List of Adjectives With Meaning and Examples
An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. For example, in the sentence โShe is a smart girlโ, the word โsmartโ is an adjective that modifies the noun โgirlโ. There are many adjectives in English, and they can be classified into different types, such as descriptive, comparative, superlative, possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, indefinite, and numeral.
Here are some examples of common adjectives in each type, along with their meanings and example sentences:
โ Descriptive adjectives: These adjectives describe the qualities or characteristics of a noun or pronoun. For example, beautiful, happy, red, big, etc.
ย ย ย โ She has a beautiful voice. (The adjective โbeautifulโ describes the quality of the noun โvoiceโ.)
ย ย ย โ He is very happy today. (The adjective โveryโ modifies the adjective โhappyโ, which describes the state of the pronoun โheโ.)
ย ย ย โ I like red roses. (The adjective โredโ describes the color of the noun โrosesโ.)
ย ย ย โ This is a big house. (The adjective โbigโ describes the size of the noun โhouseโ.)
โ Comparative adjectives: These adjectives compare two or more nouns or pronouns in terms of degree or quantity. They are usually formed by adding โ-erโ or โ-estโ to the base form of the adjective, or by using โmoreโ or โmostโ before the adjective. For example, smarter, happier, redder, bigger, more beautiful, most happy, etc.
ย ย ย โ She is smarter than him. (The comparative adjective โsmarterโ compares the intelligence of the pronoun โsheโ and the pronoun โhimโ.)
ย ย ย โ He is happier than yesterday. (The comparative adjective โhappierโ compares the happiness of the pronoun โheโ at two different times.)
ย ย ย โ This rose is redder than that one. (The comparative adjective โredderโ compares the color of the noun โroseโ and the demonstrative pronoun โthatโ.)
ย ย ย โ This house is bigger than yours. (The comparative adjective โbiggerโ compares the size of the noun โhouseโ and the possessive pronoun โyoursโ.)
ย ย ย โ She has a more beautiful voice than me. (The comparative adjective โmore beautifulโ compares the quality of the noun โvoiceโ and the pronoun โmeโ.)
ย ย ย โ He is the most happy person I know. (The superlative adjective โmost happyโ compares the happiness of the pronoun โheโ and the noun โpersonโ.)
โ Possessive adjectives: These adjectives show the ownership or relationship of a noun or pronoun to another noun or pronoun. They are usually placed before the noun or pronoun they modify. For example, my, your, his, her, its, our, their, etc.
ย ย ย โ This is my book. (The possessive adjective โmyโ shows the ownership of the noun โbookโ by the speaker.)
ย ย ย โ Is this your pen? (The possessive adjective โyourโ shows the ownership of the noun โpenโ by the listener.)
ย ย ย โ He loves his dog. (The possessive adjective โhisโ shows the relationship of the noun โdogโ to the pronoun โheโ.)
ย ย ย โ She lost her wallet. (The possessive adjective โherโ shows the ownership of the noun โwalletโ by the pronoun โsheโ.)
ย ย ย โ The cat licked its paw. (The possessive adjective โitsโ shows the ownership of the noun โpawโ by the noun โcatโ.)
ย ย ย โ We are proud of our team. (The possessive adjective โourโ shows the relationship of the noun โteamโ to the pronoun โweโ.)
ย ย ย โ They left their car in the parking lot. (The possessive adjective โtheirโ shows the ownership of the noun โcarโ by the pronoun โtheyโ.)
โ Demonstrative adjectives: These adjectives point out or indicate a specific noun or pronoun. They are usually placed before the noun or pronoun they modify. For example, this, that, these, those, etc.
ย ย ย โ This book is mine. (The demonstrative adjective โthisโ points out the noun โbookโ that is close to the speaker.)
ย ย ย โ That pen is yours. (The demonstrative adjective โthatโ points out the noun โpenโ that is far from the speaker.)
ย ย ย โ These dogs are friendly. (The demonstrative adjective โtheseโ points out the noun โdogsโ that are close to the speaker.)
ย ย ย โ Those wallets are expensive. (The demonstrative adjective โthoseโ points out the noun โwalletsโ that are far from the speaker.)
โ Interrogative adjectives: These adjectives ask questions about a noun or pronoun. They are usually placed before the noun or pronoun they modify. For example, what, which, whose, etc.
ย ย ย โ What book are you reading? (The interrogative adjective โwhatโ asks about the noun โbookโ.)
ย ย ย โ Which pen do you prefer? (The interrogative adjective โwhichโ asks about the noun โpenโ.)
ย ย ย โ Whose dog is this? (The interrogative adjective โwhoseโ asks about the ownership of the noun โdogโ.)
โ Indefinite adjectives: These adjectives refer to an unspecified or unknown noun or pronoun. They are usually placed before the noun or pronoun they modify. For example, some, any, no, many, few, etc.
ย ย ย โ I have some books in my bag. (The indefinite adjective โsomeโ refers to an unspecified number of nouns โbooksโ.)
ย ย ย โ Do you have any pens? (The indefinite adjective โanyโ refers to an unknown number of nouns โpensโ.)
ย ย ย โ He has no friends. (The indefinite adjective โnoโ refers to the absence of any nouns โfriendsโ.)
ย ย ย โ She has many talents. (The indefinite adjective โmanyโ refers to a large number of nouns โtalentsโ.)
ย ย ย โ He has few enemies. (The indefinite adjective โfewโ refers to a small number of nouns โenemiesโ.)
โ Numeral adjectives: These adjectives indicate the number or order of a noun or pronoun.They are usually placed before the noun or pronoun they modify. For example, one, two, three, first, second, third, etc.
โ I have one book in my bag. (The numeral adjective โoneโ indicates the number of the noun โbookโ.)
โ She has two pens in her hand. (The numeral adjective โtwoโ indicates the number of the noun โpenโ.)
โ He has three dogs at home. (The numeral adjective โthreeโ indicates the number of the noun โdogโ.)
โ She is the first in her class. (The numeral adjective โfirstโ indicates the order of the pronoun โsheโ.)
โ He is the second to arrive. (The numeral adjective โsecondโ indicates the order of the pronoun โheโ.)
โ They are the third to leave. (The numeral adjective โthirdโ indicates the order of the pronoun โtheyโ.)