ADJECTIVES

In this unit, the objectives are to:

• Identify limiting, descriptive, possessive, proper, and demonstrative adjectives in sentences.
• Use the articles a, an, and the correctly.
• Hyphenate compound adjectives when appropriate.
• Use the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees of adjectives correctly.
• Identify nouns modified by adjectives, adjective phrases, and adjective clauses.
• Determine the correct usage of commonly misused adjectives.

WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?

• An adjective is a word that modifies (describes) a noun or a pronoun.
• Several adjectives often appear in one sentence.
• More than one adjective may describe the same noun or pronoun.

Adjective

An adjective answers these questions:

• What kind? green, old, round, strong
• Which one? this, that, these, those
• How many? two, few, 300, two-thirds, all, some
• Whose? hers, Maria’s, companies’

Limiting Adjectives

• Indicate how many.
• May be numbers or words.

We must wait six weeks for the new chairs.

Lisa charges a RM200 consulting fee.

Descriptive Adjectives �Before Nouns

• Answer the question What kind?
• Usually precede nouns or follow linking verbs.
• Are placed as closely as possible to the noun or pronoun they modify.

We request sealed bids for the workstation estimates.

Back disorders may result from poor posture.

Descriptive Adjectives �After Linking Verbs

• Modify nouns or pronouns used as subjects.
• Act as complements (predicate adjectives).

Proper office lighting is important.

The noise in this office seems excessive.

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive pronouns such as my, her, his, your, its, our function as adjectives.

You should use a keyboard that meets your needs.

He liked his chair at work so much that he bought one for his home office.

Richard’s degree is in marketing.

• Modify a noun or a pronoun.
• Answer the question whose?

Proper Adjectives

Proper adjectives are proper nouns or words derived from proper nouns that function as adjectives. They answer the question which?

We selected the Italian desk lamps.

• Capitalize most proper adjectives as you would proper nouns.

Shelly recommends a light blue venetian blind.

• Do not capitalize proper adjectives when they lose their connections with the proper nouns from which they were derived.

Demonstrative Adjectives

The four demonstrative adjectives that modify nouns are this, that, these, those. These adjectives answer the question which one? or which ones?

• Use this or that with singular nouns.
• Use these and those with plural nouns.

Demonstrative Adjectives

Examples:

We recommend this computer monitor for employees with vision problems.

We will have difficulty complying with that safety regulation.

Many of these injuries are unnecessary.

Are you sure those keyboards reduce wrist discomfort?

Guidelines for Using A or An

The initial sound (not the first letter) of the word that follows an article determines whether you will use a or an.

• Use a before words beginning with a consonant sound.

a chair a desk a telephone

• Use a before words beginning with the long sound of u.

a university a union a uniform

Guidelines for Using A or An

• Use an before words beginning with the vowel sounds a, e, i, o, and the short sound of u.

an asset an outcome

an unfortunate accident an estimate

• Use an before words beginning with silent h.

an honest sales staff an hour ago

an honor

The Article The

• Use with singular or plural nouns.
• Place before any other adjective when two or more adjectives precede a noun.

Take short rest breaks throughout the day.

The indoor air quality of the building is excellent.

The most well-known category of CTD is carpal tunnel syndrome.

Compound Adjectives: �Hyphenated Before and After Nouns

Some compound adjective combinations use hyphens when appearing before or after nouns or in other locations in a sentence.

This work-related injury could have been prevented.

This office was described to me as fast-paced.

Compound Adjectives:�Hyphenated Only Before Nouns

Some compound adjective combinations use a hyphen when appearing before a noun.

This well-known furniture company is the one we selected.

When these combinations appear in other locations in a sentence, they do not require hyphens.

We selected this furniture company because it is well known.

Common Compound Adjectives

• Do not use a hyphen when an adjective plus a noun combination is widely recognized as a concept or institution.

Our real estate agent recommended moving to a new location.

Most of our positions require more than a high school education.

To avoid wrist injury, learn the keystroke combinations for your word processing program.

Nouns with Numbers

• Use a hyphen to connect a number (words or figures) and a noun to form a compound adjective before a noun.

A 4-foot workstation A 15-pound object

• Do not use a hyphen when the expression consisting of a number and noun follows the noun.

A workstation that is 4 feet

An object that is 15 pounds

Numerical Compound Adjectives

• Use hyphens in the numbers between 21 and 99 when the numbers are written as words.

Eighty-two out of one hundred adults will suffer back problems at some point in their lives.

