The Adjectives

THE ADJECTIVE (CONTINUED)

In the first six lessons, you have examined various kinds of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. You have learned how to use them and how to change them from one form to another.

In this lesson, you will learn how to make comparisons by using adjectives, and how to spell adjectives in their various forms. But first, let us look at some new words.

ADJECTIVES TO REMEMBER

1. "positive degree" The form of an adjective which tells us that a certain quality exists in a person, place, or thing.
   Example: "A bright light suddenly appeared in the sky." The adjective "bright" is in the positive degree.
2. "comparative degree The form of an adjective which compares two objects, and says that one has a higher or lower degree of a quality than the other.
   Example: "This light is brighter than that one."
3. "superlative degree" The form of an adjective which compares three or more objects and says that one has the highest or lowest degree of a quality.
   Example: "Abel brought the best sheep to God as a gift." The adjective "best" is in the superlative degree.

OTHER WORDS TO REMEMBER

1. "comparison" (noun) The variation of an adjective's form to express different degrees of a quality, such as "good," "better," and "best."
   Sentence: When Hagar became pregnant, she began to feel that she was better than Sarai."
2. "confirm" (verb) To make firm; to verify.
   Sentence: "God confirmed his promises to Abraham."
3. "model" (noun) An example to be followed.
   Sentence: "Abraham's trust in God is a model for everyone."
4. "rescue" (verb) To save from danger; to deliver.
   Sentence: "God wants to rescue us from the power of evil."
5. "reveal" (verb) To make known; to disclose.
   Sentence: "God revealed that all families of the earth would be blessed through a descendant of Abram."
6. "substitute" (verb) To replace; to put one person or thing in the place of another.
   Sentence: "The life of a ram was substituted for the life of a human being."
7. "superlative" (noun) An adjective or adverb that expresses the greatest degree of a quality.
   Example: "God's agreement with Abraham is one of the most important events in the Bible." The adjective "most important" is a superlative.
8. "tug-of-war" (noun) An athletic contest between two teams at opposite ends of a rope, each trying to pull the other across a dividing line. Any power struggle between two opposing parties.
   Sentence: "Abraham's faith and his love for Isaac pulled against each other, like two forces in a tug-of-war."

MAKING COMPARISONS WITH ADJECTIVES

Think about someone you know -- a special friend, an enemy, or a member of your family? Compare yourself with him or her? Compare your looks, your height, your weight, your age, your intelligence, your personalities, your actions, or anything.

In order to make the comparison, you will need to use adjectives ending in "er."
Examples: "taller," "shorter," "heavier," "thinner," "younger," "older," "smarter," "slower."
You can also use the words "more" and "less" to make the comparison.
Examples: "more handsome," "less beautiful," "more likeable," "less interesting," "more intelligent," "less sensitive," "more energetic."
Sentences: "I am two years older than she is." "She is more intelligent than I am."

Now, think about a group of people -- your family at home, your class at school, or your office staff. How would you compare them in looks, height, weight, age, intelligence, personality, and character?

In order to compare more than two people, you will need to use adjectives ending in "est."
Examples: "tallest," "shortest," "heaviest," "thinnest," "youngest," "oldest," smartest."
You also can use the words "most," and "least" to make the comparison.
Examples: "most beautiful," "least handsome," "most likable," "least interesting," "most intelligent," "least sensitive," "most creative," "most honest," "least energetic."
Sentences: "He is the tallest member of the family." "She is the most creative artist on the staff."

DEGREES OF COMPARISON

Adjectives are classified in three degrees of comparison:
(1) positive,
(2) comparative, and
(3) superlative.

1. The positive degree simply tells that a quality exists in a person, place, or thing. No comparison is made at all.
   Example: "Abraham was an old man when Isaac was born." The positive degree is the basic form of an adjective.
2. The comparative degree compares two persons, places, or things and tells which one has a greater or lesser degree of a quality than the other. The comparative degree is formed in either of two ways: (a) by adding "er" to the positive form of a one syllable adjective, or (b) by using the words "more" or "less" in front of the positive form of a multi-syllable adjective.
   Examples: "Abraham was ten years older than Sarah."
3. The superlative degree compares more than two persons, places, or things and tells which one has the greatest degree of a quality. The superlative degree is formed in two ways: (a) by adding "est" to the positive form of an adjective, or (b) by using the words "most" or "least" in front of the positive form of an adjective.
   Examples: "Sarah was the oldest woman in history to give birth to a baby." "Abraham was one of God's most faithful servants."

