Adjectives: Categories and Examples

 
 
 
English
Language
 
Assistant Prof. Dr.
Ahmed A. Mohammed
Ph.D. Immunoparasitology
University of Salford
International-Manchester, UK
Adjective
s,
Nouns and
verbs
 
What are adjectives?
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by
describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An
adjective often precedes the noun or the pronoun which
it modifies. Ex: 
big, boring, purple, quick and obvious
 
Categories of adjectives
The following are the 
fifteen major categories of
meaning that are expressed with English
adjectives.
 A few examples are listed for each category,
but there are several more possibilities.
 
Color
blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, purple,
pink, etc...
 
Size
big, huge, immense, enormous, massive, vast, large,
wide, small, little, tiny, high, long, tall, low, short, same
as, etc...
 
Shape
round (a ball), circle (a door knob), triangular,
rectangular (a flag), square (a cake), oval (an egg),
broad, curved, flat, etc...
 
Feelings
:
happy, glad, cheerful, pleased, satisfied, delighted, sad,
broken, dark, depressed, disappointed, disconsolate,
discouraged, displeased, dissatisfied, distressed, down,
angry, excited, embarrassed, frightened, etc...
 
Quantity
one, two, three, ...
first, second, third, ...
abundant, empty, heavy, light, numerous, substantial,
significant, insignificant etc...
 
Qualities and appearance
:
good, excellent, brilliant, fantastic, bad, terrible,
awesome, awful, nice, beautiful, pretty, gorgeous, cute,
glamorous, elegant, good-looking, handsome, ugly, right,
wrong, funny, amusing, entertaining, light, heavy, fat,
thin, slim, clean, dirty, filthy, straight, noisy, quiet, still,
calm, powerful, nutritious, adorable, adventurous,
aggressive, attractive, bloody, blushing, colorful,
exciting, graceful, dull, homely, plain, precious,
sparkling, fragile, weak, strong, doubtful, confused,
puzzled, cautious, careful, concerned, innocent, guilty,
 
crazy, silly, stupid, foolish, clumsy, intelligent, clever,
shy, rich, poor, wild, courageous, brave, helpful, helpless,
unhelpful, etc...
 
 
Condition
important, principal, famous, notorious, fictitious, real,
true, false, imaginary, alive, dead, odd, weird, unusual,
strange, outstanding, impossible, improbable, easy,
difficult, closed, open, etc...
 
Weather and temperature
cold, warm, hot, cool, rainy, windy, snowy, foggy, sunny,
cloudy, stormy, frozen, etc...
 
Time
:
late, early, delayed, premature, modern, traditional, old-
fashioned, young, old, new, slow, swift, quick, rapid,
brief, short, long, etc...
 
 
Age
old, ancient, aged, elderly, ageless, overage, young,
juvenile, adolescent, teenage, underage, youthful, etc...
 
Nationality and origin
American, Mexican, African, etc...
 
 
Material
wooden, woollen, cottony, fibrous, metallic, bronze, etc...
 
Purpose
(These adjectives usually end in “ing”)
sleeping bag, frying pan, swinging door, time-saving,
driving licence, drying machine, etc...
 
Sound
loud, noisy, quiet, screeching, silent, soft, voiceless, etc...
 
If you have a collection of them arrange
them as in the following:
OSASH.COM
Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin,
Material
 
Adjectives, nouns and verbs
To read and write academic texts effectively, you need to be familiar with the
rather formal vocabulary widely used in this area:
 
Academic adjectives
The following adjectives are best understood and learnt
as opposites:
 
Formality in verbs
Academic writing tends to use rather formal verbs to express the
writer’s meaning accurately. Look at these examples:
 
Prefixes and suffixes
Prefixes change or give the meaning.
Suffixes show the meaning or the word class (e.g.
noun, verb).
Ex: 
Un
sustain
able
”,
 is an example of a word containing
a prefix and suffix.
 
Negative prefixes such as UN-/ IN-/ MIS- and DIS-
often give adjectives and verbs a negative meaning:
unclear, incapable, misunderstanding, disagree.
 
A wide variety of prefixes define meaning, e.g. PRE- which usually
means ‘before’, e.g. prehistory, premature.
The following are examples of prefixes:
 
auto
:      by itself
co
   :       together
ex
   :       (i) previous
                     (ii) outside
macro
:    large
micro
 :    small
multi
  :    many, over, too much
post
    :    later
re
        :   again
sub
      :   below
under
   : (i) below
                     (ii) not enough
 
Suffixes
Some suffixes like -ION/ -IVE or -LY help the reader find the word class,
e.g. noun, verb or adjective.
Other suffixes add to meaning, e.g. -FUL or -LESS after an adjective have a
positive or negative effect. Ex: 
thoughtful
/ 
careless
.
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Adjectives play a crucial role in language by modifying nouns and pronouns to provide more details and enhance descriptions. This article explores the major categories of adjectives such as color, size, shape, feelings, quantity, qualities, appearance, and condition, with examples for each category. By understanding the diverse types of adjectives, you can enrich your vocabulary and communicate more effectively.

