Adjectives: How We Describe People and Things
Adjectives are words used to describe people, places, things, and concepts (i.e., nouns and pronouns).
- a happy man
- a yellow house
- a large country
- a new idea
Adjectives may denote properties (red, new, solid), qualities (kind, generous, funny, truthful), and states (cold, thirsty, confused), or help with classification (Australian wildlife, existentialist philosophy, sedimentary rock).
Many adjectives have antonyms.
- happy—sad
- easy—difficult
Some inflect, while others need more and most to form the comparative and superlative.
- happy — happier — happiest
- difficult — more difficult — most difficult
Many adjectives are gradable.
- slightly warm
- completely innocent
Interestingly, nouns can act as adjectives.
- book club
- shoe store
- cat food
So can verb forms.
- shining star
- lost treasure
- frozen yogurt
Multiple adjectives can describe a single noun.
- a cute, funny little dog
- a large yellow house with a white picket fence amid tall green trees under a cloudy blue sky
In this article, we discuss the types of adjectives, their properties, and how they are used, with some interesting examples.
Position of adjectives
An adjective often precedes the noun it describes. It is then said to be attributive.
- a friendly robot
- some delicious soup
- a beautiful tune
An adjective may also be predicative—appear after instead of before the noun it describes in the sentence.
- This robot is friendly, but that one may not be.
The adjective friendly is placed after instead of before the noun robot in this sentence.
- This soup tastes delicious!
- That tune sounded beautiful.
- This ball is blue.
- This room smells a bit musty.
- Maya feels sad sometimes.
As you can see, an adjective is predicative when it follows a linking verb like be, taste, smell, sound, or feel. Such verbs help describe people or things instead of actions or states.
Adjective phrases
An adjective phrase may contain just an adjective, or an adjective accompanied by modifiers and complements.
- Lulu wore a red skirt to the picnic.
adjective only
- This boat is slightly small, isn’t it?
modifier (adverb) + adjective = adjective phrase
- Anita is qualified for this job.
adjective + complement (which completes the meaning of the expression) = adjective phrase
- He is kind to everyone.
adjective + complement = adjective phrase
Adjective types: Which words are adjectives?
Apart from words that are clearly descriptive (red, small, round, happy), adjectives may be words derived from proper nouns, nouns that describe other nouns, or verb forms that work as adjectives.
Descriptive adjectives
Descriptive adjectives, which name the attributes of nouns, are the words that usually come to mind when one thinks of adjectives.
- a blue flower
- a tall tower
- a cold day
- a local guide
- golden treasure
- a heavy load
- a wooden table
- the right answer
- an honest man
- a rectangular dish
Proper adjectives
Proper adjectives are derived from proper nouns and are usually capitalized.
- some Italian food
- an Arctic expedition
- a Swiss watch
- the European delegation
- my Japanese friend
- American tourists
- Euclidean geometry
- Cartesian coordinates
- a Kafkaesque office
- a Dickensian town
Nouns as adjectives
When a noun helps describe another noun, it functions as an adjective.
- team manager
The noun team modifies another noun, manager, thus acting as an adjective.
- cat food
- home insurance
- paper clips
- government offices
- stage actor
- car mechanic
Verb forms as adjectives
The present and past participle forms of verbs act as adjectives to describe nouns. Present participle forms of verbs end in -ing.
- a talking cat
- boiling water
- a huge swimming pool
- her new trekking gear
Past participles often end in -ed or -en (e.g., haunted, frozen), but may also be irregular (e.g., lost, found, hung).
- a haunted house
- a used car
- frozen goods
- a found poem
- a hung jury
- beaded bags
Properties of adjectives
Antonymy
Many adjectives have antonyms (opposites).
- big—small
- easy—difficult
- happy—sad
- high—low
- right—wrong
- true—false
- kind—cruel
- old—new
Not all adjectives have antonyms. For instance, words denoting physical properties (wooden, metallic) or describing a type or classification (metamorphic, biological) have no opposites.
Degree
Many adjectives inflect to form comparative and superlative forms. The comparative form is used when comparing two nouns; the superlative for three or more.
- Comparative: Poco’s car is bigger than Maya’s.
Superlative: Poco has the biggest car in town. - Comparative: Anita is taller than me.
Superlative: Anita is the tallest friend I have.
Here are some more adjectives that inflect.
- big — bigger — biggest
- easy — easier — easiest
- happy — happier — happiest
- high — higher — highest
- kind — kinder — kindest
- old — older — oldest
- good — better — best
- bad — worse — worst
The words more and most are superfluous with inflected comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.
- Are the rich
morehappier than the poor? - I like you even
morebetter now. - This is the
moststrangest thing to ever happen to me. - I feel like the
mostluckiest person in the world.
But with adjectives three syllables or longer, the adverbs more and most are used to form the comparative and superlative.
