Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
“What does adjective mean, and can I have a cheat sheet I can use?” Adjectives are one of the secrets to creating good descriptions. Songwriters, poets, and writers all need to master them to realize their full potential as wordsmiths. Keep reading to learn this and more (including how to use the adjective cheat sheet).
What Does Adjective Mean: Let’s Define the Word
“What does adjective mean?” Adjectives qualify the attributes of nouns. In other words, they help you further describe people, places, and things.
For example, they can be:
- Shapes: rectangular, oblong, hexagonal
- Sizes: little, middling, gigantic
- Colors: green, purple, blueish
- Textures: scratchy, slippery, downy
- Quantities: few, some, limitless
How do you use them in sentences?
- Liam wiped down the rectangular table. (Rectangular modifies the noun table.)
- The little girl ate a gigantic sundae. (Little modifies the noun girl and gigantic modifies the noun sundae.)
- Lillie had a limitless supply of green crayons. (Limitless modifies the noun supply and green modifies the noun crayons.)
Video: Unpack Your Adjectives
What Does Adjective Mean: Let’s look at Some Common Types
“What does adjective mean?” Here are the different categories:
- Comparative and Superlative: small, smaller, smallest (describes nouns by comparative degrees)
- Descriptive: ugly, yellow, short (describes nouns)
- Demonstrative: this, that, these, those (points to certain nouns)
- Distributive: each, every, either (points to separate parts of a unit)
- Interrogative: what, which, whose (asks questions while pointing to certain nouns)
- Possessive: his, her, my, your, their (indicates ownership)
- Quantitative: several, countless, numerous (shows how much or many)
What Does Adjective Mean: Here’s the Adjective Cheat Sheet
This cheat sheet will show you how to use suffixes to turn root words into adjectives:
- -able (capable of; able to): believable (example root word believe)
- –al (belonging to; of; like): musical (example root word music)
- -ant (performing the act of): hesitant (example root word hesitate)
- –ary (relating to; like): legendary (example root word legend)
- -ate (filled with; characteristic of; having): passionate (example root word passion)
- -cial (pertaining to): judicial (example root word judge)
- -ent (having the quality of): insistent (example root word insist)
- –ful (full of; having the qualities of; having the ability to): painful (example root word pain)
- -ible (capable of): flexible (example root word flex)
- -ic (having to do with; of; like): harmonic (example root word harmony)
- -ish (characteristic of; like; tending to; approximately): devilish (example root word devil)
- -ive (tending to; related to; belonging to): attractive (example root word attract)
- -less (without; lacking; incapable of): lawless (example root word law)
- -like (characteristic of; suitable for; in the manner of): warlike (example root word war)
- -ly (characteristic of; suitable to): sisterly (example root word sister)
- -ous (characterized by; full of; having): gracious (example root word grace)
- -tial (pertaining to): essential (example root word essence)
- -y (characterized by; full of; somewhat; rather; tending to; somewhat like): foggy (example root word fog)
Simply attach one of the above suffixes to your chosen root word, and you too can create new and interesting words. Also, the cheat sheet will help you better understand the modifiers you run across as you read.
Final Thoughts on “What Does Adjective Mean, and Can I Have a Cheat Sheet?"
“What does adjective mean?” Here’s a summary:
- Adjectives modify nouns.
- There are several different types: comparative, superlative, descriptive, demonstrative, distributive, interrogative, possessive, and quantitative.
- They enrich your writing by helping you create striking images, making your writing clearer and more detailed.
Have fun writing!
Related Posts
- What Is a Noun, and Exactly How Many Types Are There?
- What Does Pronoun Mean – Can They Keep My Writing Focused?
- 12 Simile Examples That Aren’t Cliches (How to Write Them)
- Is There Any Method to Help with Writing Descriptions?
- Writing Well Crafted Songs
© 2024 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for online or in-person lessons today!
How Do You Sing Eastern European Vocal Harmony in 2nds by Ear?
Have you ever wondered how Eastern European vocalists sing polyphony in parallel 2nds? Do you want to know how world music works? Understanding world music involves stepping outside your own perspective and seeing from the world musician’s point of view instead. Click to answer the question, “How do you sing Eastern European vocal harmony in 2nds by ear?” Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More
Chord Progression (Including the 12 Bar Blues)
What’s a chord progression? It’s when you have a sequence of successive harmonies. In this post, we’ll look at common chord progressions, including rock n roll, the 12 bar blues, and jazz chord progressions. These can work as either piano chord progressions or guitar chord progressions. Read “Chord Progression (Including the 12 Bar Blues)” to learn the harmonic structure for these three styles of music. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More
Success Music Studio Has Been Blogging for Three Years
I’ve been blogging for 1095 days (i.e., three years) with a total of 219 posts to date. Learn more.
Read More
Do I Really Have to Learn Music Theory to Learn How to Play Piano?
Do you want to give up on learning music theory? Does it seem pointless to you? Music theory can help with sight reading skills on the piano. It’ll be useful for improvisation and composition. It even helps with performance practice. If you still have an open mind, read “Do I Really Have to Learn Music Theory to Learn How to Play Piano?” to understand the ways it can help you to better play the instrument. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More