CAT 2025 Lesson : Parts of Speech - Adjectives

4. Adjectives

Adjectives are words that are used to describe nouns or pronouns. Adjectives typically specify characteristics of nouns or pronouns, such as quality, number or size.

Example: beautiful, fast, wise, grey, light, wooden, metallic, five, French, circular, round, old, etc.

Example:
Usain Bolt is the fastest runner in the world.
The entire city turned up to welcome the famous artist.
I am starved!

(The adjectives are underlined in the above examples).

The adjectives provide information about the nouns and pronouns (Usain Bolt, artist, I). Adjectives are used to describe specific characteristics or traits (attributes). Adjectives are usually placed before the noun (e.g., blue car) or after auxiliary verbs (e.g., am excited).

Most adjectives are derived from nouns. Some of these can be identified by their ending (words ending with able/ible, ful, al, ic, ive, ous, less, an etc.).

Example: fashionable, incredible, beautiful, biological, karmic, intuitive, insidious, relentless, American

4.1 Qualitative attributes describe some quality of the following noun.
Example:brave man, wild horse, young kid, etc.

4.2 Numeric attributes provide a numeric value, thereby qualifying or refining the following noun.
Example: many people, two-year-old son, five loaves, etc.

4.3 Structural attributes are used to describe the shape or size of the following noun.
Example: round stool, square seat, spacious apartment, etc.

4.4 Origin-based attributes describe the following noun's origin.
Example: French food, American flag, country music, etc.

4.5 Material attributes describe the material that the following noun is made of.
Example: gold necklace, silken skirt, log cabin, etc.

4.6 Qualifier attributes are used to qualify the noun following them.
Example: personal chauffeur, luxury yacht, delivery truck, etc.

Adjectives can also be classified into different degrees, based on intensity – normal or absolute, comparative and superlative. The common rules used to change the degree are:

1) The comparative and superlative forms are usually formed by adding ‘er’ and ‘est’ (the normal form quick is converted to quicker and quickest).

2) Sometimes if the last letter is a consonant preceded by a vowel, the last consonant is repeated before adding ‘er’ and ‘est’ (the normal form big is converted to bigger and biggest).

3) If the word has an ‘e’ at the end, only ‘r' and ‘st’ are added (the normal form brave is converted to braver and bravest).

4) Words ending with y end with ‘ier’ and ‘iest’, where the ‘i’ replaces the ‘y’ (the normal form angry is converted to angrier and angriest).

5) Some adjectives, such as those formed from nouns do not end with er/est but need more/most (the normal form fearful is converted to more fearful and most fearful)

Absolute/Normal	Comparative	Superlative
Tall	Taller	Tallest
Smart	Smarter	Smartest
Harsh	Harsher	Harshest
Red	Redder	Reddest
Fat	Fatter	Fattest
Far	Farther	Farthest
Dim	Dimmer	Dimmest
Close	Closer	Closest
Wise	Wiser	Wisest
Pale	Paler	Palest
Costly	Costlier	Costliest
Deadly	Deadlier	Deadliest
Lazy	Lazier	Laziest
Ugly	Uglier	Ugliest
Beautiful	More beautiful	Most beautiful
Brilliant	More brilliant	Most brilliant
Fearful	More fearful	Most fearful
Expensive	More expensive	Most expensive
Good	Better	Best
Bad	Worse	Worst
Little	Less	Least
Much/many	More	Most