position in a sentence adjectives in english grammar

Adjective in English Grammar – Position in a Sentence

by

Adjective in English Grammar – Position in a Sentence Example

In this lesson, you will learn about adjective in English Grammar. Beginners and learners are going to learn parts of speech and position of adjective in a sentence. All about adjective and they would be able to answer the question “How to use Adjective in English Grammar?” or “What is an adjective?” example and tell the different position of adjectives in the sentences.

Watch the video of Adjectives in English Grammar here to view its full tutorial.

https://youtu.be/5W-C-2CQGzo

What is an adjective in English Grammar?

Adjectives describe nouns.  It gives us more information about a noun. Example of Adjective :

Dan and Mary are carrying a sofa.

If you want to give more information about the sofa then we can say;

“Dan and Mary are carrying a big sofa.”

The adjective “big” is describing the “noun”.
The form of adjective is the same for singular nouns and plural nouns.

More Example of Adjective in Sentences:

  • Mary is holding a green cup.
  • There are green cups on the table.

The are greens cups on the table. X  (This sentence is wrong, it doesn’t exist in English.)

How to use and Position of Adjective in Sentences English Grammar # 1

Here are the Example of Adjective with Explanation.

  1. Before a noun (attributive position):

There is a small cat in the garden. 
I have some new jeans.                                              
(the adjective small and new comes before the noun)

  1. after the link verbs (predicative position)

Common link verbs are: appear, be, become, feel, get, look, seem, smell, taste.
Here are some Adjective Example

  • The bus is old.       
  • Anne is feeling cold. (the adjective cold is after the link verb feel)
  • The rose smells nice. (the adjective nice is after the link verb smell)

The adjective functions as a subject compliment. Most adjectives are used in both positions.

Certain adjectives are use only in the attribute position. Some adjectives are used only in the predicative position. And there are certain adjectives are used only before the noun (attributive position). Examples are the elder, eldest, live, main.

My elder brother is a teacher. /               My brother is elder. X
There is a live fish in the aquarium. /      The fish seems live. X
I crossed the main road. /                        The road ismain. X

These adjectives are not used after a link verb (predicative position). Certain adjectives are used only after a link verb (predicative position). Some of the example of adjective are afraid, alone ashamed, asleep, awake.

He seems afraid. /                           The afraid man…X
She is alone for Christmas. /          The alone woman…X
He feels ashamed. /                        The ashamed man…X
The baby is asleep. /                      The asleep baby…X
She is awake. /                                The awake girl…X

These adjectives are not used before the noun (attributive position)

How to use and Position of Adjective In English Grammar # 2

We can also have an adjective after an expression of the verb. The adjectives that we can use are  find / make / keep + object. Here are some Example of Adjective uses in sentences:

  • He found the movie interesting.
  • Alcohol makes him tired.
  • Coffee keeps me awake.

The adjective functions as an object compliment.

Uses and Position of Adjective in English Grammar # 3

Adjective always go after these words: anything, everything, nothing, something, anywhere, everywhere. They can also be found after these: nowhere, somewhere, anybody, everybody, nobody, somebody.

Here are the Example of Adjective with Explanation.

  • Did you do anything exciting yesterday?
  • I want to go somewhere quiet.
  • There wasn’t anybody famous at the party.

Adjectives without nouns:

Adjective can also be used without noun in a sentence. It can be “The + adjective”. We use the expression the + adjective to describe certain groups of people.

Example: the unemployed
The meaning is general. We are generalizing.
The expression is always plural. We are referring to all members of the groups.
The unemployed think that the government is ignoring them.

Other example of adjective without noun are:

          the blind              the old
          the dead             the poor
          the deaf              the rich
          the disabled        the unemployed

John often gives money to the poor.

Downloadable Material

Click the downloadable material of Tutorial on What is an Adjective with examples on How to use them here.

For more readings

If you have any questions or suggestions about Adjective in English Grammar – Position in a Sentence Example , please feel free to leave a comment below or send us a message using our contact page.

Leave a Comment