Adjectives

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun, providing attributes such as color, size, shape, origin, material, or opinion. Adjectives help describe or classify nouns and can express evaluation, quantity, or relationship.

In many languages adjectives appear in two broad positions. Attributive adjectives occur before or after the noun they modify, as in red apple or the apple red in some languages. Predicative adjectives follow linking verbs, as in the apple is red. Adjective use can also include determiner words (the, this, my) and numerals (one, two) that limit or specify noun reference.

Common adjective types include descriptive adjectives (blue, tall, ancient), classifying or limiting adjectives (this, those, my, several), and numerical adjectives (three, many). Some languages maintain agreement between adjectives and the noun for features such as gender, number, or case, while others use a fixed form. English adjectives typically do not inflect for gender or number, though they do form comparative and superlative degrees (bright, brighter, brightest; good, better, best). Irregular comparatives exist (better, worse, more/most) for some adjectives.

Adjectives can be derived from other parts of speech via suffixes (careful, fearless, wooden) or formed through compounding. They also participate in predicate constructions, modifying or complementing verbs when describing a subject's state or quality.

Overall, adjectives add precise information and nuance to nouns, enabling more specific reference, gradation, and evaluation within a sentence.