ADJECTIVES

ADJECTIVES

 

John is a clever boy.

We can stay in that room.

They need three tickets.

          She gave some money.

 

An adjective is a word that qualifies a noun and indicates the quality, kind, quantity, number etc. of the person or thing represented by the noun.

They can be used in two ways - as attributively and as predicatively.

 

          She is a beautiful girl (an attribute to the ‘girl’)

          She looks beautiful (helping to complete the meaning)

 

KINDS OF ADJECTIVES

 

1.     Adjectives of quality:- the adjective that shows the quality, kind or condition of the noun they qualify.

          He is a good athlete (quality) (what kind?)

 

2.     Adjective of quantity:- It tells how much of a thing is meant.

          He has lost all his wealth.

          Take great care of your health.

          We have got sufficient rain this year.

          They showed much patience.

 

3.     Numeral Adjective (adjectives of number):- Tells how many persons or things are meant or in what order a person or thing stands.

          Most boys love cricket.

          You have committed several mistakes.

          Who has got the first prize?

 

The three kinds of Numeral adjectives

 

a.   Definite Numeral Adjectives:- denote the exact numbers. (both cardinals and ordinals)

 

I have given him three mangoes. (cardinal)

This is John, who has got the first prize. (ordinal)

 

b.    Indefinite Numeral Adjectives:- don’t denote an exact number

 

All students are present.

Some men are not ready to obey.

 

c.      Distribute Numeral Adjectives:- refer to each one of a number.

 

Each boy must take his turn.

Every word of it is true.

 

d.    All, some, any and no are the adjectives that can be used as both Numeral adjectives and adjectives of quantitiy.

 

I ate some rice. (Quantitative)

Some boys are clever. (Numerical)

 

4.     Demonstrative adjectives:- tell which person or thing is meant.

 

          This boy is apt; Those girls have been selected

 

5.     Interrogative Adjectives:- what, which and whose are called interrogative adjectives when they are used with nouns to ask questions.

          Whose bag is this?

          Which is the road to the beach?

          What type of man is he?

6.     Emphasizing adjectives:- own and very

 

          Mind your own business.

          This is the very thing that I expected.

 

7.     Exclamatory adjectives:- What

 

          What an idea!

          What a piece of work is man!

 

FORMATION OF ADJECTIVES

 

Adjectives are formed from nouns, verbs and also from adjectives.

Adjectives formed from nouns
Noun	Adjective
Hope Use Child Fool Trouble Awe Gold Earth Gift Dirt	Hopeful Useful                  Childish Foolish Troublesome Awesome Golden Earthen Gifted Dirty

Adjectives formed from verbs
Verb	Adjective
Talk Move Rest	Talkative Moveable Restless

 

Adjectives formed from adjectives
Adjective	Adjective
Tragic Sick Black	Tragical  Sickly Blackish

Comparison of Adjectives

 

          John’s answer is good.

          Jim’s answer is better than John’s answer.

          Mary’s answer is the best one among all these three.

 

Adjectives change their forms to show comparison. This is degrees of comparison.

As good is used without any comparison, it is said to be in the positive degree.

As better is used to compare with only two persons (or things) it is said to be in comparative degree. (Normally followed by ‘than’).

As best is used to compare with more than two, it is said to be in superlative degree (Normally proceeds by the definite article ‘the’)

 

Formation of comparative and superlative degrees

There are two ways of forming comparative and superlative degrees.

