English Department 2012/2013 UNIVERSTY CENTRE OF NAAMA level: …….……… Module : GRAMMAR ADJECTIVES To talk or write about a person place or thing, you use nouns like girl, house, or tree. To add descriptions to those nouns that give the reader a clearer picture of what you mean, you add “detail” words in front of the noun like little, blue, rich, old. Words that tell more about nouns or pronouns are called adjectives. So, Adjective :( grammar) a word that describes a person or thing, for example big, red and clever in a big house, red line and a clever idea An adjective is a word which describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. A modifier is a word that limits, changes, or alters the meaning of another word. Therefore, an adjective limits, changes, or alters the meaning of a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are usually placed before the noun. the white, puffy clouds a happy, carefree child some tall, stately trees a rich dark chocolate layer cake five huge leafy bushes Here’s another way of thinking of adjectives. Imagine that you are in a large meeting room full of people. Your boss tells you, “Give this piece of paper to the woman”. The only problem is that there are twenty-three women in the room. To which one should you give the paper? Your boss might have said “the tall woman”. The word tall is an adjective and somewhat helpful, as only six of the women are tall. To which tall women should you give the paper? Perhaps your boss said, “the tall, blond woman with the red dress”. The words tall and blond are adjectives that help you pick out a specific woman from a large group. In other words, these adjectives limit the noun woman to one specific person. The group of words “with the red dress” is also a form of adjective that helps limit the meaning to one particular person. You will learn about these groups of words later in this module. Examine the sample sentences below for a better understanding of adjectives. I have a car. I have a blue car. I have a small dark blue car. The first sentence does not tell anything about my car, only that I have one. The second adds the adjective blue. This descriptive word makes the sentence more interesting and helping the reader “see” your car in his/her mind’s eye. The meaning of the word car has been limited from all the cars in the world to only those that are blue. The third sentence 1 adds even more details. Other adjectives like shiny, new, cool, powerful could be added that would further limit the meaning of the word car or tell what kind it is. Forms Adjectives are generally invariable in English and do not agree with nouns in number and gender nor do they take case endings: a blue car the great outdoors a group of young women However, a few adjectives have a connotation (nuance /implication) which is slightly masculine or feminine. Thus, one says that a woman is beautiful while a man would be called handsome. Adjectives indicating religion or nationality (or a region, state or province) generally begin with a capital letter, whether they refer to people or objects: She is an American student. They go to a Catholic school. They enjoy Breton music. Usage: In a noun cluster (group) an adjective will be placed, with very few exceptions, in front of the noun it modifies. When two adjectives precede a noun, they can be connected by a comma (,) or by the conjunction "and." In a series of three or more adjectives, one usually uses "and" before the last adjective in the list. Examples: I like short novels. That fellow will be a competent worker. She writes long and flowery letters. He works long, hard hours. She had a mean, old and overbearing step-mother. An adjective may follow the noun when it is in a predicate (after the verb) or in a relative clause. (In relative clauses the relative pronoun may be implicit.) Examples: He was a man (who was) always happy to help others. She is a woman (who is) true to herself. They were entirely satisfied. 2 Proper Adjectives Recall from the previous lessons that proper nouns (Canada, Shakespeare, etc.) are capitalized. The adjectives formed from proper nouns (Canadian, Shakespearean, etc.) generally are capitalized, too. They are called proper adjectives. Here are some proper nouns and the proper adjectives that can be formed from them. PROPER NOUN PROPER ADJECTIVE China Jefferson Egypt France Rome Chinese food Jeffersonian democracy Egyptian pyramids French perfume Roman arch Composition Hint Make your writing more concise( short) by replacing a wordy expression with an adjective. WORDY: The diplomat visited several nations on the continent of Africa. CONCISE: The diplomat visited several African nations. ADJ. WORDY: Avoid decisions that are made in haste. CONCISE: Avoid hasty decisions. ADJ. EXERCISE 1. Rewrite the sentence, using an adjective instead of the italicized expression. Sample: Many dealers sell products manufactured in Japan. Many dealers sell Japanese products. 1. Olives imported from Spain are sold in supermarkets. ........................................................................................................... 2. They spoke in words that were full of bitterness. ........................................................................................................... 3. I read an article on the Internet about Inuits who live in Canada. ..................................................................................................... 4. Coffee grown in Brazil is flavourful. ....................................................................................................... 5. He never makes a move that involves risk. ....................................................................................................... 6. Many gifts made by hand are deeply appreciated. ......................................................................................................... 7. In every class there are students who give in to laziness. .......................................................................................................... 3 8. What is the name of the ambassador from the Commonwealth of Australia? ........................................................................................................................ Another Composition Hint Before using an adjective, make sure that it is needed. QUESTION: What is wrong with the following sentence? We want the true facts. ANSWER: The adjective true is not needed because all facts are true. The sentence should read: We want the facts. EXERCISE 2. Which adjectives should be removed because they are unnecessary? Sample: Put some cold ice cubes into the lemonade. cold 1. I was a stupid fool. .............................. 2. A young, rich millionaire has bought the painting. .................... 3. We were never told the real truth. ............................................... 4. Antony wept at the sight of Caesar’s dead corpse. ............................ 5. Draw a round circle. ...................................... 6. The end result was that we lost the game. ................................ 7. Do you own any old antiques? .................................... 8. One student slept throughout the entire assembly. . ............................... 9. It happened on a summer evening in July. ................................. 10. A cold icy wind is blowing from the northeast. ............................ Exercise three: write a short paragraph describing a famous personality ..................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................................................... A REVIEW OF WHAT YOU HAVE READ SO FAR ABOUT ADJECTIVES: 1. an adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun; 2. an adjective tells what kind, as in old man, new clothes, bad taste, and cold day; 3. an adjective tells how many, as in many days, few hours, couple of dollars, and two cities; 4 4. an adjective tells which one or ones, as in those books, this restaurant, these computers, that building; 5. articles are also adjectives - a, the, and an. 5
