called, incidentally, copular verb s and one of their functions is to connect a noun with its adjective.  Other copular verbs include seem, appear, get, grow, smell, taste, become .  There's a guide to copular verbs on this site, linked below in the list of related guides. This use of adjectives is called predicative . Some adjectives can only be used predicatively.  Examples are asleep, awake, alive, alert etc.  They start with a- .  We can't say     *The asleep dog and we need to say     The dog is / was / seems asleep for example.

There are two oddballs in the examples:

• the policeman involved A few adjectives in English can (and sometimes must) follow the noun and they include involved, concerned, proper, elect and some others.  The use of the adjective is still attributive, not predicative, because there is no connecting copular verb.  They need not concern us here.
• shone as bright as a new pin The adjective bright is actually acting as an adverb modifying the verb shone .  It tells us how the car shone, not what the car was like.  That's an unusual use of an adjective which will also not concern us here.  Many people would prefer bright ly here but the use of an adjective form as an adverb is actually quite common informally.

Did you identify any of the following as adjectives: finally, quite, thoroughly, washed, polished, bright ?

If you did:

• Words which modify a verb as in finally came and thoroughly washed (i.e., which tell us when or how something was done) are adverbs, not adjectives.
• The other issue is that we can't tell an adjective just by looking at its form.  We need to know what it is doing in the sentence.  The words washed and polished are certainly used as adjectives as in, e.g., the washed carpet or the polished glasswa re, but in the examples above they are simply verbs (past participle forms, in fact).

There are two simple tests for adjectives:

• We can make comparatives either by adding - er or - est or by putting more / most before them
• We can modify them with the adverb very

Try these tests with the adjectives we have encountered so far.  What do you notice? Click here when you have done that .

• Some adjectives simply cannot be made more or less: you are either first or you aren't, something is either impossible or it isn't.  Such adjectives are called ungradable .
• The second reason is that some adjectives tell us what class of thing we are dealing with.  For example, French cheese tells us what sort of cheese we are talking about, sports car tells us what sort of car it is.  These are called classifiers and cannot be modified this way.  An adjective which is not a classifier is called an epithet .
• We can also have v ery tall , very fierce , very nervous , very upset , very new and so on.  There's some argument whether we can have very first in this sense, because very means truly here, or very fascinated because fascinated is usually considered too strong a word to be modified by very .  Compare it with very amazing, very dreadful, very astounding etc.  These adjectives, sometimes called extreme adjectives , are not usually gradable with very (we prefer adverbs such as completely, totally, extremely etc. to modify them).  See the guide to gradability, linked in the list at the end, for more.

There are a number of other tests for adjectives.  For more, see the more advanced guide to this area, linked below.

Adjectives can be made comparative or superlative. Comparative structures are, for example:     Mary is taller than John     Mary is more intelligent than me Superlative structures single out one as the highest form of the adjective, e.g.:     She is the fittest person for the job     That is the most ridiculous idea of them all The rules for how we make the forms apply to both.

English has two ways to compare adjectives:

• We can add - er or - est to the end of the adjective (dropping an 'e' or changing 'y' to 'i' where we need to).  This is called inflexion .
• We can add more or most before the adjective.  This is called a periphrastic form.

Try modifying the adjectives here and work out what the rules are.  Click on the table when you have the answer.  The following focuses on the comparative form but the superlatives follow the same rules.

There are some irregular ones (as in most languages) including, e.g., far-further/farther, good-better-best, bad-worse-worst etc. and there's a bit more to it than that but this is the simplest explanation. There is a more complete (and more technical) guide to comparison in the in-service section, linked below.

Many books for students delight in giving complex and elaborate rules for why we say, for example:

• small, brown house not brown, small house
• tall citrus trees not citrus tall trees
• rude English tourists not English rude tourists
• ugly, fat, porcelain, Chinese vases not porcelain, Chinese, fat, ugly vases

But actually the general rule is quite simple.  Any ideas?  Click when you have some .

• Classifiers like, English, Chinese and  citrus go closest to the noun.  Some classifiers are inseparable from the noun, e.g., school boys .  They form a compound.
• Adjectives which are ungradable (i.e., cannot be more or less so) come next.  The example here is porcelain .  Something is either porcelain or it isn't.  Often these relate to the material something is made of.
• Adjectives which are gradable but not very arguable come next.  The examples here are fat and tall .
• Adjectives which are a matter of opinion come furthest from the noun.  The example here is ugly (and probably, rude )).

