THE ADJECTIVE AND ITS KINDS

  

 ADJECTIVE AND ITS KINDS 

Read the given sentences :

 1. Good boys never tell lies. 

2. There is little water in the jug. 

3. She is a beautiful girl. 

 

In the above sentences all the italicized words add something to their respective nouns. For example in sentence 1,2 and 3 the words 'Good ', 'little', and 'beautiful' qualifies their respective nouns. All these words are examples of Adjectives. 

What are Adjectives? 

Adjectives are those words which beautify the nouns and pronouns. These words are also called the describing words. 

Position of an Adjective in a Sentence:

An adjective is normally used before the noun to which it qualifies. 

Examples :

1. It is a black pen. 

2. The old man was in a very poor condition. 

KINDS OF ADJECTIVE

There are seven kinds of adjectives. They are as follows :

1. Adjective of Quality

2. Adjective of Quantity

3. Adjective of  Number

4. Interrogative Adjective

5. Demonstration Adjective

6. Distributive Adjective

7. Possessive Adjective

Now let us understand each kinds of Adjectives in more details. 

1. Adjective of Quality :

The adjective which describes the shape, size, color, taste, quality of a noun is called an Adjective of Quality. 

Examples:

1. We watched an interesting   movie on the internet. 

2. My cat is white  in color. 

3. I saw a beautiful  horse. 

 In the above sentences all the underlined words are examples of Adjectives of Quality. 

Note : Adjective of Quality answers the question --->  "What kind of? "

2. Adjective of Quantity:

The adjective which describes about the quantity or shows how much a thing is meant is known as an Adjective of Quantity. 

Examples:

1. We have enough  food for the guests. 

2. He showed much  courage while climbing. 

3. The robbers stole some  money and ran away. 

In the above sentences the underlined words describe the quantities of their respective nouns 'food', 'courage', and 'money' so all these are Adjectives of Quantity. 

3. Adjective of Number:

The adjective which describes about the number of persons or things is called an Adjective of Number. 

Examples : 

1. There were three  monkeys on the tree. 

2. The seventh  month of the year is July. 

3. All  of you must go to meet her. 

 In the above sentences the underlined words describe the countable number of persons or things so, all these are examples of Adjective of Number. 

        CLASSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVE OF NUMBER

Read the following classification of adjective of number to have better comprehension. 

(I). Definite Number Adjectives :

These adjectives show definite number. These are further divided into three parts :

(i) Cardinals : 

Cardinals are definite number of adjectives which are countable. 

For example : one, two, three...... 

(ii) Ordinals :

Ordinals are definite number of adjectives which show the order of person or a thing. 

For example: 1st, 2nd, 3rd.....

(iii) Multiplicative : 

Multiplicative are those definite number of adjectives which are in multiplication. 

For example: single, double, triple, once.... 

(II). Indefinite Numeral Adjectives:

These adjectives shows the indefinite numerals. 

For example: all, some, several, any, few etc. 

4. Interrogative Adjectives:

The adjective which asks question is called an Interrogative Adjective. 

Examples: 

1. Which  is your book? 

2. Whose turn is this? 

3. At what  time do you go to school? 

 In the above sentences the words 'Which', 'Whose', and 'What' ask questions from the nouns and hence are interrogative adjectives. 

5. Demonstrative Adjectives:

An adjective which points towards a noun or a pronoun is called a Demonstrative Adjective. 

Examples:

1. This  house belongs to me. 

2. That  book is yours. 

3. These  boys do not study well. 

4. Those   dresses are pretty. 

5. Such  things are not useful. 

 

In the above sentences the word 'This',  points towards the noun house. 

In sentence 2, the word 'That' , points towards the noun book. 

In sentence 3, the word 'These' , points towards the noun boys. 

In sentence 4, the word 'Those', points towards the noun dresses. 

In sentence 5, the word 'Such', points towards the noun things. 

So all these words are examples of Demonstrative adjectives. 

6. Distributive Adjectives:

The adjectives which show the distribution of person  or things are called Distributive adjectives. 

Examples: 

1.Each  boy will participate in the games. 

2. Every  team will get a reward. 

3. Either  side of the road has many trees. 

4 . Neither party got majority in the election. 

In the above sentences the underlined words are examples of Distributive adjectives. 

7. Possessive Adjectives:

The adjective which shows the possession of its noun is called a Possessive adjective. 

Examples:

1. Which is your  bag? 

2. Her granny is a pious lady. 

3. His  shirt is blue. 

4. My  mobile phone has many features. 

In the above sentences the words 'Your', 'Her', 'His', and 'My' are used as Possessive adjectives. 

Note: This adjective answers the question ---> 'Whose? '

LEARN THE CORRECT USE OF ADJECTIVES

(a) Use of 'some ' and 'any'

Read the following examples. 

1. I have some  books on English Grammar. 

2. There are some  fruits in the basket. 

3. She do not have any  pen to write. 

4. They have not read any  article today. 

  

Note: 'Some ' is used in affirmative sentences for both countable and uncountable nouns. 

'Any' is used in negative and interrogative sentences. 

(b) Use of 'much' and 'many' 

Read the given examples:

1. There is not much  food left in the fridge. 

2. Have they much  money in their wallets? 

3. We have not many  books in the library. 

4. She hasn't many  dresses in her closet. 

 Note : 'Much' is used for quantity and 'many' is used for number. 

To use 'much' and 'many' into affirmative sentences, we should use them with 'how', and 'too'. 

Examples 

1. He has too many relatives. 

2. I cannot tell you how many  guests were invited. 

  

(c) Use of 'another', 'any other', and 'other'

Read the given examples:

1. We have purchased another  computer-set. 

2. I have seen other  forts in India. 

3. They haven't visited any other  museums. 

Note : 'another' is used with singular noun, 'other' with plural noun. 'Any other' is used in negative sentences with both singular and plural nouns. 

(d) Use of 'each' and 'every'

Read the given examples:

 1.Two mouse were kept in each  cage. 

 2. Every  girl was pleased to see her win. 

 Note : Each is used for two or more than two things. It shows the limited number of persons or things. 

Every is used for more than two. It shows the unlimited number of persons or things. 

  

(e) Use of 'Little', ' a little' and ' the little'

Read the given examples:

1. The generous man showed little  mercy to the beggar. 

2. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. 

3. The little  money which they had was stolen by robbers. 

(f) Use of 'Few', 'A few' and 'the few'

Read the given examples:

1. Few  people can purchase house. 

2. A few  candidates can apply for the post. 

3. The few  articles written by him are excellent. 

(g) Use of Elder, older, eldest and oldest

Read the given examples:

1. Harry is my elder  brother. 

2. She is older  than me. 

3. My grandfather is the oldest  of all members in the family. 

4. My eldest  son lives in abroad. 

If you liked this article then do share it and follow English Learning.