Adjectives: forms & usage

> Forms:
Adjectives are generally invariable in English and do not agree with nouns in number and gender.

a blue car
the great outdoors
a group of young women

However, a few adjectives have a connotation which is slightly masculine or feminine. Thus, one says that a woman is beautiful while a man would be called handsome.

Adjectives indicating religion or nationality (or a region, state or province) generally begin with a capital letter, whether they refer to people or objects:

She is an American student.
They go to a Catholic school.
They enjoy Breton music.

> Usage:
The adjective will be placed, with very few exceptions, in front of the noun it modifies. When two adjectives precede a noun, they can be connected by a comma (,) or by the conjunction"and." In a series of three or more adjectives, one usually uses "and" before the last adjective in the list.

Examples: I like short novels.
That fellow will be a competent worker.
She writes long and flowery letters.
He works long, hard hours.
She had a mean, old and overbearing step-mother.

An adjective may follow the noun when it is in a predicate (after the verb) or in a relative clause. (In relative clauses the relative pronoun may be implicit.)

Examples: He was a man (who was) always happy to help others.
She is a woman (who is) true to herself.
They were entirely satisfied.