What are Common Adjectives?
A common adjective is a grammatical part of speech that describes a noun (a person, place, thing, or idea). Adjectives typically answer the questions: “Which one?” “What kind?” “How many?” “How much?”
Examples of Common Adjectives
Some examples of common adjectives would be the following:
The funny teacher kept the class engaged.
(“funny” is an adjective describing the noun “teacher”)
Please hand me the tattered book.
(“tattered” is an adjective describing the noun “book”)
She rode the rusty bike down the block.
(“rusty” is an adjective describing the noun “bike”)
Common Adjectives in Context
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Our unique and memorable video footage helps solidify the understanding of challenging grammar concepts.
Watch this video to better understand common adjectives!
Why You Should Use Adjectives in Your Writing
Adjectives are like spices for your writing. When used carefully, they can truly enhance and bring out the flavor of your writing. Here are a few ways in which adjectives help your writing:
Description and Engagement: Engage your readers with description. Yes – adjectives describe, but how well do they engage your readers? Without adjectives, your writing lacks the color and description it deserves. Take the following two sentences:
The bike sat in the yard.
The rusty, bent, and discolored bike sat in the yard.
Notice how the first sentence (without any adjectives) provides no description of the bike, whereas the latter sentence contains three unique adjectives, and each one paints a different stroke of color to the sentence as they describe the bike.
Precision and Clarity: Adjectives can bring precision, and therefore, clarity to your writing.
John wore his colorful hat to school.
John wore his gigantic, rainbow-colored cowboy hat to school.
If John has several colorful hats, we don’t know exactly which of his colorful hats he wore, so using more precise adjectives can provide a bit more clarity in your writing.
Be picky when choosing your adjectives! Go for expressive ones and use them selectively. Also, keep in mind that there are a variety of adjective types, such as proper adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, possessive adjectives, indefinite adjectives, and interrogative adjectives just to name a few. Be sure you understand the differences between them.
Download a Free Worksheet on Common Adjectives!
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Do your students understand common adjectives and how to effectively apply them in their writing?
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