CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF MOZAMBIQUE

INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

TOPIC:
THE USE OF ADJECTIVES AND NOUNS
Name: ISABEL PEDRO BIZEQUE BULACHO - Student Code: 708225901

Course: Degree in Portuguese Language

Teaching
Subject: English Language
Level: First Year

TETE, OCTOBER 2022

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Table of Content

1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 4
1.1. Objectives ......................................................................................................................... 5
1.1.1. General ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.1.2. Specifics ......................................................................................................................... 5
1.2. The definition and examples of adjectives ......................................................................... 5
1.3. Types of Adjectives ............................................................................................................. 5
1.4. Making comparisons with adjectives .................................................................................. 6
1.5. Degrees of comparison ........................................................................................................ 6
1.6. Irregular comparative forms ................................................................................................ 7
1.7. Spelling rules ........................................................................................................................ 8
2. THE NOUNS .............................................................................................................................. 9
2.1. The definition and examples of nouns ................................................................................ 9
2.2. Proper, common, and collective nouns ............................................................................. 10
2.3. Concrete and abstract nouns .............................................................................................. 11
2.4. Specific and nonspecific nouns ......................................................................................... 11
2.5. Singular and plural nouns .................................................................................................. 11
2.6. Making a plural noun ......................................................................................................... 12
2.7. Irregular noun forms .......................................................................................................... 13
3. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 14
4. REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 15
1. INTRODUCTION

This field research work is focused in the use of adjectives and nouns. The objectives of this
research are to find out the grammatical functions of adjective and, how they are used in the
sentences, and the most dominant type of adjective. The writer finds that the five main
grammatical functions of adjective phrase in the sentences are as follows: as adjective phrase
head, noun phrase modifier, subject complement, object complement and appositive.

English language is very important in our life, since it has been accepted as one of the major
language of the world. Many people study it to communicate. If the people study language, it's
needed to learn the structure of sentence first. Learning it, the people have to know what the
structure is and its constructions. The scope of study to learn the structure of sentence is
grammar, in English language the people will find the rules of sentence and its types by learning
grammar. Grammar is a study of English language to learn the structure of sentence, which
consists the group of words. The group of words are noun, verb and adjective.
The adjective is a modifier that has the grammatical property of comparison. It is often
identified by special derivational endings or by special adverbial modifiers that precede it.

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1.1. Objectives
1.1.1. General
 Recognizing the use of the adjectives and nouns.

1.1.2. Specifics
 Identifying the types of adjectives and nouns;
 Distinguishing the regular and irregular adjectives and nouns;
 Explaining the use of adjectives and nouns in different ways.

1.2. The definition and examples of adjectives

An adjective is word that is used to qualify and modify a noun or a pronoun. In general, the
purpose of an adjective is to describe a noun or pronoun and provide more information about
it. Adjectives also provide answers to questions such as “What kind?” “Which one?” and
“Whose is it?”
The following sentences give examples of how we use adjectives:

1) Gavin is a smart guy.

2) The big basket is full of red apples.
3) The cocky rabbit lost the race to the careful tortoise.
4) The old clock was broken.
5) The masked villain’s plot was stopped by the brave, groovy teenagers and
their goofy, cowardly dog.

1.3. Types of Adjectives

There are a total of eigthy types of Adjectives in English grammar namely Descriptive
adjective, Numeral adjective, Quantitative adjective, Demonstrative adjective, Interrogative
adjective, Possessive adjective, Proper adjective, and Exclamatory adjective. Lets' have a look
at the types of adjectives with examples:

No. Adjective Types/ Kinds Examples

1 Descriptive Adjective Large, beautiful, careful, hateful etc.
2 Numeral Adjective Five, few, many, several, first etc.
3 Quantitative Adjective Some, much, little, any, half, whole

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4 Demonstrative Adjective This, that, these, those, such
5 Interrogative Adjective What, which, whose,
6 Possessive Adjective Mu, our, your, his, her, its, their
English, Indian tea, French wines,
7 Proper Adjective
Turkish tobacco
8 Exclamatory Adjective What, how

1.4. Making comparisons with adjectives

Think about someone you know -- a special friend, an enemy, or a member of your family?
Compare yourself with him or her? Compare your looks, your height, your weight, your age,
your intelligence, your personalities, your actions, or anything.

