169. An adjective is a word which describes or limits a substantive.
An adjective is said to belong to the substantive which it describes or limits.
An adjective which describes is called a descriptive adjective; one which points out or designates is called a definitive adjective (§ 13).
Most adjectives are descriptive: as,—round, cold, red, angry, graceful, excessive, young, sudden, Roman.
Note. Many descriptive adjectives are compound (see § 64): as,—steadfast, lionlike, fireproof, downright, heartsick, everlasting, brown-eyed, broad-shouldered, ill-tempered, dear-bought, far-fetched, never-ending, self-evident, self-important. “He was a matter-of-fact person.” “Tom is hail-fellow-well-met with everybody.” “This is an out-of-the-way place.” “A dashing, down-at-the-heel youth answered my knock.”
170. A proper noun used as an adjective, or an adjective derived from a proper noun, is called a proper adjective and usually begins with a capital letter.
Note. Many so-called proper adjectives begin with a small letter because their origin is forgotten or disregarded: as,—china dishes, italic type, mesmeric power, a jovial air, a saturnine expression, a mercurial temperament, a stentorian voice.
171. Definitive adjectives include:—pronouns used as adjectives (as, this opportunity; those pictures; either table; what time is it?); numeral adjectives (as, two stars; the third year); the articles, a (or an) and the.
Pronouns used as adjectives (often called pronominal adjectives) have been studied under Pronouns—demonstratives (§§ 131–134), indefinites (§§ 135–142), relatives (§§ 143–162), interrogatives (§§ 163–167).
Numeral adjectives will be treated, along with other numerals (nouns and adverbs), in §§ 204–208.
The articles will be treated in §§ 173–180.
172. Adjectives may be classified, according to their position in the sentence, as attributive, appositive, and predicate adjectives.
1. An attributive adjective is closely attached to its noun and regularly precedes it.
2. An appositive adjective is added to its noun to explain it, like a noun in apposition (§ 88, 5).
| Noun in Apposition | Appositive Adjective |
|---|---|
| The castle, a ruin, stood on the edge of the cliff. | The castle, ancient and ruinous, stood on the edge of the cliff. |
| Bertram, the ringleader, refused to surrender. | Bertram, undaunted, refused to surrender. |
3. A predicate adjective completes the meaning of the predicate verb, but describes or limits the subject.
Predicate adjectives are common after is (in its various forms) and other copulative verbs, particularly become and seem (§ 17).
Note. The construction of the predicate adjective is similar to that of the predicate nominative (§ 88, 2). Both are known as complements, because they complete the meaning of a verb.
After look, sound, taste, smell, feel, a predicate adjective is used to describe the subject. Thus,—
For predicate adjectives after passive verbs, see § 492.
For the use of an adjective as predicate objective, see § 104.
173. The adjectives a (or an) and the are called articles.
1. The definite article the points out one or more particular objects as distinct from others of the same kind.
2. The indefinite article a (or an) designates an object as merely one of a general class or kind.
The article a is a fragment of ān (pronounced ahn), the ancient form of the numeral one; an keeps the n, which a has lost. The is an old demonstrative, related to that.
174. The with a singular noun sometimes indicates a class or kind of objects.
Note. In this use the is often called the generic article (from the Latin genus, “kind” or “sort”). The singular number with the generic the is practically equivalent to the plural without an article. Thus in the first example the sense would be the same if we had, “Scholars are not necessarily dryasdusts.”
175. An adjective preceded by the may be used as a plural noun.
176. An is used before words beginning with a vowel or silent h; a before other words. Thus,—
177. Special rules for a or an are the following:—
1. Before words beginning with the sound of y or w, the form a, not an, is used.
This rule covers all words beginning with eu and many beginning with u. Note that the initial sound is a consonant, not a vowel. An was formerly common before such words (as,—an union, such an one), but a is now the settled form.
2. Before words beginning with h and not accented on the first syllable, an is often used. Thus, we say—
In such cases, the h is very weak in sound, and is sometimes quite silent, so that the word practically begins with a vowel. Usage varies, but careful writers favor the rule here given. An was formerly more common before h than at present.
