Adjectives are classified in many ways, with some adjectives falling into multiple categories, depending on the context in which they are used.
The categories of adjectives include the following:
Yes, “tired” is an adjective used to describe someone or something as “lacking energy,” “bored or impatient,” and “no longer interesting because overfamiliar.”
“Tired” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes a noun and modifies it (e.g., “The tired man sat down to rest”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “I am tired”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “feel”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using adjectives like “tired” correctly.
An attributive adjective is an adjective that comes directly before or after the noun it modifies (e.g., “a tall person could reach that for you,” “someone tall could reach that for you”).
Predicate adjectives are adjectives or adjective phrases that follow linking verbs and describe the subject within the predicate. They are almost always separated from the noun they modify by a linking verb (e.g., “that person is tall”).
Superlative adjectives express the highest degree of a certain quality in a comparison of three or more things (e.g., the superlative form of “fast” is “fastest”).
Comparative adjectives express that one thing embodies a quality more than another in a comparison of two things (e.g., the comparative form of “fast” is “faster”).
The comparative degree is a grammatical form used to compare two people or things and indicate that one has a higher degree of a certain quality.
A comparative adjective can also be called an adjective in the comparative degree.
“Bad” is an example of an adjective with an irregular superlative form: “worst.”
Note that the superlative “worst” is often confused with the similar-sounding comparative form, “worse.”
The superlative form of the adjective “light” is “lightest.” “Light” is an example of a regular one-syllable adjective that is transformed into a superlative by simply adding “-est.”
A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun and is typically capitalized.
Proper adjectives include terms derived from locations, languages, and ethnicities (e.g., “Bostonian,” “Sino-Tibetan,” “South Asian”); individuals’ names (such as “Keynesian,” “Darwinian,” “Newtonian”); and religious terms (e.g., “Rastafarian,” “Christian,” “Talmudic”) among other proper nouns.
The comparative form of the adjective “good” is “better” (e.g., “The second draft of the essay was better than the first”). “Better” is an irregular comparative adjective that doesn’t follow the usual rules (i.e., it doesn’t end in “-er” or include the words “more” or “less”).
The comparative form of the adjective “bad” is “worse” (e.g., “His performance in the second round was worse than in the first”). “Worse” is an irregular comparative adjective that doesn’t follow the usual rules (i.e., it doesn’t end in “-er” or include the words “more” or “less”).
The comparative adjective “worse” is not to be confused with the superlative adjective “worst” (e.g., “He was the worst player on the team”).
The comparative form of the adjective “clean” is “cleaner” (e.g., “The kitchen looked so much cleaner after a thorough scrubbing”).
The superlative form of “clean” is “cleanest” (e.g., “This is the cleanest kitchen I have ever seen”).
Predicate nouns are also known as predicate nominatives. They are a type of subject complement—they follow linking verbs to identify or redefine the subject. They are always nouns or pronouns (e.g., “Winston is a plumber”).
Predicate adjectives are also subject complements, but they are adjectives or adjective phrases that describe the subject (e.g., “Winston is funny”).
Yes, amazing can be used as an adjective to describe someone or something as “causing wonder” or “excellent.”
“Amazing” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes and modifies a noun (e.g., “We saw an amazing show”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “I feel amazing”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “feel”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using adjectives like “amazing” correctly.
Yes, “friendly” is an adjective used to describe someone or something as “approachable” or “kind.”
“Friendly” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes a noun and modifies it (e.g., “A friendly woman”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “Sheila is friendly”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “seem”).
“Friendly” can also be used to mean “intended to accommodate certain needs” (e.g., “family-friendly”) or “not likely to cause harm” (e.g., “eco-friendly”). When used to describe relationships between people or groups, it means “on good terms” (e.g., “I’m friendly with my neighbors“).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using adjectives like “friendly” correctly.
Yes, “fast” is an adjective used to describe someone or something as “capable of moving at great speed.”
It can also be used as some other parts of speech, including:
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using words like “fast” correctly.
Yes, “strong” is an adjective that can be used to describe someone or something as “having great emotional or physical power” (e.g., “Anna is strong”), “striking” (e.g., “a strong resemblance”), “superior” (e.g., “a strong candidate”), and “forceful or ardent” (e.g., “a strong believer”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using adjectives like “strong” correctly.
