homework is a noun or adjective

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Definition of homework

Examples of homework in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homework.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Dictionary Entries Near homework

Cite this entry.

“Homework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homework. Accessed 11 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of homework, more from merriam-webster on homework.

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for homework

Nglish: Translation of homework for Spanish Speakers

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about homework

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[ hohm -wurk ]

• schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom ( distinguished from classwork ).
• a single assignment of such schoolwork: Homeworks are due at the beginning of class.
• paid work done at home , as piecework.

to do one's homework for the next committee meeting.

/ ˈhəʊmˌwɜːk /

• school work done out of lessons, esp at home
• any preparatory study
• work done at home for pay

Word History and Origins

Origin of homework 1

Idioms and Phrases

Example sentences.

Now, they log on to Zoom from their bedrooms, surrounded by unfinished homework assignments and tattered stuffed animals, waiting to be assigned calls, texts and emails by the trained therapists who oversee the program.

Yow started her homework and saw Frese had gone 35-22 with two winning seasons at Ball State, which hadn’t had a winning record in its previous nine seasons.

Do some homework before investing in a diamond, and that lifelong commitment.

Another poster included an image of their losses over what appeared to be online math homework.

As we countdown to Inauguration Day, I've been doing my homework—and looking to the past for inspiration.

“I can help my children with their homework and sometimes we text in English at my job,” Santos says.

Scheunemann, meanwhile, had no idea who Spencer was, and did some homework.

She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework.

And we encourage parent-student “contracts,” for class attendance, homework submission and even extra-curriculum activities.

Adicéam did his homework, spending 50 days collecting pieces, many with unexpected stories behind them.

Much of this homework is done by a very bad light and the boy's eyes suffer much.

For homework we have prepared alphabets where the letters are printed in type-writing order.

His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework.

Only at the time when he was going to Beauregard School, with his homework.

And once a week or twice a week she was sending her homework or something to him.

Related Words

• arrangement
• construction
• establishment
• preparedness
• qualification

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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Definition of homework noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

• acquire/get/lack experience/training/(an) education
• receive/provide somebody with training
• develop/design/plan a curriculum/course/program/syllabus
• give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
• hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
• moderate/lead/facilitate a discussion
• sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
• go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
• be in the first, second, etc. grade (at school)
• study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
• finish/drop out of/quit school
• graduate from high school/college
• be the victim/target of bullying/teasing
• skip/cut/ ( informal ) ditch class/school
• cheat on an exam/a test
• get/be given a detention (for doing something)
• be expelled from/be suspended from school
• do your homework/a project on something
• work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/a paper
• finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies
• hand in/turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
• study/prepare/review/ ( informal ) cram for a test/an exam
• take/ ( formal ) sit for a test/an exam
• grade homework/a test
• do well on/ ( informal ) ace a test/an exam
• pass/fail/ ( informal ) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
• apply to/get into/go to/start college
• leave/graduate from college (with a degree in computer science)/law school
• study for/work towards a law degree/a degree in physics
• major/minor in biology/philosophy
• earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master's degree/a bachelor's degree/a Ph.D. in economics

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• 2 ( informal ) work that someone does to prepare for something You could tell that he had really done his homework (= found out all he needed to know) .

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homework noun

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What does the noun homework mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun homework . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

How common is the noun homework ?

How is the noun homework pronounced?

British english, u.s. english, where does the noun homework come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the noun homework is in the mid 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for homework is from 1653, in the writing of Edmund Chillenden, parliamentarian army officer and General Baptist leader.

homework is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: home n. 1 , work n.

Nearby entries

• homeward-bounder, n. 1837–
• homeward-bound pennant, n. 1853–
• homewardly, adv. 1797–
• homewards, adv. & adj. Old English–
• homeware, n. 1782–
• home waters, n. 1838–
• home wear, n. 1836–
• home-whining, n. a1657
• home wind, n. 1732–
• home-woe, n. 1838–
• homework, n. 1653–
• homework club, n. 1900–
• homework diary, n. 1973–
• homeworker, n. 1843–
• homeworking, n. 1844–
• home-working, adj. 1850–
• home worship, n. 1849–
• homewort, n. Old English–
• home-wreck, n. 1845–
• home-wrecker, n. 1878–
• home-wrecking, n. 1878–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for homework, n..

homework, n. was revised in September 2011.

homework, n. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

• further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into homework, n. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

A Supplement to the New English Dictionary (1933)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View homework in OED Second Edition

Please submit your feedback for homework, n.

Please include your email address if you are happy to be contacted about your feedback. OUP will not use this email address for any other purpose.

Citation details

Factsheet for homework, n., browse entry.

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home•work

An assignment is a task that someone is given to do, usually as part of their job.

An assignment is also a piece of academic work given to students.

In American English, an assignment is also a piece of work given to students to do at home.

Work given to schoolchildren to do at home is also called homework .

Be Careful! Homework is an uncountable noun. You do not talk about 'homeworks' or 'a homework'. Note that you do not say ' I have made my homework '. You say 'I have done my homework'.

Homework is work that school pupils are given to do at home. You say that pupils do homework. Don't say that they ' make homework '.

Housework is work such as cleaning or washing that is done in a house.

Be Careful! Both homework and housework are uncountable nouns. Don't talk about ' a homework ' or ' houseworks '.

