Adjectives Flashcards
(30 cards)
Adjectives are
words that modify nouns or pronouns
Adjectives fall into a broad class of words called
modifiers
A modifier is any word that
acts to describe or qualify another word in such a way that it changes the other word’s meaning
What are the two main types of adjectives?
descriptive and limiting
Descriptive adjectives
describe the nouns and pronouns that they modify
What is a proper adjective? Give an example.
An adjective derived from a proper noun, that undergoes a mild change in form to become an adjective. America -> American or Orwell -> Orwellian.
True or false: Proper adjectives don’t need to be capitalized like proper nouns.
False, they need to be capitalized exactly like proper nouns
Limiting adjectives
restrict the definitions of the nouns and pronouns they modify.
Most standard limiting adjectives describe
quantity
What are the three levels of comparison for adjectives?
Positive, comparative, and superlative
Positive degree is
the adjective in its most basic form, it indicates a lack of comparison. It expresses the pure quality of an object without making a comparison with other objects.
Comparative Degree is
when one object holds a greater or lesser degree of a quality than the objects with which it is compared.
When you see the conjunction than, the sentence is often using
the comparative degree.
The comparative degree is exclusive, which means
the main object of comparison is seen as distinct from the objects to which it is compared by virtue of the different degree of its quality.
Superlative degree is
the highest degree of comparison for adjectives.
True or false: no object can possess a quality to a higher degree than the superlative.
True
How do you use suffix comparison to create the three different comparison forms for the following adjective: angry
positive: angry
comparative: angrier
superlative: angriest
How do you use adverb comparison to create the three different comparison forms for the following adjective: bizarre
positive: bizarre
comparative: more bizarre / less bizarre
superlative: most bizarre / least bizarre
An adjective typically
precedes the noun it modifies
Emphatic adjective usage places the adjectives
After the nouns for greater emphasis
Adjectives that serve as object complements (serving to modify the direct object)
Follow the direct object they modify
When adjectives are subject complements they follow
Linking verbs, and by necessity, the nouns and pronouns they modify.
What groups of words are considered determiners?
Articles, demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns, and interrogative pronouns. Also, number or quantity words.
What do determiners do?
Help you determine which person, place, or thing is named by the noun phrase the writer of speaker has used.
