Questions tagged [adjectives]
Adjectives are just one of several different types of noun modifiers, typically used to premodify or describe a noun. Do not confuse adjectives with nouns used attributively to modify other nouns. Adjectives have comparative and superlative degrees, can be used as predicate adjectives in copulae, and can themselves be modified by intensifiers and adverbs but not by other adjectives. Nouns in attribution fail all those tests.
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Is "funnest" a word?
We seem to be stuck at an impasse on this issue.
Is funnest a word or not?
If so, does it mean "most fun"?
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What is a good replacement for "ununderstandable"?
I want to tell a colleague of mine I'm doing something that will prevent her from getting "ununderstandable" errors. I have:
...so that you will not get unnecessary, [ununderstandable] errors.
...
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"In the last 3 months" vs "in the past 3 months"
What's the difference between in the last 3 months and in the past 3 months if there is any?
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Are both the "special" and the "needs" in "special needs" adjectives?
In the sentence, "she is a special needs child" (referring to someone with a disability), what parts of speech are the words "special needs"? Are both adjectives on their own, or do they only form an ...
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Can "prior" or "previous" be used to describe the same month of last year?
If I want to show the comparison between rate in 2010 Jan and 2009 Jan, which of the following should I use?
Comparison of rate between 2010 Jan and its prior month.
Comparison of rate between ...
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Which is correct: 'Drafty' or 'draughty'?
I have been changing 'drafty' for 'draughty', or because of my confusion, removing the word altogether while subbing online articles.
I'd appreciate guidance on which term is correct for UK English.
Linda
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Is there a difference between "eatable" and "edible"?
I thought only edible was correct, even Google suggested edible when I did a search to see which one was more popular on the internet:
Edible: 17.2 million
Eatable: 2.2 million
The first results are ...
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"Undistinguishable" vs. "indistinguishable"
Is there a difference between these two words? To me, it seems that undistinguishable is more where you can't tell what it is, and indistinguishable seems to be where they're the same. It seems a lot ...
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Referring to some attribute of an inanimate object — use "who's"?
This came up in describing an input to a function:
A handle to the daemon who's name is desired.
(Daemon is a type of process on a system.)
Somehow, "who's" just doesn't seem right because it's ...
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How do you handle "that that"? The double "that" problem
Have you ever had a case where you felt compelled to include strange things like a double that in a sentence? If so, then what did you do to resolve this?
For me, I never knew whether it was ...
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What is the difference between 'Muslim" and 'Islamic'?
I have seen 'Muslim' and 'Islamic' both used as adjectives to describe things relating to Islam. Is there a nuanced difference between the two words?
I know that 'Muslim' can also be used as a noun, ...
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Weekly, Daily, Hourly --- Minutely...?
What is the correct word for "happening every minute"? How do you pronounce it?
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Is it correct to hyphenate with compound premodifiers? If so, where is the hyphen placed?
For example, "file system" and "related". Is it "file system-related"? It will appear as if it is a compound of "file" and "system-related", won't it?
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Possessive of a word that is already possessive
If the cricket ground Lord's is a possessive, what if you want to describe something belonging to Lord's? Would you say:
I was very impressed by Lord's's customer services.
It doesn't look right, ...
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Word to describe "fleeting, wandering and prone to drifting off" of thought
I was wondering if someone could help me find a word based off of my description.
I would like a word that means something along the lines of "fleeting, wandering and prone to drifting off" or ...
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Should I use " related" or "-related"
What is the correct use of the term "related?" For example, should I use it like computer related, or is it more proper to use computer-related (where the word "computer" is just part of my example?)...
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Are the words "mandatory," "obligatory," and "compulsory" interchangeable?
As a non-native speaker, I wonder what the rules are for preferring one of "mandatory", "obligatory" or "compulsory" over the others.
The Corpus of Contemporary American ...
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Is "such a cooler" proper English?
I'm trying to say something like "that's such a cooler design". Is there more valid expression that expresses the same thing? Or is this okay English?
I guess "that design is so much cooler" would ...
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Are there any patterns to observe in choosing the correct negative prefix to use?
Are there any patterns to observe in choosing the correct negative prefix to use, as in unbelievable, disproportionate, asymmetric, and intolerable? (There are other negative prefixes as well, but ...
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"Backward" versus "backwards" -- is there any difference?
The dictionaries I've looked in don't distinguish between these two words, backward and backwards (at least when used as adverbs). Is there some real historical, grammatical or regional difference ...
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Do adjectives ending in "-ed" derive from words that were once used as verbs?
Talented derives from talent, which is not a verb in Modern English.
Has talent ever been used as verb? Are there any words ending in -ed that derive from words once used as verb that is not used ...
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"More clear" vs "Clearer": when to use "more" instead of "-er"?
Which one of these adjectives is correct? I can see that both of them are being used, I'm just not sure which one is grammatically correct.
Are there any general rules to follow as to the use of one ...
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Question about proper use of "pedantic"
Would the following sentences be correct?
You were more concerned with being
pedantic.
I felt you were being pedantic.
You wanted to have a pedantic
conversation.
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"The" for superlative referring to more than one object
Which one of these sentences is correct?
The best countries to live in are ...
Best countries to live in are ...
EDIT: The reason this question is being asked is that this Wiktionary article says ...
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Pronunciation of "comparable"
I was talking to my boyfriend about this but I wanted to get some more opinions.
"Comparable" can be pronounced as:
COMP-er-uh-bul (which is how I usually pronounce it)
Com-PAIR-ah-bul (which ...
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"same as" vs just "same"
Here are two variations of the same sentence:
He's not the same as he was yesterday.
He's not the same he was yesterday.
Both can be encountered in colloquial speech, but I would like to ...
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Why is New York City also called "the Big Apple"?
I have heard many times people say the Big Apple to mean New York City.
What is the origin of this nickname?
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What is the difference between "proven" and "proved"?
"Proven" and "proved" both seem to mean the same thing. Are there any differences in meaning or usage between them?
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Why are not "infamous" and "inflammable" the opposite of "famous" and "flammable"?
Why are not infamous and inflammable the opposite of famous and flammable, like incomplete, inactivity, inappropriate and so on?
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Is there a rule for which suffix to use when creating adjectives from nouns?
There are many suffixes that are used to create adjectives from nouns (-al, -ic, -ive, -y).
Are there any rules used to create adjectives from nouns?
In example, why is the adjective excessive, and ...
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Pluralization rule for "five-year-old children", "20 pound note", "10 mile run"
Why are year, pound and mile in the singular form in the phrases below?
five-year-old children
20 pound note
10 mile run
Is that because they're acting as adjectives, which are always invariable in ...
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What is the rule for adjective order?
I remember being taught that the correct order of adjectives in English was something along the lines of "Opinion-Size-Age-Color-Material-Purpose."
However, it's been a long time and I'm pretty sure ...
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"Well" and "good" as applied to the quality of photographs
These photos came out well.
or
These photos came out good.
According to the proper usage of well and good, the former would be describing the quality of the taking and developing of the photo; ...
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