Adjectives and Verbs

There are two things to consider when contemplating the relationship between adjectives and verbs. The first is that adjectives can come after the verb:

The rock star was crazy.

The cat’s tail is long.

I am furious with my business partner.

The cookies smell awesome!

That shirt looks great on you.

Note that these are forms of to be or “sense” verbs: to look, to seem, to appear, to taste, to sound, to feel, to smell, etc. If these verbs are modifying the noun in front of them, an adjective will always be required so the noun is properly modified.

The second thing to consider is verbs that turn into adjectives; these are called participles. Usually, the verb has ‑ing tacked onto the end of the root form, or it’s the past tense. The adjective can be placed before the noun or after the verb.

The smiling baby is really cute.

Smiling is used as an adjective here, as is cute.

This is my new washing machine.

Washing is acting like an adjective for machine.

This is my broken washing machine.

This washing machine is broken.

Broken is an adjective which is modifying washing machine.

In the summer, frozen popsicles are refreshing.

The secretary handed the boss the translated document.

After washing all the teacups, she found a forgotten one in the living room.