In order to make the comparison, you will need to use adjectives ending in "er."Examples:
"taller," "shorter," "heavier," "thinner," "younger," "older," "smarter," "slower."
You can also use the words "more" and "less" to make the comparison.
Examples: "more handsome," "less beautiful," "more likeable," "less interesting," "more
intelligent," "less sensitive," "more energetic."
Sentences: "I am two years older than she is." "She is more intelligent than I am."
Now, think about a group of people -- your family at home, your class at school, or your office
staff. How would you compare them in looks, height, weight, age, intelligence, personality, and
character?

In order to compare more than two people, you will need to use adjectives ending in "est."
Examples: "tallest," "shortest," "heaviest," "thinnest," "youngest," "oldest," smartest."
You also can use the words "most," and "least" to make the comparison.
Examples: "most beautiful," "least handsome," "most likable," "least interesting," "most
intelligent," "least sensitive," "most creative," "most honest," "least energetic."
Sentences: "He is the tallest member of the family." "She is the most creative artist on the staff."

1.5. Degrees of comparison

Adjectives are classified in three degrees of comparison:

a) positive,
b) comparative, and
c) superlative.
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 The positive degree simply tells that a quality exists in a person, place, or thing. No
comparison is made at all.
Example: "Abraham was an old man when Isaac was born." The positive degree is the basic
form of an adjective.
 The comparative degree compares two persons, places, or things and tells which one has a
greater or lesser degree of a quality than the other. The comparative degree is formed in either
of two ways: (a) by adding "er" to the positive form of a one syllable adjective, or (b) by using
the words "more" or "less" in front of the positive form of a multi-syllable adjective.
Examples: "Abraham was ten years older than Sarah."
 The superlative degree compares more than two persons, places, or things and tells which one
has the greatest degree of a quality. The superlative degree is formed in two ways: (a) by adding
"est" to the positive form of an adjective, or (b) by using the words "most" or "least" in front of
the positive form of an adjective.
Examples: "Sarah was the oldest woman in history to give birth to a baby." "Abraham was one
of God's most faithful servants."

Positive Comparative Superlative

big bigger biggest

small smaller smallest

dangerous more dangerous most dangerous

expensive more expensive most expensive

fast faster fastest

1.6. Irregular comparative forms

There are several old English forms that are irregular in their comparative forms.

Positive Comparative Superlative

bad worse worst
far (measurable distance) farther farthest
far (measurable progress) further furthest
good better best

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 Some adjectives cannot be compared.

a) The articles "a," "an," and "the" cannot be compared.

b) Numerals cannot be compared.

c) An adjective denoting any absolute quality cannot be compared. Examples: "complete,

"correct," "empty," "favorite," "final," "full," "perfect," "round," "square," "straight,"
"supreme."
It is incorrect to say that one circle is rounder than another. Rather, one circle is more nearly
round than another. Absolutes cannot be compared.

d) Adjectives that refer to unchangeable places or things cannot be compared.

Examples: "a brass door knob," "silk stockings," "a silver spoon," "a Spanish guitar." These
things remain the same and cannot be compared.

1.7. Spelling rules

When adjectives move from one degree of comparison to another, there is a change of spelling.
Confusion over such spelling changes can be avoided by remembering these rules:

 When one-syllable adjectives end with a consonant preceded by a vowel, double the final
consonant before adding "er" or "est."
Examples: big - bigger -- biggest; fat - fatter -- fattest; sad - sadder -- saddest.
 When one-syllable adjectives end with a silent "e," drop the silent "e" before adding "er" or
"est."
Examples: fine - finer -- finest; tame - tamer -- tamest.
 When adjectives end with a "y" preceded by a consonant, change the "y" to "i" before adding
"er" or "est."
Examples: dry - drier -- driest; heavy - heavier -- heaviest; pretty - prettier -- prettiest; silly -
sillier -- silliest.
 When adjectives have more than one syllable, their comparative or superlative degrees are
usually formed by prefixing "more," "less," "most," or "least" to their basic forms.
Examples: beautiful--more beautiful -- most beautiful;
careful -- more careful -- most careful
daring -- more daring -- most daring

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loving -- more loving -- most loving
valuable -- more valuable -- most valuable.