Yes, “silly” is an adjective used to describe someone or something as “trivial” or “foolish.”
“Silly” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes a noun and modifies it (e.g., “A silly joke”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “That TV show is silly”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “seem”).
Depending on the context, describing something as “silly” can carry a negative connotation or may be perceived as light-hearted or even affectionate.
“Silly” can also be used informally as an adverb meaning “to an exteme degree” (e.g., “I was scared silly”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using words like “silly” correctly.
Yes, “loud” is an adjective used to describe someone or something as “high volume,” “noisy,” “emphatic,” or “obtrusive.”
“Loud” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes a noun and modifies it (e.g., “loud music”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “The lawnmower is loud”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “seem”).
“Loud” is closely related to the adverb “loudly” (e.g., “She was singing loudly”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using words like “loud” correctly.
Yes, “excited” is an adjective used to describe someone or something as “enthusiastic” or “thrilled.” It is often followed by a prepositon (e.g., “about,” “to”).
“Excited” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes a noun and modifies it (e.g., “the excited dog”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “I am excited”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “seem”).
“Excited” can also be used as the past participle form of the verb “excite” (e.g., “The band had excited the crowd”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using words like “excited” correctly.
Yes, “fun” can be used as an adjective to describe someone or something as “amusing,” “entertaining,” or “enjoyable.”
“Fun” can be used as an attributive adjective that precedes a noun and modifies it (e.g., “a fun party”). It can also be used as a predicate adjective to describe the subject of a sentence (e.g., “That game is fun”). When used as a predicate adjective, it is always preceded by a linking verb (e.g., “be,” “seems”).
Additionally, “fun” can be used as a noun meaning “amusement” or “enjoyment” (e.g., “Let’s have fun”).
A QuillBot Grammar Check can help ensure you’re using words like “fun” correctly.
Some adjectives that start with A include:
Looking for just the right word for your writing? QuillBot’s Paraphrasing Tool can help!
An adjective phrase is a group of words that acts as an adjective in a sentence by modifying a noun (e.g., “the weathered gray house”).
An adverbial phrase (or adverb phrase) is a group of words that acts as an adverb in a sentence by modifying a verb, adjective, adverb, or entire clause (e.g., “He ran very quickly”).
Adjective phrases can contain adverbs (e.g., “the exceptionally smart dog”). To distinguish between adjective phrases and adverb phrases, think about what the phrase modifies in the sentence.
Adjectives can be used either right before the noun or pronoun they modify (i.e., attributive adjectives), immediately after the noun or pronoun (i.e., postpositive adjectives), or after a linking verb (i.e., predicate adjectives).
Attributive adjectives are often adjectives from different categories, so they must follow a specific adjective order (e.g., “a big fluffy Himalayan cat”). Postpositive adjectives usually occur with indefinite pronouns (e.g., “something special,” “anything new”). Predicate adjectives are always used with linking verbs (e.g., “I felt ill,” “He got angry”).
When adjectives of different categories are used to describe the same noun or pronoun, these are cumulative adjectives, and they must be listed according to the following order:
So, if a sentence uses the adjectives “silk” (material), “19th-century” (age), “delicate” (physical quality), and “ruby-red” (color) to describe a kimono (the noun), the adjectives should occur in this order: “a delicate 19th-century ruby-red silk kimono.”
Attributive adjectives precede the noun or pronoun they modify (e.g., “red car,” “loud music”), while predicate adjectives describe the subject of a sentence and follow linking verbs such as “be,” “become,” “seem,” or “remain.”
The words “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those” function as both demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns. They give information about the number (singular or plural) and distance (near or far) of the thing or person being referred to.
“That” is a special type of adjective, called a demonstrative adjective. Demonstrative adjectives (“this,” “that,” “these,” and “those”) are used with a noun or pronoun to give information about its relative location (e.g., “Put that box on this cart”).
“These” is a special type of adjective, called a demonstrative adjective. Demonstrative adjectives (“this,” “that,” “these,” and “those”) are used with a noun or pronoun to give information about its relative location (e.g., “These earrings would look perfect with that dress”).
