Adjectives without nouns

 Adjectives can be used without nouns in a few different ways. Here are some examples:

1. Predicate Adjectives: These are adjectives that come after a linking verb and describe the subject of the sentence.

• She is happy.
• The food smells delicious.
• The sky looks blue.

2. Noun Phrases Omitted: Sometimes, in conversation, we omit the noun that the adjective would typically modify because it's obvious from the context.

• "I like the blue one." (instead of "I like the blue shirt")
• "She has a small." (instead of "She has a small dog")

3. Exclamatory Adjectives: These are adjectives that are used to express strong emotions or feelings.

• What a beautiful day!
• How awful!
• You look great!

Here are some exercises to practice using adjectives without nouns:

1. Identify the predicate adjectives in the following sentences:

a. The flowers smelled sweet. b. The cake looks delicious. c. The room feels stuffy. d. The music sounds soothing.

2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate adjective:

a. How _______! (awful / awfully) b. What _______ flowers! (beautiful / beautifully) c. You look _______! (great / greatly) d. How _______ the room is! (stuffy / stuffily)

3. Rewrite the following sentences, adding in the missing noun:

a. He wants the red one. b. I like the big. c. She has a new. d. They bought the expensive.

Answers:

1. a. sweet, b. delicious, c. stuffy, d. soothing
2. a. awful, b. beautiful, c. great, d. stuffy
3. a. He wants the red shirt., b. I like the big house., c. She has a new car., d. They bought the expensive watch.

We can use "the" with an adjective to refer to a specific noun that is being modified by that adjective. This is often called a "defining adjective," because it helps to define or identify the noun more clearly.

For example:

• The blue car is mine. (referring to a specific car that is blue)
• The tall man walked into the room. (referring to a specific man who is tall)
• The delicious pizza is on the table. (referring to a specific pizza that is delicious)

Note that when using "the" with an adjective, the adjective comes before the noun. This is the normal word order in English for an adjective modifying a noun.

It's also worth noting that there are some adjectives that are used almost exclusively with "the," such as "the only," "the same," and "the whole."

For example:

• He is the only person who knows the truth.
• We ate the same meal every day.
• The whole city was affected by the storm.

So, in summary, we can use "the" with an adjective to refer to a specific noun that is being modified by that adjective, and the adjective typically comes before the noun.