Adjectives are descriptive terms applied to nouns to enhance or provide extra information regarding their characteristics, such as dimensions, hue, form, or period.

(형용사는 명사를 좀더 자세히 설명하거나 명사에 대한 추가적인 정보를 제공하는 데 사용되는 단어이며 명사에 대한 dimension, hue, form, period 같은 좀더 세밀한 정보를 위해 사용된다)

For example,

• “the large book,”
• “the red apple,”
• “the round ball,” or
• “the old car.”

Adjectives can also be used to modify phrases or parts of speech that act as nouns. For example, a noun phrase like “the man in the blue suit” or “the idea of freedom” can be modified by an adjective. In the first example, “the man in the blue suit” the phrase “in the blue suit” is modifying “man” to a noun, and “blue” is an adjective modifying “suit”

(형용사는 명사처럼 작용하는 문장 또는 품사를 수식하는 데도 사용될 수 있다. 예를 들어, “the man in the blue suit”나 “the idea of freedom” 같은 명사 구절은 형용사로 수식할 수 있다. 첫 번째 예시 “the man in the blue suit”에서, “in the blue suit“는 명사 “man”를 수식하고, “blue“는 “suit”를 수식하는 형용사이다.)

Additionally, Adjectives can be used to modify pronouns, “he is a happy man”, “happy” is modifying “man” here, a pronoun.

(또한, 형용사는 대명사를 수식하는 데도 사용될 수 있다. 예를 들어, “he is a happy man”에서 “happy”는 여기에서는 대명사인 “man”를 수식하고 있다.)

Attributive vs. Predicative Adjectives

Adjectives can be divided into two main categories: attributive and predicative. Attributive adjectives appear before or after the noun they modify and are used to provide additional information about the noun. For example, “the tall building” or “the building tall” in both cases “tall” is an attributive adjective modifying “building”.

(형용사는 두 가지 주요 범주로 나눌 수 있다: Attributive adjective (한정적 형용사)와 predicative adjective (서술적 형용사). 한정적 형용사는 수식하는 명사 앞 또는 뒤에 나타나며, 명사에 대한 추가 정보를 제공하는 데 사용된다. 예를 들어, “the tall building” 또는 “the building tall”인 경우, “tall”은 어느 경우에나 “building”을 수식하는 한정적 형용사이다.)

Predicative adjectives, on the other hand, always come after the noun they modify and are connected to it by a linking verb. They are used to provide information about the noun’s condition or state. For example, “The building is tall.” In this case, “tall” is a predicative adjective modifying “building“. They are always part of the predicate and one of the three types of subject complements.

(반면에, predicative adjective (서술적 형용사)는 항상 수식하는 명사 뒤에 오며, linking verb (연결 동사)로 연결된다. 명사의 상태 또는 조건에 대한 정보를 제공하는 데 사용된다. 예를 들어, “The building is tall.” 이 경우, “tall”은 “building”을 수식하는 서술적 형용사이다. 항상 subject complements (주어의 보어) 중 하나이다)

Let’s compare two examples to highlight this difference:

• “The black dog is barking.”
• “The dog was black.”

In the first sentence, black is an attributive adjective. It is part of the noun phrase and is not connected to the noun dog by a linking verb. In the second sentence, though, black is a predicative adjective. It follows dog, the noun that it modifies, and is connected to it by the linking verb was.

Modifying pronouns

While adjectives usually modify nouns, they can also modify pronouns. This most commonly occurs when adjectives are predicative. For example:

• “That was great!”
• “She is very nice.”
• “A few were late.”

Attributive adjectives can also modify indefinite pronouns, as in:

• “A happy few were able to attend the show.”
• “They were the lucky ones.”

In informal speech or writing, it is not uncommon to modify personal pronouns attributively, as in:

• “Wow, lucky you!”
• “Silly me, I forgot to turn on the oven.”

However, avoid using attributive adjectives with personal pronouns in anything other than casual conversation or writing.

Other categories of adjectives

In English, there are a vast number of adjectives that can be used to describe nouns and other parts of speech. Some adjectives are inherently adjectival, meaning they are words that are inherently used to describe nouns. Examples of these types of adjectives include colors like “red,” “black,” and “yellow,” as well as characteristics like “strong,” “weak,” and “nice.”

However, there are also many other types of adjectives that are formed from other sources. For example, there are adjectives that are formed from verbs such as “amused” (from the verb “amuse”), “fascinated” (from the verb “fascinate”), and “excited” (from the verb “excite”). These words are known as participles.

Additionally, there are adjectives that are formed from nouns, such as “solar” (from the noun “sun”), “lunar” (from the noun “moon”), and “snowy” (from the noun “snow”).

Another kind of adjective is formed from adverbs, for example, “daily” (from the adverb “daily”), “weekly” (from the adverb “weekly”), and “monthly” (from the adverb “monthly”).

In conclusion, while many words in English are inherently adjectival, there are also many different types of adjectives that are formed from other sources such as verbs, nouns, and adverbs.

The table below gives a brief breakdown of these different categories of adjectives, along with some examples of how they are used in a sentence. Go to each individual section to learn more.

Category of Adjective	Definition	Example adjectives	Example sentence
Proper Adjectives	Formed from proper nouns to create descriptive words.	Italian, Shakespearean, Alaskan, Middle Eastern, Nordic	“He writes in a Shakespearean style.”
Compound Adjectives	Created from two or more words that work together to modify the same noun; they are often joined with one or more hyphens.	top-right, last-minute, sugar-free, record-breaking, expensive-looking	“I know this is a last-minute suggestion, but it’s a good idea.”
Demonstrative Adjectives (also called Demonstrative Determiners)	Used to specify what we are referring to and whether it is singular or plural, and to give more information about its proximity to the speaker.	this, that, these, those	“These cups are very pretty.”
Interrogative Adjectives (also called Interrogative Determiners)	Usually used to ask questions about something.	what, which, whose	“Whose computer is this?”
Nominal Adjectives	Adjectives that perform the function of a noun in a sentence. They are preceded by the word the and can be found as the subject or the object of a sentence or clause.	the best, the strongest, the blue	“He wants the red car, but I want the blue.”
Collective Adjectives	A subgroup of nominal adjectives, used to refer to a group of people based on a shared characteristic.	the rich, the poor, the innocent, the French, the Americans, the Dutch	“The rich should help the poor.”

Adjective Phrases and Clauses

Besides using single-word adjectives, we can also modify nouns using adjective phrases and clauses. However, for more information on how these are formed and used, refer to the specific sections in this chapter.

Adjective Phrases