FORM & FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

1. Adjectives are invariable:
   
   They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun.
   
   --> A hot potato & Some hot potatoes



2. To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use 'very' or 'really':
   
   --> A very hot potato & Some really hot potatoes.



3. Position of adjectives:
   
   a) Usually in front of a noun: --> A beautiful girl.
   
   b)After verbs like "to be", "to seem", "to look", "to taste":
   
   --> The girl is beautiful.
   --> You look tired.
   --> This meat tastes funny.
   
   c)After the noun: in some fixed expressions:
   
   --> The Princess Royal
   --> The President elect
   
   
   The adjectives involved, present, concerned :
   
   --> I want to see the people involved/concerned
   (= the people who have something to do with the matter)
   
   --> Here is a list of the people present
   (= the people who were in the building or at the meeting)
   
   Be careful!

   When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a different meaning:

   
   --> An involved discussion = detailed, complex




FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

FUNCTION:

Adjectives tell us more about a noun. They can:

Describe feelings or qualities:

--> He is a lonely man
--> They are honest people

Give nationality or origin:

--> Pierre is French
--> This clock is German

Tell more about a thing's characteristics:

--> A wooden table.
--> The knife is sharp.
--> He's a young man

Tell us about size and measurement:

--> John is a tall man.
--> This is a very long film.

Tell us about colour:

--> Paul wore a red shirt.
--> The sunset was crimson and gold.

Tell us about material/what something is made of:

--> It was a wooden table
--> She wore a cotton dress.

Tell us about shape:

--> A rectangular box.
--> A square envelope.

Express a judgement or a value:

--> A fantastic film
--> Grammar is boring .

FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

ORDER:

Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective.

The usual order is: Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material