“Those” is a special type of adjective, called a demonstrative adjective. Demonstrative adjectives (“this,” “that,” “these,” and “those”) are used with a noun or pronoun to give information about its relative location (e.g., “Those books go on this shelf”).
“This” and “that” are both used as demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns. Both are used to refer to singular nouns (e.g., “this book,” “that restaurant”).
This is used to refer to something that is relatively close to the speaker, and that is used to refer to something that is relatively farther away (e.g., “Take this book, and put it on that shelf”). The choice of “this” or “that” is greatly influenced by the context of a sentence.
The term adjectival phrase is typically used interchangeably with adjective phrase. It is a group of words that acts as an adjective in a sentence to modify a noun or pronoun.
Some sources differentiate the two terms, though. In those sources, adjective phrases are those that are headed by an adjective (e.g., “the long, dark, winding road”), while adjectival phrases are those that act as an adjective but don’t contain an adjective. Adjectival phrases are often in the form of prepositional phrases (e.g., “the boy with the blue lunchbox”) or participial phrases (e.g., “the woman standing over there”).
A cumulative adjective is part of a list of two or more adjectives that describe a noun or pronoun (e.g., “bright pink hair,” “creepy carnivalesque Polka music”).
Cumulative adjectives are adjectives from different categories (e.g., opinion, size, color, type), so they must be listed in a specific adjective order and should not be separated by commas or “and.”
Yes, prepositional phrases can act as adjective phrases in a sentence to give more information about a noun or pronoun (e.g., “The student in the back row is falling asleep”).
Prepositional phrases also have other functions, such as adverb phrases (e.g., “I went to the store”) and noun phrases (e.g., “Behind the bookshelf is the best hiding spot”).
Yes, all adjective clauses (e.g., “that I like the best”) are dependent clauses (that is, they can’t stand on their own as a sentence). There are two other types of dependent clauses: adverbial clauses and noun clauses.
Adjective clauses function as adjectives in a sentence to give more information about a noun (e.g., “She wants the kitten that has white paws”). Adjective clauses typically begin with a relative pronoun (e.g., “who,” “that,” “which”).
Adverbial clauses function as adverbs in a sentence to modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or entire clause (e.g., “Let’s go to the movies after we study”). Adverb clauses begin with a subordinating conjunction (e.g., “because,” “until,” “when,” “if”) and frequently answer questions such as “when?” “where?” “why?” or “how?”
Commas can be used to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., “dangerous, scary places”).
When you have a list of more than two coordinate adjectives, the final adjective can be separated in the following ways:
Coordinate adjectives are independent of one another, so their order doesn’t matter (e.g., “beautiful and smart” is the same as “smart and beautiful”). Additionally, coordinate adjectives use a comma or “and.”
In contrast, cumulative adjectives must follow a particular order to sound correct and do not use a comma or “and” (e.g., “The tall Dutch tourist bumped her head on the doorframe”).
You can test whether adjectives are coordinate adjectives by reversing their order or adding “and” between them to see if the sentence still makes sense. Consider the following examples:
A compound predicate adjective is an adjective formed from multiple words that follows a linking verb and renames the subject of a sentence (e.g., “My cat is orange and white striped”).
Because compound predicate adjectives follow the noun or pronoun they modify, they typically aren’t hyphenated.
In a three-word compound adjective, a hyphen is typically used between each word in the sequence (e.g., “a well-thought-out plan”).
When a three-word compound adjective incorporates a compound proper noun, such as “New York,” it is generally unnecessary to use a hyphen between the words that comprise the proper noun (e.g., “New York-style,” “Great Gatsby-themed,” “Franz Kafka-inspired”).
In cases like these, many writers use an en dash instead of a hyphen (e.g., “New York–style”) to emphasize that both words of the compound noun are connected to the other word to form the compound adjective.
The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help ensure you’re using hyphens correctly.
Hyphens are typically used in compound adjectives to ensure clarity (e.g., “client-centered approach” or “budget-friendly accommodations”). Compound adjectives that follow the noun they modify usually don’t require hyphens (e.g., “an approach that is client centered,” “accommodations that are budget friendly”).
