Adjectives

Adjectives

Comparative and Superlative Form.

D.C.E Cristian Cruz Ochoa.

What is an adjective?

Adjectives describe the qualities or states of being of nouns: safe, interesting, adverse, red, harmful, fast, wide, contagious, sensitive. They can also describe the number of nouns: many, few, millions, eleven.

Adjectives are words that modify only nouns. Adjectives do not modify verbs or adverbs, or other adjectives. The adjectives are easy to spot in the sentences below because they come immediately before the nouns they modify.

This is a safe painkiller with no harmful side effects.

This medication has adverse side effects.

Covid-19 is a contagious viral disease.

But adjectives can do more than modify nouns. They can also act as a complement to linking verbs or the verb to be. A linking verb is a verb like to feel, seem, or taste that describes a state of being or a sensory experience.

That person sure is happy.

It smells gross in the locker room.

Driving is faster than walking.

Uses of adjectives

Adjectives tell the reader how much—or how many—of something you’re talking about, which thing you want passing to you, or which kind of something you want.

Use three surgical objects to stitch the wound (gloves, needle, and thread)

Note: Three and surgical are modifying objects.

Note:

Often, when adjectives are used together, you should separate them with a comma or conjunction. 

I’m looking for an expert, good-tempered nurse to keep as a personal caregiver.

My new guide-dog is small, easy-going, and loyal.

Degrees of comparison

Adjectives come in three forms: absolute, comparative, and superlative.

Absolute adjectives describe something in its own right.

A cool student

A messy desk 

A mischievous kid 

Distracted school partners

Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives, unsurprisingly, make a comparison between two or more things. For most one-syllable adjectives, the comparative is formed by adding the suffix -er (or just -r if the adjective already ends with an e). For two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, replace -y with -ier. For multi-syllable adjectives, add the word more.

Superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives indicate that something has the highest degree of quality in question. One-syllable adjectives become superlatives by adding the suffix -est (or just -st for adjectives that already end in e). Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y replace -y with -iest. Multi-syllable adjectives add the word most.

When you use an article with a superlative adjective, it will almost always be the definite article (the) rather than a or an. Using a superlative inherently indicates that you are talking about a specific item or item.

Irregular adjectives

These very common adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms.

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