Adjectives

1. Business English at Work
© 2003 Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

2. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Adjective
PP 12-2a
An adjective is a word that modifies
(describes) a noun or a pronoun.
Several adjectives often appear in one
sentence.
More than one adjective may describe the
same noun or pronoun.

3. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Adjective
PP 12-2b
An adjective answers these questions:
What kind? green, old, round, strong
Which one? this, that, these, those
How many? two, few, 300, two-thirds, all,
some
Whose? hers, Maria’s, companies’
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4. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives
Before Nouns
PP 12-4
Answer the question What kind?
Usually precede nouns or follow linking verbs.
Are placed as closely as possible to the noun
or pronoun they modify.
We request sealed bids for the workstation
estimates.
Back disorders may result from poor posture.

5. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Descriptive Adjectives
After Linking Verbs
PP 12-5
Modify nouns or pronouns used as subjects.
Act as complements (predicate adjectives).
Proper office lighting is important.
The noise in this office seems excessive.

6. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Possessive Adjectives
PP 12-6
Possessive pronouns such as my, her, his,
your, its, our function as adjectives.
You should use a keyboard that meets your needs.
He liked his chair at work so much that he bought one
for his home office.
Richard’s degree is in marketing.
Modify a noun or a pronoun.
Answer the question whose?

7. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Proper Adjectives
PP 12-7
Proper adjectives are proper nouns or words derived
from proper nouns that function as adjectives. They
answer the question which?
We selected the Italian desk lamps.
Capitalize most proper adjectives as you would proper
nouns.
Shelly recommends a light blue venetian blind.
Do not capitalize proper adjectives when they lose their
connections with the proper nouns from which they were
derived.

8. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Demonstrative Adjectives
PP 12-8a
The four demonstrative adjectives that modify
nouns are this, that, these, those. These
adjectives answer the question which one? or
which ones?
Use this or that with singular nouns.
Use these and those with plural nouns.

9. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Demonstrative Adjectives
PP 12-8b
Examples—
We recommend this computer monitor for employees
with vision problems.
We will have difficulty complying with that safety
regulation.
Many of these injuries are unnecessary.
Are you sure those keyboards reduce wrist discomfort?
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continued

10. Business English at Work
Adjectives
Adjectives
Common Compound Adjectives
PP 12-13
Do not use a hyphen when an adjective plus a
noun combination is widely recognized as a
concept or institution.
Our real estate agent recommended moving to a new
location.
Most of our positions require more than a high school
education.
To avoid wrist injury, learn the keystroke combinations
for your word processing program.