What is a descriptive adjective?

A descriptive adjective is an
adjective that modifies a noun or pronoun by describing it or
expressing its quality. Take a look at the following sentences: He
stood next to the tall woman. The monkeys were very loud.

Adjectives can be split into many different categories depending on

their specific use or purpose. Some of the types of adjectives are:

 Descriptive adjectives (e.g., the pink flower, the film

was interesting)
 Proper adjectives
(e.g., Edwardian times, Chinese takeaway)
 Demonstrative adjectives (e.g., this gate, that mouse,
those papers)
 Numeral adjectives (e.g., there were three elephants, he was
the second in line)


Deep Dive

When doing some wider reading, you may find that adjectives can
be split into even further different categories. Different theorists or
linguists have highlighted different categories for adjectives, with
up to 11 potential categories being mentioned across linguistic
literature.

Descriptive adjectives form one of the main groups of adjectives

and have a specific definition.

Descriptive adjectives are used to describe features of people,

animals, or things

Types of Descriptive Adjectives

There are three different categories that descriptive adjectives may
fall into: comparative, superlative, or positive. We'll now have
a look at each of these types in turn

Comparative Descriptive Adjectives

Comparative descriptive adjectives are used to describe
a Noun or Pronoun in relation to another Noun or Pronoun (it
compares the two!). Comparisons use adjectives in
the comparative degree, which usually involves adding
the Suffix -er to the end of a descriptive adjective.

Some examples of comparative descriptive adjectives are:

Examples:

 bigger
 louder
 stronger
 fitter
 healthier

 Here's an example of a comparative descriptive adjective in a

sentence:
 "This apple is juicier than the other."
 Here, juicier is the comparative descriptive adjective used to
compare the 'juiciness' of the subject (this apple) and the
object (the other). In this example, the two things being
compared are noun phrases.

Superlative Descriptive Adjectives

Superlative descriptive adjectives are similar to comparative
descriptive adjectives as they are also used to describe nouns or
pronouns by comparing them against others. There is a difference
between these two types of adjectives, though.
Superlative descriptive adjectives are used to describe a noun
or pronoun by comparing it to others and implying it surpasses
anything it's compared to, i.e., it is the most of something.
The term superlative may also be used on its own to refer to
superlative descriptive adjectives.
You can usually identify a superlative by its Suffix, as superlatives
typically end with -st, -est, or -ist.

Here are some examples of superlative descriptive adjectives:

 biggest
 cheapest
 loudest
 funniest
 healthiest



Multisyllabic Words

 Keep in mind that some adjectives can't be turned into

comparatives or superlatives by adding suffixes. Think of
adjectives like expensive, important, and intelligent. As an
example, we can't add -est to the end of important to
make importantest, or -er to the end of expensive to
make expensive. Instead, we say most important and more
expensive.

This issue is due to syllables. If a word has one or two syllables, the
suffixes can be added. However, if an adjective has more than two
syllables, we typically use the superlative or comparative adverbs
(most or more) to make a grammatically correct phrase.
Positive Descriptive Adjectives
Positive descriptive adjectives differ from the two types of
descriptive adjectives we've already discussed because they aren't
used to make comparisons. These are purely descriptive words
used to add detail to nouns and pronouns.

Here are some examples of positive descriptive adjectives:

 ambitious
 flat
 important
 ugly
 helpful

Despite the name, positive descriptive adjectives don't always need

to be adjectives that describe positive attributes, and they could be
negative too!

All positive descriptive adjectives can be turned into their

comparative or superlative forms.

Here are some examples of positive descriptive adjectives being

changed into their comparative and superlative forms.
Examples:

 flat (positive descriptive adjective)

 flatter (comparative descriptive adjective)

 ugly (positive descriptive adjective)

 uglier (comparative descriptive adjective)
 ugliest (superlative descriptive adjective)
  helpful (positive descriptive adjective)
 more helpful (comparative descriptive adjective)
 most helpful (superlative descriptive adjective)

Nearly every positive adjective can be converted into its

comparative and superlative forms in the ways previously shown.

There are, however, two exceptions to the rule. These
are good and bad. For these positive adjectives, you can't convert
them to their comparative or superlative forms by adding suffixes
or adverbs, instead, there are different words to use.

Here are the rules for each of these:

Positive adjective = good

Comparative adjective = better

Superlative adjective = best

Positive adjective = bad

Comparative adjective = worse

Superlative adjective = worst

Examples of Descriptive
Adjectives
Now that we've looked at the three types of descriptive adjectives,
let's have a look at some examples of each being used in
sentences.
Comparative Descriptive Adjectives

The brown mouse was faster than the white mouse.

The willow tree is taller than the oak tree.
Sami was more helpful than Jani.
Superlative Descriptive Adjectives

The brown mouse was the fastest in the pack.

The willow tree is the tallest in the forest.
Sami was the most helpful person on the team.
Positive Descriptive Adjective

The mouse was brown and fast.

The willow tree is tall.
Sami was helpful to the team.

