Parts of Speech · Today with Jake

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I'm Jake, and I modify nouns and pronouns. I tell what kind, which one, how many, or how much. Stick with me, and the whole world gets more colorful. Watch.

Meet the Adjectives!

An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. It answers one of four questions: what kind, which one, how many, or how much.

What kind

Tells what kind.

Santiago chose a purple necktie.

Which one

Tells which one.

I want to open that package!

How many

Tells how many.

It has been raining for seven days in a row.

How much

Tells how much.

Molly added more salt than I did.

Identifying Adjectives

Read like an editor. Ask each modifier what it adds that the noun does not already say. If the answer is nothing, the word is padding. Cut it.

In a sentence

Each sentence here holds more than one adjective. The highlighted one answers a question; see if you can spot the others.

Kyle gave his favorite teacher an enormous red apple.

I'll give you two days to find some answers.

Library

Now you try

What kind of soup is it? You could try peppery, or salty, or green. Lean on a sense if you're stuck.

Where the Adjective Sits

Adjectives can come before a noun (the playful children) or after a linking verb (the children seem playful). When multiple adjectives describe one noun, separate them with commas (the big, red barn).

In a sentence

One adjective sits before its word. One sits after a linking verb. Both are describing.

The brown squirrel ran straight up the tallest tree in the park.

My teacher always looks relieved at the end of the week.

Now you try

Describe how they feel after the parade, love. You could try exhausted, or proud, or sleepy. Any describing word works.

Articles: Jake's Little Ones

In a sentence

Three little words, three little jobs. Watch them point the way to their nouns.

Jake squeezed a fresh tube of paint.

Nelson filed an orange folder.

The paisley shirt hung by the door.

Now you try

Try a or the. Save an for words that start with a vowel sound, like an easel.

Demonstrative, Possessive, and Interrogative Adjectives

Demonstrative

Demonstrative adjectives point at a noun: this, that, these, those.

Please let me borrow that pen.

Possessive

Possessive adjectives claim a noun: my, your, his, her, our, their.

Sandra let me borrow her pen.

Interrogative

Interrogative adjectives ask about a noun: which, what, whose.

Which pen belongs to Sandra?

Now you try

A demonstrative adjective points right at it. You could try These, or Those. Both point at more than one.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative

A comparative adjective judges a match between two: add -er or use more.

I want a smaller backpack than the one I have now.

Superlative

A superlative adjective crowns a winner among three or more: add -est or use most.

My goal is to have the smallest backpack in the world.

Now you try

Comparing two murals calls for an -er word, love. You could try brighter, or bolder, or fancier. Any comparison works.

Order of Adjectives

In a sentence

Each sentence seats two describers in front of one noun, and the seats never trade. Read each one aloud and feel your ears agree.

Mateo found a small brown key under the doormat.

Connie hemmed that long purple coat before lunch.

A soft gray kitten sleeps in the shop window.

Now you try

Try tiny, small, or huge. The size word sits before the color word.

Proper Adjectives

In a sentence

Three describing words, three hometowns, one job: telling you exactly where the flavor comes from.

Dad flips French toast every Sunday morning.

The cook ladled New Mexican green chile onto the burrito.

The museum keeps its Martian rocks behind thick glass.

Now you try

A proper adjective names where it comes from, love. You could try Italian, or Korean, or Japanese. Capitalize it, always.

The Predicate Adjective

A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and reaches back to describe the subject. The verb only links the two words; the adjective does the describing. The window seems bright: bright describes the window.

In a sentence

Four sentences, one seat. In every one, the adjective after the linking verb reaches back and describes the subject.

Garvin is so hilarious. (Hilarious describes Garvin across the linking verb: a predicate adjective.)

Kendra feels exhausted. (Exhausted describes Kendra; feels only links.)

Kyle was so nervous before the game. (The seat you've used since your first sentences, named at last.)

The library stays silent during finals week. (Silent describes the library; stays links the two words.)

Now you try

Try vivid, bold, or glorious. (The adjective does the describing; looked only links.)

Which Adjective? Connotation, Register, and the Coordinate Pair

Connotation is the feeling a word carries on top of its meaning; register is the room it belongs in. Before you choose an adjective, ask what you want the reader to feel and what room you are in. Two adjectives are coordinate when each describes the noun on its own, like a crisp, cloudless morning.

In a sentence

One cat, one vase, one morning. Slender admires the cat, thin reports it, skinny worries, and scrawny starts planning a rescue. Watch each adjective pick the feeling and the room.

The stray cat looked slender in the porch light. (Admiring.)

The stray cat looked scrawny in the porch light. (Worried. Same cat, same facts, different argument.)

The museum plaque calls the vase exquisite. (A formal room takes a formal adjective.)

Your group chat calls the same vase awesome. (Same admiration, different room.)

A crisp, cloudless morning opened over the lake. (Crisp and cloudless each describe morning on their own: coordinate adjectives. Swap their order or slide an and between them, and the phrase still works. The comma between them is Chief Comma's.)

Now you try

Try cozy, snug, or charming. The worried version of this exact apartment is cramped.

Participial Adjectives

In a sentence

One participle in the everyday front seat, then the same three words read two ways.

The cracked mug still held its pencils. (A participial adjective in the everyday front seat.)

State reading: The window was still broken from last winter. (No event in view; broken describes the window's condition across Lucy's linking verb. Mine.)

Event reading: The window was broken during the storm. (Something happened, actor offstage: Vinny's passive voice, not my adjective. Lucy's context call decides.)

Now you try

Try weathered, forgotten, or hidden. (A verb form, describing a state.)

The Cut

In a sentence

Every adjective has to survive one test: what does it add that the noun can't say alone?

The gray snow piled up against the door. (Cold would only repeat what snow already says. Gray earns its seat.)

Now you try

Try crooked, lonely, or crimson. (Lighthouse already says tall and bright, so spend your word on news.)