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An Adjective is a word used to qualify a noun or a pronoun. The word Adjective means added to and
an Adjective is a word used to add something to the meaning of a noun or a pronoun.
Sometimes, an adjective does not precede a noun/pronoun. However, it is still the attribute, as in (2). All
the examples given below have the adjectives underlined.
1. Shan is a tall boy.
2. Shan is sad.
3. Shan does not have much money.
4.
DEGREES OF COMPARISON:
There are three degrees of comparison
Positive Degree
Comparative Degree
Superlative Degree
An example in the different degrees with the adjective red
Positive Degree:
Very few fruits are as red as tomato.
Comparative Degree:
Tomato is redder than most other fruits.
Superlative Degree:
Tomato is one of the reddest fruits.
Incorrect
Ooty is considered to be a more better hill station than Mahabaleshwar.
Correct
Ooty is considered to be a better hill station than Mahabaleshwar.
2. Adjectives that do not have superlatives:
a. Some adjectives are considered to be in the superlative degree, hence, an extra word to convey
the idea would be redundant.
Examples:
unique, universal, extreme, square
b. Some adjectives like former, latter, ulterior, exterior, major, minor do not have the
comparative or superlative form.
Example:
The minor faults can be corrected.
Our former P.M. was a lawyer.
c. Never use other or any in the superlative degree.
Example:
Incorrect: King James was the wisest of all other fools in English history.
Correct: King James was the wisest of all fools in English history.
Adjective phrase
Definition:
A word group with an adjective as its head. This adjective may be accompanied
by modifiers, determiners, and/or qualifiers.
Adjective phrases modify nouns. They may be attributive (appearing before the noun)
or predicative (appearing after a linking verb), but not all adjectives can be used in both
positions. See Examples and Observations, below.
'This was a hearty, healthy, dapper, red-faced gentleman, with a shock of hair prematurely
white, and a boisterous and decided manner.'
In each of these examples, if we include the italicized head nouns, we have noun phrases
with embedded adjective phrases; without the head nouns, we have adjective phrases. The focus
is always on the head word (HW)."
(Bernard O'Dwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2006)