- difficult — more difficult — most difficult
- intelligent — more intelligent — most intelligent
- observant — more observant — most observant
- determined — more determined — most determined
Two-syllable adjectives ending in -ful, -less, -ing, and -ed also do not inflect—that is, they use more and most.
- useful — more useful — most useful
- helpless — more helpless — most helpless
- exciting — more exciting — most exciting
- worried — more worried — most worried
Some adjectives both inflect and don’t: they have inflected comparative and superlative forms but can also simply be used in their base forms with more and most.
- This is even lovelier / more lovely than I had imagined.
- We’ve made it simpler / more simple to apply.
- Farley is the unhappiest / most unhappy person I’ve ever met.
Most learner’s dictionaries (e.g., Oxford Learner’s) list the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.
Not all adjectives have degree—only ones that describe what can be compared. Adjectives that specify an absolute state or classification do not have comparative or superlative forms.
- Incorrect: The water is more boiling.
Water either is or isn’t boiling.Correct: The water is boiling.
Modification and gradability by adverbs
Adjectives may be modified (i.e., described) by adverbs. Some adverbs may express degree, while others may be descriptive.
- This apple is still slightly green.
The adverb slightly modifies (or adds detail to) the adjective green.
- Rita is an extremely reckless person.
- The hut we stayed in was surprisingly cozy.
- Lulu was mercifully oblivious to the truth.
- Poco still doesn’t think he is rich enough.
If you want to grade an adjective, use an adverb.
- This is a slightly/very expensive watch.
The adverbs slightly and very tell us how expensive the watch is.
- Tumkin is a very kind man.
- You’re totally right! Poco’s assumptions are entirely false.
- Maya is absolutely delighted by her gift.
- Farley felt utterly ridiculous standing there in the rain.
- Rita was completely exhausted after the run.
Use of very with adjectives
The intensifier very is sometimes used with adjectives that don’t denote a maximum or a minimum. (An intensifier lends force or emphasis to a statement.)
- Farley is a very unfortunate man.
- Tumkin said something very funny just now.
- Maya was very happy to hear the news.
- Poco is working on a very difficult project.
However, very is not used with strong adjectives, which already carry the meaning of very.
- Tumkin said something very funny movie just now.
butTumkin said something
veryhilarious just now.Hilarious already means very funny, so the word very here is redundant and sounds wrong. - Maya was very happy to hear the news.
butMaya was
verydelighted to hear the news.
You may use other intensifiers with strong adjectives.
- Tumkin said something absolutely hilarious just now.
- Maya was truly delighted to hear the news.
Multiple adjectives
Sometimes, we may use more than one adjective to describe a noun.
- Anita read an interesting new book this week.
- Lulu wore a long red cape to the picnic.
- Poco likes to watch the latest Hollywood action movies on weekends.
Avoid presenting your reader with long, convoluted strings of adjectives.
- Confusing: My wonderful, wise, old, 1943-born, remarkable, poet grandmother has just published another book.
Clearer: My grandmother, who was born in 1943, has just published another book. She is not only a remarkable poet but also a wise and wonderful woman.
Order of adjectives
When multiple adjectives precede a noun, they usually follow a preferred sequence, which sounds the most natural to native speakers.
- Tumkin ate some tasty Malaysian food.
Interchanging the order of the adjectives (Malaysian tasty food) would sound wrong.
- Maya lives in a little blue cottage by the sea.
not blue little cottage
Adjectives before a noun are generally ordered as follows:
- Opinion/evaluation: strange, beautiful, lovely, scary
- Size: large, tiny, short, vast
- Physical quality: strong, tough, leathery, soft
- Shape: round, oblong, square, oval
- Age: old, young, elderly, vintage
- Color: green, black, purple
- Origin: American, Greek, African, Indian
- Material: wooden, metallic, plastic, ceramic
- Type/classification: refined, all-purpose, metamorphic, mathematical
- Purpose: swimming, walking, cleaning
- A kind young Italian man showed us the way.
kind (opinion) young (age) Italian (origin) man
- Lulu stayed in a round wooden hut in the forest.
round (shape) wooden (material) hut
- Poco bought himself a general-purpose cleaning tool at the hardware store.
general-purpose (type) cleaning (purpose) tool
For emphasis within a category, adjective order may be changed.
- We need a round wooden table here.
Shape usually precedes material, so round precedes wooden.butIn beach cottages, Maya prefers wooden round tables to plastic ones.Emphasizes she prefers round tables made of wood than of plastic.
Comma between adjectives
In general, place a comma between adjectives when their order is interchangeable.
- He was a faithful, loving dog and my constant companion.
orHe was a loving, faithful dog and my constant companion.
Such adjectives are called coordinate. They individually modify a noun—that is, each adjective describes the noun by itself and carries equal weight. Multiple such adjectives are usually separated by the word and or a comma.
- Anita is a kind and understanding friend.
orAnita is a kind, understanding friend.Both kind and understanding are opinions you have about Anita; both carry equal weight.
