Adjectives are usually placed before the nouns they modify, but when used with linking verbs, such as forms of to be or “sense” verbs, they are placed after the verb. The latter type of adjective is called a predicative adjective.
In these simple sentences, the adjectives wild, long, and furious follow forms of the verb to be:
“Sense” verbs, such as look, seem, appear, taste, sound, feel, or smell, also demand a verb + adjective word order:
When Verbs Become Adjectives: Participles
Perhaps you are feeling that the relationship between verbs and adjectives is complicated enough, but consider that verbs can also become adjectives by turning into participles. These are verb forms ending in ‑ing (present participles) or -ed or -en (past participles) that are used to modify nouns.
The present participle smiling is used as an adjective here, as is cute.
Washing is acting as an adjective for machine.
In both these instances, broken is an adjective modifying washing machine.
Here, the past participle engraved is acting as an adjective modifying watch.
For more information about adjectives, check out Adjectives: Definitions, Rules, and Examples in our Grammarly Blog.
