What is an Adjective? Types with Definitions and Examples

What is an Adjective

Adjectives are words that describe or give more details about nouns (like people, places, or things) or pronouns (like he, she, it). They help answer questions like: What kind? How many? Which one? or How much? Using adjectives makes your writing more interesting and clear.

Examples:

• What kind? - She has a red car. (The adjective "red" tells us what kind of car it is.)
• How many? - There are three apples on the table. (The adjective "three" tells us how many apples there are.)
• Which one? - I want that book. (The adjective "that" tells us which book is being talked about.)

Types of Adjectives with Definitions and Examples

There are different types of adjectives with examples 

Descriptive Adjectives

These describe the qualities or states of a noun or A descriptive adjective is a word that gives more details about a noun or pronoun. It tells us what something looks like, feels like, or is like. For example, words like "soft," "tall," and "beautiful" are descriptive adjectives.

Example: 

• The beautiful sunset.
•  A tall building.
• She has a soft voice.

Quantitative Adjectives

These tell us about the quantity or amount of a noun or a quantitative adjective is a word that tells us about the quantity or number of a noun or pronoun. It answers questions like "how much?" or "how many?"

Examples:

• She has three apples. (How many apples?)
• I drank some water. (How much water?)
• There are many books on the shelf. (How many books?

Proper Adjectives

These are formed from proper nouns (names of people, places, or things) and describe something related to them.

Example: 

• I love Italian food.
• She bought a Chinese vase.
• He enjoys Shakespearean plays.

Demonstrative Adjectives

These point out specific nouns or a demonstrative adjective is a word that points out a specific person, place, or thing by showing its position in space or time. These words are also called determiners.

Example: 

• This book is interesting.
• Those shoes are mine.
• That car is expensive.

Possessive Adjectives

These show ownership or possession or a possessive adjective is a word that shows who or what something belongs to. It describes a noun by telling us about ownership.

Example: 

• My bag is heavy.
• Their house is big.
• Her dress is pretty.

Interrogative Adjectives

These are used to ask questions about a noun or an interrogative adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun and is used to ask a question.

Example: 

• Which color do you like?
• What time is it?
• Whose pen is this?

Indefinite Adjectives

These refer to non-specific nouns or An indefinite adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun in a general or non-specific way.

Example: 

• I need some help.
• Several people attended the event.
• Any student can join the club.

Articles

Articles (a, an, the) are also considered adjectives because they modify nouns.

Example:

•  A cat is on the roof.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
• The sun is shining brightly.

Compound Adjectives

These are made up of two or more words, often hyphenated.

Example: 

She has a well-written essay.

He is a part-time worker.

It’s a five-star hotel.

Absolute Adjectives

These describe something that is complete or perfect and cannot be compared.

Example: 

• The task is complete.
• The room is empty.
• The answer is unique.

Emphasizing Adjectives

These are used to emphasize the noun.

Example: 

• I saw it with my own eyes.
• It was the very book I wanted.
• She is the absolute best.

Exclamatory Adjectives

These are used in exclamations to express strong feelings.

Example: 

• What a beautiful day!
• What an amazing performance!
• What a surprise!

Noun as Adjectives

Sometimes, nouns are used to describe other nouns.

Example: 

• I need a coffee mug.
• She bought a gold necklace.
• He drives a sports car.

Adjectives of Origin

These describe where something comes from.

Example:

• She loves French cuisine.
• He bought a Japanese car.
• They enjoy African music.

Adjectives of Color

These describe the color of something.

Example: 

• She wore a red dress.
• The sky is blue.
• He has black shoes.

Adjectives of Position

These describe the position or location of something or positional adjective is a word that describes where someone or something is located. It always comes before a noun.

Example: 

• The top shelf is empty.
• The middle seat is taken.
• The front door is locked.

Adjectives of Shape

These describe the shape of something or the word "shaped" means something has a particular form or design. For example, you can describe something as "L-shaped" or "heart-shaped".

Example: 

• The balloon was shaped like a giant cow.
• Her eyes were almond-shaped.
• The room was L-shaped.