Download Ch18Adjectives

Chapter 18
Adjectives
Notes
1. adjective-describes a noun or a pronoun
2. questions adjectives will answer
a)
b)
c)
d)
What kind?
Which one?
How many?
How much?
3. proper adjective-an adjective formed from a proper noun (possessive or otherwise)
4. compound adjective-a compound word functioning as an adjective (may be hyphenated
or written as a single word)
5. articles-a special kind of adjective
a) a-indefinite
b) an-indefinite
c) the definite
6. kinds:
a) attributive-comes directly before the noun or pronoun it modifies
1) articles a, an, the are adjectives and attributives
b) appositive-comes immediately after the noun or pronoun it modifies
(always at least a pair of words; separated from the rest of the sentence
by commas)
c) predicate-follows a linking verb but describes the subject of the
sentence
7. examples: a) attributive:
1) The ugly, old man frightened the small child. The nouns in this
sentence are man and child. The adjectives that modify them
are all attributives. The adjectives describing man are the,
ugly, and old. The adjectives describing child are the and
small. Most adjectives are attributives. The first place to look
for adjectives is in front of any noun or pronoun in the
sentence.
b) appositive:
1) The man, old and ugly, frightened Henrietta. The nouns in this
sentence are man and Henrietta. There are no adjectives
describing Henrietta. The is an attributive adjective describing
man. Man is also described by the appositive adjectives old
and ugly. These adjectives follow the noun they describe, are
used in a pair, and are surrounded by commas which separate
them from the rest of the sentence.
c) predicate:
1) The man is old and ugly. The noun in this sentence is man.
The is an attributive adjective describing man. The verb is a
linking verb. It is the word is. Linking verbs can be followed
by adjectives that describe the subject of the sentence. Old
and ugly both describe man which is the subject. They are both
predicate adjectives.
8. Other words that function as adjectives:
a) possessive pronouns:
my, our, your, his, her, its, their
1) He has my book. My owns book and functions as an adjective.
b) possessive nouns:
followed by a noun or pronoun that is being owned
1) He has Betty’s book. Betty’s owns book and functions as an adjective.
c) demonstrative pronouns:
1) That book contains nothing but short stories. That functions as an
adjective.
d) indefinite pronouns:
1) Each person brought a covered dish. Each functions as an adjective.
e) interrogatives and relatives:
1) Whose book is missing? Whose functions as an adjective.