Proper Adjectives

In the sentence, 'My mom bought some delicious Swiss cheese,' which word is the proper adjective?

• mom

• delicious

• Swiss

• cheese

Answer explanation

A proper adjective is derived from a proper noun and is always capitalized. 'Swiss' comes from the proper noun 'Switzerland'.

Which of these words is a proper adjective that could describe a type of food?

• spicy

• Italian

• hot

• sweet

Answer explanation

'Italian' is a proper adjective because it is derived from the proper noun 'Italy' and is capitalized. The other options are common adjectives.

True or False: A proper adjective, like 'American' or 'Shakespearean', should always begin with a lowercase letter.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Proper adjectives are always capitalized because they come from proper nouns, which are names of specific people, places, or things.

Complete the sentence: My favorite superhero is based on a character from _____ mythology.

• greek

• Greek

• greece

• Grecian

Answer explanation

The proper adjective form of 'Greece' is 'Greek,' and it must be capitalized. 'Grecian' is also a valid form but 'Greek' is more commonly used in this context.

Which sentence shows the correct capitalization for a proper adjective?

• We listened to african music on the radio.

• She is studying the works of a victorian poet.

• I think Japanese animation is really creative.

• My dad drives a German car.

Answer explanation

Proper adjectives must be capitalized. 'German' is correctly capitalized, while 'african', 'victorian', and 'Japanese' (in its sentence) are not used or capitalized correctly in the other options.

Identify the sentence that uses a proper adjective correctly.

• The France flag has three colors.

• She has a collection of China dolls.

• He is a fan of the Brazil soccer team.

• We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Answer explanation

This sentence correctly uses the derived proper adjective 'Vietnamese'. The other options incorrectly use the proper noun (e.g., 'France') as an adjective instead of its proper adjective form (e.g., 'French').

True or False: The proper adjective for the country 'Netherlands' is 'Netherlandish'.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

This is an irregular form. The proper adjective for 'Netherlands' is 'Dutch'.

Complete the sentence: The history project is about the _____ Empire, which was a huge civilization.

• rome

• Roman

• Romanic

• romanian

Answer explanation

The proper adjective derived from the proper noun 'Rome' is 'Roman,' and it must be capitalized. It describes the empire's origin.

Which sentence correctly uses a hyphenated proper adjective?

• The North-American continent is vast.

• She is a famous African American author.

• We studied the Anglo Saxon period in class.

• He is a well known New York-based artist.

Answer explanation

A hyphen is often used to connect a multi-word adjective before a noun, like 'New York-based'. 'African American' is generally not hyphenated when used as an adjective.

True or False: In the phrase 'South American countries,' both 'South' and 'American' should be capitalized.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

When a proper adjective is made of multiple words, like 'South American,' all parts derived from proper nouns are capitalized.