- Farley is a sad and unfortunate man.
orFarley is a sad, unfortunate man.
An easy way to check whether to insert a comma between two adjectives is by inserting and between them. If this sounds OK, it means the adjectives are interchangeable, and a comma there is fine.
- Correct: Nesbit is a smart and talented designer.
Sounds fine. The two adjectives are interchangeable, and we can use a comma here.Correct: Nesbit is a smart, talented designer.
- Incorrect: Lulu found a lovely and ceramic vase at the flea market.
Using and between these two adjectives sounds wrong. That’s because lovely is an opinion and ceramic is a material. They are not interchangeable.Incorrect: Lulu found a lovely, ceramic vase at the flea market.A comma isn’t needed.Correct: Lulu found a lovely ceramic vase at the flea market.
In contrast, cumulative adjectives build upon each other to describe the noun. You can’t change their order and still have the sentence sound natural.
- Nesbit met a friendly blue alien today.
Blue friendly alien would not sound right.
- Rita lives in a cozy little house by the river.
not little cozy house
- What a beautiful antique walking stick!
not antique walking beautiful stick
Cumulative adjectives are usually not separated by commas.
Cumulative adjectives, which don’t take commas, are of different categories—for example, one adjective may stand for an opinion and another for age.
- Nesbit’s band has just released an exciting new rock album.
Exciting is an opinion, new refers to age, and rock is the type of music: these adjectives are not interchangeable and don’t need commas or and.
Compound adjectives
When two words before a noun together serve as a single adjective, use a hyphen to connect them. This helps clarify meaning.
- a hand-drawn map
- much-loved books
- a well-known writer
- a well-deserved vacation
- heavy-handed treatment
- public-minded individuals
Hyphenating compound adjectives can help you write clearer sentences.
- The large white-walled room had a black ceiling.
The hyphen makes it easier for the reader to follow the meaning of the sentence: the walls were white, and the ceiling was black.
However, when adverb + past participle combinations appear after instead of before a noun (i.e., they are predicative), a hyphen isn’t needed for clarity, so don’t use it.
- All these books are old but much loved.
- Maya is well known as a writer.
- This vacation is well deserved.
After an adverb ending in -ly, a hyphen is not required to clarify meaning, so again, don’t use it.
- a poorly drawn map
Even without the hyphen, it’s clear that poorly modifies drawn, and that poorly drawn together modifies map.
- lightly used books
- brightly lit streets
- heavily armed guards
- publicly owned companies
- happily married couples
- fully stocked shelves
Adjective or determiner?
Determiners like this, that, these, those, all, and every are sometimes called adjectives because, just like adjectives, they modify nouns.
- a yellow house / that house / that yellow house
Just like the adjective yellow, the determiner that gives us information about the house: that one, not this one.
- red houses / all houses / all red houses
- a happy traveler / every traveler / every happy traveler
The main difference between the two is that a determiner introduces the noun (while also providing some information about it), whereas an adjective always provides additional details that can be skipped if thought unnecessary.
- We lived in this house in 1993.
This introduces the noun house. If we removed the determiner, the sentence would be rendered ungrammatical.
- We lived in this beautiful yellow house in 1993.
The adjectives provide additional details.
Adjectives versus adverbs
Adjectives, as we have seen, modify nouns.
- a long winter
The adjective long describes (or modifies) the noun winter.
Adverbs in turn modify adjectives. (They may also modify verbs and other adverbs.)
- a terribly long winter
The adverb terribly modifies the adjective long. It tells us how long the winter was: it was terribly long.
Many adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective: beautiful/beautifully, happy/happily, poor/poorly, thoughtful/thoughtfully, random/randomly.
- Adjective: a strange and beautiful creature
- Adverb: a strangely beautiful creature
Some words can be either adjectives or adverbs, depending upon the function they serve in a sentence.
- Adjective: Tumkin is a fast runner.
Fast modifies the noun runner.Adverb: Tumkin runs fast.Fast modifies the verb runs.
Adjectives and writing style
Adjectives make language descriptive. They can help you provide useful details and paint a clearer picture for your reader. However, try not to overload noun phrases with long strings of adjectives.
- Poor: He was a well-educated, well-respected, kind, considerate, loving, and caring man.
- Better: He was a kind, loving, and caring man who was both well educated and well respected.
Avoid using more than three adjectives in a noun phrase.
For impact, consider using strong adjectives instead of overusing the word very.
- This is
very surprising/ shocking. - Tumkin is a
very intelligent/ brilliant man. - Farley saw a
very big/ huge python in the jungle. - Gosh, I’m
very hungry/ starving.
In business and academic communication, where a direct style is preferred, avoid using flowery language filled with adjectives that don’t convey a clear meaning. Prefer to be exact.
- Poor: Acme Inc. saw beautiful growth in the last quarter.
- Better: Acme Inc. saw better-than-expected growth in the last quarter.
- Better: Acme Inc. saw 23% growth in the last quarter.