Parts of Speech

                            Parts of Speech: Adjectives

Adjectives are words used to describe nouns.  Adjectives give more information about a noun.  Use adjectives to make your writing more interesting.

"Fast, fun, new, old, red, ugly" are all adjectives. They describe a noun. READ THESE EXAMPLES:       It's a fast car.    It's a fun car.   It's a new car.    It's an old car.   It's a red car.   It's an ugly car.

Adjectives can come BEFORE the NOUN (adjective + noun) EXAMPLES:       It's an expensive bicycle.    It's a racing bicycle.   It's a red bicycle.

Adjectives can come AFTER a BE verb. (BE + adjective) EXAMPLES:       The butterfly is pretty.    The butterfly is blue.   Butterflies are interesting.

Nouns can also work as adjectives. A noun can help describe an object. EXAMPLES:       It's a business meeting.    They're having a job interview.   It's a school conference.

Present participles (-ing verbs) can also work as adjectives. EXAMPLES:       Baseball is an exciting game.    Baseball is interesting.   It's an interesting game.

Past participles (verb 3) can also work as adjectives. EXAMPLES:       The man is tired.    The exhausted man fell asleep.   He was worn out by work today.

Adjectives can be hyphenated. EXAMPLES:     The computer-generated error message made the program freeze.  My friend isn't very good at do-it-yourself projects.

Numbers can be used as adjectives. EXAMPLES:       That's a three-ton truck.                                             The man is a thirty-seven-year-old trucker.              In his 20-year career, he's never had an accident.

Adjectives can be used to compare things. EXAMPLES:     Cats are softer than dogs.  My cat is the cutest cat I know.