Adjectives

Overview & Fundamental Concept

Exhaustive AISSEE Class 6 English guide for Adjectives. Covers Attributive vs Predicative positions, 8 adjective classes, 60+ degrees of comparison table, Latin comparatives (senior to, junior to), the OSASCOMP ordering rule, solved models, and 10 practice drills.

• An Adjective is a word that modifies, qualifies, or describes a noun or pronoun by answering questions like What kind? Which one? How many? How much?
• Attributive vs Predicative Positioning:
• • Attributive Position: Placed directly BEFORE the noun it modifies (e.g., 'The brave cadet completed the march.').
• • Predicative Position: Placed AFTER a linking verb (is, was, seem, look, become) and acts as the subject complement (e.g., 'The cadet was brave.').
• • Predicative-Only Adjectives: Words starting with 'a-' (afraid, asleep, awake, alone, ashamed, alive) are strictly used PREDICATIVELY: Say 'The boy was asleep' (CORRECT), NOT 'The asleep boy' (INCORRECT).
• The Eight Functional Classes of Adjectives:
• • 1. Adjective of Quality (Descriptive): Denotes shape, size, color, condition, or nature (e.g., brave, honest, tall, red, large).
• • 2. Adjective of Quantity: Shows how much of an uncountable thing is meant (e.g., much, little, some, enough, all, half).
• • 3. Adjective of Number (Numeral): Shows how many countable entities are meant:
• - Definite: Cardinals (one, two, three) and Ordinals (first, second, third).
• - Indefinite: many, few, several, all, some.
• - Distributive: each, every, either, neither.
• • 4. Demonstrative Adjective: Points out which person or thing is meant (this, that, these, those, such + noun: 'This boy is smart.').
• • 5. Interrogative Adjective: Modifies a noun to ask a question (which, what, whose + noun: 'Which route shall we take?').
• • 6. Possessive Adjective: Indicates ownership directly before a noun (my, our, your, his, her, its, their: 'This is my kitbag.').
• • 7. Emphasizing Adjective: Intensifies a noun (own, very: 'I saw it with my own eyes.').
• • 8. Proper Adjective: Derived from Proper Nouns and capitalized (e.g., Indian, British, Shakespearean, Parisian).

• Adjectives change in form to indicate degrees of comparison:
• 1. Positive Degree: Denotes the simple existence of a quality without any comparison (e.g., 'Rohan is a tall boy.'). Formula: as + Positive + as OR so + Positive + as.
• 2. Comparative Degree: Compares the quality between exactly TWO entities (e.g., 'Rohan is taller than Sohan.'). Formula: Comparative + THAN.
• 3. Superlative Degree: Denotes the highest degree of quality among THREE OR MORE entities (e.g., 'Rohan is the tallest boy in the school.'). Formula: THE + Superlative.
• The Three Inflection Rules:
• • Monosyllabic Adjectives: Add -er and -est (tall -> taller -> tallest). If ending in 'e', add '-r' and '-st' (brave -> braver -> bravest).
• • Consonant Doubling (1-1-1 Rule): Short vowel + single consonant doubles before suffix (hot -> hotter -> hottest; big -> bigger -> biggest).
• • Polysyllabic Adjectives (2+ Syllables): Precede with more and most (beautiful -> more beautiful -> most beautiful).
• Latin Comparatives ending in -IOR: Adjectives borrowed from Latin ending in -ior (senior, junior, superior, inferior, prior, anterior, posterior) are ALWAYS followed by the preposition TO, NEVER 'than'!
• • Example: 'He is senior to me.' (NOT 'senior than me').
• • Preferable: The word 'preferable' also takes TO and cannot take 'more' (e.g., 'Health is preferable to wealth.' NOT 'more preferable than').

• When two or more adjectives modify a single noun in series, standard English mandates a strict, unalterable hierarchy known as the OSASCOMP Rule:
• • 1. Opinion (O): Subjective evaluation (beautiful, lovely, smart, handsome, delicious, ugly).
• • 2. Size (S): Physical dimensions (big, small, huge, tiny, long, short, tall).
• • 3. Age (A): Chronological state (new, old, antique, ancient, young, modern).
• • 4. Shape (S): Geometric form (round, square, oval, rectangular, circular).
• • 5. Color (C): Visual hue (red, blue, green, black, white, golden).
• • 6. Origin (O): Geographic / national source (Indian, Chinese, Swiss, French, Martian).
• • 7. Material (M): Constituent substance (wooden, metallic, silk, cotton, leather, plastic).
• • 8. Purpose (P): Intended use / function (running [shoes], sleeping [bag], dining [table], study [desk]).
• Master Benchmark Synthesis: 'A magnificent (Opinion) large (Size) ancient (Age) round (Shape) brown (Color) Indian (Origin) wooden (Material) dining (Purpose) table.'

• Examiners frequently design questions to test five classic comparison pitfalls:
• Trap 1: Comparing Two Qualities of the SAME Person: When comparing two different qualities in the same individual, do NOT use '-er'. Use MORE + Positive Degree:
• • 'Rohan is more brave than wise.' (CORRECT).
• • 'Rohan is braver than wise.' (INCORRECT — compares qualities, not people!).
• Trap 2: The Illogical Comparison Trap ('That of' / 'Those of'): You cannot compare a thing with a person or city. Comparisons must be between identical entities:
• • 'The climate of Shimla is cooler than Delhi.' (INCORRECT — compares climate to a city!).
• • 'The climate of Shimla is cooler than that of Delhi.' (CORRECT).
• • 'The streets of Delhi are wider than those of Agra.' (CORRECT for plurals).
• Trap 3: Exclusion of the Subject ('Any Other' Rule): When comparing one entity with all others of the same group using the comparative degree, use any other to exclude the subject:
• • 'Iron is more useful than any metal.' (INCORRECT — iron is a metal, so it cannot be more useful than itself!).
• • 'Iron is more useful than any other metal.' (CORRECT).
• Trap 4: Absolute Adjectives (Non-Gradable): Certain adjectives express absolute qualities and cannot take comparative or superlative forms (no 'more', 'most', 'very'):
• • unique, perfect, dead, square, round, universal, complete, fatal, eternal, supreme (Never say: 'more unique' or 'most perfect').