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Adjectives Proper

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What Is A Proper Adjective?

Different types of adjectives in English grammar are comparative adjectives, superlative adjectives, positive adjectives, predicate adjectives, demonstrative adjectives, participle adjectives, proper adjectives, limiting adjectives, interrogative adjectives, descriptive adjectives, attributes adjectives, distributed adjectives, etc. The meaning of a proper adjective is the adjective that originated from a proper noun. A proper adjective is constructed with a proper noun (name, place, thing, etc.) and describes another proper noun. For example, Italian is a proper adjective. It is constructed with the place name Italy and refers to something that belongs to Italy. To know what is a proper adjective with examples, go through this article. In this article, we will discuss proper adjectives in detail.


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Why Do We Use Proper Adjectives?

Proper adjectives are used to avoid the clunky and awkward format of a sentence. Proper adjectives decrease a sentence's length. Also, these adjectives are used in academic and artistic contexts. Here, we are explaining the importance of proper adjectives with examples. 


I love food that comes from China.


The above sentence is about the food of China. The format of the sentence is a bit awkward. Instead of it, we can write- 


I love Chinese food.


Now the sentence is not lengthy and more clear. In this sentence, Chinese is the proper adjective. It is formed with the word China and describes the food of China. Here comes the necessity of proper adjectives.


Formation Of Proper Adjectives

A proper adjective is constructed with a proper noun. It is formed by adding some specific ending to a proper noun. There is no general formula for creating a proper adjective. All of them are formed by adding different endings to the proper nouns. The most common endings are -an -ian, -istic, -esque, etc. For example, Tibetan is a proper adjective. It is formed by adding -an to the proper noun Tibet. It describes something that belongs to the country Tibet. 


Some proper adjectives are formed by adding prefixes to the proper adjectives. When a prefix is added to a proper Adjective to create another proper adjective, the prefix path should not be capitalized, but the origin path should be capitalized. For example, anti-Western. Here the adjective refers to something opposite to Western. The prefix is anti, and the original proper adjective is Western.


Some proper adjectives are formed with hyphens. Example: English-speaking. It refers to someone who speaks English. In these adjectives, only the proper noun part should be capitalized.


Proper Adjectives From Places

Here, we are mentioning some proper adjectives that originated from place names.


  • Africa- African

  • Britain- British

  • India- Indian

  • Asia- Asian

  • America- American

  • Mexico- Mexican

  • France- French

  • Europe- European

  • Alaska- Alaskan

  • Brazil- Brazilian

  • Antarctica- Antarctic


Proper Adjectives From Names

Now, we are mentioning some proper adjectives that are constructed from people's names.


  • Gautama Buddha- Buddhist

  • Confucius- Confuciawas

  • Jesus Christ- Christian

  • Charles Darwin- Darwinian

  • Adolf Hitler- Hitlerian

  • Karl Marx- Marxist

  • William Shakespeare- Shakespearean


Proper Adjectives In Sentences

Now, we are giving some examples of proper adjectives used in sentences.


  • Momo is the best Chinese food on the menu.

  • German chocolate is rich in taste and flavours.

  • I love Punjabi songs.

  • I dream of Italian food.

  • The American singer sounded loud in the concert hall.

  • We can plan for a European trip.

  • The Swiss cake was so delicious.

  • The dresses are anti-Western.

  • I am interested in learning French at an institute.

  • My Spanish friend wants to join our social service events.

  • I love to read Shakespearean plays.

  • The Buddhist people were going to the monastery.


Solved Examples

Fill in the blanks with proper adjectives.

1. My mother gifted me this _____ dress.

Ans: Western


2. Justin is an _____ player.

Ans: Australian


3. I like _____ cuisine.

Ans: Italian


4. ______ sonnets are complicated to understand.

Ans: Petrarchan


5. He uses a _____ rifle.

Ans: Kentuckian


6. All the ______ people are not black.

Ans: African


7. There is nothing called ______ love.

Ans: Platonic


8. ______ English is different from conventional English.

Ans: Texan


9. He has always been a _____.

Ans: Marxist


10. I did not understand the _____ ethics.

Ans: Kantian


Identify the proper adjectives from the following sentences.

1. Indian people are rich in culture.

Ans: Indian


2. I love Italian cuisine.

Ans: Italian


3. My mother makes some delicious Mexican ice cream.

Ans: Mexican


4. We need a French teacher for our college.

Ans: French


5. Buddhist people are very religious.

Ans: Buddist


6. Darwinian evolution is a crucial topic of Biology.

Ans: Darwinian

FAQs on Adjectives Proper

1. Write down proper adjective definitions and examples with explanations.

Proper adjectives are constructed with a proper noun and describe another proper noun. Proper adjectives are direct and clear. We use proper adjectives to avoid the clunky and awkward format of a sentence. Also, these adjectives are used in academic and artistic contexts. Proper adjectives decrease a sentence's length. For example, Italian is a proper adjective. It is constructed with the place name Italy and refers to something that belongs to Italy. The second example is English-speaking. It refers to someone who speaks English. Another example is anti-Western. Here the adjective refers to something that is opposite to Western, and it is formed with the word Western.

2. Mention some examples of proper adjectives and use them in sentences.

Here, we are mentioning writing some examples of proper adjectives and using them in sentences.

  • Mexican- Mexican starters are delicious.

  • Buddhist- The Buddist monks were going to the monastery.

  • Western- I have a huge collection of Western dresses.

  • Darwinian- Darwinian evolution is a crucial topic of Biology.

  • Italian- My mother is cooking an Italian dish.

  • Spanish- Roma is learning Spanish music.

  • British- British rule was in India for almost 200 years.

  • Chinese- Momo is the best Chinese food on the menu.

  • Brazilian- Brazilian footballers are talented. 

  • Marxist- Ishan was a Marxist in his college days. 

  • Christian- The area is covered by Christian people.