Adjective

In linguistics, an adjective is a describing word, the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified.

Adjectives are one of the English parts of speech, although they were historically classed together with the nouns. Certain words that were traditionally considered to be adjectives, including the, this, my, etc., are today usually classed separately, as determiners.

Modifier

In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure. A modifier is so called because it is said to modify (change the meaning of) another element in the structure, on which it is dependent. Typically the modifier can be removed without affecting the grammar of the sentence. For example, in the English sentence This is a red ball, the adjective red is a modifier, modifying the noun ball. Removal of the modifier would leave This is a ball, which is grammatically correct and equivalent in structure to the original sentence.

Other terms used with a similar meaning are qualifier (the word qualify may be used in the same way as modify in this context), attribute, and adjunct. These concepts are often distinguished from complements and arguments, which may also be considered dependent on another element, but are considered an indispensable part of the structure. For example, in His face became red, the word red might be called a complement or argument of became, rather than a modifier or adjunct, since it cannot be omitted from the sentence.

Types

The two principal types of modifiers are adjectives (and adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses), which modify nouns; and adverbs (and adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses), which modify other parts of speech, particularly verbs, adjectives and other adverbs, as well as whole phrases or clauses. (Not all adjectives and adverbs are necessarily modifiers, however; an adjective will normally be considered a modifier when used attributively, but not when used predicatively – compare the examples with the adjective red at the start of this article.)

Another type of modifier in some languages, including English, is the noun adjunct, which is a noun modifying another noun (or occasionally another part of speech).

An example is land in the phrase land mines given above. Examples of the above types of modifiers, in English, are given below.

• It was [a nice house]. (adjective modifying a noun, in a noun phrase)
• [The swiftly flowing waters] carried it away. (adjectival phrase, in this case a participial phrase, modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
• She's [the woman with the hat]. (adjectival phrase, in this case a prepositional phrase, modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
• I saw [the man whom we met yesterday]. (adjectival clause, in this case a relative clause, modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
• His desk was in [the faculty office]. (noun adjunct modifying a noun in a noun phrase)
• [Put it gently in the drawer]. (adverb in verb phrase)
• He was [very gentle]. (adverb in adjective phrase)
• She set it down [very gently]. (adverb in adverb phrase)
• [Even more] people were there. (adverb modifying a determiner)
• It ran [right up the tree]. (adverb modifying a prepositional phrase)
• [Only the dog] was saved. (adverb modifying a noun phrase)In some cases, noun phrases or quantifiers can act as modifiers:
• [A few more] workers are needed. (quantifier modifying a determiner)
• She's [two inches taller than her sister]. (noun phrase modifying an adjective)

Ambiguous and Dangling Modifiers

Sometimes it is not clear which element of the sentence a modifier is intended to modify. In many cases this is not important, but in some cases it can lead to genuine ambiguity. For example: He painted her sitting on the step. Here the participial phrase sitting on the step may be intended to modify her (meaning that the painting's subject was sitting on the step), or it may be intended to modify the verb phrase painted her or the whole clause he painted her* (or just he), meaning in effect that it was the painter who was sitting on the step.

Sometimes the element which the modifier is intended to modify does not in fact appear in the sentence, or is not in an appropriate position to be associated with that modifier. This is often considered a grammatical or stylistic error. For example: Walking along the road, a vulture loomed overhead. Here whoever was "walking along the road" is not mentioned in the sentence, so the modifier (walking along the road) has nothing to modify, except a vulture, which is clearly not the intention. Such a case is called a "dangling modifier", or more specifically, in the common case where (as here) the modifier is a participial phrase, a "dangling participle".

Comparative and Superlative

Some adjectives are comparable. For example, a person may be polite, but another person may be more polite, and a third person may be the most polite of the three.

The word more here modifies the adjective polite to indicate a comparison is being made, and most modifies the adjective to indicate an absolute comparison (a superlative).

In English, many adjectives can take the suffixes -er and -est (sometimes requiring additional letters before the suffix; see forms for far below) to indicate the comparative and superlative forms, respectively:

• great, greater, greatest
• deep, deeper, deepest*

Some adjectives are irregular in this sense:

• good, better, best
• bad, worse, worst
• many, more, most (sometimes regarded as an adverb or determiner)
• little, less, least

Some adjectives can have both regular and irregular variations:

• old, older, oldest
• far, farther, farthest

also

• old, elder, eldest

• far, further, furthest

Another way to convey comparison is by incorporating the words more and most. There is no simple rule to decide which means is correct for any given adjective, however.

The general tendency is for simpler adjectives, and those from Anglo-Saxon to take the suffixes, while longer adjectives and those from French, Latin, Greek do not—but sometimes sound of the word is the deciding factor.

Many adjectives do not naturally lend themselves to comparison. For example, some English speakers would argue that it does not make sense to say that one thing is more ultimate than another, or that something is most ultimate, since the word ultimate is already absolute in its semantics. Such adjectives are called non-comparable or absolute.

Nevertheless, native speakers will frequently play with the raised forms of adjectives of this sort.

Although pregnant is logically non-comparable (either one is pregnant or not), one may hear a sentence like She looks more and more pregnant each day. Likewise extinct and equal appear to be non-comparable, but one might say that a language about which nothing is known is more extinct than a well-documented language with surviving literature but no speakers, while George Orwell wrote All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

These cases may be viewed as evidence that the base forms of these adjectives are not as absolute in their semantics as is usually thought. Comparative and superlative forms are also occasionally used for other purposes than comparison.

In English comparatives can be used to suggest that a statement is only tentative or tendential: one might say John is more the shy-and-retiring type, where the comparative more is not really comparing him with other people or with other impressions of him, but rather, could be substituting for on the whole.

A1 / Elementary / Beginners

A CEFR A1 level English language user is considered a beginner. At this level, an individual is expected to have a basic understanding of the English language, including basic vocabulary and grammar. They should be able to understand and use simple phrases and sentences in order to meet basic needs and engage in simple, everyday conversations. They should also be able to understand simple instructions and signs in English.

At A1 level, they are able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. They can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. They can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

A1 | Elementary | Beginners.

Difficulty: Easy

Easy difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.