Degrees of Comparison

Read the following sentences:

1. John is tall.
2. Peter is taller than John.
3. Harry is the tallest of the three.

In sentence 1, the adjective tall merely says something about John’s height. It doesn’t state how tall John is. 

In sentence 2, the adjective taller is used to compare John’s height with Peter’s height.

In sentence 3, the adjective tallest is used to compare Harry’s height with the height of John and Peter.

We have thus seen that adjectives change in form to show comparison. These different forms of the adjective are called the degrees of comparison.

In the examples given above, the adjective tall is said to be in the positive degree. The adjective taller is said to be in the comparative degree and the adjective tallest is said to be in the superlative degree.

The positive degree of an adjective is the adjective in its simple form. It is used to denote the mere existence of some quality. Adjectives in the positive degree are used when no comparison is made.

The comparative degree of an adjective shows a higher degree of the quality than that is present in the positive degree. It is used when two things or two sets of things are compared.

• Peter is smarter than John.
• Which of the two sisters is the prettier?
• Apples are dearer than oranges.

The superlative degree of an adjective denotes the highest degree of the quality. It is used when more than two things or sets of things are compared.

• Peter is the smartest boy in the class.
• Iron is the most useful of all metals.
• Alice is the prettiest girl in the neighborhood.

Adjectives used without nouns

Adjectives are often used without nouns.

To refer to some well-known groups of people

The structure the + adjective is used to talk about some well-known groups of people. Examples are: the blind, the deaf, the unemployed, the rich, the poor, the young, the old, the dead etc.

• He is collecting money for the blind. (= He is collecting money for blind people.)
  
• Blessed are the meek.
• The government should do something for the poor.

Note that these expressions are always plural. The blind means all blind people. 

Similarly, the dead means all dead people. Adjectives are not normally used in this way without the.

Blessed are the meek. (NOT Blessed are meek.)

These expressions cannot be used with a possessive ‘s.

The problems of the blind should be properly addressed. OR Blind people’s problems should be properly addressed. (NOT The blind’s problems should be properly addressed.)

In a few fixed phrases, the + adjective can have a singular meaning. Examples include: the accused, the former, the latter, the deceased etc.

• The accused was released on bail.

Note that plural meanings are also possible.

Abstract ideas

An adjective can be used after the to refer to some abstract quality or idea.

She doesn’t believe in the supernatural.

The future (= futurity) is unknown to us.

Adjectives of nationality

Some adjectives of nationality ending in -sh or -ch can be used after the without nouns. 

These adjectives include Irish, Welsh, English, British, Spanish, French etc.

The Irish are proud of their sense of humor.

Note that the expressions the Irish, the English etc., are plural.The singular equivalents are for example an Irishman or an Englishwoman.

What are adjectives?

An adjective is a word like kind, happy, smart and intelligent. An adjective typically modifies a noun and denotes a temporary or permanent quality associated with that noun. For example, a smart boy is a boy who is distinguished from other boys by being smart.

Not all adjectives are used to denote a quality associated with a noun. For example, the 

adjective mere in ‘a mere child’ does not denote a quality of the child.

Kinds of adjectives

Adjectives may be divided into the following classes:

Adjectives of quality

Adjectives of quality refer to the kind or quality of a person or thing. They answer the question: ‘of what kind?’

• Tokyo is a large city. (Here the adjective large shows a certain quality associated with the city Tokyo.)
• Alice is a brilliant student. (Here the adjective brilliant shows a quality associated with the noun Alice.)

Note that adjectives formed from proper nouns are generally considered as adjectives of quality. Examples are: Persian carpets, French wines etc.

Adjectives of quantity

Adjectives of quantity answer the question ‘how much?’. Examples are: some, any, much, little, enough, all, no, half, whole etc.

• We need some rice.
• You have little patience.
• He has lost all his wealth.
• He did not eat any rice.

Adjectives of number

Adjectives of number answer the question ‘how many’. Examples are: many, one, two, first, tenth, all etc.

• Each hand has five fingers.
• Sunday is the first day of the week.
• All men must die.
• There are several mistakes in your essay.

Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives answer the question ‘which?’. Examples are: this, that, these, those and such.

• That boy is industrious.
• This bag is made of expensive leather.
• Those mangoes were very sweet.
• I hate such people.

Note that this and that are used with singular nouns. These and those are used with plural nouns.

Interrogative adjectives

When they are used with nouns to ask questions, the questions words what, which and whose are called interrogative adjectives.

• Whose bag is this?
• Which way shall we go?

List of interjections

An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses a sudden emotion. Interjections are used to exclaim, protest or react. They can stand by themselves. They may also appear within larger structures.

• Hurrah! We’ve won!

• Alas, she’s dead now.

Mild interjections are usually set off from the rest of the sentence with a comma. More powerful interjections are followed by an exclamation mark.

Here is a list of common interjections in English.

Ah

This expression can express ideas such as pleasure and surprise.

• Ah! It feels good.
• Ah! I’ve passed.

Alas

This word expresses pity or grief.

• Alas, we’ve lost.

Eh

The word eh has several meanings. It can be used to ask for repetition or to make an 

enquiry.

• ‘I’m going.’ ‘Eh?’ ‘I said I’m going.’
• ‘What do you think of my new hairstyle, eh?’

‘Eh’ can also express surprise.

• ‘I’ve won.’ ‘Eh! Really?’

Hey

This word is mainly used to call attention.

• ‘Hey! Where are you going?’

Hi

This is a word used to greet people.

• ‘Hi John. How’re you?’

Hmm

This word expresses doubt or hesitation.

• ‘Hmm. Let’s me see.’

Oh

This word expresses surprise.

• ‘Oh! You both know each other.’

‘Oh’ can also express pain.

• ‘Oh! I’ve got a bad headache.’

Ouch

This word mainly expresses pain.

• ‘Ouch! That hurts really badly!’

Well

This word is commonly used to introduce a remark.

• ‘Well, how did he react?’
• ‘Well, we are not exactly interested in this.’

What are conjunctions?

Conjunctions are words like and, but, or, yet, because, since and so.

Read the following sentences:

1. God made the country and man made the town.
2. She must cry, or she will die.
3. Two and two make four.

In sentence 1 and 2, the conjunctions and and or join two sentences together. In sentence 3, the conjunction and merely joins two words together.

Thus we have seen that a conjunction is a word which merely joins two sentences together. Sometimes a conjunction joins two words together.

Why use conjunctions?

Conjunctions join together sentences and make them more compact. The sentence, ‘John and Peter are good students’ is a short way of saying ‘John is a good student and Peter is a good student’. Similarly, the sentence ‘He is poor, but honest’ is a contracted way of saying ‘He is poor but he is honest’.

However,  sometimes the conjunction and joins words only.

• Jack and Jill went up the hill.
• John and Peter are good friends.

Note that sentences of this kind cannot be resolved into two.

Conjunctions must be carefully distinguished from relative pronouns, relative adverbs and prepositions which are also connecting words.

Compare:

This is the house that Jack built. (Here the relative pronoun that joins the two clauses ‘this is the house’ and ‘jack built’ together.)

This is the place where he was buried. (Here the relative adverb where joins the two clauses ‘this is the place’ and ‘he was buried’ together.)

I was annoyed, still I kept quiet. (Here the conjunction still joins the two clauses ‘I was annoyed’ and ‘I kept quiet’ together.)