Our note to the bank is for $35,533 (Thirty-five thousand five hundred thirty-three dollars).

Series of Compound Adjectives

• Use a hyphen in a series of compound adjectives even though the base noun does not follow each adjective.

Are you able to lift 15-, 20-, or 30-pound objects?

We had an opportunity to choose 4-, 6-, or 8-foot workstations.

“Self” Words

• Use a hyphen when self is connected to another word to form a compound adjective.

self-confidence

self-reliant

self-fulfilling

self-worth

Positive Degree

• Use the positive degree as the base form of the adjective to describe one person, place, thing, quality, idea, or one group of things.

bright color tall building

quiet printer high bid

This turquoise fabric is a bright color.

Franklin Office Furniture submitted a high bid on the computer chairs.

Comparative Degree

• Use the comparative degree to compare two people, places, ideas, qualities, or things.

brighter color taller building

quieter printer higher bid

This turquoise fabric is a brighter color than the gray fabric.

Franklin Office Furniture submitted a higher bid on the computer chairs than Rincon Furniture.

Superlative Degree

• Use the superlative degree to compare more than two persons, places, or things.

brightest color tallest building

quietest printer highest bid

This turquoise fabric is the brightest color of all the fabric samples.

Franklin Office Furniture submitted the highest bid of all the vendors.

Guidelines for One-Syllable Adjectives

Add er to the positive form for its comparative degree.

cool + er = cooler

tall + er = taller

old + er = older

safe + er = safer

high + er = higher

clean + er = cleaner

Guidelines for One-Syllable Adjectives

Add est to the positive form for its superlative degree.

cool + est = coolest

tall + est = tallest

old + est = oldest

safe + est = safest

high + est = highest

clean + est = cleanest

Guidelines for Two-Syllable Adjectives

• Add er or add more or less to the positive form for its comparative degree.
• Add est or add most or least to the positive form for its superlative degree.

Guidelines for Three-Syllable Adjectives

• Add the words more or less before the positive form for its comparative degree.
• Add the words most or least before the positive form for its superlative degree.

Guidelines for Three-Syllable Adjectives

Words Ending in y

Change the y to i and add er or est to form the comparative and superlative degrees.

Special Forms

Some irregular adjectives change forms in their comparative and superlative forms.

Absolute Adjectives

Expresses the highest degree

circular

horizontal

straight

complete

ideal

supreme

correct

instantaneous

unanimous

dead

perfect

unique

empty

single

vertical

Adjective Clauses

• Use who, whose, which, and that to connect to the noun or pronoun that is modified.
• Place an adjective clause immediately after the noun that is described.
• Use commas to set aside the clause when it does not add to the meaning of the sentence (nonrestrictive clause) and do not use commas when the clause is necessary to the meaning of the sentence (restrictive).

Adjective Clauses

Example of nonrestrictive clause

The firm’s main office, which is in South Carolina, compiled statistics on workplace injuries.

Examples of restrictive clauses

Workers who must repeat the same motion throughout the day are most likely to develop RSIs.

Several Websites that I discovered provide excellent information about ergonomics.

Adjective Phrases

• Function as modifiers of nouns or pronouns and may be infinitive phrases, participial phrases, or prepositional phrases.

To avoid pain in my wrists, I wear a wrist support. Having no break from working on the computer, I noticed that my eyes were dry.

The wireless mouse from Computer Town was highly recommended.

Fewer/Less

• Use fewer with plural nouns that can be counted.
• Use less with singular nouns that refer to degree or amount or to things that cannot be counted.

Using computer function keys causes fewer hand injuries.

Simple ergonomic changes cost less money to implement than you might imagine.

Treehorn Books had fewer complaints after lowering the bookshelves.

Farther/Further

• Use farther to refer to physical distance.
• Use further to mean additional.

The printer is farther from my workstation than I like.

The new office supply store is farther from our office than we expected.

Poor indoor air quality causes further problems to people with asthma.

Jane will provide further information about the workstation at the next meeting.

Latter/Later/Last/Latest

• Use latter to refer to the second of two persons, places, or things mentioned.
• Use later to refer to time.
• Use last to refer to whatever follows everything else in a series.
• Use latest to refer to time (as in most recent).

Latter/Later/Last/Latest

Examples

The latter plan for the reception area is more comfortable for visitors than the others that were submitted.

The latest set of statistics about work-related injuries just arrived.

We ordered new computer keyboards last year.

The later time for the planning meeting was not suitable for me.

End of Session