The Adjective - English Grammar

Position of the adjective in a sentence:

In the English language, the adjective is either:

Examples for „certain verbs":

• all forms of to be: am - is - are; was - were; will be; ...
• the verbs feel, smell, look, seem, sound and taste
• the verbs become and get, if they have the meaning of being in a certain process

All other verbs need an adverb.

Adjectives that are never to be found in front of a noun:

• ill and well

Tom doesn't look very well, does he? I hope he's not ill.

Use of adjective

Just like a noun, an adjective can be used with an article in the English grammar.

• Addressing a group:
  • The rich and the beautiful.
  • The old need our help.
• Various adjectives are in plural form, if they are addressing a group:
  • the whites, the blacks, the natives
• The same way to be used if adjectives refer to nationalities (suffixes -ese, -ch or –sh):
  • the Chinese, the French, the Irish