• assignability
• best of all
• brain-teaser
• change magnitude
• concentrate
• homeshoring
• homesickness
• Home-speaking
• Homestead Act
• homestead exemption
• homestead law
• homesteader
• homesteading
• homestretch
• Homeward bound
• homeward(s)
• homeward-bound
• homework problem
• homeworking
• homewrecker
• homichlophobia
• homicide bomber
• Homicide by misadventure
• homicidomania
• homiletical
• homing adaptor
• homing device
• homing guidance
• hometraining
• Hometronic Internet Module
• HomeVestors of America, Inc.
• Homeward Bound
• Homeward Bound (disambiguation)
• Homeward Bound Animal Rescue Inc.
• Homeward Bound Greyhound Association
• Homeward Bound Theatre Company
• Homeward Trail Bible Camp
• homeward-boundly
• Homewood City Schools
• Homewood Institutional Review Board
• Homewood Maitland Safety Association
• Homewood Musical Instrument Co.
• Homewood-Flossmoor Swim Club, Inc.
• Homework Access Line
• Homework assignment
• Homework Assistance Hotline
• Homework Center
• Homework Diary
• Homework help
• Homework hotline
• Homeworkers
• Homeworkers Organized for More Employment
• Homeworkers' Union and Small Business Association
• Homeworking
• Homeworld 2
• Homewrecker
• Homewrecker (MTV series)
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Look up a word, learn it forever.

/ˌhoʊmˈwʌrk/.

Other forms: homeworks

Any assignment you're expected to complete after school and bring back to class the next day is called homework . Many students make up excuses for not having their homework done. The "My dog ate my homework " excuse doesn't work so well in the digital age.

High school students typically have a lot of homework most days, and often that's true for younger students as well. In college, an increasing amount of school work is done outside of class, as homework (even if you do it in the library, a cafe, or a dorm). Homework originally referred to any work done at home, including cooking and cleaning. The first example of the "school work" meaning dates from the late 1880s.

• noun preparatory school work done outside school (especially at home) synonyms: prep , preparation see more see less type of: school assignment , schoolwork a school task performed by a student to satisfy the teacher

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noun as in assignment

Strongest matches

• appointment

Strong matches

noun as in drill

• conditioning
• preparation
• constitutional
• instruction
• run through

Weak matches

• daily dozen
• learning by doing

noun as in lesson

noun as in practice

noun as in preparation

• arrangement
• construction
• establishment
• preparedness
• qualification
• anticipation
• expectation
• manufacture
• substructure
• getting ready
• making ready
• putting in order

noun as in revision

• improvement
• modification
• reconsideration
• reexamination
• rectification
• retrospection
• overhauling

Example Sentences

Now, they log on to Zoom from their bedrooms, surrounded by unfinished homework assignments and tattered stuffed animals, waiting to be assigned calls, texts and emails by the trained therapists who oversee the program.

Yow started her homework and saw Frese had gone 35-22 with two winning seasons at Ball State, which hadn’t had a winning record in its previous nine seasons.

Do some homework before investing in a diamond, and that lifelong commitment.

Another poster included an image of their losses over what appeared to be online math homework.

As we countdown to Inauguration Day, I've been doing my homework—and looking to the past for inspiration.

“I can help my children with their homework and sometimes we text in English at my job,” Santos says.

Scheunemann, meanwhile, had no idea who Spencer was, and did some homework.

She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework.

And we encourage parent-student “contracts,” for class attendance, homework submission and even extra-curriculum activities.

Adicéam did his homework, spending 50 days collecting pieces, many with unexpected stories behind them.

Much of this homework is done by a very bad light and the boy's eyes suffer much.

For homework we have prepared alphabets where the letters are printed in type-writing order.

His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework.

Only at the time when he was going to Beauregard School, with his homework.

And once a week or twice a week she was sending her homework or something to him.

Related Words

Words related to homework are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word homework . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in responsibility, task

noun as in practice, exercise

noun as in information taught

noun as in exercise, application

Viewing 5 / 7 related words

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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• English and Grammar
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Parts of Speech: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, and Adverbs

• Teaching Staff
• February 28, 2019
• No Comments

There are several different parts of speech, which are categories of types of words. We are going to talk about four of the main eight parts of speech, which are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Understanding the parts of speech will teach you to use words properly in a sentence and become a better writer.

A noun is a person, place, or thing Some examples of a person are: sister, friend, Alex, Stephanie, you, me, dog Examples of places are: house, beach, New York, playground, the store Things (can be physical things or ideas): chair, pencil, thoughts, memories, and knowledge.

Verbs are action words! They are used to describe things that nouns do! An example of a verb would be “run”. Run is a word to describe someone or something who is moving faster than a walking speed. Other examples of verbs include: sing, watch, play, sleep, study, walk, and think.

Adjectives are describing words. They are used to describe nouns. An example of an adjective would be “beautiful”. Beautiful is a word to describe someone or something. For example, the sky is beautiful. Since the sky is a noun, and beautiful is used to describe it, that makes beautiful an adjective. Other examples of adjectives are: blue, dark, warm, happy, good, and fast.

Adverbs are words that describe verbs. For example, quickly is an adverb because if you say you walk quickly, walk is the verb, and quickly is describing how you walk. Therefore, quickly is an adverb. An easy way to spot an adverb is by their ending, since they often end in the letters ly , like quick ly . Other examples of adverbs include: nicely, proudly, slowly, and firmly.

Some words can be used as either a noun, verb, adjective, or an adverb. Usually though, you’ll have to change the endings of the words depending on how you want to use them. The following chart has some examples of words that you can change to be different parts of speech.

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The Eight Parts of Speech

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TIP Sheet THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. The part of speech indicates how the word functions in meaning as well as grammatically within the sentence. An individual word can function as more than one part of speech when used in different circumstances. Understanding parts of speech is essential for determining the correct definition of a word when using the dictionary.