  • Adjectives
  • Language
  • English
  • Grammar

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  1. English Language Assistant Prof. Dr. Ahmed A. Mohammed Ph.D. Immunoparasitology University of Salford International-Manchester, UK

  2. Adjectives, Nouns and verbs

  3. What are adjectives? An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words. An adjective often precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. Ex: big, boring, purple, quick and obvious Categories of adjectives The following are the fifteen major categories of meaning that are expressed adjectives. A few examples are listed for each category, but there are several more possibilities. with English

  4. Color blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, purple, pink, etc... Size big, huge, immense, enormous, massive, vast, large, wide, small, little, tiny, high, long, tall, low, short, same as, etc... Shape round (a ball), circle (a door knob), triangular, rectangular (a flag), square (a cake), oval (an egg), broad, curved, flat, etc...

  5. Feelings: happy, glad, cheerful, pleased, satisfied, delighted, sad, broken, dark, depressed, disappointed, disconsolate, discouraged, displeased, dissatisfied, distressed, down, angry, excited, embarrassed, frightened, etc... Quantity one, two, three, ... first, second, third, ... abundant, empty, heavy, light, numerous, substantial, significant, insignificant etc...

  6. Qualities and appearance: good, excellent, brilliant, fantastic, bad, terrible, awesome, awful, nice, beautiful, pretty, gorgeous, cute, glamorous, elegant, good-looking, handsome, ugly, right, wrong, funny, amusing, entertaining, light, heavy, fat, thin, slim, clean, dirty, filthy, straight, noisy, quiet, still, calm, powerful, nutritious, adorable, adventurous, aggressive, attractive, bloody, exciting, graceful, dull, homely, plain, precious, sparkling, fragile, weak, strong, doubtful, confused, puzzled, cautious, careful, concerned, innocent, guilty, blushing, colorful,

  7. crazy, silly, stupid, foolish, clumsy, intelligent, clever, shy, rich, poor, wild, courageous, brave, helpful, helpless, unhelpful, etc... Condition important, principal, famous, notorious, fictitious, real, true, false, imaginary, alive, dead, odd, weird, unusual, strange, outstanding, impossible, improbable, easy, difficult, closed, open, etc... Weather and temperature cold, warm, hot, cool, rainy, windy, snowy, foggy, sunny, cloudy, stormy, frozen, etc...

  8. Time: late, early, delayed, premature, modern, traditional, old- fashioned, young, old, new, slow, swift, quick, rapid, brief, short, long, etc... Age old, ancient, aged, elderly, ageless, overage, young, juvenile, adolescent, teenage, underage, youthful, etc... Nationality and origin American, Mexican, African, etc... Material wooden, woollen, cottony, fibrous, metallic, bronze, etc...

  9. Purpose (These adjectives usually end in ing ) sleeping bag, frying pan, swinging door, time-saving, driving licence, drying machine, etc... Sound loud, noisy, quiet, screeching, silent, soft, voiceless, etc... If you have a collection of them arrange them as in the following: OSASH.COM Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material

  10. Adjectives, nouns and verbs To read and write academic texts effectively, you need to be familiar with the rather formal vocabulary widely used in this area:

  11. Academic adjectives The following adjectives are best understood and learnt as opposites:

  12. Formality in verbs Academic writing tends to use rather formal verbs to express the writer s meaning accurately. Look at these examples:

  13. Prefixes and suffixes Prefixes change or give the meaning. Suffixes show the meaning or the word class (e.g. noun, verb). Ex: Unsustainable , is an example of a word containing a prefix and suffix. Negative prefixes such as UN-/ IN-/ MIS- and DIS- often give adjectives and verbs a negative meaning: unclear, incapable, misunderstanding, disagree.

  14. A wide variety of prefixesdefine meaning, e.g. PRE- which usually means before , e.g. prehistory, premature. The following are examples of prefixes: auto: by itself co : together ex : (i) previous (ii) outside macro: large micro : small multi : many, over, too much post : later re : again sub : below under : (i) below (ii) not enough

  15. Suffixes Some suffixes like -ION/ -IVE or -LY help the reader find the word class, e.g. noun, verb or adjective. Other suffixes add to meaning, e.g. -FUL or -LESS after an adjective have a positive or negative effect. Ex: thoughtful/ careless.

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