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| − | An '''adjective''' modifies a [[noun]] or a [[pronoun]] by describing, identifying, or quantifying [[word]]s. An adjective may be [[predicate]] or attributive. The predicate adjective appears in the predicate of the sentence to modify the subject and in many languages is linked to the subject by a [[verb]] such as "to be or "to become": "The house is large." The attributive adjective appears in the same part of the sentence as the noun or pronoun that it modifies: "We saw the large house." | + | An '''adjective''' modifies a [[noun]] or a [[pronoun]] by describing, identifying, or quantifying them. An adjective may be [[predicate]] or attributive. The predicate adjective appears in the predicate of the sentence to modify the subject and in many languages is linked to the subject by a [[verb]] such as "to be or "to become": "The house is large." The attributive adjective appears in the same part of the sentence as the noun or pronoun that it modifies: "We saw the large house." |
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| | In the following examples, the italicized words are adjectives: | | In the following examples, the italicized words are adjectives: |
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| | In some languages, such as [[English]], an attributive adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. In other languages, such as [[Spanish]], attributive adjectives typically follow the nouns. | | In some languages, such as [[English]], an attributive adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. In other languages, such as [[Spanish]], attributive adjectives typically follow the nouns. |
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| − | Another difference among languages is adjective-noun agreement. In English, adjectives other than "this" and "that" do not agree with their nouns in [[number (grammar)|number]], and adjectives do not agree with their nouns in [[grammatical case|case]] or [[grammar|gender]]. In [[Russian language|Russian]], by contrast, adjectives agree with their nouns in number, case, and gender, and there are separate grammatical endings for predicate and attributive adjectives. | + | Another difference among languages is adjective-noun agreement. In English, adjectives do not agree with their nouns in [[number (grammar)|number]], [[grammatical case|case]] or [[grammar|gender]]. In [[Russian language|Russian]], by contrast, adjectives agree with their nouns in number, case, and gender, and there are separate grammatical endings for predicate and attributive adjectives. |
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| | Not all languages have a separate functional category of adjectives. In languages that do not, an adjective (e.g., "large") may function as a type of noun ("a large thing") or verb ("to be large"). In the latter case, the predicate adjective is a finite form of the verb ("The house large-is"), while the attributive adjective is a [[participle]] ("the large-being house"). | | Not all languages have a separate functional category of adjectives. In languages that do not, an adjective (e.g., "large") may function as a type of noun ("a large thing") or verb ("to be large"). In the latter case, the predicate adjective is a finite form of the verb ("The house large-is"), while the attributive adjective is a [[participle]] ("the large-being house"). |