Kinds of adjectives
Identify adjectives of quality, number, quantity and other kinds.
You know that an adjective describes a noun. Here you will see that adjectives do different jobs, and each job gives us a different kind of adjective.
Adjectives are grouped into kinds according to what they tell us about a noun: its quality, its quantity, its number, or which one is meant.
Examples
- Grandmother makes delicious pickles.
- There is some milk in the fridge.
- Kabir scored two goals in the second half.
- Those kites belong to the boys next door.
- Every passenger must show a ticket.
- What colour is your new scooter?
How it works
Quality
Adjectives of quality answer the question what kind? They describe size, colour, shape, feeling and so on.
We stayed in a small, quiet guest house.
Quantity and number
Adjectives of quantity answer how much? and go with uncountable nouns: much, little, some, enough, whole. Adjectives of number answer how many? or in what order?: five, many, several, third.
The cook needs more salt and six onions.
Pointing, asking and owning
Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) point out a noun. Interrogative adjectives (which, what, whose) ask about it, and possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) show ownership. All of them come before a noun.
Which bus goes to your office?
One at a time
Distributive adjectives (each, every, either, neither) refer to people or things separately. They take a singular noun and a singular verb.
Neither answer is correct.
Quick reference
| Kind | Question it answers | Common words |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | What kind? | kind, tall, red, honest |
| Quantity | How much? | much, little, some, enough, whole |
| Number | How many? In what order? | one, many, few, several, first |
| Demonstrative | Which one or ones? | this, that, these, those |
| Interrogative | Asks a question | which, what, whose |
| Possessive | Belonging to whom? | my, your, his, her, its, our, their |
| Distributive | Taken one at a time? | each, every, either, neither |
Common mistakes
✕Every children got a sweet.
✓Every child got a sweet.
Every is distributive, so it needs a singular noun.
✕I have much friends in Pune.
✓I have many friends in Pune.
Friends can be counted, so use the adjective of number many.
✕Them books are mine.
✓Those books are mine.
Them is a pronoun; the demonstrative adjective is those.
Worked example
Exercise 1
Tap the adjective of quality.
Sunita wore bright clothes.
✓bright
Bright describes what kind of clothes Sunita wore.
Unlock practice for this lesson
- Quick check with 5 questions and solutions
- 7 interactive exercises, from easy to hard, checked as you go
- How to use this in your own writing
- Progress tracking and a certificate when you finish
Already Premium?
Practice
7 exercises in this lesson
Practice is part of Premium. Lesson 1 is free if you want to try the format first.