178. With two or more connected nouns or adjectives the article should be repeated whenever clearness requires (cf. § 123).
179. A is often used distributively, in the sense of each.
In such phrases a is better than per, except in strictly commercial language.
180. When used with adjectives, the articles precede, except in a few phrases: as,—
For the adverb the, which is quite distinct from the article in use and meaning, see § 195.
For the preposition a (as in “He went a-fishing”), see § 352.
181. In comparing objects with each other, we may use three different forms of the same adjective.
This inflection of adjectives is called comparison, and the three forms are called degrees of comparison.
182. The degrees of comparison indicate by their form in what degree of intensity the quality described by the adjective exists.
There are three degrees of comparison,—the positive, the comparative, and the superlative.
1. The positive degree is the simplest form of the adjective, and has no special ending.
It merely describes the quality, without expressing or suggesting any comparison.
Thomas is strong.
Thus, the positive degree of the adjective strong is strong.
2. The comparative degree of an adjective is formed by adding the termination er to the positive degree.
It denotes that the quality exists in the object described in a higher degree than in some other object.
William is stronger than Thomas.
Thus, the comparative degree of the adjective strong is stronger.
3. The superlative degree is formed by adding est to the positive degree.
It denotes that the quality exists in the highest degree in the object described.
Herbert is strongest of the three.
Other examples of the comparison of adjectives are:—
| Positive Degree | Comparative Degree | Superlative Degree |
|---|---|---|
| rich | richer | richest |
| poor | poorer | poorest |
| fast | faster | fastest |
| firm | firmer | firmest |
183. Rules of Spelling.
1. Adjectives ending in silent e drop this letter before the comparative ending er and the superlative ending est. Thus,—
2. Most adjectives ending in y change y to i before the endings er and est. Thus,—
3. Adjectives having a short vowel and ending in a single consonant double this before the endings er and est. Thus,—
184. Many adjectives are compared by prefixing the adverbs more and most to the positive degree.
Many adjectives of two syllables and most adjectives of three or more syllables are so compared. Thus,—
Some adjectives may be compared in either way.
Note. The adverbs less and least may be used with an adjective, if one wishes to run down the scale of comparison: as,—terrible, less terrible, least terrible. This idiom, however, should not be regarded as comparison of the adjective. “Superlative” means “in the highest degree,” and is not applicable to least terrible, which means “terrible in the lowest degree.”
185. Several adjectives have irregular comparison.23
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| bad (evil, ill) | worse | worst |
| far | farther | farthest |
| —— | further | furthest |
| good | better | best |
| late | later, latter | latest, last |
| well (in health) | better | —— |
| little | less, lesser | least |
| much, many | more | most |
Old has comparative older or elder, superlative oldest or eldest. Elder or eldest may be used with certain nouns of relationship, or in the phrases the elder and the eldest.
| This is my elder brother. | My brother is older than yours. |
| Jane was the eldest of six children. | I shall wear my oldest clothes. |
Elder is also used as a noun: as,—“You should respect your elders.”
Next is a superlative of nigh. It is used only in the sense of “the very nearest.”
186. A few superlatives end in -most. With these, one or both of the other degrees are commonly wanting.
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| —— | (former) | foremost |
| hind | hinder | hindmost |
| —— | inner | inmost, innermost |
| (out, adverb) | outer | outmost, outermost |
| (utter) | utmost, uttermost | |
| (up, adverb) | upper | uppermost |
| —— | —— | endmost |
| —— | nether | nethermost |
| top | —— | topmost |
| —— | —— | furthermost |
| north | —— | northmost |
| northern | (more northern) | northernmost |
| south | —— | southmost |
| southern | (more southern) | southernmost |
| east, eastern | (more eastern) | easternmost |
| west, western | (more western) | westernmost |
Note. The ending -most is not the adverb most. It is a very old superlative ending -mest changed under the influence of the adverb most.
187. For adjectives incapable of comparison, see § 202. For special rules for the use of comparative and superlative, see §§ 199–203.
188. In parsing an adjective, tell whether it is descriptive or definitive, mention the substantive to which it belongs, and specify the degree of comparison.