9.1  Definition   

Adjectives modify nouns. Adjectives can be used before a noun (I like Chinese food) or after certain verbs (It is hard). We can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady).

Generally speaking, adjectives answer the following questions:

• Which?

• What kind of?

• How many?

9.2  Kinds of Adjectives

9.2.1  Determiners限定詞 (some grammarians do not consider determiners as adjectives, but give them a class of their own.)
Determiners are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at the beginning of noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same noun phrase.

9.2.1.1  Articles (A / An or The)

An article is an adjective that modifies nouns. The English language has two types of articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

9.2.1.1.1  Uses of the indefinite article a/an:

9.2.1.1.1.1  To talk about something for the first time:

• There’s a kitchen and a dining room.

9.2.1.1.1.2  To describe “one of many”:

• Christianity is a religion.

• 9.2.1.1.3  With jobs and professions:

• I’m a teacher. She is an engineer.

• 9.2.1.1.4  With certain expressions of quantity:

• a little food, a few beds, a couple of friends,

• 9.2.1.1.5  Only with singular count nouns:

• a bottle of water, a new glass of milk, a boy, a country

• 9.2.1.1.6  Use a for nouns and adjectives which begin with a consonant sound, and an for nouns and adjectives which begin with a vowel sound:

• a boy, an armchair, an honor, an easy way, a beautiful girl, a user (sounds like ‘yoo-zer,’ i.e., begins with a consonant ‘y’ sound, so ‘a’ is used); a university, a unicycle, an unusual problem, a European country (sounds like ‘yoo-ro-pi-an,’ i.e., begins with a consonant ‘y’ sound), a uniform, an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan.  

9.2.1.1.1.7  When describing people or things in quantity with adjectives, we usually use a or an before the adjectives:

• We had a record rice crop that year.

• We walked a good three miles before we came to a village.

• Everything happened in a mere two minutes.

• A record 5,000 graduates pursue degrees this year.

9.2.1.1.2  Uses of the definite article the:

9.2.1.1.2.1  To talk about something again:

• In the kitchen there’s a table, and on the table there’s a cat.

9.2.1.1.2.2  With certain places and names:

• the Alps, the USA, the West.

• 9.2.1.1.2.3  When there is only one:

• the president, the government, the sun, the weather.

• 9.2.1.1.2.4  To refer to a specific group of people or things, or a particular member of a group, when the is used before a singular count noun:

• the most popular movie of the year; Islam is the religion practiced by all the believers in the Koran.

• The dunce wonders; the wise man asks.（愚者惑而不問，智者問而不惑）

• A Brief History of the Western Novel.

9.2.1.1.2.5  When information given in the sentence limits the plural count noun to all the members in a specific category: (see also 9.2.1.1.4)

• Christianity and Buddhism are the religions practiced by our classmates (meaning: Christianity and Buddhism are all the religions practiced by our classmates.)

(“Christianity and Buddhism are religions practiced by our classmates” is also correct, meaning: Christianity and Buddhism are two/two of the religions practiced by our classmates.)

9.2.1.1.2.6  Use of the in front of abbreviations and their full forms but not before acronyms and their full forms. Eg.

• He is in charge of the ICAC. (ICAC is an abbreviation)

• He is in charge of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. (full form of ICAC)

• For its first few years, NATO was not much more than a political association. (NATO is an acronym)

• For its first few years, North Atlantic Treaty Organization was not much more than a political association. (full form of NATO)

9.2.1.1.3  Uses of a/an/the for singular countable nouns

All singular countable nouns must be preceded by either an indefinite article (a or an) or a definite article (the).

society as a whole

 

問：The society as a whole（整個社會）的the字有沒有誤用？

答：這位讀者是今年中文大學英文系新生，說「上課時見到」這寫法。但不管是見於書本還是黑板，the society as a whole的the都應刪去。「整個社會」英文可說society as a whole或the community as a whole，例如：This is a policy that should benefit society as a whole/ the community as a whole（這政策應對整個社會有利）。韋氏詞典Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's English Dictionary society條也有以下例句：Poverty hurts society as a whole（貧窮有損整個社會）。

「整個社會」的另一說法是society at large或the community at large。例如：This is a policy that should benefit society at large。

​

9.2.1.1.4  Uses of the for plural countable nouns

9.2.1.1.4.1  When the plural countable noun does not represent all the members in a specific category, no article comes before it: (see also 9.2.1.1.2.5)

• Islam and Hinduism are religions.

