Limiting adjectives RESTRICT nouns rather than DESCRIBING them. They can point out a specific object (the cat, this house, my car) or set a numerical limit to it (two dogs, the third book). This, some and first are all examples of limiting adjectives.
In this guide, we’ll discover what limiting adjectives are, what types of limiting adjectives exist, and how to use them. We’ll provide a lot of examples and exercises. Read on!
Collins English Dictionary defines a limiting adjective as “one of a small group of adjectives that modify the nouns to which they are applied by restricting rather than describing or qualifying.”
How to tell whether an adjective is descriptive or limiting? They both modify a noun or a pronoun but still there’s some difference.
Descriptive adjectives – as their name implies – describe places, people and things relating to their color, size, shape, and the like. They add meaning to the noun or pronoun that they modify and come right before it. For instance, in the phrase “a new car” the word “new” is a descriptive adjective as it defines the noun “car” and describes its age or state.
Some more examples:
‘Fat’ is a descriptive adjective, it modifies the noun ‘boy’; ‘small’ is a descriptive adjective, it modifies the noun ‘kids’, both of them relate to size.
‘Attractive’ is a descriptive adjective, it modifies the noun ‘guy’, it relates to appearance; ‘black’ is a descriptive adjective, it modifies the noun ‘horse’, it relates to color.
‘Short’ is a descriptive adjective, it modifies the pronoun ‘he’; it relates to height.
In a sentence, more than one descriptive adjective can modify the same noun. Look at the following example:
‘Green’ and ‘leafy’ are adjectives that refer to color and shape and describe the noun ‘vegetables’.
‘Bright’ and ‘orange’ are adjectives that refer to color and describe the noun ‘vegetables’.
Limiting adjectives, or determining adjectives (often classified as determiners), limit the meaning of nouns or pronouns they modify. They tell “which one,” “how much,” “how many,” or “whose.” For example, notice how the limiting adjective ‘four’ in the following sentence restricts the meaning of the noun ‘women’.
The word ‘four’ is a limiting adjective as it limits the noun ‘women’ to definite numbers.
Since we’re talking about a specific kitten here, we use the definite article ‘the’ and restrict the meaning of the noun ‘mice’ with the word ‘two’ – only two mice.
Consider different meanings of limiting adjectives:
WHICH ONE?
‘That’ is a limiting adjective at is restricts the noun ‘haircut’ meaning a particular haircut and not any haircut in general.
‘This’ is a limiting adjective at is restricts the noun ‘lesson’ meaning a particular lesson.
HOW MUCH/MANY?
‘Three’ is a limiting adjective which refers to number and modifies the noun ‘boys’.
‘Little’ is a limiting adjective meaning ‘not much’.
WHOSE?
The speaker restricts the meaning to his own hat.
The speaker means the particular book that belongs to Meg.
As you have already seen, different parts of speech can act as limiting adjectives. There are eight types of limiting adjectives:
Don’t worry, we’ll outline them all below.
To restrict the meaning of a noun, we can use articles. They are the most commonly used limiting adjectives, and, besides, they are the shortest.
‘The’ is called a definite article because it points out nouns more specifically.
Consider the following examples:
Here, we talk about particular boys and girls. Although we mention them for the first time, we know who we’re talking about.
We use ‘the’ to define or identify a particular person or object.
“A” and “an” are called indefinite articles because they refer to non-specific nouns. We use them when we talk about any one person, place, thing or idea.
Use “a” before consonant sounds: a bag, a cup, a uniform.
Use “an” before vowel sounds: an apple, an excuse.
Consider the examples:
Since we’re not talking about a specific umbrella here, we use the indefinite article ‘a.’
In the first sentence, we’re talking about a position in general and we use the indefinite article ‘a.’ When the position (or the job) is referred to a second time, we use the definite article ‘the’ because we’re referring to the individual position that has already been mentioned.
Let’s summarize: we use ‘the’ when you want to refer to a specific thing. And we use ‘a’ or ‘an’ when you don’t need to identify a particular item.
The possessive adjectives, as their name implies, modify nouns by showing possession or ownership. The possessive adjectives are: my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. They answer the question ‘WHOSE?’
For example:
In this example, the possessive adjective ‘your’ modifies the noun ‘book’ to specify whose book it is.
Here, we use the possessive adjective ‘our’ to show that the buggy belongs to us.
Some more examples:
Note: Don’t confuse possessive adjectives with possessive pronouns.
A possessive adjective, like other adjectives, is usually used to describe a noun:
— My car is bigger than her car.
A possessive pronoun is used instead of a noun:
— Julie’s car is red. Mine is blue.
Possessive adjectives are words like my, your, our, his, her, its and their. They are used before nouns.
