Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster [9]
THE ADJECTIVE
The adjective gives information about a noun or pronoun, such as what kind
the black cat
a joyful occasion
or which one
a first draft
that suggestion
or how many
ten players
few new ideas
The adjective usually precedes the noun it modifies, but some adjectives can also follow certain verbs:
the house is white (→ white house)
the speeches seemed long (→ long speeches)
that chair felt comfortable (→ comfortable chair)
the tree grew tall (→ tall tree)
Positive, Comparative, and Superlative Degrees of Adjectives
The positive degree is the basic form of the adjective. It gives basic information about the noun without reference to anything else (a white house). The comparative degree relates a noun to another—as having more or less of some quality (this house is whiter than that); the superlative degree relates the noun to all others of its class (this is the whitest house in the neighborhood).
When the adjective consists of a single syllable, the suffix -er is added to form the comparative degree, and the suffix -est is added to form the superlative degree. When the adjective consists of two syllables, the suffixes are often used to form the comparative (as gentler) and superlative (as gentlest), but the adverbs more/less can also be used to form the comparative (as more skillful and less skillful), and likewise, the adverbs most/least can be used to form the superlative (as most skillful and least skillful). For adjectives of more than two syllables, the adverbs are usually used to form the comparative and superlative forms (as more fortunate, most fortunate).
There are a few adjectives that have unique comparative and superlative forms:
Positive Comparative Superlative
good better best
bad worse worst
some more most
little (amount) less least
but
little (size) littler littlest
There are a few adjectives that have no comparative or superlative forms.
an utter failure
the principal objections
Demonstrative Adjectives
The demonstrative adjectives this and that are used to point out the one person or thing referred to (as “not this coat but that one”). The plural forms are these and those, respectively.
These books are mine and those books are yours.
Descriptive Adjectives
A descriptive adjective describes or indicates a quality, type, or condition:
a fascinating conversation
a positive attitude
a fast computer
Indefinite Adjectives
An indefinite adjective is used to designate unspecified person(s) or thing(s):
some children
other projects
any book
Interrogative Adjectives
An interrogative adjective is used to form a question:
Whose office is this?
Which book do you want?
The Noun Used As Adjective
A noun sometimes serves to modify another noun and thus functions as an adjective:
the Vietnam War
word processing
Possessive Adjectives
The possessive form of a personal pronoun is called a possessive adjective. Following is a list of possessive adjectives and a few examples of how they are used:
Singular Plural
my our
your your
his/her/its their
Where's my magazine?
Your cab is here.
They can read his story.
It was her idea.
The box and its contents were inspected.
She's our mother.
Your photos are ready.
We paid for their tickets.
Predicate Adjectives
A predicate adjective modifies the subject of a linking verb, such as be, become, feel, taste, smell, or seem:
He is lucky.
She became angry.
They are happy with the outcome.
The milk smells bad.
The student seems lonely.
Proper Adjectives
A proper adjective is derived from a proper noun and is capitalized:
Victorian furniture
a Chinese custom
a Shakespearean scholar
THE ADVERB
Adverbs, whether single words or phrases, usually give information about the verbs, such as when
We arrived yesterday.
He woke up late.
or where