9.2.1.1.4.2  When information given in the sentence limits the plural countable noun to all the members in a specific category or group, the definite article the is used: (the same as 9.2.1.1.2.5)

• The boys in shorts, please stand up. (meaning: all the boys in shorts)

• 9.2.1.1.5  Uses of the for uncountable nouns
  Uncountable nouns are always singular because they cannot be counted. E.g.,

• honesty, knowledge, wisdom, ignorance, information, evidence, research, advice

No article comes before uncountable nouns when a specific reference is not being made. But when it is obvious that a specific reference is being made, the definite article the is used. E.g.

• The honesty of the man is his greatest virtue.

 9.2.1.1.6  You don’t use any article:

9.2.1.1.6.1  With certain expressions, such as:

• at home

• at work

• in bed

• by car

• on foot

• 9.2.1.1.6.2  With meals, languages, most countries, cities and towns, streets, mountains (but mountain ranges 山脈 use the), most islands, continents, sports, academic subjects, parts of body:

• Let’s have lunch. (meals)

• Please speak English. (languages)

• We live in France, but we like to visit the United States. (countries)

• Susan lives in Hong Kong. (cities and towns)

• Chu Hai College is located on Yi Lok Street. (streets)

• Sue climbed the Himalayas and eventually reached Mount Everest. (mountain ranges and mountains)

• He lives in Easter Island. (islands)

• She went to Europe last summer. (continents)

• They play football. (sports)

• She is good in mathematics. (academic subjects)

• There is hair on his arms. (parts of body)

9.2.1.1.7  Geographical use of the:

9.2.1.1.7.1  Do not use the before:

9.2.1.1.7.1.1  Names of most countries/territories, eg.

• Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, Japan, China, Australia, Brazil. Congo
  (however, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the United States, the Bahamas, the Vatican, the Dominican Republic, the People’s Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Gambia.)

The United Kingdom, England, Britain, Great Britain

 

https://www.denverlibrary.org/blog/england-great-britain-united-kingdom-whats-difference

 

Sometimes you find answers in unexpected places. I found the most succinct description I've ever seen of how England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom relate to each other in a library newsletter about travel guidebooks:

• London is the capital of England.

• England is a country.

• Britain is an area that consists of England and the country of Wales.

• Great Britain is the name of the island that is home to the countries of England, Wales, and Scotland.

• The United Kingdom (UK) is a country that is a union of the countries on the island of Great Britain, along with the country of Northern Ireland (which shares the island of Ireland with the Republic of Ireland.)

• The Republic of Ireland is a separate country that is not part of the UK.

• London is also the capital of the UK.

Guidebooks will often include various parts of this geography, with the most common subdivisions being London, England, and Great Britain. Travelers should be aware that while all residents of the UK are British subjects, residents of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will prefer to be referred to as Welsh, Scottish, and Irish, respectively, rather than British.

9.2.1.1.7.1.2  Names of cities, towns, provinces, or states:

• Seoul, Manitoba, Guangdong, Miami

9.2.1.1.7.1.3  Names of streets:

• Washington Boulevard, Main Street, Yi Lok Street, Nathan Road

9.2.1.1.7.1.4  Names of lakes and bays:

• Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie
  (except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes)

  1.  Names of mountains:

• Mount Everest, Mount Fuji
  (but use the with ranges of mountains, like the Andes, the Rockies, or unusual names like the Matterhorn)

  1. Names of continents:

• Asia, Europe, Australia, South America, Africa

  1. Names of islands:

• Easter Island, Maui, Key West, Cheung Chau
  (except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands)

9.2.1.1.7.2  Do use the before:

9.2.1.1.7.2.1  Names of rivers, oceans and seas:

• the Nile, the Amazon, the Yellow River, the Pacific Ocean

9.2.1.1.7.2.2  Points on the globe:

• the Equator, the North Pole

9.2.1.1.7.2.3  Geographical areas:

• the Middle East, the West

9.2.1.1.7.2.4  Deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas:

• the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

9.2.1.1.8  Pronunciation:

9.2.1.1.8.1  A is used before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel:

• a boy

• a user

• a university

• a unicycle

• a European country

  1.  An is used before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant:

• an unusual problem

• an honour

• an hour

• an FBI agent

  1.  The is pronounced “the” before a consonant sound:

• the uniform, the boy, the house

but pronounced “dee” before a vowel sound:

• dee H-bomb, dee egg, dee elephant