An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. It gives more information about a person, place, animal, thing, or idea. Adjectives make your sentences more descriptive and specific, helping the listener or reader visualize what you’re talking about.
Example:
She wore a beautiful dress.
(“Beautiful” describes the noun “dress”)
Why Are Adjectives Important?
Adjectives add color and detail to your communication. Without adjectives, your sentences would be flat and boring.
Compare these two sentences:
I saw a dog. (Not very interesting)
I saw a big brown playful dog. (More engaging and clear)
Adjectives help express opinions, sizes, shapes, colors, feelings, quantity, and more.
Types of Adjectives
Let’s look at different types of adjectives, each with examples:
1. Descriptive Adjectives
They describe quality, size, color, or shape.
Examples:
Tall, short, green, round, honest
Sentence: The red car is very fast.
2. Quantitative Adjectives
These tell how much or how many.
Examples:
Some, many, few, several, ten
Sentence: I have two brothers and many friends.
3. Demonstrative Adjectives
They point out specific things.
Examples:
This, that, these, those
Sentence: I like this book but not that one.
4. Possessive Adjectives
They show ownership or possession.
Examples:
My, your, his, her, its, our, their
Sentence: This is my bag and that is her phone.
5. Interrogative Adjectives
Used with questions.
Examples:
Which, what, whose
Sentence: Which movie are you watching?
6. Distributive Adjectives
Used to refer to individual items.
Examples:
Each, every, either, neither
Sentence: Each student must submit homework.
Position of Adjectives in a Sentence
Adjectives are usually placed before the noun or after linking verbs (like “is,” “seems,” “becomes”).
Examples:
He is a smart boy. (before noun)
The soup smells delicious. (after verb)
Order of Adjectives
When using more than one adjective, there’s a preferred order:
Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Color → Origin → Material → Noun
Example:
A beautiful large old round red Italian wooden table.
Don’t worry—native speakers often don’t use this full order, but it’s useful to know!
Degrees of Comparison
Adjectives can show comparison between people or things:
Positive Degree – Just the adjective
She is tall.
Comparative Degree – Compare two
She is taller than her sister.
Superlative Degree – Compare three or more
She is the tallest girl in class.
Some adjectives use more/most instead:
Beautiful → more beautiful → most beautiful
Common Mistakes with Adjectives
He is more taller than me. (wrong)
He is taller than me. (Don’t use “more” with “-er” adjectives) (right)This is a six-months course. (wrong)
This is a six-month course. (No “s” in compound adjectives) (right)
Practice Sentences
The cake was very delicious.
He has three sisters.
I saw a huge black dog near the gate.
Which road goes to the station?
She wore a silk blue saree.
An adjective makes your language vivid and precise. It tells us what kind, how many, and which one. Mastering adjectives helps you express ideas more clearly and creatively—whether in writing or speaking.