1. NOUN

• A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

man... Butte College... house... happiness

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Nouns are often used with an article ( the , a , an ), but not always. Proper nouns always start with a capital letter; common nouns do not. Nouns can be singular or plural, concrete or abstract. Nouns show possession by adding 's . Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher , and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Nouns" for further information.

2. PRONOUN

• A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun.

She... we... they... it

A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. A pronoun is usually substituted for a specific noun, which is called its antecedent. In the sentence above, the antecedent for the pronoun she is the girl. Pronouns are further defined by type: personal pronouns refer to specific persons or things; possessive pronouns indicate ownership; reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; relative pronouns introduce a subordinate clause; and demonstrative pronouns identify, point to, or refer to nouns.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Pronouns" for further information.

3. VERB

• A verb expresses action or being.

jump... is... write... become

The verb in a sentence expresses action or being. There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. (" She can sing." Sing is the main verb; can is the helping verb.) A verb must agree with its subject in number (both are singular or both are plural). Verbs also take different forms to express tense.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared . Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Verbs" for more information.

4. ADJECTIVE

• An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun.

pretty... old... blue... smart

An adjective is a word used to modify or describe a noun or a pronoun. It usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. (Articles [a, an, the] are usually classified as adjectives.)

See the TIP Sheet on "Adjectives" for more information.

5. ADVERB

• An adverb modifies or describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.

gently... extremely... carefully... well

An adverb describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, but never a noun. It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree. Adverbs often end in -ly.

See the TIP Sheet on "Adverbs" for more information.

6. PREPOSITION

• A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence.

by... with.... about... until

(by the tree, with our friends, about the book, until tomorrow)

A preposition is a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying another word in the sentence. Therefore a preposition is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost always functions as an adjective or as an adverb. The following list includes the most common prepositions:

See the TIP Sheet on "Prepositions" for more information.

7. CONJUNCTION

• A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses.

and... but... or... while... because

A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, and indicates the relationship between the elements joined. Coordinating conjunctions connect grammatically equal elements: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. Subordinating conjunctions connect clauses that are not equal: because, although, while, since, etc. There are other types of conjunctions as well.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my!

See the TIP Sheet on "Conjunctions" for more information.

8. INTERJECTION

• An interjection is a word used to express emotion.

Oh!... Wow!... Oops!

An interjection is a word used to express emotion. It is often followed by an exclamation point.

The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared. Oh my !

See the TIP Sheet on "Interjections" for more information.

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Meaning of homework in English

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• The kids are busy with their homework.
• My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
• "Have you got any homework tonight ?" "No."
• I got A minus for my English homework.
• For homework I want you to write a paper on an endangered species .
• academic year
• access course
• Advanced Placement
• asynchronous
• foundation course
• grade retention
• immersion course
• on a course
• open admissions
• the national curriculum
• work placement

homework | Intermediate English

Homework | business english, examples of homework, translations of homework.

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towards the direction that is the opposite to the one in which you are facing

Robbing, looting, and embezzling: talking about stealing

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Teaching grammar basics: adjectives

By Oliver Shrouder

08 Nov 2022

In this article:

What is an adjective?

Adjectives and nouns, types of adjectives, the descriptive (simple) adjective, the compound adjective, the numerical adjective, the quantitative adjective, the proper adjective, the demonstrative adjective, the interrogative adjective, the possessive adjective, the exclamatory adjective, adjectives or adverbs, rules for using adjectives, forming adjectives from verbs, adjective activities, describe yourself, simplify the sentences, match the adjectives, adjective intensity, how bedrock learning teaches adjectives.

Grammar is one of the most important aspects of language. All students, regardless of their age, benefit from a strong understanding of it.

A recent study facilitated by Bedrock Learning showed that 97% of teachers said grammar was vitally important for teaching and aids directly in a reader’s comprehension. The understanding of grammar forms a foundation for clear and confident communication, which allows every student to understand the English language to a much greater depth. In this article, we will look at some basic grammar rules behind adjectives and present some exercises to help your students understand them.

Simply put, adjectives are words which modify nouns and pronouns. They are one of the most widely used aspects of grammar and are most often called “describing words”.

In the classroom, learners are encouraged to use adjectives in their work to provide more detail in a sentence, as well as making the writing more engaging for a reader. Often, younger learners can get carried away with the action and movement of a story, and forget to think about what things look like, or where the story takes place. Adjectives allow writers to provide these descriptions to a reader and communicate how a story looks in their head to their readers.

From an early age, learners use simple adjectives in their writing to communicate how something looks or feels, using words such as “blue” or “scary” to provide detail - for example, a blue, scary ghost. However, from Year 3 onwards, learners are expected to select more sophisticated adjectives , using synonyms to craft the most effective description.

Your learners will discover that changing a phrase such as “the scary man” to “the menacing man” gives a new meaning to the phrase. Though “scary” and “menacing” are considered synonyms, only the latter provides further clarification and gives the phrase much more depth.

Adjectives are words which learners encounter at every stage of their education and are vital when explaining something or helping a learner to visualise a story. In sentences, adjectives are used to give clarification about a noun and can be placed in different positions to change the effect. Although we usually use adjectives to add more detail, there are many types of adjectives, all of which we use every day.

Here are some examples of these adjectives in use:

• To describe
• The charming man, the fluffy dog
• Both of my friends, the eighth slice of cake
• To quantify
• Two sports cars, five eggs in the nest
• To demonstrate
• That flower, those houses
• To interrogate
• Which umbrella?
• My umbrella is over here
• What an idea!

