Class 8 English Grammar: Adjective

(a) Read the following sentences :

1. Apoorva is an intelligent boy. (What kind of boy ?)

2. I don’t like that house. (Which house ?)

3. I have five books. (How many books ?)

4. There is little time left. (How much time ?)

In sentence 1, ‘intelligent’ shows what kind of boy Apoorva is.
In sentence 2, ‘that’ points out which house is meant.
In sentence 3, ‘five’ shows how many books I have.
In sentence 4, ‘little’ shows how much time is left.

What is an adjective?. A word used with a noun to describe it (kind, place, number, quantity) is called an adjective.
The word ‘adjective’ means ‘added to’.
(b) Look at the following sentences :
The boy is hardworking.
The hardworking boy stood first.
In both these sentences, hardworking describes the boy. Hence it is adjective in both the sentences.
In the first sentence ‘hardworking is used along with the verb ‘is’ and is a part of the predicate. It is therefore said to be used predicatively.
In the second sentence, ‘hardworking’ is used along with the noun ‘boy’ i.e.. as an attribute of the boy. It is therefore said to be used attributively.

Kinds of Adjective
(c) Adjectives are of three kinds :
Adjective of Quality
Adjective of Quantity
Adjective of Number (also known as Numeral Adjective).

(d) Adjective of Quality :
It shows the quality of a person or thing.
Kolkata is a big city.
Dr. Singh is an honest man.
The foolish man died of his folly.
This book is of English language.
Adjectives of Quality answers the question: of what kind?

(e) Adjective of Quantity :
It shows the quantity of the noun it describes.
He has some sense.
Ram had much patience.
He has little intelligence.
He has enough money.
He has no wisdom.
Adjective of Quantity answers the question: How much?

(f) Adjective of Number :
It gives the number of persons or things.
There are Jive rooms in this house.
Few people can remain hungry.
There are no books in this room.
All men must die.
Most of these mangoes are ripe.
Adjective of Number answers the question: How many?

Exercise 1
(Solved)
There are ten words given in the box and there are ten sentences. Place these words in those sentences (one each). The words should be used as adjectives.
1. There are …….. boys in the field.
2. I like a ……. pen.
3. It’s a …….. tree.
4. The ship sustained ………. damage.
5. It is the book ……….. you gave me.
6. He is a man of ……….. words.
7. This is a ……….. wire.
8. She has ……….. hair.
9. I have read ……….. book.
10. She is ……. Mohini nor Sheela.
Answers :
1. several
2. fine
3. tall
4. heavy
5. that
6. few
7. live
8. long
9. every
10. neither

Comparison of Adjectives
or
Degrees of Adjectives

(a) Read these sentences :
My dress is good.
Your dress is better than mine.
Ram’s dress is the best of all.
In sentence 1, the adjective ‘good’ merely tells us that my dress has the quality of goodness without telling how much of this quality it has.
In sentence 2, the adjective ‘better’ tells us that ‘your dress’ compared to ‘mine has more of that quality of goodness.
In sentence 3, the adjective ‘best’ tells us that Ram’s dress has the greatest amount of that quality of goodness.
Thus it is clear that an Adjective undergoes a change of form to show comparison. The Adjective ‘good’ is said to be in Positive Degree.
The Adjective ‘better’ is said to be in Comparative Degree.
The Adjective ‘best’ is said to be in Superlative Degree.
Note. ‘Superlative Degree’ generally has the definite article ‘the’ before it. However, the Superlative with most is sometimes used without any idea of comparison. In that sense the speaker wants to indicate the possession of a quality in a very high degree. In such case ‘the’ is not used. It is most unfortunate.
He made a most eloquent speech.
His style is most original.
This usage is called ‘Superlative of Eminence’ or the ‘Absolute Superlative’.

