English-Grammar - Adjective of Number

English-Grammar

Adjective of Number

 

Adjectives are one of the eight parts of speech in the English language. Adjectives modify, or describe, nouns or pronouns. Adjectives tell us which one, what kind, or how many.

Examples:

red, happy, late, great, foolish, loose, small

Adjective of Number

An adjective of number is an adjective that tells exactly how many or how much of something there is. It differs from an adjective of quantity that references a quantity of something that cannot be counted (i.e., some milk, all lemonade). Adjectives of number refer to things that can be counted-even if it is an indefinite amount in the sentence.

Adjectives of number are the adjectives that are used to depict either the number of nouns or their position or place in a certain order.

OR

Adjective which states the number of persons or things is called the Adjective of Number or Numeral Adjective.

OR

Adjective showing the number of nouns or pronouns is called Adjective of Number.

Adjective of Number or Numeral adjective is categorized into three types:

§  Definite Adjectives of Number

§  Indefinite Adjectives of Number

§  Distributive Adjectives of Number

Definite Adjectives of Number

Definite Adjectives of Number are both cardinal numbers and ordinal numbers: one, sixth, fifth, double, two, fifty-five, second, triple, seven, eleven, seventy fifth, quadruple, fifteen, first, one third, five seventh, twenty, third, ninth, first, etc.

Indefinite Adjectives of Number

Indefinite Adjectives of Number are adjectives that refer to an indefinite amount of something, that can be counted: some, few, many, all, no, several, any, most, more, too, much, none, too many, certain, etc. These same words can be used as adjectives of quantity when they refer to something that cannot be counted (i.e., milk, time, water). But they are adjectives of number when they refer to items that can be counted (i.e., some crackers, many chocolates, no people).

Distributive Adjectives of Number

Distributive Adjectives of Number refer to individual people, places, or things that are part of a total group or part of a whole: each, every, neither, either, etc.

Example Sentences:

Every boy in the class can count to 100.

There is one piece of pizza left.

The first teacher to arrive was Mr. Paul.

Third place goes to Marie!

It was a gallon jug that we needed to hold the water.

Could you bring me forty paperclips?

I wonder if many people know about this shop?

There are ten students in the classroom.

I stood first in class.

Saturday is the last day of the week.

Two children make a family perfect.

Few dogs are unhealthy.

Some women are upset.

Most of the boys are selected for cricket.

Four books of the Management Studies are very tough.

I wrote many letters to you.

I have learnt three languages.

I wrote some letters to you but you did not reply.

There are only nine class rooms in our school.

You can get twenty-four hours service here.

Five of the employees have resigned today.