Adjective
Definition – an adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun or adds to its meaning.
1.Delhi is a big city.
2.The city of Delhi is big.
3.I have some rice .
4.Here are five books .
5.Each boy got a prize .
6.This girl studies in my school.
Kinds of adjective
The main kinds are
- 1. Adjectives of quality describe the kind ,quality or characteristics of a person ,animal , place or thing such as big ,small, hot, cold, honest, foolish ,intelligent.
She is a beautiful girl .
I have learnt the French language.
- Adjectives of quantity indicate how much of a thing is meant such as little ,enough , all, half ,sufficient .
Give me some water
Much cement is needed in buildings
- Adjectives of number indicate how many persons or things are meant or in what order a person or thing stands. They are of three kinds :
(1) Definite numeral adjectives indicate an exact number one ,two ,three , etc. are called cardinals and first, second, third, etc. indicating the order are called ordinals .
Two birds are sitting there .
He is the second man in command .
(2) Indefinite numeral adjectives do not indicate an exact number such as few ,some ,all, any, many, several ,etc.
There are many rooms in the hotel .
(3) Distributive numeral adjectives refer to each single person or thing in a group such as each ,every ,either, neither .
Every soldier should be ready to fight for his country.
(4). Demonstrative adjectives indicate which person or thing is meant ,such as this , that, these, those , such.
Bring that chair
Those mountains are very far away
(5). Interrogative adjectives are used with nouns to ask questions as what, which, whose .
Which book shall you buy ?
What poem do you like best ?
Whose son is he ?
(6). Exclamatory adjectives the word what is used as an exclamatory adjective also
What a story ! what manners ! what beauty !
(7). Possessive adjectives indicate possession as my, our, your, his, her, its ,their .
They are our friends .
Please give me my book .
EXERCISE-1
Spot the adjective in the following
The open precincts of Jallianwala bagh will once again be shaken by the booming British guns. The hail of murderous bullets spewed by Gen. Dyer`s killer squad and the resultant cries and pathetic shrill let loose by the hapless victims and slogans of ‘inclab zindabad’, will be all felt again. This would happen with the interesting recreation of the April 13, 1919 massacre scene using electronic gadgets. And the aim is to acquaint the younger generation about this important milestone of the country`s freedom struggle and imbibe in them the sprit of patriotism.
EXERCISE-2
Pick out the Adjective in the following, and say to which class each of them belongs and what Noun each qualifies:-
In what manner did that kind and generous man distribute some of his wealth to many poor people.
This foolish man had no sense, otherwise he would not have distributed all his money to all these beggars so that each beggars could have Five thousand
Rupees.
EXERCISE-3
From Adjective from the following:-
Hill, cloud, grace, gold, health, wealth, honour, fallacy, pride, glory, pity, wonder, pomp, progress, quarrel, anger, contempt, ridicule, France, Britain,
Thought, hope, child, prince.
EXERCISE-4
Write down the Adjective opposite in meaning to the following:-
Active, attractive , blunt, bold, barren, bitter, patient, honest, friendly, cruel, strong, soft, beautiful, careful, clever, cheap, rude, wild, quiet, humble.
EXERCISE-5
We say ‘a violent storm’, ‘a populous city’, ‘a devoted wife, ‘a naughty child’, etc. Use a suitable Adjective with each of the following Nouns in the patterns
shown above:-
Victory, defeat, artist, dealer, sea, road, ring, surface, problem, work, story, Question , situation, daughter, day, night.
EXERCISE-6
Fill in the blanks with Adjective
- He may be wise in speech, but is undoubtedly ……….... in his action.
- Everybody hates him for his repulsive looks, but his……………. Wife is the centre of social activities in the town.
- I have refused to accept this job as it is a temporary one; I am out to seek a…………… one.
- He looks gentle enough, but he can be …………… at times.
- God helps the humble and not the…………………….
- While the people begged the Government to take a lenient view of the case, the Government took ………… action against the accused.
- He is rough in his exterior but …………………..at Heart.
- While his father advised him to be economical, he continued to be………
EXERCISE-7
In three columns ‘positive’ ‘ comparative ’ and ‘superlative’ enter the following suitably and add the other remaining degrees:-
Pretty, best, sadder, happier, nearest, later, old, true, worse, emphatic, cold, higher, wonderful, magnificent, yellower, pleasant.
