take the adjective quiz

I got 8 out of 8 right on this Dictionary.com quiz because, even when I didn't know the answer, I knew enough about grammar (and, well, logic) to guess the correct answer. There were actually quite a few terms I'm ashamed to say I was unfamiliar with, but I didn't let that stop me. How will you do on the quiz?

QUESTION 1 OF 8
An adjective that is made up of multiple individual words is called a(n) …
a. attributive adjective.
b. compound adjective.
c. limiting adjective.


QUESTION 2 OF 8
“Each,” “every,” and “neither” are all examples of what type of adjective?
a. comparative
b. distributive
c. proper


QUESTION 3 OF 8
Identify the adjective types: 

EVERY time I walked by the BROKEN chair, HER dog would bark.
a. distributive / participial / possessive
b. interrogative / superlative / proper
c. predicate / interrogative / possessive


QUESTION 4 OF 8
Choose the sentence that uses a limiting adjective correctly.
a. Cheryl tasted the pudding that was many.
b. Adiba decided that the kittens were this.
c. I added some spice to the curry to add flavor.


QUESTION 5 OF 8
Identify the adjective types: 

After THAT day, Jin always bought THREE burritos from the MEXICAN restaurant.
a. demonstrative / limiting / proper
b. possessive /superlative / limiting
c. attributive / demonstrative / proper


QUESTION 6 OF 8
An interrogative adjective modifies a noun in order to …
a. make a statement.
b. ask a question.
c. compare two words.


QUESTION 7 OF 8
An adjective that is used to compare two things is called a ...
a. superlative adjective.
b. comparative adjective.
c. compound adjective.


QUESTION 8 OF 8
Identify the adjective types: I was HAPPIER than my sister to go on the FAST ride because she becomes DIZZY.

a. superlative / demonstrative / descriptive
b. proper / descriptive / limiting
c. comparative / attributive / predicate

Answers (highlight the space between the [brackets] to see.):

[

1. b, compound adjective. I'd have called it a phrasal adjective.
2. b, distributive adjective. The adjective's "force" is distributed over several things or people.
3. a, distributive / participial / possessive. Broken is the past participle of break, and it's being used as an adjective here, to modify the noun chair.
4. c, the only sentence that's grammatically correct.
5. a, demonstrative / limiting / proper. I first learned about demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) when learning French (un adjectif démonstratif comme "ce, cette, ces").
6. b, ask a question. If you don't know what interrogative means, I pity you.
7. b, comparative adjective. Duh.
8. c, comparative / attributive / predicate. See the explanation below.

]

COMMENTARY: I didn't know many of these terms, but I'll study up on them now. A compound adjective was familiar to me as a phrasal adjective; on this blog, I've often harped on the idea that you need to hyphenate such adjectives when they precede the nouns they modify, e.g., a tax-paying citizen, or a six-foot man. A lot of people forget the hyphenation or apply it inconsistently. A two-for-one coupon. The term distributive adjective was new to me, but immediately understandable: each, every, either, neither, none, both, any, one, and sometimes all. The adjective distributes its meaning over whatever plural concept it's modifying (people, things): all people, neither enemy, each opportunity. A participial adjective, with which I'm familiar, takes the past-participle form of a verb and uses it as an adjective: a tired man, a ripped dress, a torn book, exhausted students. A comparative adjective—known to me since forever—compares two things and normally ends with -er or uses a marker like more or less: bigger, smaller, more intelligent, less intelligent. Sometimes, it's vague as to how to write a comparative adjective: handsomer or more handsome? Both are legitimate.* A superlative adjective—also known to me—deals with the best, the worst, the most, the least, etc. when modifying people or things—the acme or the nadir. It often ends in -est and includes the definite article the, but it can also be shown through the words I just used: the best, the worst, the most, the least, etc.: the handsomest, the ugliest, the most intelligent, the least intelligent, etc.

A limiting adjective, which was a new term for me, restricts the scope of whatever you're referring to by indicating things like number, size, and other traits that aren't direct descriptors. It doesn't define the noun it modifies, per se, but it describes some trait of it. This can get dicey: what's the boundary between define and describe? If I say, "Gimme more noodles," the more doesn't describe what noodles are, but it vaguely defines a quantity, which in this case is left up to interpretation. But what if I said, "Gimme long noodles"? Is long a descriptor or a limiter? What about the phrase a big car? From the adjective big, you know nothing about what a car is, except that this one is big, whatever that means according to an unsaid certain frame of reference. The category of limiting adjectives is large and vague. See more here, but don't expect to understand these adjectives after only one reading. I'm still vague on them myself.

I was already familiar with demonstrative adjectives, which are like a finger pointing, indicating particular people or things that you should focus on: this, that, these, those. (From the Latin demonstrare, to point out or indicate.) A proper adjective, which is new to me, is associated with proper nouns: a French dish, of Italian make, a Korean dog. A possessive adjective, which I already know about, is a genitive marker showing belonging (that's what "genitive" means: possession or belonging): my country, your mom, her cat, our conscience, your time, their team. These should not be confused with possessive pronouns: That's mine. This is his. Those are ours. These are yours. So when you see a phrase like Kevin's book, know that Kevin's is functioning as a possessive adjective modifying book, but some curmudgeons will say it's functioning pronominally. I disagree, but to be fair, there is an argument to be made that, if pronouns refer to and replace, then the Kevin's in Kevin's book could be functioning  pronominally. After all, you can say "It's Kevin's," as if Kevin's were a pronoun. I still don't buy the argument, though: Kevin's is modifying a noun, which is clearly what adjectives do. In the phrase his car, his is clearly an adjective modifying car, not a pronoun replacing car. The pronoun/adjective distinction seems clear to me.

Lastly, there's one other adjective mentioned that I'm familiar with: the predicate adjective. This is an adjective in the sentence's predicate (usually the part after the verb) that modifies the subject. Example: "Kevin is big." Big is a predicate adjective. It comes after the linking verb is and modifies the subject Kevin. In quiz question #8, there's the clause "...she becomes dizzy." Becomes is a linking verb, and linking verbs normally take predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives, so dizzy is a predicate adjective.

Oh, yeah—what's a predicate nominative? This is a digression from the above discussion of adjectives, but a predicate nominative is a noun or a noun phrase that is in the predicate but refers to or is connected with the sentence's subject, fleshing out the subject in some way, almost like an adjective. Kevin is a teacher. The predicate nominative in that sentence is a teacher. Teacher is a noun, and it refers to Kevin (the subject), but like an adjective, it helps to flesh out who Kevin is.

So there's your quick-and-dirty tour of adjectives. I've learned something, and so have you. 

I hope.

__________

*The rule of thumb given to students is to use more with longer adjectives (3+ syllables) and -er with shorter adjectives. Note, too, that there can be internal spelling changes: while loud becomes louder and tall becomes taller, big becomes bigger, with two "g"s, and chewy becomes chewier, with the "y" changing to an "i." This sort of internal spelling change doesn't occur if you're using more or less.