All about Grammar-Part 4 (Adjectives)

ADJECTIVES Adjectives are the words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. They do so by answering questions such as these about the entity they modify – What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it? For example: Incessant anxiety has undermined his health. In this sentence, “incessant” is the adjective that describes the noun “anxiety”. What kind of “anxiety” are we talking about? We are talking about the anxiety that never stopped. So anxiety has been modified by “incessant”. . Every cloud has a silver lining. This famous proverb contains the adjective “silver” that modifies the noun “cloud”. This word defines the color of the cloud. Maria has to prepare two dishes for dinner. In this sentence, “two” is the adjective that describes the noun “dishes”. How many dishes? Two dishes. Tom takes pleasure in working on challenging projects. In this sentence, “challenging” is the adjective that describes the noun “projects”. What kind of projects? Challenging projects. So as you saw in the above three example sentences, adjectives provide some more information about the entity that they describe. Now in the examples above we saw single words that act as adjectives. However, phrases and clauses can also act as adjectives. ADJECTIVES – WORDS, PHRASES, AND CLAUSES We learned that adjectives are the words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. For example: Incessant anxiety has undermined his health. In this sentence, “incessant” is the adjective that describes the noun “anxiety”. What kind of “anxiety” are we talking about? We are talking about the anxiety that never stopped. So anxiety has been modified by “incessant”. Now apart from just words, even phrases and clauses can act as adjectives. For example: We will have to order six vegetable and cheese sandwiches and two slices of broccoli chicken pizza for the guests tonight. This sentence talks about a few food items. While the adjectives “six” and “two” present the number of edibles required for the guests, “vegetable and cheese” and “broccoli chicken” refer to their kind. Notice that both the adjectives are phrases. The monkeys with black face and long tail are still a menace in some parts of Delhi. In this sentence, the prepositional phrase “with black face and long tail” describes the noun entity the “monkeys”. It describes what kind of monkey is a menace. Hence, this prepositional phrase acts as an adjective in this sentence. Nick wants the umbrella that has the Spiderman print on it. This sentence says that Nick wants a specific kind of umbrella and this kind has been explained by using the clause “that has Spiderman print on it”. So in this sentence this entire clause acts as an adjective and describes the umbrella. So as you saw in the above three example sentences, adjectives provide some more information about the entity that they describe and adjectives can be a single word or a group of words or a clause. Adjectives can also be used to make comparisons. When we make comparisons, we need to use adjectives in their comparative or superlative forms. ADJECTIVES – FOR COMPARISONS We learned that adjectives are used to describe another noun or pronoun. Adjectives can also be used to present comparison. And when adjectives are used in that role, they should be used in the appropriate comparative or superlative forms. When comparison between 2 entities is made, comparative form of adjective COMPARATIVE FORM This form should be used when adjective is used to compare 2 entities. It can be formed in two ways. We can add either “er” to the end of the adjective or “more” or “less” before it. Remember that we cannot do both together. For example: Jacob has a bigger villa than Jack. I prefer my crepes thinner. My cat is certainly lazier than my dog. The salary in corporate offices is more handsome. Some flowers are more colorful than others even if they belong to the same family. Religious scripture always teach the commoners to be more compassionate towards every living being. This form should be used when adjective is used to compare more than 2 entities. Like comparative adjectives, superlative adjectives can be formed in two ways. We can add either “est” to the end of the adjective or “most” or “least” before it. Remember that we cannot do both together. Jason has the biggest villa in this block. Gina’s is the thickest exercise book is the class. Kim selected the crispiest bacons for her breakfast. For Jason, his grandmother is the most gorgeous woman in the world. This is the most colorful rainbow I have even seen. The stories that Harry tells are least believable. So always be sure to use adjectives in their correct form. Use comparative form of adjective when you compare 2 entities. Prepare the comparative form appropriately. Likewise use superlative form of adjective when you compare more than 2 entities. Prepare the superlative form appropriately. cat grammar practice questions grammar for cat exam pdf best grammar book for cat preparation cat grammar syllabus english grammar for cat pdf cat english questions with answers prepare grammar for cat english grammar notes for cat exam