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17/12/2023 03:53:15 PM

An understanding of English Adjectives

1. Definitions and classification

1.1. Definitions

Adjectives are the part of speech that modifies a noun or other substantive by limiting, qualifying, or specifying and distinguished in English morphologically by one of several suffixes, such as -able, -ous, -er, and -est, or syntactically by position directly preceding a noun or nominal phrase.

1.2. Classification

Adjectives can be classified as follows:

(1) Demonstrative        :           this, that, these, those.

(2) Distributive :           each, every, either, neither.

(3) Quantitative :           some, any, no, little/ few, many, much, one, twenty

(4) Interrogative          :           which, what, whose.

(5) Possessive  :           my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their

(6) Of quality   :           clever, drive, fast, golden, good.

2. Participles used as adjectives

  • We use some past participles ending in _ed and some present participles ending in _ing as adjectives.
  • Distinguish: someone is _ed if something (s.o.) is _ing. Or if something is _ing, it makes you _ed.
    • The _ed form usually have a passive meaning.

E.g.      - He is interested in mathematics.

            - I was bored with this film.

  • The _ing form usually have an active meaning.

E.g.      - Mathematics is interesting.

- This film is boring.

3. Functions and position

3.1. Adjectives tell us more about a noun

It’s a big house.

3.2. We can put Adjectives before a noun

This is a red ball                                  

There are some tall trees.

3.3. We can put Adjectives after linking verbs

(1) Any tense of the verb BE:

She is clever  

My house will be big.

(2) Verbs of the senses: look, feel, taste, smell, sound.

You look tired                                     

That song sounds awful.

(3) Some other verbs like seem, get, become.

Computer have become popular

My shirt is getting old.

* When there are more than one Adjectives:

(1) When we put 2 Adjectives after the verb be, joining them with AND:

Those trees are tall AND green;            

Minh seems joyful AND happy.

(2) When we have many adjectives, we usually put them in the following order:

   general opinion +  size/ height +  age +  shape +  color +  nationality/origin

                                                

A        beautiful               big              old     round      brown    Vietnamese TABLE