1.     By adding ‘-er’ to the positive to form comparative and ‘-est’ to the positive to form superlative.

 

2.     By using ‘more’ before the positive to form comparative and ‘most’ to the positive to form superlative.

Ways of forming degrees of comparisons 

Most of the one syllable adjectives add ‘-er’ to form comparative and ‘-est’ to form superlative.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Bold Clever Great Young	Bolder Cleverer Greater Younger	Boldest Cleverest Greatest Youngest

With adjectives ending in ‘-e’, add ‘-r’ and ‘-st’

Fine True Wise

Finer Truer Wiser

Finest Truest Wisest

 

Adjectives ending in ‘-y’ preceded by a consonant, the ‘-y’ is changed into ‘-i’ before adding ‘-er’ and ‘-est’

Dry Easy Happy Wealthy

Drier Easier Happier Wealthier

Driest Easiest Happiest Wealthiest

 

In one syllable adjectives ending in a consonant and preceded by a short vowel, the consonants get doubled before adding ‘-er’ and ‘-est’

Big Fat Hot Thin Sad

Bigger Fatter Hotter Thinner Sadder

Biggest Fattest Hottest Thinnest Saddest

Adjectives of more than two syllables form the comparative by using ‘more’ (adverb) and superlative by using ‘most’ (adverb) in front of it.

Beautiful Courageous Difficult Learned

More beautiful More courageous More difficult More learned

Most beautiful Most courageous Most difficult Most learned

 

There are adjectives that are not formed from positive

Good/well Bad/ill Little Much Late adverbs not adjectives Fore In   up

Better Worse Less More Later, Latter   Former Inner Upper

Best Worst Least Most Latest, Last   Foremost Innermost Uppermost

The comparative adjectives that won’t be followed by ‘than’ 

Junior, Senior, Superior, Inferior 

          John is junior to Jim.

          Rosy is superior to Jim.

          John is inferior to Jim in richness.

          Jim is senior to John.         

The adjectives that can’t be compared         

Round, square, perfect, unique

 

Changing the degree of comparisons

 

Positive - John is as wise as Jim. 

Comparative – Jim is not wiser than John. 

Superlative – Chennai is one of the biggest cities in India. 

Comparative – Chennai is bigger than most other cities in India. 

Positive – Very few Indian cities are as big as Chennai. 

Positive – No one in this town is as rich as John. 

Comparative – John is richer than any other man in this town. 

Superlative – John is the richest man in this town. 

Positive – No metal is as heavy as heavy as Osmium. 

Comparative – Osmium is heavier than all other metals. 

Superlative – Osmium is the heaviest of all metals.

All explained in the video and notes at the end of the video 

Malayalam

https://youtu.be/f7U1H6D4V4Q

தமிழில்

https://youtu.be/YsH_pR7eXjk

------THULASIDHARAN V

PARTS OF SPEECH – 3

 

NOUN PHRASE, NOUN CLAUSE & KINDS OF PRONOUNS

NOUN PHRASE

 

Phrase is a group of words that won’t have a subject and verb of its own, though they communicate a concept.

We enjoy playing cricket (phrase)

Early to bed is good. (phrase)

He ran with great speed (phrase)

He is a man of great wealth (phrase)

 

A noun phrase is a group of words that does the work of a noun.

We enjoy it - We enjoy playing cricket.  Here, playing cricket does the work of a noun.  As it is a phrase and does the work of a noun, it is said to be a noun phrase.

e.g.  To win a prize is her aim (Noun phrase-infinitive phrase)

      Did you enjoy reading this book? (Noun phrase – Gerund phrase or participle phrase.)

       They tried to contact him.

          How to find help is the question.

          He promised to help me.

          Thinking good thoughts leads good actions.

 

NOUN CLAUSE

 

A noun clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate (verb +) of its own, and does the work of a noun.

          He expects to get the first prized (what? – prize -> noun -> noun phrase)

          He expects that he will get the first prize. (Noun clause-with subject and predicate)

          I fear my failure. (Noun phrase)

          I fear that I will fail (Noun clause)

          Pay careful attention to his words. (Noun phrase)

          Pay careful attention to what he is going to say. (Noun clause)

          No one knows about him. (Noun phrase)

          No one knows who he is. (Noun clause)

          He begged for his life. (Noun phrase)

          He begged that his life might be spared (Noun Clause)

          Promise to come again. (Noun phrase)

          Promise that you will come again. (Noun Clause)

          I don’t understand how to solve this problem (Noun phrase)

          I don’t understand how I can solve the problem. (Noun Clause)

 

PRONOUNS AND KINDS OF PRONOUNS

 

There are nine kinds of pronouns.  As we saw the (1) personal pronoun earlier, let’s deal with the remaining 8 pronouns.

