CHAPTER III

ADJECTIVES

138. Kinds of Adjectives. We have learned (15) that an adjective is a word used to modify a noun or a pronoun.

Adjectives fall into two general divisions :

(1) Adjectives that denote a quality or a condition of anything; as, happy people, sleepy children. These answer the question of what kind, or in what condition. An adjective that denotes a quality or a condition of anything is called a descriptive adjective.

A descriptive adjective is an adjective that denotes a quality or a condition of anything.

Adjectives derived from proper nouns, as Mexican, Christian, European, are a kind of descriptive adjective. They are called proper adjectives, and, like the nouns from which they are derived, they are capitalized.

(2) Adjectives used to point out or number; as, that man, this moment, each day, ten months. These answer the question which, what, how many, or how much. An adjective used to point out or number is called a limiting adjective.

A limiting adjective is an adjective used to point out. or number.

Limiting adjectives are of three kinds :

(a) Articles; as, a horse, the dog.

(b) Pronominal adjectives; as, that land, which way, what course.

(c) Numeral adjectives; as, five years, third day.

EXERCISE 100

(1) Point out the adjectives and tell which are descriptive and which are limiting :

1. That tall boy is my cousin.

2. We all felt sleepy and exhausted.

3. The day was clear and the sky was blue.

4. On every side were lofty snow-capped peaks.

5. On the second day we killed five buffaloes.

6. Common as light is love, and its familiar voice wearies not

ever.

7. The Colonel told us several interesting stories of his youthful pranks.

8. This unfortunate man has lost his entire estate through reckless speculation.

(2) With the aid of a dictionary make out a list of the proper adjectives corresponding to the following

139. The Articles. Note these examples:

The postman brought me a letter.

The adjectives The and a are called articles. There are two articles the and a or an.

(1) The is a weakened form of that. It is called the definite article.

(2) A or an is a weakened form of one. It is called the indefinite article.

A and an are different forms of the same word. A is used before consonant sounds, an before vowel sounds; as,

A plank, a one (as if wone), a unit (as if yunit).

An oak, an apple, an orange, an hour (as if our).

Either a or an may be used before words beginning with h and not accented on the first syllable; as a or an hotél, a or an histórian.

EXERCISE 101

Supply a or an in each blank and give a reason for

pointing out or designating something, but each has its special function.

The definite article the is used:

(1) To point out one or more particular objects: as, Here is the house; Who is the man speaking?

(2) With a singular noun referring to a class rather than to a particular individual: as, The teacher is poorly paid; The horse is a useful animal.

(3) With adjectives having the force of plural nouns ; as, the good, the brave, the beautiful.

The indefinite article a or an is used:

(1) To designate a single object in a general way: as, I saw a lion; Here is an apple.

(2) In the sense of any: as, An orange is round; A plain is flat.

A or an, however, is not used like the in designating a class; as, A dog is a faithful animal. Say "The dog is a faithful animal.”

(3) In the sense of each or every; as, two dollars a day (each day), twice a month (every month).

The article may be helpful in promoting clearness: as, a sheep (one sheep), sheep (more than one); the secretary and treasurer (one person), the secretary and the treasurer (two persons); a white and red flag (one flag), a white and a red flag (two flags). Note that the article is repeated when more than one thing is meant.

The article may be used unnecessarily; as, this kind of a person (of person), that form of a sentence (of sentence).

Sometimes the is an adverb, not an article; as, The more, the

merrier.

Sometimes a is an old form of preposition; as, He went a-fishing.

EXERCISE 102

(1) Tell why the article is used correctly in the following sentences:

(2) Supply the proper article in each blank and give

a reason for your choice:

(3) Supply an article before the italicized words if

one is needed:

1. Man is immortal.

2. Whale is largest animal.

3. Who ever saw such person?

4. What kind of tree is this?

5. Bring me a block and tackle.

6. A farmer and merchant were here.

7. A friend and schoolmate of mine was along.

8. Can you imagine what sort of thing this is?

9. He added both an east and west wing to his house.

10. The north and south pole are equally distant from the equator.

141. Pronominal Adjectives. -We have learned (103) that some words this, that, many, few, and the like may be either pronouns or adjectives according

to use.

When a word of this kind is used as an adjective it is called a pronominal adjective.

Pronominal adjectives are of the following kinds: *

* The report of the Joint Committee on Grammatical Nomenclature recommends that my, thy, his, her, its, our, your, their, and whose be treated as possessive adjectives (106, footnote).

This recommendation can be followed if the authorities prefer.