Adjectives can be formed in few ways:
- Nouns (city bus) can be adjectives.
- Adjectives can be derived from noun (music –> musical).
- Adjectives can be derived from verb (attract –> attractive).
- Adjectives can be non-derived (happy).
This post covers nouns that function as adjective (#1).
We know that adjectives pre-modify noun, like in these sentences. Examples:
The red car sped down the highway.
A noisy classroom can be difficult to concentrate in.
But nouns too can pre-modify noun, functioning like adjectives. Nouns that function as adjective are called nominal adjectives. Examples:
The kitchen table is made of oak.
She bought a gold ring.
He is studying computer science.
The garden hose is coiled up.
She loves chocolate cake.
Here are more examples of nouns functioning as adjective:
baseball cap, basketball court, beach resort, birthday card, board game, business meeting, camping trip, cotton socks, design service, family photo, fiction book, football match, glass door, graphite racket, history book, horror movie, jazz music, kitchen knife, leather jacket, mango smoothie, mountain bike, music concert, national park, pottery class, rescue dog, school bus, science project, silk scarf, software company, sports car, sushi roll, video game, yoga mat
Can nouns modifying nouns be called adjectives?
There are four criteria for being an adjective:
- It can occur in attributive position.
- It can occur in predicative position.
- It can be pre-modified by very.
- It shows comparative and superlative forms.
The first two criteria are the core to being an adjective. A word that meets one on the two is peripheral adjective. A word that meets both is central adjective. Learn more about central vs. peripheral adjective.
Nouns functioning as adjective can occupy only attributive position. In other words, they fulfil only the first criterion:
The kitchen table is made of oak. [Correct]
The table is kitchen. [Incorrect]
very kitchen [Incorrect]
kitchen –> more kitchen –> most kitchen [Incorrect]
Since nouns functioning as adjective fulfil only one of the first two criteria, they can be treated as peripheral adjective.
In a noun phrase, they’re closest to head noun
In a noun phrase with multiple pre-modifiers, noun functioning as adjective is closest to the head noun. In each example below, three modifiers (two adjectives and a noun) modify the head noun (in bold). The noun as adjective is placed closest to the head noun.
A delicious homemade chocolate cake [The noun as adjective (chocolate) is closest to head noun cake.]
The vibrant red autumn leaves
A bright blue sports car
