ELA.3.C.3.1 3.11.D

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun.

Adjectives often come before the nouns they describe.

Example:

Descriptive adjectives describe the qualities of nouns, such as shape, size, color, or some other attribute.

Example:

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Limiting adjectives define or limit a noun or pronoun. They may provide information such as which one(s), how many, or whose.

Example:

Jarod ate his stash of brownies too quickly. There are now only three brownies left.

Limiting adjectives include the three articles, a, an, and the.

The articles a and an are used to refer to one general thing.

The article the is used to refer to one specific noun or to a plural noun.

Example:

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Adjectives can also be used to make comparisons between nouns or pronouns as comparative or superlative adjectives.

Comparative adjectives compare two nouns.

Comparative adjectives are usually formed by adding -er to the base adjective.

Example:

The happier of the twin baby sisters smiled all the time.

The bigger of the two kittens was black and white.

Superlative adjectives describe the highest degree between more than two nouns.

Superlative adjectives are usually formed by adding -est to the base adjective.

Example:

You have the strangest ideas of anyone in our third grade class!

The hottest temperature ever recorded happened in Death Valley, California.

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Go to the next page to practice working with adjectives.

Adjectives