Questions tagged [adjectives]
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. In English the adjective usually (but not always) precedes the noun it describes.
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Worth (it) + to-infinitive / -ing gerund
Worth it is an idiomatic adjective.
Can it be followed by a to-infinitive or an -ing gerund? Why?
That is worth it to build / building
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Is "allowed" a past participle or an adjective?
Some dictionaries say that "allowed" can be an adjective. For example Wiktionary:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/allowed (see the example "She'll be allowed to go later.")
Others ...
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quantifiability of 'final' in 'the thought of death is very final for you'
I am wondering about the quantifiability of 'final', as in
'the thought of death is very final for you'
https://youtu.be/ODKGm2cjIKw?t=738
How does it sound? In what context can it be used?
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Can "Accepted" Be Used as a Noun?
Background
On this ELL StackExchange site, when an answer is accepted, it is marked as "Accepted," as shown in the screenshot below. (You can also confirm this on each answerer's Activity ...
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What's the difference between adjective word and adjectival word?
I'm confused about these two terms. Are these terms shown in the picture correct?
Before I thought adjective meant a true adjective word and adjectival meant that works like an adjective word.
For ...
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Comparative adjective after object
I saw a structure like this:
He makes a decision worse than yours.
Instead of: He makes a worse decision than yours.
Is this an informal speech or emphatic comparison by changing the original ...
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the order of adjectives in a phrase
Do we place an attributive adjective before an ordinal number or after it?
like:
I wish you the third happy birthday.
I wish you a happy third birthday.
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What's the grammatical difference between determiners and adjectives?
I'm looking for a grammatical way to distinguish between determiners and adjectives. I've found some advice, but it isn't definite:
Adjectives can come after a linking verb (there are exceptions like ...
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What's the difference between noun adjuncts and adjectives?
A noun adjunct is a noun adjectivally modyfing another noun (a coat pocket). Why don't we or dictionaries just recognise noun adjuncts as adjectives then? Why is 'coat' described as a noun, but 'mere' ...
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A weird problem with the part of speech in a clause
I'm working on Cambridge IELTS 19 Test 2, coming up with a strange problem with question 5 in the Reading Passage 1:
Smelting of iron ore with coke resulted in material that was better __________.
...
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In the English language, what's the difference between the phrases "an English compendium" and "a compendium of English"?
Is it correct to state that the first implies a compendium that is somehow English in character (e.g., a compendium made by the English) but not necessarily English in content (for example, it could ...
curious_george
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shuttered stores vs. stores with closed shutters
Could a 'shuttered store' be a store that is still in business, but is shut at present and has its shutters down?
To me it means that the store has gone out of business.
If the shutters are down ...
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'Likely to': greater possibility than may, could or might
This marginal modal suggests a greater degree of possibility than may, could or might. Compare:
He's likely to be late.
He may well be late.
https://teflconcourse.com/training/inservice/modality/...
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Right place of adjectival phrase/clause
It is about the life of the greatest example for all of us Hazrat Muhammad.
The phrase The greatest example for all of us is functioning as an adjectival phrase that must come after the the noun '...
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I might have been a bit too <flippant saying> vs <flippant in saying> vs <flippant when saying> vs <flippant to say>
This story is fictional, and any resemblances are coincidental.
On a TV show:
Steven Molbert: Do you really want to colonize Mars?
Melon Tusk: Yes.
Now it’s very inhospitable and cold. Basically, it’...
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consistent? or consistently?
Despite increasing competition, he managed to remain ____the best in his field.
a) consistent b) consistently
which one is correct for the blank? and why?
Kim Sumin
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Two-syllable Adjective That Ends in Y - Comparatives & Superlatives
For two-syllable adjectives that end in consonant + Y: In the comparative and superlative form, is it true that I can use -ier (comparative) and -iest (superlative) or choose to use more + adjective (...
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Do broad terms need an article if there’s an adjective?
Words like strategy, economy, death.
For example, “We have (a) new strategy for (a) better economy.”
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Make someone (be) quiet
How do you make someone be quiet?
How do you make someone quiet?
Which is correct? Is it "make someone/something + adjective" or "make someone/something + be + adjective"?
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"His brother is not so / as tall" – Do ‘so’ and ‘as’ mean the same?
a) Ian is very tall. His brother is not so tall.
b) Ian is very tall. His brother is not as tall.
Do (a) and (b) mean the same?
I think (a) could mean the same as (b) and it could also mean that his ...
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When "Awakened" is used as an adjective as in "I am awakened" whether it mean "I have woken up" or "I am awake/as in, I have not slept for sometime"
Could you pls tell me,If I use adjective,"Awakened" as in "I am awakened",whether it mean
A. "I have just woken up" or
B. "I am awake/as in, I have not slept for ...
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meaning of "I was happy to help him yesterday."
I was happy to help him yesterday.
Does that mean that I did help him and I was happy about it, or that I was willing to help? If it means the latter, then maybe I was willing to help, but he refused ...
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so bold as to do [something] / so bold to do [something]
As I understand it, these are some fixed patterns in English:
too [adjective] to do [something]
so [adjective] as to do [something]
such [something] as to do [something]
[adjective] enough to do [...
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"Where credulity is greatest and thought is the least is the path to immortality." — Why is "greatest" without "the", whereas "least" with it?
fraze.it (there isn't more context than quoted below):
..., you believe in a god that condemns his children to eternal damnation based on what they believe? Where credulity is greatest and thought is ...
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Word order: "A bigger than B" or "bigger A than B"?
