ADJECTIVES

Adjectives • MRK

Adjectives — Professional 10-Page PDF Guide

Exam-focused revision: SSC, Banking, NDA — Compact & Printable

Author: M. R. K. Murty Naidu

Date: Nov 19, 2025

Retains core content with added tips for identifying adjectives. Includes: Definition, 8 Types (10+ examples), Positions, Degrees, 15 Rules, OSASCOMP, Adjective vs Adverb, Participial/Compound, Errors, PYQs, Mnemonics.

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1. Definition & Core Function

An adjective modifies or qualifies a noun/pronoun. It answers: Which? What kind? How many? Whose? How much?

Tips & Tricks to Identify Adjectives:
1. Position: Before noun (attributive: a red apple) or after linking verb (predicative: apple is red).
2. Suffix clues: -ful (beautiful), -ous (famous), -ic (heroic), -able (readable).
3. Comparison test: Can it take -er/-est? (tall → taller).
4. Replace test: Swap with "good/bad" — if fits, it's adjective (e.g., a good book).
5. Exam trick: In sentences, look for words describing nouns — ignore verbs/adverbs.

2. Types of Adjectives — Quick List

List: Quality, Quantity, Number, Demonstrative, Distributive, Interrogative, Possessive, Proper

Use: Identify by question answered. Exams focus on collocations & countable/uncountable.

Quality Adjectives — 12 Examples

1. a clever student

2. an honest teacher

3. a beautiful painting

4. a lazy worker

5. a brave soldier

6. a dangerous road

7. a noisy classroom

8. a bright student

9. a delicious meal

10. a useful tool

11. a rapid growth (new)

12. an ancient relic (new)

Quantity Adjectives — 12 Examples

1. some water

2. much work

3. little time

4. enough food

5. ample space

6. whole wheat

7. more information

8. less sugar

9. sufficient funds

10. scant rainfall

11. plenty options (new)

12. adequate preparation (new)

Number Adjectives — 12 Examples

1. one book

2. two chairs

3. three apples

4. several students

5. many problems

6. every child

7. each person

8. both teams

9. first prize

10. dozen eggs

11. few chances (new)

12. last chance (new)

Demonstrative Adjectives — 10 Examples

1. this book

2. that hill

3. these chairs

4. those trees

5. this idea

6. those answers

7. this problem

8. that type

9. these kinds

10. that model

Distributive Adjectives — 10 Examples

1. each student

2. every minute

3. either road

4. neither option

5. each member

6. every person

7. either side

8. neither answer

9. each attempt

10. every day

Interrogative Adjectives — 10 Examples

1. which book?

2. what time?

3. whose pen?

4. which route?

5. what reason?

6. which chapter?

7. whose idea?

8. what colour?

9. which plan?

10. whose bag?

Possessive Adjectives — 10 Examples

1. my book

2. your phone

3. his pen

4. her brother

5. its tail

6. our school

7. their car

8. my idea

9. his answer

10. our class

Proper Adjectives — 12 Examples

1. Indian music

2. American film

3. French cuisine

4. Shakespearean play

5. Victorian novel

6. Japanese car

7. Chinese festival

8. Greek myth

9. Roman architecture

10. African art

11. Victorian era (new)

12. Marxist theory (new)

Positions of Adjectives

Attributive: before noun — a tall building.
Predicative: after linking verb — The building is tall.
Postpositive: after noun — time immemorial, the president elect.

10 Attributive Examples

1. a large house

2. a green field

3. an old book

4. a brave soldier

5. a noisy market

6. a bright idea

7. a sweet fruit

8. a sharp knife

9. a cold morning

10. a happy child

10 Predicative Examples

1. The sky is blue.

2. She became angry.

3. They seem tired.

4. He looks happy.

5. The milk turned sour.

6. The night grew cold.

7. The crowd remained silent.

8. She felt proud.

9. The news was shocking.

10. The idea seems useful.

5 Postpositive Examples

1. time immemorial

2. the president elect

3. someone else

4. nothing important

5. accounts payable

Degrees of Comparison — 12 Sets

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
tall	taller	tallest
fast	faster	fastest
happy	happier	happiest
big	bigger	biggest
smart	smarter	smartest
small	smaller	smallest
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
far	farther/further	farthest/furthest
late	later	latest
beautiful	more beautiful	most beautiful
difficult	more difficult	most difficult