Difference Between Adjectives

and Descriptive Adjectives
The amount of different types of adjectives is disputed among
different linguists. Some linguists (such as Bernardez, 2005)
categorize adjectives into two
types: descriptive and limiting.1 Other linguists have come up
with a much wider range of adjective categories, with Khamying
(2007) stating that there are 11 different adjective classifications.2

Let's have a look at the differences between descriptive adjectives

and the other possible types.

Descriptive vs. Limiting Adjectives

A descriptive adjective is an adjective that describes the features
or a condition of something. Comparative, superlative, and positive
descriptive adjectives all come under the category of descriptive
adjectives.

Limiting adjectives are used to describe a limiting factor of a

noun or pronoun. A limiting factor may be quantity, number, or
another type of

classification, such as belonging or nationality.

Some examples of limiting adjectives in sentences are:

Jenny took the second train. (number)
Kazim needed an umbrella for her walk. (limit)
There were many frogs in the pond. (quantity)
The jacket was his. (belonging)
The boys wanted to order Chinese food, but the girls wanted
pizza. (nationality)

Khamying's 11 Types of Adjectives

Unlike Bernardez, Kahmying2 stated there are 11 different types of
adjectives. Let's look at the 11 different categories and how they
are defined.
 Descriptive adjectives

oUsed to describe qualities or attributes of nouns or

pronouns (e.g., The garden flowers were pretty).
 Demonstrative adjectives

o Used to describe a noun's position and plural vs. singular

status (e.g., Jeni liked those flowers when she was last
 Proper adjectives

o Used to describe the nationality of a noun or pronoun.

These come from proper nouns and have the initial letter
capitalized (e.g., A British man ordered Chinese food).
 
Distributive adjectives

o Used to differentiate a noun into separate parts

(e.g., Every flower is unique).
 Interrogative adjectives

o Used to change a noun into an interrogative form

(e.g., Which of these flowers is for sale?).
 Possessive adjectives

o Used to show the possession of a noun or pronoun

(e.g., Craig took his scooter back).
 Quantitative adjectives

oUsed to describe quantities of nouns or pronouns

(e.g., There were many flowers in the garden).
 Numeral adjectives

oUsed to describe an exact numeral quantity of nouns or

pronouns (e.g., He was parked in the seventh bay from
the house).
 Emphasizing adjectives

o Used to emphasize a noun (e.g., They took

their own drinks to the party).
 Exclamatory adjectives

o Uses exclamatory interjections to modify a noun

(e.g., What a disaster!)
 Relative adjectives

o Used to modify a noun or pronoun and to introduce a

relative phrase (e.g., When we've paid, you can
pick whichever flowers you want).

Descriptive Adjectives List

We've covered all of the different types of adjectives and
descriptive adjectives, so let's now finish off by recapping the three
types of
Descriptive Adjectives - Key takeaways

 Descriptive adjectives are used to describe features of people,

animals, or objects (nouns or pronouns).

 Descriptive adjectives can be split into three different types:

comparative, superlative, and positive.

 Comparative descriptive adjectives describe a noun or

pronoun by comparing it to another.

o E.g., brighter, smaller, shinier

 Superlative descriptive adjectives describe a noun or pronoun

by comparing it to others and implying it

 surpasses anything it's compared to.

o E.g., bubbliest, dullest, tastiest

 Positive descriptive adjectives are used to add basic

descriptive detail to a noun or pronoun without adding
comparisons.

o E.g., bright, dull, sour

Descriptive Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives always precede a name and characterize the name they precede. They
are also always used after the verb ‘to be’.

The name can be preceded by more than one descriptive adjective. If more than two
adjectives are used, the ‘and’ link is written between the last two adjectives. There are rules
in which order more than one adjective is written before a name, but in some exceptional
cases these rules can be omitted. The general ranking is as follows:

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives, Example Sentences

General meaning + Size, smallness + age, oldness, Innovation + Color + Where it
belongs + What it is made of
If we want to qualify a group, we should use the ‘the + adjective’ structure. For example; the
aged, the young, the dead, etc.

Descriptive adjectives, what kind ?, which one ?, how many? answer questions such as.

Descriptive adjective + Noun

Because some verbs lack meaning, they cannot fully specify the subject’s work. The missing
part is complemented by adjectives indicating the nature, condition or occurrence of the
subject. These verbs are called LINK VERBS. As an example of these verbs; be, get, smell,
sound, feel, appear, become, remain, turn, taste, look, seem.
 The father looks angry.
 The parfume smell nice.
 The soup tastes sweet.

Some of descriptive adjectives;

Large: big, colossal, enormous, significant, massive
Small: little, minute, tiny, wee, petite
Happy: content, glad, pleased, blissful, joyful
Sad: gloomy, dejected, blue, unhappy, hearthbroken
Good: great, superior, fantastic, excellent, amazing
Bad: awful, terrible, horrible, horrific, shameful
Said: yelled, called, asked, replied, stated, told
Scary: haunting, creppy, eerie, ghostly, unnerving
Funny: comical, witty, gleeful, laughable, amusing

Descriptive Adjectives Example Sentences;

 There are green, red and pink skirts in my closet.
 Ancient, precious coins are exhibited in this museum.
 I asked my father for a small, solid laptop in red.
 I bought a new and expensive car but it was very comfortable.
 They ate some delicious food.
 Mary is a hard-working person.