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
big	bigger	biggest
small	smaller	smallest
dangerous	more dangerous	most dangerous
expensive	more expensive	most expensive
fast	faster	fastest

IRREGULAR COMPARATIVE FORMS

There are several old English forms that are irregular in their comparative forms.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
bad	worse	worst
far (measurable distance)	farther	farthest
far (measurable progress)	further	furthest
good	better	best
little	less	least
many	more	most

Some adjectives cannot be compared.

a) The articles "a," "an," and "the" cannot be compared.

b) Numerals cannot be compared.

c) An adjective denoting any absolute quality cannot be compared. Examples: "complete, "correct," "empty," "favorite," "final," "full," "perfect," "round," "square," "straight," "supreme."
It is incorrect to say that one circle is rounder than another. Rather, one circle is more nearly round than another. Absolutes cannot be compared.

d) Adjectives that refer to unchangeable places or things cannot be compared.
Examples: "a brass door knob," "silk stockings," "a silver spoon," "a Spanish guitar." These things remain the same and cannot be compared.

SPELLING RULES

When adjectives move from one degree of comparison to another, there is a change of spelling. Confusion over such spelling changes can be avoided by remembering these rules:

1. When one-syllable adjectives end with a consonant preceded by a vowel, double the final consonant before adding "er" or "est."
   Examples: big - bigger -- biggest; fat - fatter -- fattest; sad - sadder -- saddest.
2. When one-syllable adjectives end with a silent "e," drop the silent "e" before adding "er" or "est."
   Examples: fine - finer -- finest; tame - tamer -- tamest.
3. When adjectives end with a "y" preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i" before adding "er" or "est."
   Examples: dry - drier -- driest; heavy - heavier -- heaviest; pretty - prettier -- prettiest; silly -sillier -- silliest.
4. When adjectives have more than one syllable, their comparative or superlative degrees are usually formed by prefixing "more," "less," "most," or "least" to their basic forms.
   Examples: beautiful--more beautiful -- most beautiful;
   careful -- more careful -- most careful
   daring -- more daring -- most daring
   loving -- more loving -- most loving
   valuable -- more valuable -- most valuable.

Go over these rules again and again until you know them by heart. Take the time to learn them now, and you will avoid a lot of confusion later.

 THE ADJECTIVE

Pretend that you are going to the airport to meet a man you have never seen before. You are talking to him on the telephone. You are describing yourself to him so that he will recognize you in the crowd. In order to give him a clear mental picture of what you look like, you must use adjectives. Are you tall, short, or medium-sized? Are you thin, heavy-set, or average in build? Is your hair black, brown, red, or blond?

An adjective is a word that is used to describe a noun or a pronoun. But, before we begin our study of adjectives, let us learn some new words.

ADJECTIVES TO REMEMBER

1. "descriptive adjective" An adjective that describes a noun by telling about some quality that belongs to the noun.
Sentence: "I will cause you to become a great nation." The word "great" is a descriptive adjective.

2. "limiting adjective? An adjective that restricts, limits, or sets boundaries on a noun or pronoun without describing any of its qualities.
Sentences: "The Lord made a promise to Abram." The article "a" refers to only one promise and is, therefore, a "limiting adjective."

3. "predicate adjective" An adjective that follows a linking verb and tells something about the noun or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence.
Sentence: "Abram became sleepy and fell asleep." "Sleepy" is a predicate adjective which describes Abram.

4. "pronominal adjective" A pronoun that is used as an adjective; a pronoun that tells about a noun or another pronoun.
Sentence: "Get seven pairs of all the birds." The pronominal adjective, "all," answers the question, "How many birds?."

OTHER WORDS TO REMEMBER

1. "agreement" (noun) An arrangement between two or more persons whereby both parties agree to do certain things.
Sentence: "God made an agreement with Abram."

