Adjectives describe or modify nouns.
• skinny, naturalistic, gloomy, pink,
sparkling
Adjectives almost always precede nouns.
• the green grass; a haughty hostess;
that finicky old cat
Adjectives may follow nouns for poetic or dramatic
effect.
• The hostess, haughty and hirsute, led
us to our table.
Many adjectives have three degrees: positive, comparative,
and superlative.
• happy (positive), happier (comparative),
happiest (superlative)
Longer adjectives form their comparative and superlative
forms with the words more and most.
• curious, more curious, most curious
When comparing two (and only two) things, use a comparative
adjective.
• Of the two stars, Tara is the stupider.
When comparing more than two things, use a superlative
adjective.
• Nick is the most attractive man in
all of L.A.
Some adjectives do not have comparative degrees. For
example, no one can be more pregnant than
another person. And some words like best and worst are
already superlative forms. Such absolute adjectives have no comparative
or superlative forms, although they may pop up in casual expressive
writing and dialogue.
Ungrammatical: Chief
Taft took one look and said, “He’s deader than dead.”
• Chief Taft took one look and said,
“He’s dead.”
Ungrammatical: Sean
squealed, “This is the bestest birthday I’ve ever had.”
• Sean squealed, “This is the best birthday
I’ve ever had!”
Repeated adjectives should be separated by a comma
or dashes.
• I am very, very happy.
• Every, every teenager
has seen this movie.
If you want to describe a noun with two or more adjectives
in a row,
separate those adjectives with commas.
• Trent’s soothing, melodious voice captivated
Rose.
Note that some adjective-noun pairs are treated as
one item. In cases like these, don’t separate the adjective(s) and
the noun with a comma.
• Sylvia stared longingly at the little
red Corvette.
Here, the adjective little describes
the adjective-noun pair red Corvette.
Proper adjectives, which come from proper names, should
be capitalized.
• She brought back a lovely Vietnamese
wall hanging.
• Iago is my favorite Shakespearean character.
Some proper adjectives have lost their associations
with the names
from which they were originally derived and should not be capitalized. Check
with a dictionary.
• I love greasy french fries.