EXERCISE-8
[later or latter]
- Arvind came………….. than Bishu.
- The …………..part of the book is not interesting.
- Haan and Amit have arrived. The former is a painter. The…………… a musician.
[each or every]
- The two soldiers ……………. Had a gun .
- Ten boys stood in ……………….row.
- …………….. man wants to be happy .
[farther or further]
- Merrut is …………from Delhi than Ghaziabad.
- Until ……………… orders you will remain here .
- No ………………..reasons were given.
[older or elder]
- Ramesh is my ……………brother.
- I am ……………..than you.
- This building is …………….. than that one.
[all or whole]
- Can you give me ……………… milk for my child.
- He lost …………..hope of recovery.
- …………….newspapers cover important news items .
[some or any ]
- Can you give me ………………food?
- Have you seen …………….picture recently?
- There is hardly ……………. Money on me .
[a little or little]
- Please give me ………………. Milk for my child.
- I have ………………..money, so I can`t help you.
- This ……………………....rain means nothing to the farmers.
Adjective
Rules
- The adjectives ending in –ior (prior, junior, senior, superior, inferior, prefer) take ‘to’ and not ‘than’ after them.
He is senior to me.
- Some adjective like unique, ideal, perfect, extreme, complete, universal, infinite, perpetual, chief, entire, round, impossible, preferable are not compared.
It is the most unique book. (×)
It is a unique book. (√)
- Comparative degree is used in comparing two things or persons.
It is the better of the two books.
Superlative degree is used in comparing more than two things or persons.
He is the best of the three boys.
- Double comparatives and double superlatives must not be used.
He is more wiser than his brother (×)
He is wiser than his brother (√)
- When we compare two qualities in the same person or thing, the comparative ending –er is not used.
You are wiser than old (×)
You are more wise than old (√)
- When two adjectives in superlative or comparative degree are used together, the one formed by adding ‘more’ or ‘most’ must follow the other adjective.
He is more intelligent and wiser than his brother (×)
He is wiser and more intelligent than his brother (√)
- When two adjectives with differing degrees of comparison are used they should be complete in themselves.
He is as wise, if not wiser than his brother (×)
He is as wise as, if not wiser than his brother (√)
- When two changes happen together, comparative degree in used in both.
The higher you go, the cooler you feel.
- When comparative degree is used in superlative sense, it is followed by ‘any other’.
Kapil is better than any bowler. (×)
Kapil is better than any other bowler. (√)
- Compound adjective formed by adding ‘worth’ is placed after the noun it qualifies.
This is a worth seeing sight (×)
This is a sight worth seeing (√)
- When two or more comparatives are joined by ‘and’ they must be in the same degree.
Russel was one of the wisest and most learned men of the world.
- When there are two objects of comparison, then to avoid repetition of noun, ‘that’ is used for singular noun and ‘those’ for plural noun.
The climate of Ranchi is better than Gaya. (×)
The climate of Ranchi is better than that of Gaya. (√)
- If comparison is made by using ‘other’, ‘than’ is used instead of ‘but’.
He returned out to be no other than my old friend.
- Likely, certain and sure are followed by ‘to’.
He is likely to win.
We are sure to need help.
Confused Adjectives:
- Beautiful is used for woman, handsome for man.
He is a handsome youth.
She is a beautiful girl.
- Less refers to quantity, fewer denotes number.
He takes no less than a litre of milk.
They have fewer books than I have.
- Last is the final one, Latest is last upto the present.
Z is the last letter of the alphabet.
This is the latest edition of the book.
- Each is used for one of two or more things, every is used for more than two things, taken as a group.
Each of the two boys was wrong.
He read every book I gave him.
- Older refers to persons or things.
This tree is older than that.
Elder refers to persons only.
He is my elder brother.
- A little means ‘at least some’
Little means ‘not much’
He slept little.
He slept a little.
- Farther means ‘more distant’.
Further means ‘additional’
Bombay is farther than Delhi.
I shall get further information.
- Latter means the second of two things.
Keats and Byron are romantic poets, but I prefer the latter.
Later refers to time.
She came to school later than I
