Classification of adjectives

Adjectives describe qualities of objects referred to by nouns, pronouns, and noun phrases.

According to their meaning adjectives can be classified into qualitative and relative.

Qualitative adjectives denote qualities of persons, things, phenomena directly (soft,large, sweet, sour, pretty).

Relative adjectives denote qualities through their relation to materials, place, time, or action (wooden, Indian, daily, preparatory).

If an adjective modifies a noun, it usually precedes it. If it modifies a pronoun, it usually follows it: a warm coat, something warm.

In the sentence they are used as attribute, predicative and objective predicative:

Attribute - There is a green book on the table.

Predicative - The book is interesting.

Objective predicative - They left the door open.

When two or more adjectives occur before a noun the following word order is observed.

1) First comes an adjective with general meaning and an adjective with specific meaning follows it e.g. a large French car.

2) First comes an adjective expressing opinion and a descriptive adjective follows it e.g. a wonderful warm day.

Here is a general order of adjectives:

1) size 2) shape 3) colour 4) origin 5) material 6) use + NOUN:

Small round Spanish silver serving dishes,

Large white clouds

If adjectives precede the noun they modify, no conjunction is necessary:

They came to a terrifying, dark, gloomy clearing in the wood.

If the conjunction ‘ and ’ is used, it emphasizes the final adjective and can change the usual order of adjectives, e.g.

They came to a dark, gloomy and terrifying clearing.

If adjectives describe qualities that can be measured, they can be modified with adverbs very, quite, fairly, rather, terribly, completely, utterly, and others:

It’s a fairly exciting film.

The story is rather dull.

MORPHOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF ADJECTIVES

Morphologically adjectives can be divided into simple, derivative and compound.

Simple adjectives have neither prefixes nor suffixes: good, bad, green, sad, etc.

Derivative adjectives can have the following suffixes:

They can have the following prefixes:

Compound adjectives are built from two or more stems. Stems of different parts of speech can form adjectives: