Attributive Adjectives: Definition, Uses, and Examples

Lesson Overview

• What Is An Attributive Adjective?
• How to Use Attributive Adjectives in a Sentence
• Attributive Adjective Rules
• Attributive Adjective Examples in a Sentence

Adjectives play a key role in shaping the meaning of a sentence. Among them, attributive adjectives are essential tools for adding detail and precision. This lesson will cover their definition, usage, and rules with the help of examples.

What Is An Attributive Adjective?

An attributive adjective is an adjective that appears before a noun and directly describes or modifies it. It provides specific details about the noun's qualities, such as size, color, or shape. 

Attributive adjectives always come before the noun they modify and cannot stand alone in the sentence.

Example:

• The red car is parked outside.
  • "Red" is the attributive adjective describing the noun "car."
• A tall building stood in the city.
  • "Tall" is the attributive adjective modifying "building."

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Descriptive Adjectives Trivia quiz

How to Use Attributive Adjectives in a Sentence

Follow these steps to correctly use attributive adjectives in a sentence while ensuring proper attributive grammar.

Step 1: Identify the Noun to Describe

The first step is to find the noun that needs more detail. The attributive adjective will provide extra information about this noun.

Example:

• The dog is barking. (Noun: dog)
• The brown dog is barking. (Attributive adjective: brown, modifying "dog")

Step 2: Choose the Right Adjective

Pick an adjective that gives specific details about the noun, such as its color, size, shape, age, origin, or material.

Example:

• She wore a beautiful dress. (Attributive adjective: beautiful, describing "dress")
• They live in a small apartment. (Attributive adjective: small, describing "apartment")

Step 3: Place the Adjective Before the Noun

Attributive adjectives must come before the noun they modify, unlike predicative adjectives, which appear after a linking verb.

Example:

• Incorrect: The car red is fast. 
• Correct: The red car is fast. 
• Incorrect: The table wooden is heavy. 
• Correct: The wooden table is heavy. 

Step 4: Use Multiple Attributive Adjectives in the Correct Order

When using more than one attributive adjective, follow the correct order of adjectives:

1. Quantity (e.g., two, several)
2. Opinion (e.g., beautiful, ugly)
3. Size (e.g., small, large)
4. Age (e.g., old, new)
5. Shape (e.g., round, square)
6. Color (e.g., blue, red)
7. Origin (e.g., American, Italian)
8. Material (e.g., wooden, plastic)
9. Purpose (e.g., cooking, sleeping)

Example:

• A beautiful small old wooden chair.
• A few large round red balloons.

Step 5: Avoid Overuse of Adjectives

Using too many attributive adjectives in a sentence can make it confusing. It's best to use only the most important adjectives to keep the sentence clear.

Example:

• Cluttered: The big round shiny red expensive German sports car is parked outside. 
• Clear: The expensive red sports car is parked outside. 

Step 6: Recognizing Attributive Phrases

Sometimes, an attributive phrase is used instead of a single adjective. This phrase acts as an adjective and describes the noun in more detail.

Attributive Phrase Example:

• The man with the blue shirt is my brother.
  • (The phrase "with the blue shirt" describes "man.")

Another Example:

• I love the house on the corner.
  • (The phrase "on the corner" describes "house.")

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Which is an Adjective?

Attributive Adjective Rules

Attributive adjectives follow specific rules in English grammar to ensure clarity and correct sentence structure. These rules help determine how adjectives are used before a noun and how they interact with other sentence elements. Additionally, some adjectives can function as part of attributive phrases, which expand on the noun in more detail.

1. Attributive Adjectives Must Appear Before the Noun

Attributive adjectives always come before the noun they modify. If an adjective appears after the noun, it is considered a predicative adjective rather than an attributive one.

Example:

• She bought a new dress. (Correct: "new" is before "dress")
• The dress is new. (Here, "new" is a predicative adjective, not attributive.)
• She bought a dress new. (Incorrect: Adjective placed after the noun)

2. Use the Correct Order for Multiple Adjectives

As we have already discussed it above, make sure when using more than one attributive adjective, follow the correct adjective order:

Example:

• A few beautiful large old wooden chairs.
• The two small round red French pillows.

If adjectives are not placed in this order, the sentence sounds unnatural.

3. Do Not Separate a Noun and Its Attributive Adjective with a Comma

Unlike coordinate adjectives (which can be separated by commas), attributive adjectives are not separated from the noun with a comma.

Example:

• She wore a beautiful blue dress. 
• She wore a beautiful, blue dress. (Incorrect: No comma needed)

4. Be Careful with Compound Attributive Adjectives

A compound adjective is made of two or more words that work together as one adjective. When used before a noun, these adjectives must be hyphenated.

Example:

• A well-known author.
• A five-year-old child.
• A full-time job.

If the adjectives appear after the noun, do not use a hyphen:

• The author is well known.
• The child is five years old.

5. Attributive Adjectives Can Form an Attributive Phrase

Wait! What is an Attributive Phrase? Well, An attributive phrase is a group of words that function together as an adjective to describe a noun. Unlike a single adjective, an attributive phrase includes additional words such as prepositional phrases or participles.

Attributive Phrase Example:

• The book on the top shelf is mine.
  • (The phrase "on the top shelf" describes "book.")
• I saw a girl wearing a red dress.
  • (The phrase "wearing a red dress" describes "girl.")

6. Attributive Adjectives Should Agree in Number and Gender (If Applicable)

In English, adjectives do not change based on gender or number, but in other languages like French and Spanish, they must agree.

Example in English:

• One large dog / Three large dogs (Adjective remains the same)

Example in French (for reference):

• Un grand chien (One big dog - masculine)
• Une grande maison (One big house - feminine)

7. Avoid Redundant or Unnecessary Attributive Adjectives

Using too many adjectives in a sentence can make it unclear or repetitive. Only use adjectives that add meaningful information.

Redundant:

• The tall, towering skyscraper is in New York. (Both "tall" and "towering" mean the same thing.)

Clearer Sentence:

• The towering skyscraper is in New York.

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Possessive Adjectives Test Quiz!

Attributive Adjective Examples in a Sentence