Saturday, August 9, 2014

What are adjectives?

What are adjectives?
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective often precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies.
'Big', 'boring', 'purple', 'quick' and 'obvious' are all adjectives
Categories of adjectives
The following are the fifteen major categories of meaning that are expressed with English adjectives. A few examples are listed for each category, but there are several more possibilities.
COLOR:
blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, purple, pink, etc...
SIZE:
big, huge, immense, enormous, mammoth, massive, vast, large, wide, spacious, small, little, tiny, high, long, tall, low , short, same as, gigantic, teeny (weeny), petite, scrawny, etc...
SHAPE:
round (a ball), circle (a door knob), triangular, rectangular (a flag), square (a cake), oval (an egg), broad, curved, flat, etc...
FEELINGS:
happy, gald, beatific, blissful, cheerful, chirpy, content, pleased, satisfied, delighted, ecstatic , exalted, elated, sad, bereft, blue, broken, broken-hearted, broody, bruised, broody, careworn, deflated, dark, demoralised, depressed, desolate, despondent, disaffected, disappointed, disconsolate, discouraged, dismal, disillusioned, disheartened, dismayed, displeased, dissatisfied, distressed, distraught, doleful, down, downcast,downhearted, forlorn, tender, angry, excited, envious, embarassed, frightened, etc...
QUALITIES AND APPEARANCE:
good,excellent, brilliant ,splendid, fantastic, magnificent, bad, terrible, awsome, awful, nice, beautiful, pretty,gorgeous, cute, glamorous,
elegant, good-looking, handsome, ugly, unsightly, right, wrong, funny, amusing, entertaining, light, heavy, fat, stout, thin, slim, clean, dirty, filthy, straight, noisy, quiet, still, tranquil, calm, powerful, nutritious, adorable, adventurous, aggressive, alert, attractive, bloody, blushing, colorful, exciting, graceful, grotesque, drab, dull, homely, plain, precious, sparkling, fragile, frail, weak, strong, doubtful, bewildred, confused, puzzled, cautious, careful, concerned, innocent, guilty, crazy, silly, stupid, foolish, clumsy, intelligent, clever, cunning, shy, timid, rich, poor, wild, defiant, courageous, brave, helpful, helpless, unhelpful, etc...
CONDITION:
important, principal, paramount, famous, notorious, fictitious, real, true, false, imaginary, alive, dead, odd, weird, unusual, strange, outstanding, impossible, improbable, easy, difficult, closed, open, etc...
QUANTITY:
one, two, three, ... first, second, third, ... abundant, empty, heavy, light, numerous, substantial, significant, insignificant etc...
WEATHER AND TEMPERATURE:
cold, warm, hot, cool, rainy, windy snowy, foggy, sunny, cloudy, stormy, frozen, etc...
TIME:
late, early, punctual, behindhand, delayed, ill-timed, premature, tardy, unearthly, modern, traditional, old-fashioned, young, old, new, slow, swift, quick, rapid, brief, short, long, etc...
NATIONALITY AND ORIGIN:
American, Mexican, Moroccan,, African, Martian, etc...
MATERIAL:
wooden, woolen, cottony, fibrous, metallic, bronze, etc...
AGE:
old, ancient, aged, senile, elderly, ageless, oldish, overage, young, juvenile, adolescent, teenage, underage, youthful, etc...
PURPOSE:
(These adjectives usually end in /ing/) sleeping bag, frying pan, swinging door, time-saving gadget, driving licence, etc...
Taste/Touch:
bitter, delicious, fresh, juicy, ripe, rotten, salty, sour, spicy, stale, sticky, sweet, tart, tasteless, tasty, thirsty, fluttering, fuzzy, greasy, grubby, hard, hot, icy, loose, melted, plastic, prickly, rough, scattered, shaggy, shaky, sharp, shivering, silky, slimy, slippery, smooth, soft, solid, steady, sticky, tight, uneven, weak, wet, wooden, yummy, boiling, etc...
SOUND:
cooing, deafening, faint, harsh, high-pitched, hissing, hushed, husky, loud, melodic, moaning, mute, noisy, purring, quiet, raspy, resonant, screeching, shrill, silent, soft, squealing, thundering, voiceless, whispering, etc...
More about adjectives here:

Vocabulary - Compound Adjectives


What are compound adjectives?

Compound adjectives are adjectives that are made up of two or more words usually with hyphens (-) between them.
Examples:
  • An English-speaking country.
  • A time-saving gadget.
  • A thirty-floor building.

How are compound adjectives formed?

Compound adjectives can be formed as follows:
  • Adverb-past participle / noun + ed
    a
    well-known writer
    a
    brightly-lit room
    deeply-rooted
    traditions
    a
    well-mannered girl
  • Adjective-present participle (verb + ing)
    a
    good-looking boy
    a free-standing tower
  • Noun-past participle
    a tongue-tied
    boy
    a
    sun-dried fruit
  • Adjective-past participle / noun + ed
    a short-sighted man
    a
    long-haired lady
  • Noun- adjective
    a
    world-famous singer
  • Adjective- noun
    a
    last minute solution
    deep-sea diving
  • Noun-noun
    a
    part-time job


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