Q1) If someone's dog is bigger than someone else's, which sentence would be natural?
John has a bigger dog than Tom's.
John has a dog bigger than Tom's.
A2) Which would more naturally explain the ...
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They c’n go loose and rape up the countryside for all of ‘em who run this county care
In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" there is a sentence I'm not sure I understand. It's uttered by one of the inhabitants of Maycomb (the town where the main characters of the book live). ...
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"too + adjective" VS "over + adjective" (e.g.: "too ripe" VS "overripe")
oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com:
(1) Pick the tomatoes before they get too ripe.
"Too ripe" is a very odd phrase to me here.
As far as I understand, it means "overripe":
(2) Pick ...
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Is the sentence "the shirt is washed" correct or often used?
When I look up words in dictionaries, sometimes I see the past participle form of some verbs used as an adjective but not all (verbs).
1-The boy breaks his toys every day (active action).
2-his toys ...
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Are zero, zeros & zeroth considered as determiners or adjectives?
Are zero, zeros & zeroth considered as determiners or adjectives?
Cambridge dictionary says these are adjectives. But I am confused yet. Because one, two, three, first, second... are determiners. ...
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entertaining programmes or entertainment programmes
I was doing my homework when I came across a question
"The Evrovision song contest is one of the most popular (entertain)
programmes on television"
I wrote "entertaining" but the ...
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Which word gets emphasized in a cumulative adjective?
I was wondering if anyone can clarify which word or adjective gets emphasized in a cumulative adjective — is it the first word or the last word (the one closest to the noun)?
I have included two ...
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Difference between "fans who were going wild" and "enthusiastic fans"
(1) The singer was surrounded by fans who were going wild.
(2) The singer was surrounded by enthusiastic fans.
Do these two sentences have the same meaning?
(1) is my English translation of a ...
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Using “rampaged” as an adjective?
Is there any context or example in English of “rampaged” being used as an adjective?
Can I, in any circumstances, use “rampaged” to describe a person:
“Frenzied”
“Acting wildly”
“Being unhinged”
“Or ...
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Comparative vs Superlative adjectives (when in a group)
Im reading and studying up on comparative vs superlative adjectives.
I know that you use comparative adjectives when comparing only two things and you use superlative adjectives for comparing three or ...
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"Most of all the seats" and "Most of seats" are wrong sentences?
Why is this sentence, "Most of all the seats are reserved today" wrong?
Is "Most of all seats are reserved today" wrong, too?
Fujisen
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"He is not much good" — correct with "much". "She didn't look much disappointed" — is this correct with "much" too?
from an answer on ell.stackexchange.com:
If "much" qualifies a simple adverb or a simple adjective, you can use it in a negative sentence:
(1) He is not much good. — OK
The word "...
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"English speaking cafe" OR "English spoken cafe"?
There are some cafes where learners go to chat and improve their speaking skills by talking to people. In these cafes, only English is spoken and local language is not used, which is a good way of ...
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Using word mighty
We can say about God that he is almighty. How can I use this adjective (almighty) when I want to say that a person is not quite but some mighty. Can I say some mighty/little mighty?
Justyna Szulc
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What does "hot" mean in "there's an old piano and they play it hot behind the green door"?
This context comes from the movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"
It's a scene in which Leonardo Dicaprio is singing a song with female dancers around him on a stage of some kind of a ...
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It promises to be an exciting few days
It promises to be an exciting few days.
The sentence above is combined with an+ exciting + few days
Is this sentence idiomatic or wrong in grammar?
What about this version: It promises to be exciting ...
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Does "high talk" mean "serious talk" in this context?
This context comes from the book "To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee. This is a conversation between Atticus and his daughter Jean (Scout) after she asked him why he took on as a client ...
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"being" with different types of adjectives
I divide adjectives into so called ordinary ones such as: nice, famous, big. Second category is adjectives with "ed ending" or the ones which are the same as the third form of a verb like: ...
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More than one adjective for a noun separated by comma
I am of the notion that when you mention more than one adjective for a noun, you separate them with commas and finally an and before the last one.
#1 eg: the evening, gloomy, rainy and cold.
If there ...
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Adjective placement - why do I sometimes see "meat raw" instead of "raw meat"? [closed]
What's the meaning of "meat raw".
For example:
You should not eat meat raw.
Why not "raw meat"?
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Can we say “in upheaval times” instead of “in times of upheaval”?
A native English speaker told me rhat I should say “in times of upheaval” instead of “in upheaval times”. Now that confused me since I know that nouns can act as adjectives such as door-key, fire ...
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How should I understand the following italic and bold part?
In this following context, how should I take this italic and bold part?
Is something (like 'that is') omitted between the words 'Magadh'i and 'proper'?
'
What is this part's simple form?
Could you ...
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Is it posible to intensify an adjective + noun using "so" or "very"?
I was wondering if it is possible to intensify an adjective plus a noun using the common intensifiers for adjectives only such as "very" or "so". According to grammar, if ...
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High or tall car and desk and screen?
With which adjective is it natural to use the words screen, car/vehicle, table.
I already know that when something is high off the ground, it has great distance between itself and the ground. Tall is ...
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Difference between conflicted and ambivalent?
I have been racking my brain and consulting several dictionaries to tease out the difference but these two adjectives are too similar both in terms of definition and use.
Here are the defitinitons ...
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Alone as an adverb or as an adjective
Alone, thought Bittering.
Does the word 'alone' describe Bittering as an adjective or his action of thinking as an adverb? Does the sentence mean that Bittering thought that he was alone or it means ...
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