An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
In English grammar, adjectives fall into the category called modifiers. (A modifier is a word that either describes or limits the meaning of the word it refers to. There are two main classes of modifiers: adjectives and adverbs.)
Types of adjectives
Descriptive adjectives answer the question what kind?:
- green eyes [What kind of eyes? Green.]
- a small dog [What kind of dog? Small.]
- Lucky you! [What kind of person are you? Lucky.]
Limiting adjectives answer the questions whose?, which one(s)?, how much? or how many?:
- my BlackBerry [Whose BlackBerry? Mine.]
- these houses [Which houses? These.]
- little food [How much food? Little.]
- several children [How many children? Several.]
Placement of adjectives in a sentence
Adjectives are commonly found in two places in a sentence:
- before a noun: a red iPod [red describes the noun iPod]
- after a linking verb: I am hungry. [hungry describes the pronoun I]
Sometimes, for effect, a writer will put one or more adjectives after a noun:
- The breeze, cool and fragrant, was delightful after the heat of the day. [Cool and fragrant are adjectives describing the noun breeze.]
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