Adding Details with Adjectives

Readers usually ask more to the writer – more color, more variety, more information – in
short, more specific details. Adjectives added to nouns, and adverbs added to verbs give
the reader additional information by further describing and qualifying the nouns and
verbs.

Adjectives

An adjective makes a noun or pronoun specific or concrete by limiting and describing it.

N N Adj Adj N Adj N

a. Zoos protect species. Some new zoos protect endangered species.

N N Adj N Adj Adj N

b. Zoos breed animals. Far-sighted zoos breed rare and exotic animals.

N N Adj N Adj Adj N

c. Zoos need support. All zoos need continued public support.

Kinds of Adjectives

Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Nouns.

The possessive form of the pronoun is called an adjective because it describes and qualifies
noun: his book, my book. The possessive form of a noun is also called an adjective. The
reader knows exactly what house the writer is talking about: Akbar’s house.

Numbers.

All numbers are adjectives. They modify and qualify the noun by telling how many.

Examples: An apple

Five students

Fifty dollars

Twenty-four hours
Descriptive Adjectives.

The adjectives above do not actually describe nouns. To give the reader a mental picture of
something, the writer chooses adjectives that describe the qualities or characteristics of it.

Adj Adj N Adj Adj Adj N

Six clowns entertained the excited children under the top of the enormous white canvas tent.

Adj Adj Adj N Adj Adj N

A clown with curly orange hair kept falling off a small red tricycle.

Position of Adjectives

1. The adjectives usually appear in front of the noun:

Adj N
Spring vacation

Adj N
Freshman class

Adj N
Term paper

2. But the adjectives can follow the noun modified:

N Adj Adj
The woman’s answer was polite but guarded.

These adjectives are completer following the linking verb was.

Adj N Adj Adj
The winning team, laughing and shouting, ran off the field.

These present participles are adjectives modifying the noun team. Notice that two of them,
laughing and shouting, follow the noun.

Special Form of Adjectives

1. Sometimes present and past participles are used as adjectives:

 Adj N Adj N Adj N Adj N
Excited fans Winning pass Opening game Defeated team

2. When a noun precedes another noun, the first noun is used as an adjective to describe or
limit the second noun:
Adj N Adj N Adj N Adj N
Canvas tent Circus tent Plastic cushions Cotton candy

3. Prepositional phrases are also used as adjectives.

Adj
Toshiro sent five letters of application.

of application specifies the kinds of letters that Toshiro sent; therefore, the prepositional
phrase is an adjective.

EXERCISE C

In the following sentences, bracket all the adjectives used and underline once nouns described
by adjectives.

Example: Alex spent [an] [exciting] time at [the] [opening pro-football] game.

1. In his box seat, Alex watched a closely fought battle.

2. The turning point came for the home team during the last few minutes of the game.
3. Everyone praised the winning pass of the rookie quarterback and the clever tactics of
the head coach.
4. The excited fans roared as the place kicker sent the ball through the uprights of the
goal post for the extra point.
5. The winning team, laughing and shouting, ran off the football field.
6. As he left the sports stadium, Alex hoped that this game marked the beginning of an
oiler winning streaks.