The everyday English speaker may not be aware that some of these words are adjectives, or how often they are used in everyday conversation. Learning about these adjectives is vital for effective communication and allows students to both describe the world around them with accuracy, as well as understand how this world is communicated to them.

Adjectives and nouns always appear together. A noun is a “naming word” for objects, people, places and more , acting as the subjects or objects of a sentence.

An adjective is a word that modifies this noun and gives it a new quality through a new description. When selecting an adjective, it is important to choose one which describes something new about a noun. If you describe water as wet, you are adding nothing new to the noun and, as a result, the adjective has no purpose. However, if you describe water as warm, or fizzy, the noun takes on a new quality, as these aspects are not already known.

Sometimes, nouns can act like adjectives. We can describe a noun with another noun, such as a boat race, or a sports team. In these phrases there is no adjective, but the noun has been modified by its reference to another noun. Similarly, we can describe a group of people as the elderly, or the rich. These are known as adjectival nouns, and we can spot these by looking for the article “the” which always appears first.

The most common misconception about adjectives is that there is only one type: the “describing word”. Though this is the most frequent use of an adjective, it is far from its only use. Here, we will explore the many types of adjectives, and how they can be used by students and teachers alike.

A descriptive adjective is the type of adjective you are most likely to encounter in the classroom, as well as in everyday conversation. Descriptive adjectives add meaning to a noun or pronoun by describing its qualities which do not appear otherwise in the sentence. There are thousands of adjectives to choose from, and each of them changes the noun they describe.

To find where a descriptive adjective is used in a sentence, it is important to identify the subject, the object, and the verb. Take this sentence for example:

• He wants to buy an enormous house.

“He” is the subject of the sentence, as a subject performs an action. As the action of the sentence is buying, this makes “buy” the verb in the sentence. This makes “house” the object, as the house is the thing being involved, or impacted, by the action. Now that we know where the object, subject, and verb are placed, we can look at the object in focus. The house is described as “enormous”; this describes to a reader what the house looks like.

The descriptive adjective can come in two forms. The first, which a learner is most likely to encounter, is the simple adjective. A simple adjective can describe emotions, taste, appearance, colour, and shape:

• The green book.
• The scary darkness.
• The knights of the round table.

The second form is a compound adjective. These descriptors are adjectives combined with a hyphen, and are used the same way as simple adjectives:

• The mouth-watering smell of dinner.
• A right-handed student.

Both types of descriptive adjectives provide new information about a noun, helping a reader to learn more about the details of a sentence. Each of them provides a quality to the noun, which was not present before, and reveals a deeper meaning to the information within a sentence.

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Rather than describing the quality of a noun, numerical adjectives denote the quantity of a noun present. The use of numerical adjectives is important for maintaining clarity and gives exact information regarding amounts:

• There are six apples on the tree.
• I am the second in line.
• Only twelve miles to go!

The examples above are called definite numerical adjectives, as they provide exact information about the number of things in a context. Not only do they provide clarity in English, but this adjective technique highlights the link between improving literacy and success in Maths .

Quantitative adjectives are used when nouns are uncountable in nature, whereas definite numerical adjectives are only used when something is countable.

If we look at the sentence “Friday is the fifth day of the week”, we know that fifth is a definite numerical adjective, as it can be counted. Words such as few or little are quantitative adjectives, as they refer to an amount that cannot be counted. These adjectives are also known as indefinite numerical adjectives, as they provide inexact, or tentative, information about the number of people or things.

Examples of a quantitative adjective are:

• All of my sweets are gone.
• Several apples fell from the tree.
• Any colour will do!

Unlike definite numerical adjectives, these adjectives do not refer to any specific amount. Instead, they are used to provide a general amount, a quantity of a noun rather than the number.

To understand the proper adjective, you must first understand the proper noun. A proper noun is the name of a specific person or place , such as Elizabeth, Spain, or Shakespeare. Some proper adjectives, like the examples given above, can be modified into an adjective, and you can do this in two ways:

Shakespeare is a specific person, and his name is a proper noun. As Shakespeare had such a unique writing style, the adjective Shakespearean can be used to describe writing which is like Shakespeare’s own.

• That movie was amazing! It had a brilliant Shakespearean writing style.

Spain is a specific place, and its name is a proper noun. As people from Spain are referred to as Spanish, it can be modified into a proper adjective.

• I saw my Spanish friend last week.

Proper adjectives are used to make a sentence as specific as possible.

It is important to remember that all proper nouns begin with capital letters, just like the proper nouns they are modified from.

The demonstrative adjective is a less used adjective and is sometimes called a determiner. The demonstrative adjective identifies the position of a noun or pronoun, and gives information about its distance from the speaker.

The four demonstrative adjectives are “this”, “that”, “these” and “those”. Like the adjectives so far, demonstrative adjectives come before the noun in the sentence:

• This bottle is by my feet.
• That bottle is over there.
• These shoes are next to me.
• Those shoes are on the shoe rack.

Demonstrative adjectives work with time as well as with objects. The sentence, “This evening was amazing!” tells us that the “evening” was close to the speaker, whereas the sentence, “That weekend was so boring!” tells us the weekend happened in the past.

However, a student might make two mistakes here:

Firstly, it is important to remember that these adjectives are not the same as demonstrative pronouns. Adjectives always refer to a noun (“these flowers”), whereas a demonstrative pronoun is on its own. In the phrase “Ow! That is sharp!” we see “that” used as a pronoun, as it replaces the name of the object.

