Unit 2: Adjectives

ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words you use to modify a noun or a pronoun. In this section you will learn about three categories of adjectives: (1) descriptive adjectives, (2) proper adjectives, and (3) predicate adjectives.

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A descriptive adjective describes a quality of the noun the adjective modifies.

• large house
• frigid night
• wide gorge
• purple plum
• green truck
• blissful sleep

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A proper adjective is formed by using a proper noun or formed from a proper noun.

• French pastry
• Shakespearian play
• Jeffersonian democracy
• African dance

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Predicate adjectives follow the noun and are connected to the noun by a linking verb, which you will learn about in the next module. In the following examples, the predicate adjective follows the highlighted linking verb:

• She seems brave.
• The bread is stale.
• He looks bored.
• The trash smells unpleasant.

The three articles in English, a, an, and the (sometimes referred to as determiners) always function as adjectives in a sentence.