Adjectives – The Describers of English!
What is an Adjective?
An adjective is a word that describes a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea).
It makes your sentence more interesting by telling us what kind, how many, whose, or which one.
Examples:
The blue sky is beautiful. ( "blue" is adjective because it describes the sky)
I have four cookies. ( "four" is adjective because it describes the cookies and tell us how many of it)
That is my book. ( "my" is adjective because it describes the book and tells us whose book it is.)
Types of Adjectives:
Type of Adjective | Definition (Simple) | Example |
Descriptive | Tells what something is like | The funny clown made us laugh |
Quantitative | Tells how much or how many | I have two apples |
Demonstrative | Points out which one | This bag is mine |
Possessive | Shows ownership | My cat is sleepy. |
Interrogative | Used in questions | Which movie do you want to watch? |
Indefinite | Refers to non-specific things | Some children like ice cream |
Distributive | Refers to individual members of a group | Each student got a pencil |
Comparative | Compares two things | My house is bigger than yours. |
Superlative | Shows the extreme or highest degree | She is the tallest in class |
Proper | Formed from proper nouns | English literature is fun 🇬🇧 |
Top Tips
🎯 Always before a noun: The biggest trick—adjectives usually come right before the noun. Spot the noun first, then check the word in front.
Example: The blue car → car is the noun, blue is the adjective.
🎯 They describe, they don’t act: If the word tells what kind, how many, or whose, it’s an adjective—not a verb.
Example: Three cats → three = adjective, cats = noun.
🎯 Comparatives & superlatives stand out: Look for -er / -est endings or words like more / most. They are adjectives too.
Example: My bag is bigger than yours.
🎯 Possessive words can be adjectives: Words like my, your, his, her, our describe whose thing it is. Spot these and you’ve found an adjective.