15 Special Rules — Exam-Focused

1. No double comparatives/superlatives: use better not more better.
2. Use "than" for comparisons: Ram is taller than Shyam.
3. One of the + superlative + plural: one of the best players.
4. Prefer A to B: prefer tea to coffee.
5. Senior/junior take "to": she is senior to him.
6. Elder/eldest only for people: my elder sister.
7. Each/every + singular noun: every student reads.
8. Less vs fewer: less uncountables, fewer countables.
9. Much vs many: much uncountables, many countables.
10. Very vs much: very adjectives, much comparatives (much better).
11. Farther vs further: farther=distance, further=extent.
12. More/most with long adjectives: more beautiful.
13. Unique/perfect not gradable: avoid more unique.
14. Comparative after "than" same subject: wiser than strong.
15. Quantifiers: some/any uncountable; several/many countable.

Trick: For rules 8-9,10,15 — test with "books" (countable: fewer/many) vs "water" (uncountable: less/much).

OSASCOMP Order — 10 Examples

Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Origin Material Purpose

1. a lovely small old round red Italian wooden dining table
2. an expensive large new rectangular white Japanese steel laptop
3. a beautiful tiny young oval brown Indian wooden jewelry box
4. an ugly huge ancient irregular grey Roman stone bridge
5. a wonderful little modern round black German metal kettle
6. a horrible enormous old square red Chinese iron gate
7. a charming small young round pink French cotton baby dress
8. an elegant medium new oval white Italian marble sculpture
9. a stylish slim modern rectangular silver American aluminium phone
10. a fancy broad old curved blue local bamboo fishing net

Adjective vs Adverb — 10 Paired Examples

1. He runs fast (adv). / He is fast (adj).

2. She sings beautifully (adv). / She has a beautiful voice (adj).

3. He worked hard (adv). / He is a hard worker (adj).

4. The test was easy (adj). / He solved it easily (adv).

5. She arrived late (adv). / It was a late night (adj).

6. The river flows fast (adv). / It is a fast river (adj).

7. He looks careful (adj) vs carefully (adv).

8. She spoke softly (adv). / He has a soft voice (adj).

9. The team played badly (adv). / It was a bad day (adj).

10. Drive slowly (adv). / It is a slow vehicle (adj).

Identify: Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs describe verbs/actions. Exam trick: If it ends in -ly & modifies verb, it's adverb.

Participial Adjectives — 10 Pairs

1. boring movie / bored student

2. tiring day / tired worker

3. confusing rule / confused candidate

4. exciting match / excited fans

5. frightening dog / frightened child

6. relaxing music / relaxed mind

7. shocking news / shocked listeners

8. irritating noise / irritated people

9. disappointing score / disappointed player

10. amusing story / amused children

Compound Adjectives — 10 Examples

1. ten-year-old boy

2. well-known author

3. part-time job

4. long-term plan

5. user-friendly app

6. open-ended question

7. world-famous actor

8. high-quality material

9. state-of-the-art machine

10. full-length movie

5 PYQ-Style Questions

1. He is the (most unique / unique) player. — unique
2. She has (less / fewer) problems now. — fewer
3. This is the (best / most best) option. — best
4. He is senior (to / than) me. — to
5. She is (more intelligent than / smarter than) her sister. — both correct

Trick: In PYQs, spot double forms (e.g., most best) — always eliminate doubles.

Common Errors — Quick Table

Mistake	Wrong	Correct
Double comparative	more better	better
Double superlative	most largest	largest
Countable/uncountable	less books	fewer books
Each/every agreement	each students	each student
Possessive apostrophe	it's tail	its tail
'to' vs 'than'	senior than me	senior to me
Gradability	more unique	unique
Quantifier	much books	many books
Misplaced	a completely new idea	completely new idea
Overuse -ly	He is quickly tired	He quickly became tired

Mnemonics & 7-Day Plan

Mnemonic: OSASCOMP — Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material, Purpose.

Plan:

1. Day 1: Definition + Types (pages 1-3).
2. Day 2: Positions + 20 examples practice.
3. Day 3: Degrees + Rules (quizzes).
4. Day 4: OSASCOMP (write 10 sentences).
5. Day 5: Participial/Compound exercises.
6. Day 6: Errors + PYQs (timed).
7. Day 7: Full revision + tips review.

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Print & use as 10-min exam warm-up. Professional edition 2025.