Adjectives: Words That Describe

Imagine reading the sentence 'A dog sat on a mat.' Now imagine: 'A fluffy, golden dog sat on a tattered mat.' The second sentence is far more interesting — and the reason is adjectives! An adjective is a word that describes or modifies (changes or adds detail to) a noun or pronoun. Adjectives answer questions like: What kind? Which one? How many? How much? They help readers picture exactly what you mean, turning dull, vague writing into something vivid and clear. 🐕

Adjectives can describe many different qualities of a noun. Adjectives of quality tell what kind something is: soft, enormous, ancient, delicious. Adjectives of quantity tell how much or how many: several, few, numerous, some. Adjectives of color name a hue: crimson, turquoise, pale. Adjectives of size describe dimensions: tiny, gigantic, narrow. Each type answers a different question a reader might have about a noun. One noun can have several adjectives at once — for example, 'three small, red apples' uses adjectives of quantity, size, and color together. 🍎

Where you put an adjective in a sentence matters. Most of the time, adjectives appear right before the noun they describe — this is called the attributive position. Example: 'The brave knight fought.' Here, brave comes before knight. But adjectives can also appear after a linking verb, describing the subject from a distance — this is called the predicative position. Example: 'The knight was brave.' Both positions are correct; they just create slightly different rhythms in your writing. 🏰