Formation of Comparative and Superlative

(a) Most adjectives of one syllable and some of more than one, form the comparative by adding ‘er’ and the superlative by adding est to the positive.
Positive Comparative Superlative
deep deeper deepest
High higher highest
Hard harder hardest
Kind kinder kindest
Poor poorer poorest

(b) When the Positive ends in ‘e’ only ‘r’ and ‘st’ are added.
Positive - Comparative - Superlative
Able abler ablest
Brave braver bravest
Fine finer finest
Large Larger Largest
Noble nobler noblest

(c) When the Positive ends in ‘y’, preceded by a consonant, ‘y’ is changed into ‘t’ before adding ‘er’ or ‘est’.
Positive - Comparative  - Superlative
Dirty dirtier dirtiest
Early earlier earliest
Easy easier easiest
Happy happier happiest
Heavy heavier heaviest

(d) When the positive is a word of one syllable and ends in a single consonant preceded by a short vowel this consonant is doubled before adding er and est.
Positive - Comparative - Superlative
Big bigger biggest
Fat fatter fattest
Hot hotter hottest
Red redder reddest
Sad sadder saddest

(e) Adjectives of more than two syllables form the comparative and superlative by putting more and most before the positive.
Positive - Comparative - Superlative
beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
Courageous more courageous most courageous
Difficult more difficult most difficult
Industrious more industrious most industrious

(f) The following Adjectives can take either er and est or more and most
polite simple feeble gentle narrow
cruel common handsome pleasant stupid
polite simple feeble gentle narrow
cruel common handsome pleasant stupid
He is the most cruel person
or
He is the cruellest person.
Similarly

Question no. 2 is simpler than question no. 1.
or

Question no. 2 is more simple than question no. 1.
(g) The comparative is not used when we compare two qualities in the same person or thing.
He is more kind than rich.
Not
He is kinder than rich.

Irregular Comparison
In the case of some adjectives, the Comparative and Superlative are not formed from the positive.
Positive - Comparative  - Superlative
Good, well better best
Bad, evil, ill worse worst
Little less, lesser least
Much, many more most
Late later, latter latest, last
Old older oldest
Far farther farthest

Exercise 2
(Solved)
Supply the correct form of the Adjectives given in brackets.
(a) Use later or latter in the following :
1. I prefer the ………. proposal to the former.
2. They passed the ……….. proposal.
3. The …….. part of the book is interesting.
4. Is there no ……….. news than yesterday’s.

(b) Use ‘older’ or ‘elder’.
1. He is my ……… brother.
2. Ram is ……… than Krishna.
3. The nephew is ………. than his uncle.
4. He is ………. than any other person present here.

(c) Use ‘nearest’ or ‘next’.
1. This is the ……… hop to my house.
2. He sits ……… to me in the class.
3. What are you going to do ………..?
4. The …………. school is five kilometres from this village.

Answers :
(a)
1. latter
2. later
3. latter
4.later

(b)
1. elder
2. older
3. older
4. older
(c)
1. nearest
2. next
3. next
4. nearest

Exercise 3
(Solved)
Supply the proper form (Comparative or Superlative) of the adjectives given in the brackets.
1. Is your father ……. now. (well)
2. There is no animal ……….. than the dog. (faithful)
3. June is ………. than April or May. (hot)
4. Her condition is now ……… than what it was. (bad)
5. She is …….. than her sister. (pretty)
6. Sita is the ……… of the two. (tall)
Answers:
1. better
2. more faithful
3. hotter
4. worse
5. prettier
6. taller

Exercise 4
(Solved)
Complete the blanks with suitable adjectives. Choose them from the box.
a little, whose, attractive, huge, Indian, some, red, most, blue, big, only a few, own, all
1. A ……… crowd gathered round the place of accident.
2. ……….. Indians speak the kind of English which is branded as English.
3. We have only ………. time. We have to hurry up.
4. ……….. words are missing in these sentences.
5. The man …………. house we want to buy is a teacher.
6. She has ……….. eyes.
7. That student was given an ………… prize.
8. The ……….. house on the top of the hill has a door.
9. ……… students answered questions correctly.
10. I know it from my ………. experience.
Answers:
1. huge
2. Most, Indian
3. a little
4. Some
5. whose
6. big
7. attractive
8. red, blue
9. A few, all
10. own

