KINDS OF ADJECTIVES

There are different kinds of adjectives. Some adjectives describe the qualities of nouns.

a beautiful rainbow

a clever monkey

a difficult question

happy children

a kind lady

a new car

an old house

a pretty girl

a rich family

a sad story

a strong man

a wicked queen

a cold drink

a hot bun

an ugly monster

a fierce dog

a loud crash

Some adjectives tell you which place or country a person or thing comes from, or belongs to. They are called adjectives of origin.

Australian apples

a Balinese dancer

the English language

the French flag

an Italian car

a Japanese garden

a Scottish kilt

Thai boxing

A Filipino shirt

a Mexican hat

Dutch clogs

an Indian temple

Chinese kungfu

Some adjectives tell you the color of things.

Please get me some white paint.

The sky is gray.

The sea is blue.

George is wearing brown shoes.

I don’t like green apples.

Carrots are orange.

Flamingos are pink.

Eggplants are purple.

Roses are red.

Your hands are black!

Some adjectives tell you the size of the nouns they describe.

a big hat

broad shoulders

a high mountain

a large ship

a long bridge

a low ceiling

a narrow path

small animals

tiny insects

a wide street

a huge balloon

a thin boy

a fat sumo wrestler

a short man

The word tall describes people and narrow, upright objects. For example, you can say:

a tall girl

a tall bookcase

The word high describes bigger or wider objects that reach a great height. For example, you can say:

a high mountain

a high wall

Numbers are adjectives, too. They tell you how many people, animals, or things there are. Sometimes they are called adjectives of quantity.

eleven hens

fifteen frogs

nineteen lizards

twelve geese

sixteen snails

twenty butterflies

thirteen birds

seventeen kittens

fourteen mice

eighteen ants

Other adjectives tell you something about quantity without giving you the exact number. For example:

a little ice cream

a little rice

some soldiers

a lot of books

a few cups

a few puppies

not many people

too much salt

lots of insects

plenty of money

some food

Is there any milk?

NOTE:

Adjectives that tell you about quantity are also called quantifying determiners.