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...
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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