Adjective Types Flashcards
Comparative adjectives
Comparative adjectives are used to compare two different people or things to each other.
Whales are larger animals than dolphins.
We moved to a cheaper apartment.
The sequel was even more incredible than the first movie.
Superlative adjectives
Superlative adjectives are used to compare more than two people or things by indicating which one is the most supreme or extreme.
Adrian is the fastest member of our team.
Out of all of my books, this one is the oldest.
We are trying to figure out the least confusing way to explain the lesson to the new students.
Predicate adjectives
Predicate adjectives are adjectives that appear in the predicate of a sentence as a subject complement rather than directly next to the nouns or pronouns that they modify.
Andrea is tall.
Freddy became angry.
The steak looks delicious.
Compound adjectives
Compound adjectives are adjectives that are formed from multiple words, which are usually connected by hyphens.
She had enough of the double-dealing salesman.
My happy-go-lucky daughter loved our trip to Disneyland.
The better-off members of the city live by the river.
Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives are often used to express possession or ownership. The most commonly used possessive adjectives are my, your, his, her, its, our, their, and whose
My favorite food is pizza.
Sydney spent the day with her parents.
Canadians celebrated their team’s victory at the Olympics.
Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives are used to express relative positions in space and time. A demonstrative adjective is an adjective used to specifically describe the position of something or someone in space or time. The most commonly used demonstrative adjectives are this, that, these, and those
This watch is cheaper than that one.
This weekend is going to be really fun.
Watch out for those prickly rose bushes next to you.
Proper adjectives
Proper adjectives are adjectives formed from proper nouns. In general, proper adjectives are commonly used to say that something is related to a specific person or place. Proper adjectives include words such as African, Napoleonic, and Shakespearian.
He was reading a Russian newspaper.
I think Haitian food is tasty.
We studied the history of Victorian England in school today.
Participial adjectives
Participial adjectives are adjectives that are based on participles, which are words that usually end in -ed or -ing and derive from verbs. Participial adjectives include words like amazing, impressed, and fascinating.
Travis was late for his swimming lessons.
Please hand me my reading glasses.
The silly clown cheered up the bored children.
Limiting adjectives
Limiting adjectives are adjectives that restrict a noun or pronoun rather than describe any of its characteristics or qualities. Limiting adjectives overlap with other types of adjectives such as demonstrative adjectives and possessive adjectives. Limiting adjectives include words such as these, your, and some.
I bought some eggs at the store.
She found three pennies under the couch cushions.
Take a look at that house over there.
Descriptive adjectives
Descriptive adjectives are adjectives that describe the characteristics, traits, or qualities of a noun or pronoun. Most adjectives are descriptive adjectives. Words such as purple, friendly, and attractive are examples of descriptive adjectives.
A lot of interesting people visit this park.
She told a scary story.
The leaves turned orange and red.
Interrogative adjectives
Interrogative adjectives are adjectives that are used to ask questions. The interrogative adjectives are what, which, and whose.
What color is your favorite?
Which button turns off the lights?
Whose turn is it to wash the cat?
Attributive adjectives
Attributive adjectives are adjectives that are directly next to the noun and pronoun that they modify. Usually, attributive adjectives come directly before nouns and pronouns but they modify. But they can sometimes appear after them.
She has beautiful handwriting.
The hungry gorilla ate the fresh mangoes.
Keith gave his dad something special for his birthday.
Distributive adjectives
Distributive adjectives are used to refer to members of a group individually. Examples of distributive adjectives include each, every, either, and neither.
Each puppy got their own little doghouse.
Every member of the team scored a goal.
I’ll be happy if either candidate wins the election.
One Syllable Adjectives
Let’s look at a chart showing the comparative and superlative forms of the word for the most basic one syllable adjectives, where we add ‘er’ for the comparative and ‘est’ for the superlative.
ADJECTIVE:
Big, Tall, Small, Hot
COMPARATIVE:
Bigger, Taller, Smaller, Hotter
SUPERLATIVE:
Biggest, Tallest, Smallest, Hottest
Two Syllable Adjectives
Now let’s look at a chart showing the comparative and superlative forms of the word for adjectives with two syllables. Comparative adjectives with two syllables can be formed by making the ‘er’ ending or by adding the words ‘more’ or ‘less’ before the adjective.
ADJECTIVE:
Happy, Crazy, Nervous, Massive, Quiet
COMPARATIVE:
Happier, Crazier, More/Less Nervous, More/Less Massive, Quieter or More/Less Quiet
SUPERLATIVE:
Happiest, Craziest, Most/Least Nervous,
Most/Least Massive,
Quietest or Most/Least Quiet