Secondly, it is important to remember the number of objects that you are talking about. “These flower in my hand” is incorrect, as there is only one flower. “Those type of things” is incorrect too, as “type” should be a plural. Learners may stumble remembering which demonstrative adjectives go with singular and which with plural nouns.

Interrogative adjectives are unique, as they modify a noun by asking a question.

Some examples of interrogative adjectives are “what”, “which” and “whose”, and these are also known as interrogative determiners. To know which of these to use in a question, you need to know which way the question should be answered. If you do not know the options available, you could ask “What options are there?” If you know the options, you could ask “Which options are available?” If the option is a person, you could ask “Whose options are these?”

• Whose homework is this?
• What kind of snack would you like?
• Did he ask you which movie is your favourite?

A student may make the mistake of confusing an interrogative adjective with an interrogative pronoun. An interrogative pronoun is followed by a verb, rather than a noun, and substitutes for a noun in a question. In the phrase “Which did you want?”, the word “which” has replaced the noun in the sentence, rather than modifying it.

The possessive pronoun sits before a noun or a pronoun to indicate who, or what, owns it. Possessive adjectives are also known as possessive determiners. The most common possessive adjectives are “my”, “your”, “his”, “her”, “its” and “our”. These all correspond to the pronoun of the subject in the sentence:

• John put his plate away.
• Sarah and James took their football to the park.
• I hid my new game.

In each of these examples, we see the ownership of the object in relation to the subject. When finding out which possessive adjective to use, it is crucial to know the pronoun of the person or thing in the sentence. If a dog was itchy, it would scratch its ear. If your spaniel, Susan, was itchy, she would scratch her ear.

Here, we can see that the adjective changes depending on the gender of the subject. If the subject does not have a gender, you can use “its” (for inanimate objects) or “their” (for groups, or when the gender is not known).

A potential error your learners may make when learning possessive adjectives is spelling. Some of the most used possessive adjectives are homonyms to different words, and it is important to make the distinction between them in the classroom.

• Today is your special day!
• The dog wagged its tail.

Both are often confused with the contractions you’re and it’s, which do not make grammatical sense when used in these sentences.

To help your students remember which to use, think of the contractions being full words. If you heard someone say, “Today is you are special day!” it wouldn’t make any sense.

Exclamatory adjectives are a combination of adjective and exclamation and are used to express heightened emotions. If you are feeling especially happy, you might shout out “What a wonderful day!”. In this sentence, the word what is an exclamatory adjective, a word which amplifies the emotion being felt alongside a noun.

• How smart is Nadia!
• What a beautiful cave painting!

Each of these adjectives refers to the named noun in the sentence and expresses how a speaker is feeling about them. In the first sentence, the speaker expresses surprise and happiness about the intelligence of Nadia. In the second, the speaker is in awe, stressing the importance of the painting.

Often, these exclamations are paired with descriptive adjectives. This allows for a reader to understand the aspect of a noun that a speaker is highlighting. If someone shouts, “What a beautiful rendition of that song!” we learn that the speaker is happy about the song they are hearing, because they find it beautiful.

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Two groups of words which are often confused are adjectives and adverbs. As we have already seen, adjectives modify nouns to give them more detail and meaning. The primary difference between them is that an adverb cannot modify a noun. However, an adverb can modify verbs. An easy way to tell these apart is the suffix -ly, which appears at the end of most adverbs:

• The large man scratched his head thoughtfully .
• I think I got the question wrong. I wasn’t thinking quickly !

In these examples, we can see adverbs in action. Rather than describing a noun to provide visual information, an adverb tells us how something occurs, or how something is done. In most cases, it does not make sense grammatically to use an adverb before a noun, so we find them after the verb in a sentence.

Now that you know all about adjectives, it is important to make sure you know where common errors occur , and how to ensure your students don’t trip up.

Take the sentence below:

• I want to go to the Tudor blue old big house down the road!

For native speakers of English, this sentence probably feels wrong, but it’s difficult to articulate why; this is because the grammar technique at play here is usually learned incidentally, rather than taught explicitly. The rule of order of adjectives is being broken here. When listing more than one adjective, you begin with a quantity, then your opinion, then size, then age, then shape, then colour, then material, and finally the qualifier. When following this rule, the sentence becomes:

• I want to go to the big old blue Tudor house down the road!

This sentence sounds more natural to speak, even if you had not known the rule beforehand. This hierarchy of importance is something we learn incidentally as an English speaker, although people are unsure how this rule came to be. Even when we don’t use all of the categories, we continue to follow this order.

How many adjectives should you use? There is no definite answer, but there are ways to find out for yourself. Which of these sentences do you prefer?

• A face appeared at the window.
• A scary, pale, ghoulish face appeared at the window.

When comparing these two sentences, the first sentence feels punchier, as the information in the sentence is given to you much quicker. However, the first sentence does not give us any more information about the face. Was it a friend at the window, or was it a ghost? Only the second sentence tells us.

As a result, it is important to find a balance between delivering information quickly, and making sure a reader knows all the important aspects of the moment. If you hear a knock at the door, you might go and answer it. However, if you hear a loud, thumping knock at the door, you might think twice before you open it. This links to lessons you might deliver on the effects of sentence structure.

In English, it is possible to create an adjective from a verb, which results in participles. A present participle ends with -ing, whereas a past participle ends with -ed:

• The movie was exciting .
• I was excited by the movie.

In the first sentence, a present participle is used. This is because the sentence describes the effect the movie has on someone. However, the second sentence uses a past participle as it describes how someone was affected by the movie. Remember, when you are describing an inanimate object, you use a present participle.

