Adjectives are words used to modify nouns. They usually go before nouns. Examples are given below.

• Ripe mangoes (Here the adjective ripe says something about the mangoes.)
• Soft skills (Here the adjective soft gives more information about the noun skills)
• Smart children (Here the adjective smart says something about the children.)
• Red flowers (Here the adjective red says something about the colour of the flowers.)

Adjectives can also go after the verbs is, am, are, was and were.

• This flower is red.
• She was anxious.
• He is clever.

There are different kinds of adjectives. Some of them are:

Adjectives of quality

They tell us something about a certain quality of the noun. Examples are: pretty, beautiful, smart, clever, intelligent, soft, hard, tall, big, large etc.

Adjectives of quantity

They answer the question how much. Examples are: some, any, much, enough, little, no etc.

Adjectives of number

They answer the question how many. Examples are: some, any, many, few, several, one, two, three, first, second, third etc.

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences.

1. That was a brilliant idea.

2. He is an old friend of my father.

3. Your sister has got the cutest smile in the world.

4. Ravi is my elder brother.

5. Who is the oldest person in your village?

6. She is a wonderful woman.

7. The hostess was very gracious.

8. God is merciful.

9. I knew that the exam would be difficult.

10. Ten miles is a long way to walk.

11. She doesn’t have any interest in movies.

12. Messi is a famous footballer.

13. The boy is naughty.

14. Stars are heavenly bodies.

15. Which is the biggest planet in our solar system?

16. Who is your favourite teacher?

17. I have known him for a long time.

18. It is going to be a tough battle.

19. She is wealthier than her neighbours.

20. Some snakes are poisonous.

21. A spider has eight legs.

22. She was wearing an expensive gown.

23. They have a large showroom in town.

24. All children should go to school.

Answers

1. brilliant, 2. old, 3. cutest, 4. elder, 5. oldest, 6. wonderful, 7. gracious, 8. merciful, 9. difficult, 10. ten, long, 11. any, 12. famous, 13. naughty, 14. heavenly, 15. biggest, solar, 16. favourite, 17. long, 18. tough, 19. wealthier, 20. some, poisonous, 21. eight, 22. expensive, 23. large, 24. all