What are Adjectives?
Adjectives are words that modify nouns or pronouns. Modify means “describe” or “limit.” Adjectives answer these questions: Which one? How many? What kind? How much?
Each engineer designed several original aircraft but had no success flying them.
Adjectives usually stand before the words they modify. Sometimes, however, they follow. Ex.
Airships, real and imaginary, are fascinating.
Notice how adjectives can change the meaning of a sentence. Ex.
The foolish, absentminded inventor designs silly, useless planes.
The creative, brilliant inventor designs marvelous new planes.
Definite & Indefinite Articles
The articles a, an, and the are adjectives. The is called a definite article because it refers to specific persons, places, or things. A and an are indefinite articles because they refer to any person, place or thing in general.
Name an aeroplane or a helicopter. (any aeroplane or helicopter)
Name the first aeroplane. (a specific aeroplane)
Summary
An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun. Use adjectives to add details to your writing.
Adjective Practice Exercise
A. Identify the adjectives.
- Jack is a naughty boy. _____________
- This is a beautiful courtyard. _____________
- It was a glorious day with a clear blue sky. _____________
- This town has withstood many fierce battles. ____________
- The tall, slim girl standing near the big gate is my sister. ____________
B. Fill in the blanks with the adjectives formed from the words in brackets.
- John is a ________ boy. (mischief)
- I am ________ of no one. (envy)
- It is not a ________ crime. (pardon)
- Dark ________ clouds gathered in the sky. (storm)
- Snoopy is the most ________ dog I have seen. (meddle)
- Her _________ behaviour won her no friends. (outrage)
- The ________ violence seen in the film is repulsive. (sense)
- The dishonest man’s money and his ________ property was seized by the authorities. (move)
C. Choose adjectives below that answer the questions in the blanks to complete the paragraph. Write the paragraph.
| first | more | hot | two |
| real | same | wealthy | eighteen |
In the —————– (14. which one?) century ——————- (15. how many?) —————– (16. what kind?) brothers in France sent up a balloon filled with ————– (17. what kind?) air. Later Jacques Charles had even ————— (18. how much?) success with a hydrogen balloon. In the —————- (19. which one?) year Jean Pilatre de Rosier made the ————– (20. which one?) ————– (21. what kind?) flight in a balloon.
D. Supply suitable adjectives.
- The ________ woman lives in a wretched hut.
- Suddenly there arose a ________ storm.
- The ________ bird catches the worm.
- He stands ________ feet in his stockings.
- He always walks with a ________ step.
- Have you any ________ reason to give?
- ________ anxiety has undermined his health.
- He was listened to in ________ silence.
- He was a man of ________ ambition.
- I watched an _______ movie last night.
- A ______ traveller was walking down the road.
- The ________ tidings were a heavy blow to the old man.
E. The sentences below contain the overworked adjective good. Rewrite the sentences, using more specific adjectives.
- It was a good flight. _______________________________________________________________________________
- The wind was good. _______________________________________________________________________________
- The pilot seemed good. _______________________________________________________________________________
- She made a good takeoff. _______________________________________________________________________________
- We had good seats. _______________________________________________________________________________
- The visibility was good. _______________________________________________________________________________
- Our view of the sunset was especially good. _______________________________________________________________________________