The simple way to present this is on a cline, like this:

There is a bit more to this and for some detail, you should refer to the in-service guide to adjectives, linked below.

There is, of course, a test on this .

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All about Adjectives

All about Adjectives introduces elementary school students to this important part of speech. With this lesson, students will learn what adjectives are, how they are used, how to identify them, and what they are used for.

This lesson includes many optional additions or substitutions, which can be found in the “Options for Lesson” section. One of these optional suggestions it to put on an “Adjective Bee,” where you say a noun and your students have to come up with an adjective to describe it! This is a fun and interactive way for them to practice using adjectives.

Description

Additional information, what our all about adjectives lesson plan includes.

Lesson Objectives and Overview: All about Adjectives teaches students how to identify adjectives in writing and how to more effectively use them in their own writing. As a part of this lesson, students will complete several activities where they are required to identify or use adjectives, demonstrating their understanding of the lesson material. This lesson is for students in 2nd grade.

Classroom Procedure

Every lesson plan provides you with a classroom procedure page that outlines a step-by-step guide to follow. You do not have to follow the guide exactly. The guide helps you organize the lesson and details when to hand out worksheets. It also lists information in the green box that you might find useful. You will find the lesson objectives, state standards, and number of class sessions the lesson should take to complete in this area. In addition, it describes the supplies you will need as well as what and how you need to prepare beforehand. The only supplies you will need for this lesson are the handouts. You can prepare for this lesson ahead of time by pairing students for the activity and copying the handouts.

Options for Lesson

Included with this lesson is an “Options for Lesson” section that lists a number of suggestions for activities to add to the lesson or substitutions for the ones already in the lesson. One optional addition to this lesson is to use additional images or different images for each pair of students for the activity worksheet, rather than having all of the pairs use the same photo. You can also put on an “Adjective Bee,” where you say a noun and the students respond with an adjective that could be used to describe it. They could also spell the adjective as a bonus! Additionally, you could say sentences aloud and have your students identify the adjectives that you said. Finally, you can combine this lesson with a lesson about adverbs, having students compare the similarities and differences in the two parts of speech.

Teacher Notes

The teacher notes page includes a paragraph with additional guidelines and things to think about as you begin to plan your lesson. It notes that many students will be aware of adjectives because they’ve likely encountered them in earlier grade levels, but that this lesson will help stress the importance of using them correctly. It also notes that you may want to teach this lesson in conjunction with other lessons related to adjectives or other parts or speech like adverbs. This page includes lines that you can use to add your own notes as you’re preparing for this lesson.

ALL ABOUT ADJECTIVES LESSON PLAN CONTENT PAGES

This lesson includes three content pages. The lesson begins with a short story about two children who are able to buy the ice cream that they want by describing it using adjectives. Adjectives are words or phrases added to a noun to modify, change, or describe it. Students will learn that adjectives are a very important part of speech. They help a reader or listener learn more about the nouns or objects in a story. Adjectives also make a story more exciting and interesting! They can tell people all kinds of information, such as what kind, which one, how many, and how much.

Identifying and Using Adjectives

The next section of this lesson helps students learn how to identify and use adjectives. Adjectives tell you more about nouns, and most adjectives come before the noun in the sentence. This is not true for every adjective, however. For example, in the sentence “The dog’s eyes are brown,” the word “brown” is an adjective that describes the eyes!

Students will learn that, in order to identify adjectives, they must first find the nouns. Next, they will try to find any words that describe those nouns. These are the adjectives! Students will also learn about the words “a” and “an,” which are both special adjectives that can describe either nouns or other adjectives. You use “A” before words that begin with a consonant, while you use “an” before words that begin with a vowel or vowel sound.

The final section of the lesson provides a passage that includes some adjectives, and then revises it to include even more adjectives! This sections reminds students that they should use adjectives to make their writing more descriptive, and thus more interesting. People also use adjectives to provide more information about the nouns in their writing.

ALL ABOUT ADJECTIVES LESSON PLAN WORKSHEETS

The All about Adjectives lesson plan includes three worksheets: an activity worksheet, a practice worksheet, and a homework assignment. You can refer to the guide on the classroom procedure page to determine when to hand out each worksheet.

DESCRIBE THE PICTURE ACTIVITY WORKSHEET

The activity requires students to work with a partner to discuss a picture with many things in it and list some adjectives that they could use to describe the nouns or objects in the picture. You will need to provide a picture for the students to use during this activity. You can have each pair use the same picture, or give each pair a different picture. The students will then choose five of the adjectives they used to describe the picture and write a new sentence using each of them. This allows them to demonstrate their ability to both come up with and use adjectives successfully.