However, when you describe a person, you use a present participle:

• I don’t find books interesting .
• Really? I am very interested in books.

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Below are some activities which you can use in the classroom, each of which can help your learners become more comfortable with adjectives!

Ask your learners to describe themselves in a sentence using adjectives! Remember to make sure they use the rule of order. You could begin with describing yourself, then maybe move on to family members, fictional characters or celebrities.

Create a series of riddles for your learners and see if they can figure out the animal from the adjectives. Some examples are below:

• I am fluffy and fast, and I have a wagging tail. I am a dog!
• I am a fast swimmer, and I have a sensitive nose. I am a shark!
• I am fluffy and striped, and I have a painful sting. I am a bumblebee!
• I am fast and striped, and I am black and white all over! I am a zebra!
• I am slow and slimy, with a large shell on my back. I am a snail!

Create a series of sentences, in which there are far too many adjectives. Ask your students to take out the unnecessary adjectives from each sentence. Ask them to explain why they have removed each adjective and see if they understand what makes a word necessary. Some examples are below:

• The scruffy, small, thin, old, spotted dog.
• The beautiful, huge, clean Elizabethan mansion.
• The delicious, colourful Italian dinner.
• The rusty, broken, old, blue, metal car. 

If you want to make this activity more difficult, you can also place the adjectives in a random order. See if your students can order them correctly!

Create a series of synonyms for adjectives on cards and ask your learners to pair up the adjectives which have the same meaning. Some examples of pairs are below:

• Angry and furious.
• Smart and intelligent.
• Funny and humorous.
• Warm and welcoming.

Give learners a pair of adjectives and ask them to identify which of the adjectives is more intense. Alternatively, you can ask your learners if a word could be made more intense, or if a word could be made even softer.

Some examples are:

• Pop or explode.
• Singe or ignite. 
• Little or tiny.
• Large or massive.
• Quick or rapid.

Bedrock’s grammar curriculum teaches simple adjective rules at first, introducing learners to the concept of describing nouns, before moving onto more complex adjective rules and techniques. Each lesson is taught through engaging video activities and bespoke prose, before learning is solidified through contextualising activities and mastery tasks.

Teachers and educators can monitor progress through consistent low-stakes assessment, with data processed and presented neatly in the reporting area of your dashboard. All prose and teaching is differentiated for primary and secondary, solidifying necessary grammar skills as learners progress through school.

Accurate grammar is a skill necessary for your learners’ success throughout their academic careers, and their whole lives, but it isn’t always the most engaging lesson to teach. Through Bedrock’s video teaching and human narration, teachers can save time on marking while knowing their learners are being motivated to learn grammar independently, gaining the mastery they need to apply their knowledge to reading and writing.

Bedrock’s grammar curriculum sits alongside vocabulary to form a comprehensive literacy solution. To find out more about how grammar can benefit your primary and secondary learners, click the link below and start your free trial of Bedrock’s core curriculum.

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23 Oct 2022

08 Mar 2022

Noun as Adjective

As you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that describes a noun:

Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an adjective.

The "noun as adjective" always comes first

If you remember this, it will help you to understand what is being talked about:

• a race horse is a horse that runs in races
• a horse race is a race for horses
• a boat race is a race for boats
• a love story is a story about love
• a war story is a story about war
• a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis
• tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis
• a computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers
• a bicycle shop is a shop that sells bicycles

The "noun as adjective" is singular

Just like a real adjective, the "noun as adjective" is invariable. It is usually in the singular form.

In other words, if there is a plural it is on the real noun only.

A few nouns look plural but we usually treat them as singular (for example news, billiards, athletics). When we use these nouns "as adjectives" they are unchanged:

• a news reporter, three news reporters
• one billiards table, four billiards tables
• an athletics trainer, fifty athletics trainers

Exceptions : When we use certain nouns "as adjectives" (clothes, sports, customs, accounts, arms), we use them in the plural form:

• clothes shop, clothes shops
• sports club, sports clubs
• customs duty, customs duties
• accounts department, accounts departments
• arms production

How do we write the "noun as adjective"?

We write the "noun as adjective" and the real noun in several different ways:

• two separate words (car door)
• two hyphenated words (book-case)
• one word (bathroom)

There are no easy rules for this. We even write some combinations in two or all three different ways: (head master, head-master, headmaster)

How do we say the "noun as adjective"?

For pronunciation, we usually stress the first word:

Can we have more than one "noun as adjective"?

Yes. Just like adjectives, we often use more than one "noun as adjective" together. Look at these examples:

car production costs: we are talking about the costs of producing cars

England football team coach: we are talking about the coach who trains the team that plays football for England

Note: in England football team coach can you see a "hidden" "noun as adjective"? Look at the word "football" (foot-ball). These two nouns (foot+ball) have developed into a single noun (football). This is one way that words evolve. Many word combinations that use a "noun as adjective" are regarded as nouns in their own right, with their own dictionary definition. But not all dictionaries agree with each other. For example, some dictionaries list "tennis ball" as a noun and other dictionaries do not.

government road accident research centre: we are talking about a centre that researches into accidents on the road for the government

Newspapers often use many nouns together in headlines to save space. Look at this example:

To understand headlines like these, try reading them backwards. The above headline is about a MYSTERY concerning a MURDER in a CENTRE for RESEARCH into the HEALTH of BIRDS.

• empty coffee jar
• honest car salesman
• delicious dog food
• rising car production costs
• famous England football team coach

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Noun or adjective september 13, 2017 3:28 pm   subscribe.

adjective amounting to ten in number.