 

2. Reflexive pronouns

When – Self is added to my, your, him, her and it and –selves to our, your, them, we get compound personal pronoun.  As they reflect the action of the verb back upon the subject itself, they are called reflexive pronouns.

          I enjoyed myself.

          He hurt himself

          Behave yourself

          She killed herself

          They patted themselves on the back.

 

3. Emphatic pronouns

When the reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize to someone or something they are called emphatic pronouns.

          I myself will take you there

          It was given by the president himself.

          You yourself are to blame.

          They themselves admitted it.

 

4. Demonstrative pronouns

This, that, these, those, such are Demonstrative pronouns.  They point out the persons or things for which they stand.

          This is my best friend, I got there

          These are the oranges, I bought.

          Those are the books to be packed.

          That is your bed.

          Both phones are good, but this is better than that.

          He is the landlord and as such he has the right to collect the rent.

(But if we say, this phone is better than that phone, this and that will become demonstrative adjectives.)

 

5.  Indefinite pronoun

One, some, few, many, all, some, something, somebody, everybody, anybody, nobody, nothing and none are called indefinite pronouns when they don’t refer any person or thing in particular.

          One should be careful how one selects one’s friends

          None of his friends were there to congratulate him.

          Nobody came to meet her.

          Nothing is to be done here.

          Something is better than nothing.

          All were invited to the party

          Many were killed in the accident.

 

6.  Interrogative pronouns

Who, whom, whose, what and which are called interrogative pronouns as they are used for asking questions.

          Who are you?

          Whom does she want to see?

          By whom was this done?

          Whose book is this?

          What do you want?

          Which is the road to the hospital?

 

Ø Who, whom and whose used with persons

 

Who wrote that book?

Whose is this bag?

Whom did you invite?

 

Ø ‘What’ - is used only for things

What did you say?

What is this?

 

Ø ‘Which’ – is used for both ‘persons’ and ‘things’

Which is your room?

Which is your friend?

 

Ø Who are you? (I am John)

What are you? (I am an advocate)

 

7. Relative pronouns

Who, which, that and what are called as Relative pronouns.  By acting both as a Conjunction and a pronoun, they relate or refer to the nouns that come before them.

 

        I saw a man.  He was deaf and dumb.

        I saw a man who was deaf and dumb.

           This is the book.  You forgot to take.

           This is the book that you had forgotten to take.

           I met an old man there, whom my father had known.

           This is the car which belongs to my brother.

           Take down what I dictate.

 

    8.  Distributive pronouns

Each, either and neither are called distributive pronouns as they refer to persons or things taken as one at a time.  So, they are followed by singular verbs.  Among these either and neither are used only when two persons or things are considered.

 

        Each of them should be given a chair.

        Either of these girls may be selected.

        Neither of them has the needed qualifications.

 

Ø When more than two persons or things are considered any, no one, none are used.

 

I don’t like any of these books.

No one was ready to take him.

None of them will be selected.

 

9.  Reciprocal Pronouns

 Each other and one another are called reciprocal pronouns as they express a mutual relationship.  They are considered as compound pronouns.

 

        They gripped each other’s hand.

        They are always ready to go to one another’s help.

               

 ‘Each other’ is used when two persons or things are taken into consideration where as ‘one another’ is used when more than two are considered.

 

        The two brothers loved each other.

        We should all love one another.

        The three sisters quarrelled with one another.

        The couple seemed to love each other very much.

Malayalam

https://youtu.be/EygiPGwtuEQ

தமிழில்

https://youtu.be/CjDPWVFGmBo

-------Thulasidharan V