Adjectives and Noun Enhancement
24 May 2008Just like other languages, English uses a different word to denote descriptors that enhance or modify nouns. These words, called “adjectives,” run the gamut from numbers and colors to generic opinion-based descriptions. When working with adjectives, you’ll want to keep in mind the main types, and then think about how they change the meaning and tone of the sentence. As with adverbs, it’s best to use adjectives sparingly for the sake of preserving accuracy and sentence rhythm.
Adjectives That Denote Quantity
As with nouns themselves, you can use specific numbers or you can create a generalized impression of quantity. While the statement “Joshua owns several books” may not tell you exactly how many books are being discussed, “several” is considered an adjective. At the same time, if someone says “Joshua owns seven books”, the number seven is still considered an adjective. In some instances, this kind of accuracy is important, while in other cases, conveying the generalized impression may be enough.
Adjectives that Denote Quality or Describe a Noun
In many cases, adjectives are used to describe a specific aspect of a noun. The word “cookies” may be preceded by “delicious”, or “fresh”, as well as many other words that convey something special about the cookies. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to overuse adjectives in this capacity. Learning how to use them correctly is not something that can be taught. Rather, you’ll develop your own style and pattern of adjective usage that will change as you practice speaking and writing English.
While adjectives are often placed before nouns, they can also occur after a noun. As an example, you can write “That is a beautiful painting”, or you can write “That painting is beautiful”. Even though beautiful is placed in a different spot in the sentence, it’s still describing your opinion of the painting. Depending on the adjective and the topic of the sentence, you may or may not be able to alter where the adjectives go in relation to the noun. That said, practicing these kinds of sentence changes can help you develop a wider range of sentence patterns more quickly.
Adjectives That Become Part of a Noun
Aside from enhancing nouns, adjectives can also be used as nouns themselves. Typically, numbers are often used for this purpose. For example, “3 Musketeers” is the name of a candy bar. At the same time, “3” is also an adjective that describes a number of men from a children’s fable. When you’re diagramming a sentence, it’s important to realize that these kinds of naming practices may cause you some confusion. Unfortunately, it may not always be easy to determine when adjectives are part of a name, or actually describing a noun.
Even though adjectives are a main part of many languages, getting a feel for how they are used in English isn’t always easy to define. In some cases, adjectives will precede the noun that they are modifying, while in others; there will be times when the adjective is placed after the noun. As you might expect, once you begin to get a sense for the general rhythm of the English language, you’ll also develop instincts for where adjectives belong in order to make a sentence sound correct.
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