Adjective

Wisnu Istanto

Objective
Identify limiting, descriptive,
possessive, proper, and
demonstrative adjectives in
sentences.
Use the articles a, an, and the
correctly.
Hyphenate compound adjectives
when appropriate.

 Use the positive, comparative, and

superlative degrees of adjectives
correctly.
Identify nouns modified by
adjectives, adjective phrases, and
adjective clauses.
Determine the correct usage of
commonly misused adjectives.

 An adjective answers these

questions:
What kind? green, old, round, strong
Which one? this, that, these, those
How many? two, few, 300, two-thirds,
all, some
Whose? hers, Marias, companies

 Limiting Adjectives
Indicate how many.
May be numbers or words.
We must wait six weeks for the new
chairs.
Lisa charges a $200 consulting fee.

Descriptive Adjectives
Before Nouns
Answer the question What kind?
Usually precede nouns or follow linking
verbs.
Are placed as closely as possible to the
noun or pronoun they modify.
We request sealed bids for the
workstation estimates.
Back disorders may result from poor
posture.

Proper Adjectives
Proper adjectives are proper nouns or words
derived from proper nouns that function as
adjectives. They answer the question which?
Capitalize most proper adjectives as you would
proper nouns.
We selected the Italian desk lamps.
Do not capitalize proper adjectives when they
lose their connections with the proper nouns
from which they were derived.
Shelly recommends a light blue venetian blind.

Guidelines for Using A or An

The initial sound (not the first letter) of the
word that follows an article determines whether
you will use a or an.
Use a before words beginning with a consonant
sound.
a chair a desk a telephone
Use a before words beginning with the long
sound of u.

 Use an before words beginning with

the vowel sounds a, e, i, o, and the
short sound of u.
an asset an outcome
an unfortunate accident an estimate
Use an before words beginning with
silent h.
an honest sales staf an hour ago
an honor

The Article The

Use with singular or plural nouns.
Place before any other adjective
when two or more adjectives
precede a noun.
Take short rest breaks throughout the
day.
The indoor air quality of the building
is excellent.
The most well-known category of CTD
is carpal tunnel syndrome.

Compound AdjectivesHyphenated
Before and After Nouns
Some compound adjective
combinations use hyphens when
appearing before or after nouns or in
other locations in a sentence.
This work-related injury could have
been prevented.
This office was described to me as
fast-paced.

Compound AdjectivesHyphenated
Only Before Nouns
Some compound adjective combinations
use a hyphen when appearing before a
noun.
This well-known furniture company is the
one we selected.
When these combinations appear in other
locations in a sentence, they do not require
hyphens.
We selected this furniture company because
it is well known.

Common Compound Adjectives

Do not use a hyphen when an adjective
plus a noun combination is widely
recognized as a concept or institution.
Our real estate agent recommended
moving to a new location.
Most of our positions require more than a
high school education.
To avoid wrist injury, learn the keystroke
combinations for your word processing
program.

Nouns with Numbers

Use a hyphen to connect a number
(words or figures) and a noun to form a
compound adjective before a noun.
A 4-foot workstation A 15-pound
object
Do not use a hyphen when the
expression consisting of a number and
noun follows the noun.
A workstation that is 4 feet
An object that is 15 pounds

Numerical Compound Adjectives

Use hyphens in the numbers
between 21 and 99 when the
numbers are written as words.
Eighty-two out of one hundred adults
will sufer back problems at some
point in their lives.
Our note to the bank is for $35,533
(Thirty-five thousand five hundred
thirty-three dollars).

Series of Compound Adjectives

Use a hyphen in a series of
compound adjectives even though
the base noun does not follow each
adjective.
Are you able to lift 15-, 20-, or 30pound objects?
We had an opportunity to choose 4-,
6-, or 8-foot workstations.

Self Words
Use a hyphen when self is connected
to another word to form a compound
adjective.
self-confidence
self-reliant
self-fulfilling
self-worth

Positive Degree
Use the positive degree as the base
form of the adjective to describe one
person, place, thing, quality, idea, or
one group of things.
bright color
tall building
quiet printer high bid
This turquoise fabric is a bright color.
Franklin Office Furniture submitted a
high bid on the computer chairs.

Comparative Degree
Use the comparative degree to
compare two people, places, ideas,
qualities, or things.
brighter color
taller building
quieter printer higher bid
This turquoise fabric is a brighter
color than the gray fabric.
Franklin Office Furniture submitted a
higher bid on the computer chairs
than Rincon Furniture.

Superlative Degree
Use the superlative degree to
compare more than two persons,
places, or things.
brightest color tallest building
quietest printer highest bid
This turquoise fabric is the brightest
color of all the fabric samples.
Franklin Office Furniture submitted the
highest bid of all the vendors.

Guidelines for One-Syllable Adjectives

Add er to the positive form for its
comparative degree.
cool + er= cooler
tall + er = taller
old + er= older
safe + er= safer
high + er= higher
clean + er= cleaner

Guidelines for One-Syllable Adjectives

Add est to the positive form for its
superlative degree.
cool + est = coolest
tall + est = tallest
old + est = oldest
safe + est = safest
high + est = highest
clean + est = cleanest

Guidelines for Two-Syllable Adjectives

Add er or add more or less to the
positive form for its comparative
degree.
Add est or add most or least to the
positive form for its superlative
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
degree.
narrow
quiet

narrower or more
narrowest or most
narrow
narrow
quieter or more quiet quietest or most quiet

Guidelines for Three-Syllable

Adjectives
Add the words more or less before
the positive form for its comparative
degree.
Add the words most or least before
the positive form for its superlative
degree.

Guidelines for Three-Syllable

Adjectives

Positive

attractive

Comparative

more
attractive

Superlative

most
attractive

Words Ending in y
Change the y to i and add er or est
to form the comparative and
superlative
degrees.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
friendly
busy

friendlier

friendliest

busier

busiest

Special Forms
Some irregular adjectives change
forms in their comparative and
superlative
forms.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
good

better

best

bad

worse

worst

Absolute Adjectives

Expresses the highest degree

Circular
instantaneou unique
complete
s
perfect
vertical
correct
single
dead
straight
Empty
horizontal supreme
Ideal
unanimous

Adjective Clauses
Use who, whose, which, and that to
connect to the noun or pronoun that is
modified.
Place an adjective clause immediately after
the noun that is described.
Use commas to set aside the clause when it
does not add to the meaning of the
sentence (nonrestrictive clause) and do not
use commas when the clause is necessary
to the meaning of the sentence (restrictive).

Fewer/Less
Use fewer with plural nouns that can be
counted.
Use less with singular nouns that refer to
degree or amount or to things that cannot be
counted.
Using computer function keys causes fewer
hand injuries.
Simple ergonomic changes cost less money to
implement than you might imagine.
Treehorn Books had fewer complaints after
lowering the bookshelves.

Latter/Later/Last/Latest
Use latter to refer to the second of
two persons, places, or things
mentioned.
Use later to refer to time.
Use last to refer to whatever follows
everything else in a series.
Use latest to refer to time (as in
most recent).

Latter/Later/Last/Latest
The latter plan for the reception area
is more comfortable for visitors than
the others that were submitted.
The latest set of statistics about workrelated injuries just arrived.
We ordered new computer keyboards
last year.
The later time for the planning
meeting was not suitable for me.