2. "articles" (noun) The limiting adjectives "a," "an," and "the."
Sentence: "The word 'the' is known as 'the definite article.'"

3. "Babylonia" (noun) An ancient empire in the lower Tigris and Euphrates valley, the area that is located in modern Iraq.
Sentence: "Abram was born in Ur of Babylonia."

4. "circumcise" (verb) To cut off the loose fold of skin that covers the end of the penis.
Sentence: "Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised as proof of his agreement with God."

5. "column" (noun) A slender upright shaft or pillar, or anything that looks like a pillar.
Sentence: "The column of smoke and fire passed near Abram."

6. "faith" (noun) Confident belief in God, or in anything; trust in God.
Sentence: "When God saw Abram's faith, he accepted Abram as if he were a perfect man."

7. "idolatry" (noun) The worship of carved or molded images.
Sentence: "When God called Abram out of Ur, he called him out of idolatry."

8. "mistress" (noun) A woman who rules over others or has control of them.
Sentence: "The Lord said to Hagar, 'Sarai is your mistress. Go home to her and obey her.'"

9. "submission" (noun) The act of submitting, yielding, or surrendering to the will of another.
Sentence: "Abram bowed down before the Lord as a sign of submission."

THE ADJECTIVE

Suppose you go to the market to buy some fruit. There you find a box of beautiful peaches that are just right for eating. How would you describe them? You look at their color and notice that they are yellow and pink. Then you feel of one and discover that it is soft to the touch. You say, "These peaches are ripe." You take a bite of one and you say, "Ummmm! This one is sweet and juicy." The words "beautiful," "white," "pink," "soft," "ripe," "sweet," and "juicy" are all adjectives that describe the peaches.

Now, let us count the peaches: one peach, two peaches, three peaches, four peaches, five peaches. And let us number them: first peach, second peach, third peach, fourth peach, fifth peach. We have just made another list of adjectives.

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or a pronoun. An adjective usually provides information about the word it describes by answering the questions, "What kind?" "How many?" "Which one?" "How much?"

TYPES OF ADJECTIVES

Adjectives may be divided into two main classes:
(1) descriptive adjectives, and
(2) limiting adjectives.

1. A DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVE tells about a noun by describing some quality that belongs to it. Examples: a tall tree; a red car; a long rope; the wet pavement; a round table; a little girl. A descriptive adjective describes a person, place, or thing.

Some descriptive adjectives are formed from common nouns.
Examples: "a brick house," "an iron skillet, "a bronze statue." Sentence: "Abraham Lincoln lived in a log cabin.

Other descriptive adjectives are formed from proper nouns and are capitalized.
Examples: "Greek mythology," "Roman numerals," "Chinese lanterns," "Spanish guitar," "American Dream," "Japanese cars," "Italian cooking."
Sentence: "He wore an African headdress to the party."

In English, a descriptive adjective usually comes before the noun it describes.
Examples: "the bright light," "the grey file cabinet," "my messy desk," "the narrow hall."

In some cases, however, a descriptive adjective comes after a linking verb.
Examples: "The sunset is gorgeous." "Sugar is sweet." "I feel sick." "You look beautiful."
When an adjective follows a linking verb and gives information about the subject of the sentence, it is called a predicate adjective.
Example: "The basement was dark and dingy." In this sentence, "basement" is the subject and "was" is the linking verb. "Dark" and "dingy" are predicate adjectives.

2. A LIMITING ADJECTIVE tells something about a noun by limiting it rather than describing its qualities. There are three major classes of limiting adjectives:
(a) articles,
(b) numerals, and
(c) pronominal adjectives.

a. ARTICLES.
Limiting adjectives "a," "an," and "the" are known as "articles." "A" and "an" are called the "indefinite articles" because they limit a noun in an indefinite or general manner. An article must come before the noun it modifies.

"A" is used before words beginning with a consonant sound.
Examples: "a broken record," "a laboratory."
The article "a" is pronounced like the first "a" in "away," and sounds like "uh." "

An" is used before words beginning with a vowel sound, as "an apple," "an airplane," "an elevator," "an ice cream cone."

