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Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech that express an attribute of a place, thing or a person. In simpler words, adjectives describe, qualify or modify nouns. Adjectives precede the noun in a sentence. There can also be more than two adjectives qualifying a noun. The list of adjectives in English are categorized into two types; limiting adjectives and descriptive adjectives. Limiting Adjectives Limiting adjectives are used to specify only certain or specific nouns. They are limited to the noun that they describe and hence, are known as limiting adjectives. The types of limiting adjectives are possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, numerical adjectives, interrogative adjectives, and proper adjectives. eg- His book (possessive adjective) Shakespearean drama (proper adjective) Descriptive Adjectives Descriptive adjectives is the largest group among the types of adjectives. Descriptive adjectives describe the noun in detail by assigning an attribute of that noun. The list of descriptive adjectives is considered nearly unending as there are adjectives describing nearly every noun. Descriptive adjectives are primarily differentiated into simple adjectives and compound adjectives. (1) Simple Adjectives Simple adjectives are single words that are commonly used to describe a noun. eg- good, happy, bad, thin, etc (2) Compound Adjectives Two or more adjectives, used consecutively, that describe the same noun, are known as compound adjectives. They are hyphenated to avoid confusion between the two adjectives. The most common compound adjectives are the ones when adjectives precede nouns like 'blue-sky' or when adjectives are preceded by verbs as in 'feel-good'. When two or more colors are used as adjectives, there is always a hyphen between them. eg- middle-aged, short-sighted, bluish-green If there is no hyphen between two adjectives, there can be an ambiguity in the meaning of the sentence. The following example will be beneficial to illustrate this. eg- A man-eating tiger. As the adjectives are hyphenated, it is clear that they describe the noun, 'tiger'. Now, consider the following example, eg- A man eating tiger. Here, there is no hyphen between the two words, neither are they considered adjectives. The sentence clearly means that a man is eating a tiger. The following is the list of descriptive adjectives that are categorized according to ones that describe qualities, personality traits, colors, sizes, shapes, sounds and feelings. List of Descriptive Adjectives Adjectives are used in a language to describe something or someone. Descriptive adjectives are the prominent type of adjectives. In this article, we will see more about adjectives, its types and a list of descriptive adjectives. 
A language is used for communication; verbal as well as written. Each language has its own grammar i.e. a specific set of rules that determine the structure of sentences. The English language is one of the most popular and widely spoken languages in the world. Once you master the rules of English grammar, understanding and learning the language is much easier. The English language is open to changes, as thousands of words are added to it every year. There are a large number words in the English language, and all these words can be classified into the eight parts of speech, that form the backbone of English grammar and composition. The eight parts of speech are Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb, Pronoun, Conjunction, Preposition and Interjection. Let us have a look at adjectives in detail.
Adjectives Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech that express an attribute of a place, thing or a person. In simpler words, adjectives describe, qualify or modify nouns. Adjectives precede the noun in a sentence. There can also be more than two adjectives qualifying a noun. The list of adjectives in English are categorized into two types; limiting adjectives and descriptive adjectives. Limiting Adjectives Limiting adjectives are used to specify only certain or specific nouns. They are limited to the noun that they describe and hence, are known as limiting adjectives. The types of limiting adjectives are possessive adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, numerical adjectives, interrogative adjectives, and proper adjectives. eg- His book (possessive adjective) Shakespearean drama (proper adjective) Descriptive Adjectives Descriptive adjectives is the largest group among the types of adjectives. Descriptive adjectives describe the noun in detail by assigning an attribute of that noun. The list of descriptive adjectives is considered nearly unending as there are adjectives describing nearly every noun. Descriptive adjectives are primarily differentiated into simple adjectives and compound adjectives. (1) Simple Adjectives Simple adjectives are single words that are commonly used to describe a noun. eg- good, happy, bad, thin, etc (2) Compound Adjectives Two or more adjectives, used consecutively, that describe the same noun, are known as compound adjectives. They are hyphenated to avoid confusion between the two adjectives. The most common compound adjectives are the ones when adjectives precede nouns like 'blue-sky' or when adjectives are preceded by verbs as in 'feel-good'. When two or more colors are used as adjectives, there is always a hyphen between them. eg- middle-aged, short-sighted, bluish-green If there is no hyphen between two adjectives, there can be an ambiguity in the meaning of the sentence. The following example will be beneficial to illustrate this. eg- A man-eating tiger. As the adjectives are hyphenated, it is clear that they describe the noun, 'tiger'. Now, consider the following example, eg- A man eating tiger. Here, there is no hyphen between the two words, neither are they considered adjectives. The sentence clearly means that a man is eating a tiger. The following is the list of descriptive adjectives that are categorized according to ones that describe qualities, personality traits, colors, sizes, shapes, sounds and feelings. Descriptive Adjectives List
Following is a list of descriptive adjectives that describe shape, sound, size, time and quantity.
The following descriptive adjectives list qualify nouns related to sound, taste, touch and color.
Usage of Descriptive Adjectives When more than one descriptive adjective is used, there is a rule to be followed. The descriptive adjective is followed by the opinion adjective. To understand this, consider the following example. eg- A beautiful, green emerald. In the above example, both 'beautiful' and 'green' are descriptive adjectives. But the adjective 'beautiful' is an opinion or a general adjective that may differ from person to person. On the other hand, 'green' is a specific adjective that defines an emerald. Therefore, when more descriptive adjectives have to be used, they should follow the manner illustrated below. eg- A black, wooden door. A nice, big bungalow. All of the above are examples of descriptive adjectives. To understand the usage of adjectives clearly, they are also further classified into the following sub-types. Predicate Adjectives Predicate adjectives affirm an attribute of the subject. In simpler words, these adjectives modify the subject in the sentence. There is always a linking verb that connects the subject to the predicate adjective. eg- The cake is tasty. Here the predicate adjective 'tasty' describes the subject 'the cake'. Adjective Degrees When an adjective describes a singe noun, it is the positive degree of adjective, whereas when the adjective denotes comparison between two nouns, it is the comparative degree of adjective. The superlative degree of adjective is used when the comparison is between many nouns. eg- A is tall (positive degree) B is taller than A (comparative degree) C is the tallest (superlative degree) Participial Adjectives When participles express a quality of the nouns i.e. participles function as adjectives, they are known as participial adjectives. There are two types of participial adjectives; the ones ending with 'ing' and the ones ending with 'ed' eg- The program was boring We were bored at the program. The above descriptive adjectives list is definitely helpful for anyone in order to express more about a person, thing, action, etc. in a better way. http://www.buzzle.com/contact.asp |