100 English Words: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs

Want to expand your vocabulary amazingly fast? Today we’re going to take 25 words and turn them into 100 words by learning their multiple forms – a noun form, verb form, adjective form, and adverb form.

English words with a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb form

You probably already know the English word beautiful – that’s an adjective, it describes a person or thing. Now, make sure you know all 4 forms:

• Noun: I stopped to admire the beauty of the sunset. (in this sentence it’s being used as a noun – THE beauty)
• Verb: She painted some flowers on the wall to beautify the room. (beautify is an action, a verb, meaning to make something beautiful)
• Adjective: I bought a beautiful new dress. (as an adjective, it describes a thing – in this case, a dress)
• Adverb: He sings (as an adverb, it describes a verb – the way he sings)

Let’s keep going with more English words that have 4 forms.

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Example sentences – 100 English words:

Action / act / active / actively.

• Noun : His actions spoke louder than words, demonstrating his commitment.
• Verb : He acted in self-defense when confronted by the intruder.
• Adjective : The volcano is currently active and poses a threat to nearby villages.
• Adverb : Investors actively monitored the stock market for signs of volatility.

BEAUTY / BEAUTIFY / BEAUTIFUL / BEAUTIFULLY

• Noun : I stopped to admire the beauty of the sunset.
• Verb : She painted some flowers on the wall to beautify the room.
• Adjective : I bought a beautiful new dress.
• Adverb : He sings beautifully .

COLLECTION / COLLECT / COLLECTIVE / COLLECTIVELY

• Noun: The museum boasts an impressive collection of ancient artifacts from around the world.
• Verb: We need to collect donations for the local food bank to support families in need.
• Adjective: The team made a collective decision to postpone the project until after the holidays.
• Adverb: The citizens of the town worked collectively to rebuild after the devastating tornado.

COMFORT / COMFORT / COMFORTABLE / COMFORTABLY

• Noun : His words of encouragement were a source of great comfort to her during the difficult time.
• Verb : She tried to comfort her crying child by singing a soothing lullaby.
• Adjective : The new sofa is so comfortable that I fell asleep on it last night.
• Adverb : Despite the long journey, the traveler slept comfortably on the train.

CONSIDERATION / CONSIDER / CONSIDERABLE / CONSIDERABLY

• Noun : The committee took all the factors into consideration before making a decision.
• Verb : Before accepting the job offer, she needed time to consider her options.
• Adjective : There has been a considerable increase in the price of gasoline this year.
• Adverb : The new software update has improved performance considerably compared to the previous version.

DECISION / DECIDE / DECISIVE / DECISIVELY

• Noun : After much thought, she finally made the decision to move to a new city.
• Verb : We need to decide on a date for the meeting before the end of the week.
• Adjective : The judge’s decisive ruling ended the long-standing legal dispute once and for all.
• Adverb : The CEO acted decisively to cut costs and improve company profitability.

DESTRUCTION / DESTROY / DESTRUCTIVE / DESTRUCTIVELY

• Noun : The tornado left a path of destruction through the town, damaging homes and uprooting trees.
• Verb : The bombs destroyed the city’s roads and buildings.
• Adjective : Habits like smoking are very destructive to your health.
• Adverb : The wildfire spread destructively through the dry forest, fueled by strong winds.

DIFFERENCE / DIFFERENTIATE / DIFFERENT / DIFFERENTLY

• Noun : There is a noticeable difference in temperature between summer and winter.
• Verb : The teacher explained how to differentiate between the two species of birds based on their markings.
• Adjective : They have different tastes in music, which sometimes leads to lively discussions.
• Adverb : Each team member approached the problem differently , resulting in a variety of solutions.

DISTRACTION / DISTRACT / DISTRACTED-DISTRACTING / DISTRACTEDLY

• Noun : The noise from the construction site outside was a constant distraction during the meeting.
• Verb : She tried to distract her little brother with a toy so she could finish her homework.
• Adjective : He was so distracted by his phone that he didn’t notice his friends entering the room.
• Adjective : The bright lights from the billboard were distracting to drivers on the highway.
• Adverb : She answered the phone distractedly , her mind still on the upcoming presentation.

DANGER / ENDANGER / DANGEROUS / DANGEROUSLY

• Noun : Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after the danger had passed.
• Verb : Pollution from factories can endanger marine life in the nearby ocean.
• Adjective : Climbing without proper safety gear is very dangerous .
• Adverb : He drove dangerously fast on the icy road, risking a serious accident.

HOPE / HOPE / HOPEFUL / HOPEFULLY

• Noun : The survivors held onto their hope of being rescued from the deserted island.
• Verb : She hoped that the rainy weather would clear up before the outdoor event.
• Adjective : Despite the setbacks, he remained hopeful about achieving his career goals.
• Adverb : Hopefully , the new treatment will improve her condition and provide relief from the pain.

IMPRESSION / IMPRESS / IMPRESSIVE / IMPRESSIVELY

• Noun : Make sure you dress well – you want to make a good impression at the interview.
• Verb : The young girl’s ability to play the piano really impressed
• Adjective : The new skyscraper in the city is truly impressive in its design and scale.
• Adverb : He reads an impressively large number of books every year.

INTENTION / INTEND / INTENTIONAL / INTENTIONALLY

• Noun : Despite his good intentions , his actions often led to misunderstandings with others.
• Verb : I intend to finish painting the bedroom by the end of the week.
• Adjective : The artist’s use of contrasting colors was intentional , creating a striking visual effect in the painting.
• Adverb : He intentionally ignored her calls because he needed time alone to think.