Possessive pronouns are words like mine, yours, ours, his, hers and theirs. They are used alone.
Compare: This is my book. – This book is mine.
Demonstrative adjectives are used to modify a noun so that we know which specific person, place, or thing is mentioned. In other words, they demonstrate which thing the speaker is describing. This one or that one?
For example:
In this example, ‘this’ modifies the noun ‘tie’. So, we know which tie the speaker is referring to.
Again, the limiting adjective ‘these’ points out to some specific puppies.
There are four demonstrative adjectives in English: this, these, that, those.
Use this and that before singular nouns and use these and those before plural nouns.
Consider the following examples:
In this example, ‘this’ modifies the noun ‘box’. The use of ‘this’ indicates that the box is close to the speaker.
Here, the speaker is referring to the bag which is far away.
Some more examples:
Note: Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.
Indefinite adjectives offer general information about the amount of the noun they modify. They are: some, one, none, all, any, whole, such, other, and another. They answer the question ‘HOW MANY or HOW MUCH?’ but they don’t show exactly the amount of something.
Consider the following examples:
How many children? – All of them.
Here, the word ‘some’ doesn’t point out to specific amount but gives us enough information that we know we should get milk.
In this example, the indefinite adjective ‘several’ modifies the noun ‘people’ because the specific number of people that have witnessed the event isn’t given.
Some more examples:
Note: Don’t confuse indefinite adjectives and indefinite pronouns. They look similar but function differently. Indefinite pronouns take the place of nouns. While indefinite adjectives modify nouns, they do not replace them.
Consider the following examples:
Here, “any” is used as an indefinite pronoun and adjective. The first sentence uses any to replace an item (money, perhaps), i.e. it is a pronoun. The second sentence uses any as an adjective to modify money, answering the question, ‘How much?’
Interrogative adjectives ‘what’, ‘which’ and ‘whose’ modify nouns and pronouns in questions. They are similar to interrogative pronouns, but, unlike the latter, they can’t stand on their own.
Consider the examples:
In this example, ‘whose’ is an interrogative adjective that modifies the noun ‘performance’.
Here, ‘what’ is an interrogative adjective that modifies the noun ‘living room’. ‘Wooden’ is a descriptive adjective that further describes the type of table being sought.
The important point to keep in mind is that interrogative adjectives stand for the thing we do not know.
Here, we want to know specifically the hat that belongs to Paul.
Some more examples:
Numbers (cardinal or ordinal) can function as limiting adjectives telling HOW MANY. There are quite many of them – one, two, three, the fifth, the 250th, etc. An unlimited number.
Consider the examples:
Here, ‘three’ is an adjective referring to number and modifies ‘girls’.
In this example, ‘two’ is a cardinal adjective that counts the number of batteries needed to use the torch.
Numbers can be ordinal and cardinal. Cardinal adjectives are adjectives that modify the noun by numbering it (stating how many). Ordinal adjectives indicate the position of a noun in a series.
Consider the following examples:
In this example, the cardinal adjective ‘three’ modifies the noun ‘months’ and states the exact period of time.
Here, ‘the third’ is an ordinal adjective that indicates the position of the month, meaning that there were two months before it.
Proper adjectives, like all adjectives, modify nouns, but they are different from other adjectives because they are formed from proper nouns. They are easily recognizable as they are always capitalized, e.g. Japanese food, Russian opera. They are often made from the names of cities, countries, or regions to describe the origin of something, but they can also be formed from the names of brands or individuals.
Consider the examples:
Here, the proper adjective ‘Italian’ is formed from the proper noun ‘Italy’ and modifies the noun ‘food.’ In other words, ‘I like the food that comes from Italy.’
In this example, the word ‘Fuji’ is the name of the brand but, when put before a noun, it becomes a proper adjective: ‘Fuji camera’ = ‘camera from the Fuji brand.’
Note: A proper adjective is usually formed by adding an ending to the noun. The most common endings are -ian, -an, -esque, -like, and -istic:
— Portugal – Portuguese, Iceland – Icelandic, America – American, etc.
However, sometimes we don’t add any endings to a proper noun to make it an adjective:
— Berlin festival, Canon camera, etc.
Some more examples:
Sometimes nouns can be used as adjectives to define or describe another noun. They are put directly before the noun they modify.
For example, in each of these phrases, the first word is a noun but here functions as an adjective modifying the second word: chicken pie, country government, book writer, Sunday picnic, bicycle thief.
Compare:
Here, the phrase ‘coffee machine guy’ means ‘the guy in charge of the coffee machine’.
In this example, the word ‘English’ acts as an adjective modifying the noun ‘teacher.’ The phrase means “a teacher of English”, telling us what the teacher teaches.
Consider some more examples:
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