Adjectives

Adjectives are one of the four major word classes, along with nouns, verbs and adverbs. Examples of adjectives are: big, small, blue, old, rich and nice. They give us more information about people, animals or things represented by nouns and pronouns:

• That’s a big house.
• Look at the grey horse.
• Some dogs have long tails.
• She is tall.

See also

• Nouns
• Pronouns

Meanings of adjectives

Adjectives give us more information. They modify or describe features and qualities of people, animals and things.

Here are some of the common meanings.

Examples	Meaning
- I am fond of ice cream. - Cairo is different from Alexandria. - His car is similar to mine. Other examples: keen (on), near (to), aware (of)	Relations between people and things. These adjectives usually require a word or phrase (complement) to complete their meaning.
- He’s generous. - She’s a kind woman. - The waiter was very polite. Other examples: talkative, cruel, cooperative, helpful, useful	Descriptions of people and things in terms of their actions.
- That’s an old house. - The Olympic stadium is big. Other examples: tall, old, good, rough, true, ugly, red, heavy	Features that will last a long time or will not change (permanent).
- Anyone hungry? Lunch is nearly ready. - It’s so cold in Nick’s house. Other examples: absent, ill, dry, full, lonely, wet, hot, thirsty, angry	States and conditions that can change.
- I saw a great French film last night. - I don’t like modern paintings. - I live in a detached house. Other examples: organic (vegetables), impressionist (painter), wild (salmon)	Classifying people and things into types.

See also

• Adjective phrases

Oppositeness

Most common adjectives are members of a pair of opposites (antonyms):

Word	Antonym
beautiful	ugly
dead	alive
happy	sad
rough	smooth
big	small
dry	wet
heavy	light
tall	short
cold	hot
good	bad

Gradable and ungradable

Many pairs of opposites are gradable, i.e. they have different degrees of the same feature:

• Small:

  • This suitcase is extremely small.
  • This suitcase is very small.
  • This suitcase is quite small.

• Hot:

  • It was reasonably hot in Italy this summer.
  • It was quite hot in Italy this summer.
  • It was pretty hot in Italy this summer.
  • It was very hot in Italy this summer.
  • It was extremely hot in Italy this summer.

One type of adjective is not gradable. These are the adjectives that we use to classify people and things into types:

warning

• These vegetables are organic.
• Not: These vegetables are very organic.
• I like salmon especially when it is wild.
• Not: I like salmon especially when it is quite wild.

See also

• Adjective phrases
• Gradable opposites (antonyms)