FAQs about adjectives

What is a compound predicate adjective?

A compound predicate adjective is an adjective formed from multiple words that follows a linking verb and renames the subject of a sentence (e.g., “My cat is orange and white striped”).

Because compound predicate adjectives follow the noun or pronoun they modify, they typically aren’t hyphenated.

Read this FAQ: What is a compound predicate adjective?

How do I know if two adjectives are coordinate adjectives?

You can test whether adjectives are coordinate adjectives by reversing their order or adding “and” between them to see if the sentence still makes sense. Consider the following examples:

• Paulette was proud of her sporty, sleek car.
• Paulette was proud of her sleek, sporty car.
• Paulette was proud of her sleek and sporty car.

Read this FAQ: How do I know if two adjectives are coordinate adjectives?

How can I distinguish between coordinate and cumulative adjectives?

Coordinate adjectives are independent of one another, so their order doesn’t matter (e.g., “beautiful and smart” is the same as “smart and beautiful”). Additionally, coordinate adjectives use a comma or “and.”

In contrast, cumulative adjectives must follow a particular order to sound correct and do not use a comma or “and” (e.g., “The tall Dutch tourist bumped her head on the doorframe”).

Read this FAQ: How can I distinguish between coordinate and cumulative adjectives?

How can I use commas with coordinate adjectives?

Commas can be used to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., “dangerous, scary places”).

When you have a list of more than two coordinate adjectives, the final adjective can be separated in the following ways:

• An Oxford comma (i.e., a comma followed by “and” as in “dangerous, scary, and faraway places”)
• “And” without a preceding comma (e.g., “dangerous, scary and faraway places”)
• A comma without “and” (e.g., “dangerous, scary, faraway places”)

Read this FAQ: How can I use commas with coordinate adjectives?

What is the difference between an adjective clause and an adverb clause?

Adjective clauses function as adjectives in a sentence to give more information about a noun (e.g., “She wants the kitten that has white paws”). Adjective clauses typically begin with a relative pronoun (e.g., “who,” “that,” “which”).

Adverbial clauses function as adverbs in a sentence to modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or entire clause (e.g., “Let’s go to the movies after we study”). Adverb clauses begin with a subordinating conjunction (e.g., “because,” “until,” “when,” “if”) and frequently answer questions such as “when?” “where?” “why?” or “how?”

Read this FAQ: What is the difference between an adjective clause and an adverb clause?

Are adjective clauses dependent clauses?

Yes, all adjective clauses (e.g., “that I like the best”) are dependent clauses (that is, they can’t stand on their own as a sentence). There are two other types of dependent clauses: adverbial clauses and noun clauses.

Read this FAQ: Are adjective clauses dependent clauses?

Can prepositional phrases be adjectives?

Yes, prepositional phrases can act as adjective phrases in a sentence to give more information about a noun or pronoun (e.g., “The student in the back row is falling asleep”).

Prepositional phrases also have other functions, such as adverb phrases (e.g., “I went to the store”) and noun phrases (e.g., “Behind the bookshelf is the best hiding spot”).

Read this FAQ: Can prepositional phrases be adjectives?

What is the difference between an adjective phrase and an adverb phrase?

An adjective phrase is a group of words that acts as an adjective in a sentence by modifying a noun (e.g., “the weathered gray house”).

An adverbial phrase (or adverb phrase) is a group of words that acts as an adverb in a sentence by modifying a verb, adjective, adverb, or entire clause (e.g., “He ran very quickly”).

Adjective phrases can contain adverbs (e.g., “the exceptionally smart dog”). To distinguish between adjective phrases and adverb phrases, think about what the phrase modifies in the sentence.

Read this FAQ: What is the difference between an adjective phrase and an adverb phrase?

What is an adjectival phrase?

The term adjectival phrase is typically used interchangeably with adjective phrase. It is a group of words that acts as an adjective in a sentence to modify a noun or pronoun.

Some sources differentiate the two terms, though. In those sources, adjective phrases are those that are headed by an adjective (e.g., “the long, dark, winding road”), while adjectival phrases are those that act as an adjective but don’t contain an adjective. Adjectival phrases are often in the form of prepositional phrases (e.g., “the boy with the blue lunchbox”) or participial phrases (e.g., “the woman standing over there”).

Read this FAQ: What is an adjectival phrase?

What is the difference between “this” and “that”?

“This” and “that” are both used as demonstrative adjectives and demonstrative pronouns. Both are used to refer to singular nouns (e.g., “this book,” “that restaurant”).

This is used to refer to something that is relatively close to the speaker, and that is used to refer to something that is relatively farther away (e.g., “Take this book, and put it on that shelf”). The choice of “this” or “that” is greatly influenced by the context of a sentence.

Read this FAQ: What is the difference between “this” and “that”?