THE PAPER OF

ADJECTIVES

Lecturer :

Dra. Nurrochmi, M.Pd.

By :

Nanda Mutiara Sopandi (17020062)

Group :

1K3

POLYTECHNIC STTT BANDUNG

2017
 ADJECTIVES

A. Definition of Adjectives

An adjective is a kind of word that modifies a noun. Nouns are words that name a place, a
person, a thing, or an idea. An adjective is a word that gives more information about the noun
that goes with it. It is a part of speech. Adjectives are something that describes something and
makes the thing sound better.

B. Types of Adjectives
1. Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their - modify the noun
following it in order to show possession.

Examples :

 I'll get my bag.

 Is this your luggage?

Possessive adjectives are often confused with possessive pronouns.

Examples:

 Your bike is blue. (your is an adjective which modifies bike)

 Mine is yellow. (mine is a pronoun which functions as the subject of the verb is)

Examples :

Subject Pronouns I You He She It We You They

Possessive Adjectives My Your His Her Its Our Your Their

Examples :

 Why didn't you clean your room?  Mary doesn't like her dress.

(your modifies the noun room) (her modifies the noun dress)
 2. Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives to point out specific people or things.

 This and that

This and that modify singular nouns.

This is used to point out something that is near by :

“This book I'm holding is very old”.

That is used to point out something that is farther away :

“That mountain looks small because it is so far away”.

 These and Those

These and those are used for plural nouns.

These is similar to this, but it is used for nearby plurals:

“These keys are all the wrong size for this door”.

Those is similar to that, but it is used for far away plurals:

“Those taxi drivers we had on holiday were dangerous drivers”.

3. Coordinate Adjectives

Coordinate adjectives are words that apply to and describe some attribute of the same
noun or subject. To do this effectively, however, the author must separate them by a
comma—otherwise the reader may confuse the adjectives as a singular modifier and not a
coordinate pair.

Example: The Tigris River ends near the Persian Gulf in a wide, swampy delta.

This usage can be tested in two ways :

A. Reverse the order of the adjectives. Is the meaning of the sentence still clear?

Example: The Tigris River ends near the Persian Gulf in a swampy, wide delta.
 B. Place the conjunction ‘and’ between the adjectives. Is the meaning of the sentence still
clear?

Example: The Tigris River ends near the Persian Gulf in a wide and swampy delta.

If the sentence passes both tests, it uses coordinating adjectives. If not, it uses a
singular adjective employing more than one word. These cannot be separated by commas or
conjunctions without destroying their meaning.

Example: The Roman emperor Flavius was named for his ruby red hair.

Example: The Roman emperor Flavius was named for red ruby hair. (wrong)

Example: The Roman emperor Flavius was named for his red and ruby hair. (wrong)

Note : do not use the comma between the last adjective and the noun to which it refers.

Example: The Assyrians employed fierce, brutal tactics against their opponents.

Example: The Assyrians employed fierce, brutal, tactics against their opponents. (wrong)

4. Numbers Adjectives

Numeral Adjectives are those adjectives which are used to denote the number of nouns or
the order in which they stand. They are also commonly called Adjectives of Number.

Numeral Adjectives can be divided into three types. They are :

A. Definite Numeral Adjectives

Definite Numeral Adjectives are the set of cardinal and ordinal numbers. The word
definite itself tells us that these adjectives tell us the exact number of people or things.
Definite Numeral Adjectives are :

Cardinal numbers Ordinal numbers

one first
two second
three third
five fifth
ten tenth
thirteen thirteenth
Examples :

- Michelle is the second girl in our class

- There are eight oranges in the bowl.
- He is going two sell his two cars.

B. Indefinite Numeral Adjective

Indefinite numeral Adjectives unlike Definite Numeral Adjectives only give tentative
numeral idea of nouns. They do not give us exact number. Indefinite Numeral Adjectives are :
Few, all, no, several, some, many, most

Examples:

- There are few bottles of wine in the fridge.

- He has sold all the books.
- Several men came looking for you.

Indefinite Numerals can also be used as Adjectives of Quantity as both have same set of
words.

C. Distributive Numeral Adjective

Distributive Numeral Adjectives are same as Distributive Adjectives. Distributive

Numeral Adjectives denote singular number of noun among many. Distributive Numeral
Adjectives are always followed by a singular noun and a verb.

Distributive Numeral Adjectives are : Each, every, either, neither

Examples :

- Everything he said is true.

- Each student is responsible for littering classroom.
- Either of the ways is correct.
Be careful, If there is the word 'of' immediately after the distributive numeral adjective
like in the above sentence, we have to use plural noun instead.

Distributive Numeral Adjective can also be used as Distributive Adjectives as they both
have same set of words.
 5. Interrogative Adjectives

Interrogative Adjectives are one among the seven types of Adjectives. Interrogative
Adjectives are words which qualify or modify nouns and indicate questions. Interrogative
Adjectives help to seek answers to queries of people.

Unlike other Adjectives, there are only few interrogative Adjectives. They are as follows :
What, Why, Whose, How, Where

Now, let us understand Interrogative Adjectives more clearly with help of examples :

Adjective Use Examples

What Used to ask questions about animals and What did you buy for yourself?
non-living things. What gift will he give me?
We use it to get some specific answer.
Whose Used to ask questions about people. Whose house are you planning to rob?
Whose plan was that?
How Used to ask questions to know the How many students played football?
manner of how actions take place. How come you never heard about this
singer?
Where Used to ask questions about place. Where are you going?
Where is he living?
Why Used to ask reason behind occurrence of Why did you lie?
actions. Why are they crying?

6. Indefinite Adjectives

Like the articles a and an, indefinite adjectives are used to discuss non-specific things.
You might recognize them, since they’re formed from indefinite pronouns. The most common
indefinite adjectives are : any, many, no, several, and few.

 Do we have any peanut butter?

 Grandfather has been retired for many.
 I usually read the first few pages of a book before I buy it.
 We looked at several cars before deciding on the best one for our family.
 7. Attributive Adjectives

Attributive adjectives talk about specific traits, qualities, or features – in other words, they
are used to discuss attributes. There are different kinds of attributive adjectives:

 Observation adjectives such as real, perfect, best, interesting, beautiful or cheapest can
indicate value or talk about subjective measures.
 Size and shape adjectives talk about measurable, objective qualities including specific
physical properties. Some examples include small, large, square, round, poor, wealthy,
slow and
 Age adjectives denote specific ages in numbers, as well as general ages. Examples are
old, young, new, five-year-old, and
 Color adjectives are exactly what they sound like – they’re adjectives that indicate
color. Examples include pink, yellow, blue, and
 Origin adjectives indicate the source of the noun, whether it’s a person, place, animal
or thing. Examples include American, Canadian, Mexican, French.
 Material adjectives denote what something is made of. Some examples include cotton,
gold, wool, and
 Qualifier adjectives are often regarded as part of a noun. They make nouns more
specific; examples include log cabin, luxury car, and pillow cover.