Adjectives: Common and Demonstrative

An adjective is always placed in front of the noun it describes. There are two types of adjectives in the English language: common and demonstrative. They differ by the purposes of their use.

Common Adjectives

A common adjective is a grammatical part of speech that describes a noun (a person, thing, place, or idea).

Rule 1: Common adjectives are usually used when describing something, answering the question "What kind?"

Rule 2: Common adjectives are usually used when describing something, answering the question "Which one?"

Rule 3: Common adjectives are usually used when describing the amount (quantity) of something, answering the questions "How much?" and "How many?"

Demonstrative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives emphasize the importance of the noun they modify in a sentence. They include this, that, these, and those.

In order to choose the right demonstrative adjective, you need to determine the location (near or far from you) of the person or a thing, as well as how many there are of them (singular or plural noun).

Rule 4: You need to use this when referring to a person or a thing that is near.

Rule 5: You need to use that when referring to a person or a thing that is far away.

Rule 6: You need to use these when referring to more than one person or things that are near.

Rule 7: You need to use those when referring to more than one person or things that are far away.

The Difference Between Common and Demonstrative Adjectives

While common adjectives are used to give a person or thing characteristics or describe its features, demonstrative adjectives determine its location in time and space.