2. THE NOUNS

2.1. The definition and examples of nouns

A noun is a word that names a person, place, or thing (object, animal, idea, action, quality,
feeling, or event). The term "noun" means "name." All people have names. You have a family
name, a given name, and probably a middle name. What are your names? Write them down.
Each of your names is a noun.

You also have other names. You are a student, a teacher, a worker, a boy, girl, man, or woman.
You are a brother, sister, son, daughter, mother, or father. These words are nouns. They are
names given to people. Places, too, have names. Where do you live? On what street or road? In
what village, town, or city? In what county, state, province, or nation? By what river or lake?
These words are nouns also. They are names of places.

Things have names also. Look around you. Make a list of the things you see. The words that
you write down are nouns. Make a list of things you ate for breakfast and lunch today. You
have just made another list of nouns. Things like trees, grass, fish and birds are nouns. So are
qualities like wisdom, power, and truth. So are feelings such as fear, love, happiness, and joy,
and events such as the creation, a meeting, a vacation, or a party. All these words are nouns.
They are names of things.

Person Place Thing

child school desk
mother nursery diaper
president company profit

Sometimes a noun is a group of words.

Examples: "maid of honor," "justice of the peace," "Mount Hood," "sea gull," "ice cream."
Since these words must go together to make sense, each group of words is considered one
noun. "Ice cream" is one noun.

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2.2. Proper, common, and collective nouns

A "proper noun" names a specific person, place, or thing and always begins with a capital
letter. Examples: Adam, Tigris, Beijing, China, Monday, July, English. The first word in a
sentence also starts with a capital letter.

Write the names of people in your family. These names are proper nouns.

Examples: John, Eve

Names of your street, city, state or province, and nation are proper nouns.

Example: 15 Oak Street, Cole, Iowa 97030; U.S.A.

Make a list of mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, or oceans in your area. Each of these words is a
proper noun and should begin with a capital letter.

Examples: Mount Everest; Nile River; Dead Sea.

A "common noun" is a word that names any kind of person, place, or thing. Examples: man,
woman, river, lake, city, country, day, month, language. A common noun never begins with a
capital letter except at the beginning of a sentence or when used with a proper noun. The words
"river" and "college" are common nouns, but when they are used to specify a certain river or
college, they become proper nouns and are capitalized. Examples: Columbia River; Columbia
Christian College. Whenever a common noun is used to set a person, place, or thing apart from
others of the same class, it becomes a proper noun.

A "collective noun" refers to a group of people or things that are bound together as a unit. A
collective noun is singular in form, but refers to more than one.
Examples: assembly, crew, fleet, flock, herd, jury, litter, swarm, school.

Proper Common Collective

Joe Montana quarterback team
U.S.S. Missouri battleship fleet
Snoopy dog litter
Eve woman family

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2.3. Concrete and abstract nouns

A "concrete noun" names a person, place, or thing that can be heard, seen, smelled, tasted, or
touched.
Examples: owl, banana, cake, train, oil, pig, man.
We become aware of these persons and material objects through the physical senses.
An "abstract noun" names a quality, feeling, or idea.
Examples: love, fear, intelligence, goodness.
These are general. They do not refer to a certain case or example or to a material object. We
become aware of them through our thoughts and emotions.

Concrete Nouns Abstract Nouns

horse strength
swan grace
flower beauty
joke humor

2.4. Specific and nonspecific nouns

A "specific noun" is a noun that names a certain class of persons or things.

A nonspecific noun is general in nature and does not specify a certain class of person or things.

Specific Nouns Nonspecific Nouns

dog animal
crow bird
rose flower
ant insect

2.5. Singular and plural nouns

Look around you. Describe what you see. Are there two or more of the same item? If so, you
will have to use plural nouns to describe them. Examples: books, lamps, desks, chairs, pencils,
pens, boxes, pictures, clocks, waste baskets. Sentence: "There are three chairs and one desk in
my office."

A singular noun is a noun that names only one person, place, or thing.
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A plural noun is a noun that names more than one person, place, or thing.

Singular Nouns Plural Nouns

woman women
tree trees
truth truths
fear fears
party parties

2.6. Making a plural noun

Most nouns can be made plural by simply adding "s."

Examples: bird--birds; flower-- flowers; tree--trees.