JUSTIFICATION / JUSTIFY / JUSTIFIABLE-JUSTIFIED / JUSTIFIABLY

• Noun : She provided a detailed justification for her request for time off work.
• Verb : The company had to justify the price increase to its customers by explaining rising production costs.
• Adjective : In some cases, self-defense can be seen as a justifiable reason for using force.
• Adjective : Her anger at the situation was justified given the circumstances.
• Adverb : He was justifiably proud of his team’s achievement in winning the championship.

MADNESS / MADDEN / MAD / MADLY

• Noun : The financial markets were gripped by madness as panicked investors rushed to sell off their stocks.
• Verb : The constant delays began to madden the passengers waiting at the airport.
• Adjective : She was mad at her brother for borrowing her bike without asking.
• Adverb : He fell madly in love with her the moment they met.

POWER / EMPOWER / POWERFUL / POWERFULLY

• Noun : The president wields considerable power over government policy.
• Verb : The program aims to empower disadvantaged youth by teaching them valuable skills.
• Adjective : The winds were so powerful that they knocked down most of the trees in the city.
• Adverb : His speech resonated powerfully with the audience, inspiring them to take action.

PROTECTION / PROTECT / PROTECTIVE / PROTECTIVELY

• Noun : Wearing sunscreen provides protection against harmful UV rays from the sun.
• Verb : It’s important to protect your personal information online to prevent identity theft.
• Adjective : The mother bear was fiercely protective of her cubs, keeping a close watch on them.
• Adverb : He held the child protectively as they crossed the busy street.

SADNESS / SADDEN / SAD / SADLY

• Noun : His eyes reflected deep sadness after hearing the news of his friend’s passing.
• Verb : The loss of his beloved pet deeply saddened
• Adjective : It was a sad movie that left everyone in tears by the end.
• Adverb : She shook her head sadly when she heard about the accident.

SECURITY / SECURE / SECURE / SECURELY

• Noun : The company invested heavily in improvements to its data security .
• Verb : Please secure the doors before leaving the building to prevent unauthorized access.
• Adjective : The safe is a secure place to store valuable documents.
• Adverb : The package was securely wrapped to ensure it wouldn’t get damaged during shipping.

SIGNIFICANCE / SIGNIFY / SIGNIFICANT / SIGNIFICANTLY

• Noun : The discovery of the ancient artifact held great significance for archaeologists studying the region’s history.
• Verb : Her gesture of handing him the key signified their commitment to each other.
• Adjective : There has been a significant increase in the number of visitors to the museum since the new exhibit opened.
• Adverb : The new policy has significantly improved employee satisfaction within the company.

STRENGTH / STRENGTHEN / STRONG / STRONGLY

• Noun : The strength of their friendship was evident in how they supported each other through difficult times.
• Verb : Regular exercise can help strengthen your muscles and improve overall health.
• Adjective : She has a strong personality that commands respect from everyone around her.
• Adverb : He strongly believes in the importance of education as a tool for social change.

SUCCESS / SUCCEED / SUCCESSFUL / SUCCESSFULLY

• Noun : His hard work and dedication led to great success in his career.
• Verb : With determination and perseverance, she managed to succeed in completing her degree.
• Adjective : The company launched a successful marketing campaign that boosted sales.
• Adverb : The climbers successfully reached the summit of the mountain.

UNDERSTANDING / UNDERSTAND / UNDERSTANDABLE / UNDERSTANDABLY

• Noun : Their understanding of each other’s perspectives helped resolve the conflict peacefully.
• Verb : After reading the instructions carefully, she began to understand how to assemble the furniture.
• Adjective : It’s understandable that she was upset after hearing the news about her job.
• Adverb : He was understandably nervous before his first solo performance on stage.

SPEED / SPEED / SPEEDY / SPEEDILY

• Noun : The car was traveling at a high speed when it collided with the barrier.
• Verb : He sped through the traffic to make it to the airport on time.
• Adjective : The courier service guarantees speedy delivery of packages within 24 hours.
• Adverb : The paramedics responded to the emergency call speedily , arriving at the scene within minutes.

I hope this lesson has helped you improve your vocabulary speedily!

I’m ready to help you learn more vocabulary and grammar – come visit my website, EspressoEnglish.net, to join my Vocabulary Builder Courses and get my English grammar e-books. I’d love to see you there!

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adjective homework

• Thread starter belongedto
• Start date Jul 2, 2019

Senior Member

• Jul 2, 2019

Source: VOA Learning English, Everyday Grammar, Understanding Noncount Nouns A count noun in your native language might be a non-count noun in English. For example, the Spanish translation for homework (tarea) is a count noun. But homework is a non-count noun in English. It would sound strange to say, “I had three HOMEWORKS.” You could say, “I had a lot of homework.” You could also say, “I had three homework assignments.” In this example, homework is used as an adjective . Is "homework" also an adjective?  

In "I have to get a new bicycle seat" the word "bicycle," which is considered to be a noun, serves as an adjective to describe the type of seat I need.  

Egmont said: In "I have to get a new bicycle seat" the word "bicycle," which is considered to be a noun, serves as an adjective to describe the type of seat I need. Click to expand...

Edinburgher

Yes. It's all to do with how we define terms such as "adjective", Ed.  

It's an adjective in that context. It serves the function of an adjective in that context. You can describe it in different ways. is used as an adjective Notice they don't say it "is". They say it's "used as".  

Is the word homework a noun?

Yes, the word homework is a noun, a common, uncountable, noun; a word for work assigned to do at home, a word for a thing.

The definition of noun is a person, place, thing, or idea; HOMEWORK falls into the category of thing.

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