"The" is called the "definite article" because it points to one definite person, place, or thing.
Example: "The man ran through the door."

When "the" comes before a word that begins with a vowel sound, it is pronounced with a long "e," as in "bee."
When "the" comes before a word beginning with a consonant sound, it is pronounced with a neutral "e," sounding like "thuh."

b. NUMERALS.
Numerals are limiting adjectives that express number and order.
Numerals that express a number without reference to order are called "cardinals."
Examples of cardinals are as follows: "one," "five," "twenty-five," "one hundred."
Numerals that indicate position in a numbered series are called "ordinals."
Examples of ordinals are as follows: "first," "second," "fifth," twenty-fifth," "one hundredth."

Cardinals	(Spelled Out)	Ordinals	(Spelled out)
1	one	1st	first
2	two	2nd	second
3	three	3rd	third
4	four	4th	fourth
5	five	5th	fifth
6	six	6th	sixth
7	seven	7th	seventh
8	eight	8th	eighth
9	nine	9th	nineth
10	ten	10th	tenth
11	eleven	11th	eleventh
12	twelve	12th	twelfth
13	thirteen	13th	thirteenth
14	fourteen	14th	fourteenth
20	twenty	20th	twentieth
21	twenty-one	21st	twenty-first
22	twenty-two	22nd	twenty-second
30	thirty	30th	thirtieth
40	forty	40th	fortieth
100	one hundred	100th	one hundredth
1,000	one thousand	1,000th	one thousandth
10,000	ten thousand	10,000th	ten thousandth
1,000,000	one million	1,000,000th	one millionth

Fractions are pronounced by expressing the numerator (first number) as a cardinal and the denominator (second number) as an ordinal. Thus 1/3 is pronounced "one-third," and 1/4 as "one-fourth." When a number is spelled out, a hyphen is always used between the two parts of a fraction (one-sixth), or between the two parts of a compound number under 100. Example: thirty-three.

c. PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVES. A pronominal adjective is a pronoun that functions as an adjective. Demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those, which, what) stand alone. Example: "What is that?" When these pronouns are used before nouns, however, they become demonstrative adjectives. A demonstrative adjective tells what items are being singled out and indicates their distance from the speaker. Example: "Abram brought these things to God."

Interrogative pronouns (what, which, and whose) also stand alone. Example: "Which do you prefer?" When interrogative pronouns are used before nouns, however, they become adjectives. Example: "Which color do you prefer?"

Indefinite pronouns (all, another, any, both, each, either, few, many, most, neither, several, some) also stand alone. Example: "Many went to war, but few returned." When these pronouns are used before nouns, however, they become adjectives. Example: "You will be the father of many nations."

Possessive pronouns (my, our, your, his, her, its, their) are used before nouns and are sometimes called possessive adjectives. Example: "I will make your name famous."

 Comparison of Adjectives

Exercise on Positive Form and Comparison of Adjectives

Positive Form

Use the positive form of the adjective if the comparison contains one of the following expressions:

as … as

Example: Jane is as tall as John.

not as … as / not so … as

Example: John is not as tall as Arnie.

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (-er/-est)

§  one-syllable adjectives (clean, new, cheap)

§  two-syllable adjectives ending in -y or -er (easy, happy, pretty, dirty, clever)

positive form	comparative form	superlative form
clean	cleaner	(the) cleanest

Exceptions in spelling when adding -er / -est

§  silent ‘e’ is dropped

Example: late-later-latest

§  final ‘y’ after a consonant becomes i

Example: easy-easier-easiest

§  final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled

Example: hot-hotter-hottest

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (more/most)

§  adjectives of three or more syllables (and two-syllable adjectives not ending in -y/-er)

positive form	comparative form	superlative form
difficult	more difficult	most difficult

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (irregular comparisons)

positive form	comparative form	superlative form
good	better	best
bad / ill	worse	worst
little (amount)	less	least
little (size)	smaller	smallest
much / many	more	most
far (place + time)	further	furthest
far (place)	farther	farthest
late (time)	later	latest
late (order)	latter	last
near (place)	nearer	nearest
near (order)	-	next
old (people and things)	older	oldest
old (people)	elder	eldest

 Prepared by SRS...