However, nouns that end with "s," "sh," "ch," "x," or "z" are made plural by adding "es."
Examples: glass--glasses; wish--wishes; church--churches; fox--foxes. Sentence: "The foxes
have holes to live in, and the birds have nests to live in, but the Son of Man has no place where
he can rest his head" (Luke 9:58).

Also, nouns that end with an "o" preceded by a consonant are made plural by adding "es."
Examples: mosquito--mosquitoes; potato--potatoes; hero--heroes. Sentence: "Idaho is famous
for its potatoes."

Nouns that end with a consonant followed by a "y" are made plural by changing the "y" to "i"
and adding "es."
Examples: library--libraries; secretary--secretaries; baby--babies; city-- cities. Sentence:
"Most cities have several good libraries." However, when a noun ends with a vowel followed
by a "y", it is made plural by simply adding "s."
Examples: journey--journeys; key--keys; toy--toys. Sentence: "He has nine keys in his
pocket."

Most nouns that end with "f" or "fe" are made plural by changing the ending to "ves."
Example: knife--knives; leaf--leaves; wife--wives. Sentence: "She has twenty-three knives in
her kitchen."

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Singular Nouns Plural Nouns
bird birds
fox foxes
hero heroes
baby babies
toy toys
wife wives

2.7. Irregular noun forms

Some nouns are spelled the same whether they are singular or plural.

Singular Nouns Plural Nouns

antelope antelope
deer deer
fish fish
sheep sheep

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3. CONCLUSION

According to the present research work, we conclude that adjectives have two syntactic uses:
predicative, as predicates; and attributive, as modifiers; It cannot be said that either of these
uses is primary with respect to the other. It has been claimed that adjectives or, more generally,
property concept words are most commonly used to introduce new discourse referents, and to
predicate a property of an established discourse referent; thus, they share the predicating
function with verbs, and the referent-introducing function with nouns. This is why adjectives
share many syntactic features with verbs and nouns.

From this, there is an overview that it is one of the most original claims of grammar with respect
to other syntactic theories is that linguistic units are organized in two projections, neither of
which is primary (or underlying) with respect to the other. The distinction between the
constituent and operator projection is crucial to conception of grammar. It has also important
consequences for the way grammar is implemented in the human cognitive system: if the
distinction between the constituent and operator projection is real, and not just a convenient
way of organizing linguistic data invented by linguists, then perhaps they correspond to two
different ways of cognitive processing of syntactic structures. If this is so, it is expected that
linguistic units sharing some features with operators, but also having a branching structure, will
be difficult to process, and thus disfavored cross-linguistically. Attributive adjective phrases
are indeed such units.

An adjective is a noun modifier. The noun modifier. The noun modifier may be either a single
element or sometimes composed of more than one element which themselves are structurally
linked or formed into a construction. This construction may be termed as an adjective phrase.
An adjective phrase is an endocentric construction and fills the modifier slot of a head-modifier
noun phrase. In a strict sense of the term 'phrase' as an unit filling slots at clause level structure,
the exsistance of an adjective phrase is doubtful. The reason for this doubtful nature of the status
of adjective phrase is that the adjectives or adjective phrases are optional modifying elements
of noun heads in head-modifier noun phrases. However, this optional modifier slot filler can
stand as an independent adjective phrase, because there exist adjectives.

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4. REFERENCES
Arikunto, Suharsini (2006). Prosedur Penelitian. Suatu Pendekatan Praktik, (Edisi Suharsini
Revisi VI), Jakarta: Rineka Cipta.
Baker, Carl Lee (1995). English Syntax. Cambridge, Massachusetts & London: The MIT Press.
Beers, Scott F. & Nagy, William E. (2007). Syntactic Complexity as a Predictor of Adolescent
Writing Quality: Which measures? Which genre?. Read Writ, 22,185-200
Berlage, Eva (2014). Noun Phrase Complexity in English. Studies in English language.
Cambridge Books Online: Cambridge University Press.
Biber, Douglas & Gray, Bethany (2011). Grammatical Change in the Noun Phrase: the
Influence of Written Language Use. English Language and Linguistics. 15(2), 223-250.
Biber, Douglas, Conrad, Susan & Leech, Geoffrey (2002). Longman Student Grammar of
Spoken and Written English. Harlow: Longman.

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