An adjective modifies (describes or limits) a noun or pronoun (Kinds of Nouns). It answers one of three questions: which one? (that bike), what kind? (a red bike), how many? (three bikes).
Three small words are adjectives too: the articles a, an and the. Use an before a vowel sound (an apple, an hour) and a before a consonant sound (a kite, a unicorn).
Key idea
An adjective can come before its noun (the hot soup) or after a linking verb (the soup is hot). Either way, it describes the noun.
Why it works
Adjectives let a reader see what you see. “A dog” could be any dog; “a small, muddy dog” is one the reader can picture. Knowing where they can sit also helps later, when you choose between an adjective and an adverb (“The soup smells good,” not “well”).
Worked example: Find every adjective
“The old blanket felt soft.”
- The is an article: an adjective.
- old tells what kind of blanket.
- soft comes after the linking verb felt, but it describes the blanket.
Answer: The, old, soft
Common mistake
Missing adjectives that come after a linking verb (“The soup is hot”), and forgetting that a, an and the count. Look before each noun and after each linking verb.