Verbal Ability - Adjectives

Introduction

An adjective is a word which describes or modifies a noun or a pronoun. For example, in the sentence, “Sita has bought a red, five-seater car”, the words “red, five-seater” are adjectives as they describe the noun, “car”.

Important Tips

Adjectives needn’t always come before a noun, as in “He is a nice boy”; adjectives may not sometimes need nouns. For example, in the sentence, “He is good”, the adjective “good” doesn’t come before any noun, yet it describes the noun “boy”.

Some more example of adjectives not being used before nouns

  • He is intelligent.
  • I feel happy.
  • She seems unhappy.
  • They look fantastic.

Comparatives and Superlatives

Adjectives are not only used in describing nouns, but also used in comparing them. When adjectives are used for comparing people, we call them comparatives and superlatives

Comparatives

The comparative form of adjectives is used when we are comparing one noun with the other samples of the same noun.

For Example

  • Rahul is more intelligent than Saurav. (Rahul compared with Saurav)

  • Saurav is faster than Rahul. (Saurav compared with Rahul)

  • Rahul and Saurav are fitter than the rest of boys in the team. (Both Rahul and Saurav compared with the rest of the team)

Superlatives

We use superlatives when we compare a noun with similar nouns on the basis of quality. For example - height, wealth, talent, fitness, etc. We find that one of them has the highest level of a quality.

For Example

  • Rajesh is a strong boy.
  • Suresh is stronger than Rajesh.
  • Ramesh is stronger than both Rajesh and Suresh.
  • Ramesh is the strongest of all three boys.

Comparative forms are given to an adjective by using “more” before the adjective.(More talented, more senior, more honest). However, in many cases, the adjectives are not used with “more”, but a different form ending with “-er”.

  • He is more hungry than me. (Wrong)
  • He is hungrier than me. (Correct)
  • He is more tall than me. (Wrong)
  • He is taller than me. (Correct)

Adjectives and the Comparison Table

There are many hundreds of adjectives that are used in daily life so it’s not possible to list them all in one place, unless the entire book is dedicated to discuss the adjectives.

The following tables have a list of adjectives that are the most-commonly used the examinations and comprehensions. In addition to that, there is also the technique mentioned on how to convert the adjective to comparative and superlative degrees −

By adding “r” and “st”
Positive Comparative Superlative
Brave Braver The bravest
Fine Finer The finest
Large Larger The largest
Nice Nicer The nicest
Noble Nobler The noblest
Pale Paler The palest
Simple Simpler The simplest
Wise Wiser The wisest
White Whiter The whitest
Heavy Heavier The heaviest
By deleting the final “y” and adding “ier” and “iest”
Positive Comparative Superlative
costly costlier The costliest
Dry Drier The driest
Easy Easier The easiest
Happy Happier The happiest
By adding “er” and “est”
Positive Comparative Superlative
Bright Brighter The brightest
Black Blacker The blackest
Bold Bolder The boldest
Clever Cleverer The cleverest
Cold Colder The coldest
Fast Faster The fastest
Great Greater The greatest
High Higher The highest
Kind Kinder The kindest
Long Longer The longest
Small Smaller The smallest
Strong Stronger The strongest
Sweet Sweeter The sweetest
Tall Taller The tallest
Young Younger The youngest
By doubling the final consonants
Positive Comparative Superlative
Big Bigger The biggest
Dim Dimmer The dimmest
Fat Fatter The fattest
Hot Hotter The hottest
Thin Thinner The thinnest
By using “more”and “the most”
Positive Comparative Superlative
Active More active Most active
Attractive More attractive Most attractive
Beautiful More beautiful Most beautiful
Brilliant More brilliant Most brilliant
Careful More careful Most careful
Courageous More courageous Most courageous
Cunning More cunning Most cunning
Difficult More difficult Most difficult
Famous More famous Most famous
Faithful More faithful Most faithful
Proper More proper Most proper
Popular More popular Most popular
Splendid More splendid Most splendid
Irregular Comparisons
Positive Comparative Superlative
Bad Worse Worst
Evil Worse Worst
Good Better Best
Ill Worse Worst
Far Farther Farthest
Well Better Best
Late Later Latest
Little Less Least
Much More Most
Many More Most
Near Nearer Nearest
Old Older Oldest
Old Elder Eldest

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives describe the ownership of the noun. They describe if something/someone mentioned in the sentence belongs or is related to the noun. Examples include- my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their.

For Example

I’ll get my bag.

Is this your luggage?

Possessive adjectives are often confused with possessive pronouns.

Examples −

Your bike is blue. (“your” is an adjective which modifies bike)

Mine is yellow. (“Mine” is a pronoun which functions as the subject of the verb is)

Examples

Subject Pronouns I We You He She It They
Object Pronouns Me Us You Him Her It Them
Possessive Adjectives My Our Your His Her Its Their
Possessive Pronouns Mine Ours Yours His Hers Its Their

Difference between Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives are words that describe the nouns, but adverbs describe the action. These two are very commonly misused in place of each other. Let us discuss the following example −

For Example

Rajat is a good chef as he cooks tasty dishes and also manages everything perfectly.

In this example, the words “good” and “tasty” describe the nouns “chef” and “dishes” respectively, hence they are adjectives.

On the other hand, the word “manages” is an action and “perfectly” is used to describe how Rajat manages everything, hence it is an adverb.

We will discuss more in detail on adverbs in later chapters.

verbal_ability_adjectives.htm