Students may also work either alone or in groups for this activity, depending on your preference.

ALL ABOUT ADJECTIVES PRACTICE WORKSHEET

Students will complete several exercises for the practice worksheet. For the first exercise, the students will read a sentence and circle all of the adjectives. The second exercise requires them to fill in the blanks in various sentences with their own adjectives. In the final exercise, students determine whether “a” or “an” should be used with each noun or adjective. All of these exercises test the students’ knowledge and understanding of the lesson material.

USING ADJECTIVES HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

For the homework assignment, students first read a passage and circle all of the adjectives. If they have trouble, a parent or other family member may help them. Next, they must use five specific adjectives in sentences that they write, such as “slow,” “black,” and “small.” This assignment demonstrates their ability to identify use adjectives correctly in a sentence.

Worksheet Answer Keys

This lesson plan includes answer keys for the practice worksheet and the homework assignment. The answer key lists all of the correct answers in red. The answer key for the practice worksheet notes that students’ answers will vary for the second exercise. For the homework assignment answer key, it also notes that the answers for the second exercise will vary, but it lists some example answers that would suffice. There is no answer key provided for the activity worksheet because students’ answers will vary. If you choose to administer the lesson pages to your students via PDF, you will need to save a new file that omits these pages. Otherwise, you can simply print out the applicable pages and keep these as reference for yourself when grading assignments.

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• What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples

What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples

Published on 22 August 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on 3 October 2023.

An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun . Adjectives can be used to describe the qualities of someone or something independently or in comparison to something else.

The boy is tall and skinny .

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Table of contents

How are adjectives used in sentences, comparative and superlative adjectives.

• Coordinate adjectives

Adjectives vs adverbs

How to order adjectives, other types of adjectives, frequently asked questions about adjectives.

Adjectives modify or describe nouns and pronouns. They can be attributive (occurring before the noun) or predicative (occurring after the noun). Predicative adjectives typically follow a linking verb (such as forms of the verb ‘to be’) that connects the subject of the sentence to the adjective.

The soldier is proud .

The dedicated employee starts early.

The employee is dedicated . Note While most adjectives can occur in both the attributive and predicative position, some can only be used in one position. For example, the word ‘main’ can only be used in the attributive position, while the word ‘asleep’ can only be used in the predicative position.

• The main reason is that …
• The reason is main.
• The man is asleep.
• The asleep man is …

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Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things. They’re usually formed by adding the suffix ‘-er’ (or ‘-r’ if the word ends in the letter ‘e’). For two-syllable words that end in ‘y’, the ‘y’ is replaced with ‘-ier’.

Comparative adjectives can also be formed by adding ‘more’ or ‘less’ before an adjective that has not been modified. The ‘more’ form is typically used for words with two or more syllables, while the ‘less’ form is used for all adjectives.

The room is cosier with the fire lit and less cosy without it.

Superlative adjectives are used to indicate that something has the most or least of a specific quality. They’re typically preceded by the definite article ‘the’ and usually formed by adding the suffix ‘-est’ (or ‘-st’ if the word ends in the letter ‘e’). For two-syllable words that end in ‘y’, the ‘y’ is replaced with ‘-iest’.

Superlative adjectives can also be formed by adding ‘most’ or ‘least’ before an adjective that has not been modified. The ‘most’ form is typically used for words with two or more syllables, while the ‘least’ form is used for all adjectives.

All the courses were delicious, but the dessert was the tastiest .

Absolute adjectives

An absolute adjective is an adjective describing an absolute state that cannot be compared. For example, the word ‘dead’ is often considered to be an absolute adjective because it’s not possible to be ‘deader’ than someone else.

However, actual usage varies, and absolute adjectives are often modified by words such as ‘almost’.

Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjectives that modify the same noun in a sentence. Coordinate adjectives can be separated by commas or by the conjunction ‘and’.

Adverbs can be used to modify verbs , adjectives , or other adverbs, whereas adjectives only modify nouns and pronouns. When used to modify a verb, an adverb describes how an action is being performed (e.g., Brandon runs slowly ).

Adverbs are often formed from adjectives by adding the suffix ‘-ly’. However, not all words ending in ‘-ly’ are adverbs (e.g., ‘ugly’ is an adjective).

Adverbs can be formed from adjectives in numerous other ways, depending on the ending.

Some words can be used as either an adjective or adverb without being changed (e.g., ‘fast’, ‘late’, ‘early’).

