Cikgu Faizah Abdullah

ADJECTIVES
Do you know what adjective are?

They are words which add something to the meaning of a noun.

There are many types of adjectives.

Look at the picture next slide.

A round table
A white shirt
A big box
A dirty dish
What is an Adjective?
"Adjectives" are used to add more to the meaning of a noun. They can
be placed before nouns or after certain verbs like ‘to be’, ‘look’,
‘appears’, etc.

• It is used to clarify nouns.

• It can be one word or a group of words.
• It can also be used with certain verbs (such as the verb "to be").
• It is used to clarify the subject that is doing the action.
• It is used to describe color, material, shape, size, amount, price,
quality, origin, personality, weight, temperature, age, direction, etc.
CATEGORIES OF Adjective?
There are six categories of Adjectives. First of all, adjectives are:

Determining
Qualifying
The group of determining
Qualifying adjective are
adjective is a bit more
generally as:
complex:

1. Descriptive Adjectives 2. Quantitative Adjectives

3. Possessive Adjectives
4. Demonstrative Adjectives
5. Distributive Adjectives
6. Interrogative Adjectives
DESCRIPTIVE Adjective?
Descriptive Adjectives used to talk about value, colour, shape,
size and condition

Example:
VALUE – beautiful, smart, handsome, strong
COLOUR – red, blue, green
SHAPE – round, rectangle, square
SIZE – small, big, thin
CONDITION – hot, cold, rainy
1. The green butterfly flitted on the flower.
2. The maid served the drinks in a circular tray.
3. The night market is a busy place.
4. My neighbour’s house is noisy.
5. The latest mobile phone is small.
QUANTITATIVE Adjective?
Quantitative Adjectives are used to show quantity or amount. It
can be divided into:

Definite Adjective Indefinite Adjective

ONE MANY
TWO MUCH
THREE FEW
FIRST SEVERAL
SECOND MOST
ALL
LITTLE
ANY
LESS
A BIT
1. Both girls are naughty.
2. I bought two books from the bookshop.
3. Please give them any book to read.
4. She has much money.
5. Please give me a little time.
6. All the pupils must clean their classrooms.
POSSESSIVE Adjective?
Possessive Adjectives are used to show things that belong to
someone or something. They answer the question ‘Whose?’. They
tell us whop or what owns something.

Example:
MY
HIS
HER
THEIR
ITS
OUR
YOURS
1. This is your plate of rice.
2. Those are our pencils.
3. That is his table.
4. The swan is pecking at its feather.
5. They are eating their prey.

They – them (Adam’s family is really rich, that huge building is belong to them)
their (after verb)
DEMONSTRATIVE
Adjective?
Demonstrative Adjectives are used to point out persons or things
and to indicate whether they are near or far away from us.

Example:
THIS
THAT
THOSE
THESE

Demonstrative adjectives are not the same as Near Far

demonstrative pronouns. A demonstrative Singular This That
adjective does not take the place of the noun.
Plural These Those
We write it before noun.
1. This box is heavy.
2. That bag is empty.
3. These pencils are blunt.
4. Those boxes are empty.
Identify which one is wrong and right.

This shoes are new. These shoes are new.

I want to wear this blouse to the I want to wear these blouse to the
party. party.
Don’t carry those boxes. Don’t carry those box.
That chairs are made of plastics. Those chairs are made of plastic.
DISTRIBUTIVE Adjective?
Distributive Adjectives are used to show that the persons or to
show that the nouns or pronouns are referred to individually.
Distributive Adjectives are always singular. The verb in sentence
must therefore be in singular.

EACH (masing-masing) – used for one of two or more things, taken

one by one
EVERY (setiap) – used for more than two things, taken as a group
EITHER (sama ada) – used to show one or other two (choices)
NEITHER (tidak juga) – used to show not the one of the two (things
or people)
1. I was away five days and it rained each day.
2. Every girl should have a paint brush tomorrow.
3. Either he or she is wrong.
4. Either pencil will do.
5. Neither mango is sweet.
6. Neither box is empty.
Identify which one is wrong and right.

Every pupils is only allowed to borrow two books. Each pupil is only allowed to borrow two books.

Every person above twenty-one can vote. Each person above twenty-one can vote.

Either he or she is right. Both he or she is right.

INTERROGATIVE Adjective?
Interrogative Adjectives are used to ask questions about nouns.
The Wh~ questions are:

WHAT – is used to ask about people or things

WHICH – is used to make a choice
WHOSE - is used to show possession
1. What time are we suppose to be at the party?
2. Which day do you intend to go to the museum?
3. Whose potted plants are those?
4. Whose cup of coffee is this?
5. Whose car is parked near the school?
Adjectives have three degrees of comparison:

1. THE POSITIVE – is used to describe an object/person

Eg: Helmi is young
Kumari’s essay is good

2. THE COMPARATIVE – is used to compare two objects/persons

Eg: Lisa is taller than Rita
My brother has more pants than I

3. THE SUPERLATIVE – is used to compare more than objects/persons

Eg: Mary is the tallest of the three girls
My sister has the most pens of the three of us
FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE
1. Using –er (the comparative) and –est (the superlative)

Example
Positive Comparative Superlative
bold bolder boldest
cold colder coldest
Free freer freest
High higher highest
Quick quicker quickest
White whiter whitest
Poor poorer poorest
FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE
2. Words ending with ‘y’ change ‘-ier’ (comparative) and ‘-iest’
(superlative)

Example
Positive Comparative Superlative
fly flier fliest
dirty dirtier dirtiest
heavy heavier heaviest
lazy lazier laziest
naugthy naughtier naughtiest
wealthy wealthier wealthiest
FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE
3. Some adjectives, the last letter must be doubled.

Example
Positive Comparative Superlative
big bigger biggest
dull duller dullest
fat fatter fattest
red redder reddest
tall taller tallest
thin thinner thinnest
FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE
4. If the words ends in ‘y’ there is a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) before it, the
‘y’ is not changed. Add ‘-er’ (comparative) and ‘-est’ (superlative).

Example
Positive Comparative Superlative
boy boyer boyest
grey greyer greyest
FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE
5. By changing the spelling of the positive.

Example
Positive Comparative Superlative
bad worse worst
good better best
many more most
much more most
little less least
FORMATION OF THE COMPARATIVE AND THE SUPERLATIVE
6. If the positive is long (more than two) add ‘more’ (comparative)
and ‘most’ (superlative).

Example
Positive Comparative Superlative
brilliant more brilliant most brilliant
handsome more handsome most handsome
polite more polite most polite
ignorant more ignorant most ignorant
serious more serious most serious
 COMMON ERRORS
• It is WRONG to use DOUBLE COMPARATIVE or DOUBLE SUPERLATIVE

Harith gets the most highest mark for his English paper in my class
Harith gets the highest mark for his English paper in my class

• Elder and Older – ELDER is never use with than (daripada)

I am elder than Emily

I am older than Emily
I am her elder sister
 COMMON ERRORS
• No superlatives – when we compare two things/person, we must use the
COMPARATIVE and NOT the superlative

I choose the widest of the two roads

I choose the wider of the two roads
This is the best of the two storybooks
This is the better of the two storybooks

• Miscellaneous (pelbagai)

Kumar is as handsome his brother

Kumar is as handsome as his brother
Tina is intelligent than her sister
Tina is more intelligent than her sister