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Subclasses of Adjectives

There are two subclasses of adjectives: attributive and predicative.

Attributive Adjectives

Attributive adjectives usually come before a noun and characterize the noun.

Examples of Attributive Adjectives

The skinny man is running.

I drive a red car.

Predicative Adjectives

Predicative adjectives occur in the predicate of a sentence (after the subject and main verb).

Examples of Predicative Adjectives

That man is skinny.

My car is red.

Adjectives are also in the predicative position when they follow the noun:

The forest, primeval and frightening, is an icon in many children’s stories.

In this sentence the adjectives have been moved out of their normal pre-noun position so that

they get more emphasis since these features of the forest are what make it such an effective icon

in children’s stories.

Adjective Tests

To test whether or not a word is an adjective, place the basic form of that word in both slots of

the frame sentence below. If the sentence is grammatically correct, the word is an adjective.

Adjective Frame Sentence

The _________ man is very _________.

Sample Sentences Using the Adjective Frame

The funny man is very funny.

Since this test yields a grammatically correct sentence, funny is an adjective.

Adjectives, Spring 2011. Rev. Fall 2014.

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