For example, in the sentence ‘the man left early ‘, the word ‘early’ is an adverb because it’s modifying the verb ‘left’.

Adjectives with linking verbs

Adjectives are often confused with adverbs when they are used as complements for linking verbs (e.g., ‘the wife is devoted ‘). In these instances, a common mistake is to use an adverb in place of an adjective.

While adverbs describe how an action is performed, linking verbs (e.g., ‘be’, ‘seem’, ‘become’, ‘feel’) often refer to a state rather than an act and therefore take an adjective. In the example below, an adjective is needed because ‘feel’ is a linking verb.

• Jesse feels badly when he doesn’t finish his homework.
• Jesse feels bad when he doesn’t finish his homework.

Attributive adjectives and determiners are typically given in a specific order according to their function. This isn’t an order that English speakers learn as a set of rules, but rather one that people pick up intuitively and usually follow without thinking about it:

• Determiner (e.g., a, the, one)
• Opinion (e.g., beautiful, valuable, indecent)
• Size (e.g., big, small, tiny)
• Shape or age (e.g., round, square, hundred-year-old)
• Colour (e.g., white, brown, red)
• Origin (e.g., Dutch, aquatic, lunar)
• Material (e.g., wooden, metal, glass)

There are many types of adjectives in English. Some other important types of adjectives are:

• Appositive adjectives
• Compound adjectives
• Participial adjectives
• Proper adjectives
• Denominal adjectives
• Nominal adjectives

An appositive adjective is an adjective (or series of adjectives) that occurs after the noun it modifies. It is typically set off by commas or dashes. It works similarly to an appositive noun .

A compound adjective is an adjective that is formed using two or more words that express a single idea (e.g., in-depth). When a compound adjective occurs before the noun it modifies (attributive), the individual words are typically connected by a hyphen . Frequently, no hyphen is needed when the compound adjective is placed after the noun (predicative).

Mark is well known . Note When a compound adjective is formed using an adverb that ends in ‘-ly’, no hyphen is used regardless of its position.

• A highly-respected public official.
• A highly respected public official.

A participial adjective is an adjective that is identical to the participle form of a verb (typically ending in ‘-ing’, ‘-ed’, or ‘-en’).

A proper adjective is an adjective formed from a proper noun and used to indicate origin. Like proper nouns, proper adjectives are always capitalised.

A denominal adjective is an adjective formed from a noun, often with the addition of a suffix (e.g., ‘-ish’, ‘-ly’, ‘-esque’).

A nominal adjective (also called a substantive adjective ) is an adjective that functions as a noun. Nominal adjectives are typically preceded by the definite article ‘the’.

There are many ways to categorize adjectives into various types. An adjective can fall into one or more of these categories depending on how it is used.

Some of the main types of adjectives are:

• Attributive adjectives
• Predicative adjectives
• Comparative adjectives
• Superlative adjectives

Cardinal numbers (e.g., one, two, three) can be placed before a noun to indicate quantity (e.g., one apple). While these are sometimes referred to as ‘numeral adjectives ‘, they are more accurately categorised as determiners or quantifiers.

A proper adjective is an adjective that was derived from a proper noun and is therefore capitalised .

Proper adjectives include words for nationalities, languages, and ethnicities (e.g., ‘Japanese’, ‘Inuit’, ‘French’) and words derived from people’s names (e.g., ‘Bayesian’, ‘Orwellian’).

Sources for this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Ryan, E. (2023, October 03). What Is an Adjective? | Definition, Types & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 9 April 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/the-parts-of-speech/adjective/

Aarts, B. (2011).  Oxford modern English grammar . Oxford University Press.

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015).  Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage  (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016).  Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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Eoghan Ryan

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Adjectives - exercises

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Worksheets - handouts

Adjectives worksheets

Handouts - printable exercises.

• Opposite adjectives
• Opposites - adjectives
• Printable worksheets I
• Printable worksheets II
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• Worksheet : -ed -ing adjectives
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• Order of adjectives - exercises
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• Adjective order - pdf handout
• Order of adjectives - exercise
• Adjective order - pdf
• Order of adjectives
• Adjectives -ed / -ing - exercise 1
• Adjectives -ed / -ing - exercise 2
• Adjectives ending with -ED and -ING 
• Negative forms of adjectives  
• Worksheets pdf - print
• Grammar worksheets - handouts

Grammar notes / lessons

• Participle adjectives -ed and -ing
• Opposite: English / Spanish