Exercise 5
(Solved)
Rearrange the following to change them into meaningful sentences :
1. superior / Japanese / are / goods
2. caps / expensive / are / these / very
3. Ram / nice / a / is / person
4. clever / that / is / very / boy / a
5. pretty / Mohini / a / is / girl
6. two / she / blue / has / handbags
7. you / gallant / young / are / a / man
8. great / some / made / people / are
Answers:
1. Japanese goods are superior
2. These caps are very expensive.
3. Ram is a nice person.
4. That is a very clever boy.
5. Mohini is a pretty girl.
6. She has two blue hand bags.
7. You are a gallant young man.
8. Some people are made great.

Exercise 6
(Solved)
The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the error along with the correction. Underline your correction.
In India there are much festivals. (a) ________
These are celebrated by language communities. (b) _______
Much of these help to form bonds of (c) _______
friendship. Each differences disappear. (d) ______
Holi is considered to be one so occasion (e) _______
The whole country puts on a festival air. (f) ________

Answers:
(a) much — many
(b) language — linguistic
(c) Much — Most
(d) Each — All
(e) so — such
(f) festival — festive.

Exercise 7
(Solved)
The following passage has not been edited. There is a word missing in each. line. Find the missing word and write it in your answer sheet along with the word that comes before it and one that comes after it. Do not forget to underline your answer. You have to fill in adjectives only.
Ruchi Ram had a childhood. But poverty (a) _________
and loss only made him more. Once during (b) _______
a journey he had to spend the night on a tree. (c) ________
He was to stay anywhere else lest someone (d) _______
stole his books. Later, he became a professor and a man. (e) _________

Answers:
(a) a poor childhood
(b) more determined. Once
(c) the whole night
(d) was unwilling to
(e) a famous man

Exercise 8
(For Practice)
Supply suitable adjectives to fill in the blanks.
1. It was an ………. question.
2. The ……….. woman lives in a hut.
3. This is a very ………….. matter.
4. It is a …………. lie.
5. The injured man needs …………… advice.
6. You cannot have it ………… ways.

Exercise 9
(For Practice)
Supply the correct form of the adjectives given in the brackets (Only the Compara¬tive or Superlative).
1. He is the ………… man of our city. (rich)
2. Who is the ……….. man of the 20th century ? (great)
3. Sheela is two years ………. than Radha. (old)
4. Name the ……….. state of India. (large)
5. This patient needs a ………. diet. (nutritious)
6. He is the ……. friend I have. (good)

Exercise 10
(For Practice)
The following passage has not been edited. There is an error in each line. Write the error along with the correction. Underline your correction.
The Arayans were intelligence people. They (a) ________
did not inherit the science tradition (b) ________
of the Harappans but had great speculation (c) _________
reasoning. They gave wondering theories of (d) _______
matter and motion. They said that the basis constituents of all matter were five elements. (e) _______

Exercise 11
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences using one of the four options given in the brackets :

1. He is his …….. (my/your/own/their) master.
2. There was much talk and ……….. (much/more/little/a little) work.
3. He is a man of ………… (a few/a little/few/little) words.
4. This boy is ………… (strong/tall/wise/stronger) than Hari.
5. …………… (Which/What/Where/When) time is it ?
6. The town stood a …………. (tall/much/high/long) siege.
7. Babar’s was a …………. (good/bad/decisive/long) victory.
8. Delhi is a …………. (populous/peoplous/crowd/rush) city.
9. It was an …………. (ease/easy/easily/easiness) question.
10. Ambani is a …………. (wealth/money/wealthy/health) man.

Answers:

1. own
2. little
3. few
4. stronger
5. What
6. long