CORRECT USE OF ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word which qualifies a noun or a pronoun.
She is a beautiful girl
They are good.
(1) PROPER ADJECTIVES
NOUN-ADJECTIVE
India-Indian
America-American
(2) POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES: My, our, your, his, their, her,its.
This is my house.
(3) DISTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES: Each,every,either,neither
There were ten boys.Each/Every boy was intelligent.
There are two novels on the table. Neither novel is interesting.
(4) DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES: This/That/These/Those/Such
This idea is a good one
(5) NUMERICAL ADJECTIVES:
Cardinal -one, two,three.
Ordinal-first, second,third
Eg-The five first chapters of this book. (correct or Incorrect)
DEGREES OF COMPARISON:
(A) POSITIVE DEGREE- No other student in the class is as good as Mohan.
(B) COMPARATIVE DEGREE-Mohan is better than any other student in the class.
(C) SUPERLATIVE DEGREE-Mohan is the best student in the class.
Note- The usages “as……as” and “so…….as” appear in positive degree.
Comparative degree has “adjective +er…than.”
Superlative degree has “the +adjective in the superlative form”.
Note-When selection of one of the two persons or things of the same kind is meant, the comparative
degree is preceded by ‘the’ and is followed by ’of’
She is the better of the two sisters.
a) Of the two sisters she is the best.(Correct or incorrect)
IMPORTANT RULES OF ADJECTIVES
Rule 1: Some adjectives (usually having more than two syllables in the spelling) form their comparative
by using the word ‘more’ with the positive, and the superlative by using the word ‘most’.
Rule 2: When two qualities in the same person or thing are compared, the comparative degree is formed
by using more instead of ‘-r or –er’.
Rule 3: When two objects are compared with each other, the latter term of comparison must exclude the
former by using’ any other’.
Rule 4: There are some words which are used in the positive and cannot be used in the comparative, or
in the superlative.
Rule 5: The following are used as comparative adjectives and are followed by to and not than
Rule 6: The adjectives-
empty,excellent,circular,extreme,chief,entire,complete,perfect,final,last,unique,universal,round,square,t
riangular,
eternal etc…..are not used in the comparative or superlative degree.
Rule 7: Some adjectives can be used only in the positive and in the superlative.
Rule 8: The adjective “preferable” is used as a comparative. It is followed by to. It is not used with more.
Rule 9: The comparative adjectives ending in “or” are followed by the preposition to.
Rule 10 : Two adjectives which refer to the same noun or pronoun joined by a conjunction must be in
the same degree of comparison.
Rule 11: Certain adjectives, when preceded by ‘the’ become nouns in plural and require a plural verb.
(rich, poor, needy, aged, blind, dead, meek, wicked, etc)
Rule 12: Some adjectives often confused
(A) FARTHER and FURTHER
Farther denotes more distant in space.
EX-Siya lives at the farther end of this street.
Further means additional;more
Ex- There is nothing further to say about him.
For further details please contact the director.
(B) Many/Much/Many a
Many with plural nouns.
John has many friends.
Much with singular nouns.
Joe doesn’t have much money.
Many a is singular and always takes a singular noun and verb.
Much people come to see the movie (correct/incorrect)
Many work is yet to be done (correct/incorrect)
Many a girls were dancing (correct/incorrect)
(C) FEW/ A FEW/THE FEW
The word Few represents a negative quantity or shortage.
Rohan has few friends.
A few represents a positive quantity.
Rohan has a few friends.
The few means that which has been mentioned earlier. It refers to something already mentioned.
I gave him the few materials I had. (It means all those materials I had)
(D) LITTLE/ A LITTLE/THE LITTLE
The word little expresses a diminutive size or a negative quantity, scarcely any.
The kitten is little.
Kajol had little interest in history.
A little represents a positive quantity.
There is a little sauce left.
Would you like to have a little more?
The little means the whole amount that is there.
I might have lost the little knowledge I had in programming language.(this means all the knowledge that
I had)
Very Important Note: The adverbs just and only can be used before a few and a little, but not before few
and little
There are only a few pointers left and we are done
(E)EACH and EVERY
Use each with individual or separate items.
Ex-The apples are Rs.10 each.
Each student received a handout
Use the word every when referring to things in a group or describing the frequency of actions.
Every girl in the class was intelligent.
Ritu goes to the beach every weekend.
(F)LAST /LATTER/LATEST
Last is the opposite of first
Read the first and last paragraphs today.
Latter is the opposite of former
Of the two choices, I prefer the latter.
Latest means the most recent.
The latest innovations were astounding.
(G)HIGH and TALL
High is used to define an object’s position from the ground.(50ft)
The Golden Gate Bridge is exceptionally high.
Tall is an adjective that measures the size or height of vertical items, such as people and buildings.
The Statue of Liberty is very tall.
(H) ELDER and OLDER
The word older refers to old age and can be used for persons as well as things.
He is elder/older than I.
The word elder refers to only persons and is strictly used for people of the same blood relation such as
family members.
The elder/older of the two sisters is kind.
Note: The word elder is followed by of and older is followed by than.
(I) SOME versus ANY
Some is usually used in affirmative sentences while any used is used is negative and interrogative
sentences.
Is there some/any water in the jar?
If you need any/some help, I ‘m just one call away.
Note-Some can be used in questions which are offers/requests or where the expected answer is yes.
Ex-Will you have some coffee? (offer)
Could you lend me some money? (request)
(J) ORAL versus VERBAL
There are a few oral differences in two books.(correct or incorrect)
The word, oral, means what is spoken through mouth
The meaning of verbal has to do with words of the expression, which can be oral or written.
(K) MUTUAL versus COMMON
The word Mutual means reciprocal. It is often used for abstract things which are interchangeable
Husband and wife express mutual love for one another.
(L) NEAREST versus NEXT
Nearest indicates distance, Next refers to position or order.
(M) INJURED versus WOUNDED
Injured is specifically used when a person encounters an accident or was involved in a fight. Wounds are
caused in wars or battles.
So, wounded is used for persons or casualties involved in wars or battles.
Rule 13
TOO, VERY ENOUGH
Very means to a high degree, but does not suggest impossibility.
Mary is very intelligent.
Too suggests impossibility or undesirable degree.
She is too sick to come to class today.
Enough suggests possibility or sufficient degree.
He is tall enough to play basketball.
