Week 8: Articles

Articles:

Articles also modify the nouns. So, articles are also adjectives. Articles determine the specification of nouns. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are used to refer to an unspecific noun, and ‘the’ is used to refer to a specific noun.  

Examples:

  • A cat is always afraid of water. (Here, the noun ‘cat’ refers to any cat, not specific.)
  • The cat is afraid of me. (This cat is a specific cat.)
  • An electronic product should always be handled with care.

Compound Adjectives:

When compound nouns/combined words modify other nouns, they become a compound adjective. This type of adjective usually combines more than one word into a single lexical unit and modifies a noun. They are often separated by a hyphen or joined together by a quotation mark.  

Example:

  • I have a broken-down sofa.
  • I saw a six-foot-long snake.
  • He gave me an “I’m gonna kill you now” look.

The Degree of Adjectives:

There are three degrees of adjectives: Positive, comparative, superlative.

These degrees are applicable only for the descriptive adjectives.

Examples:

Positive degree: He is a good boy.

Comparative degree: He is better than any other boy.

Superlative: He is the best boy.