Adjectives describe or give more information about nouns and pronouns. They help answer questions such as what kind, which one, how many, or how much.
Start with What Is an Adjective? for the basic definition, types, positions, and examples. You can then explore detailed lessons on adjective order, degrees of comparison, compound adjectives, proper adjectives, predicate adjectives, and other adjective types.
A five-hour delay, a thought-provoking question, and a user-friendly interface all use compound forms to describe a noun. Some compound adjectives are hyphenated. Others are written as one word or remain open. It helps to separate two questions: What kind…
Limiting adjectives help narrow down which noun you’re talking about. Instead of describing the quality of a noun, they define it by showing quantity, ownership, selection, or emphasis. Words like “each,” “my,” “that,” and “some” don’t tell you how something…
Adjectives of material describe what something is made of. They tell us the substance or physical matter used to create an object and answer the question, “What is it made of?” These adjectives help specify the nature of an item;…
A Japanese novel, a Brazilian architect, and a Sicilian recipe all use adjectives that connect a noun with a place, region, or culture. These forms can show where something is associated with, but the relationship is not always as simple…
Adjectives of purpose describe what a noun is used for or intended to do. They answer the question “What is it used for?” and help explain an object’s function or role. These adjectives often come from nouns but are used…
Adjectives of opinion express personal judgments, preferences, or attitudes about a noun. They describe what someone thinks or feels about something rather than what can be measured or observed directly. These adjectives answer the question “What do I think about…
Adjectives of emotion describe how someone feels or what emotional tone something conveys. These words help express internal states such as happiness, fear, anger, surprise, or sadness. They answer the question “What kind of feeling?” and are often used when…
Adjectives of size are words that describe the physical dimensions or overall scale of a noun. They tell us how big, small, tall, short, wide, or narrow something is. These adjectives answer the question “How big is it?” and often…
Adjectives of color describe the appearance of nouns based on hue, shade, or tone. They answer the question “What color is it?” and help paint a more accurate mental image for the listener or reader. These adjectives can refer to…
Adjectives of shape describe the form or outline of a person, object, or space. They tell us what something looks like in terms of structure, whether it’s round, flat, curved, square, or irregular. These adjectives help readers and listeners visualize…
A sentence can be grammatically correct and still feel too vague. Compare a bag with a heavy canvas bag, or a road with a narrow, winding road. The added words tell you more about what the noun is like. Words…
Sometimes a sentence refers to a group as a whole. Other times, it focuses on the people or things within that group separately. Words such as each, every, either, and neither help make that distinction. School grammar often calls them…