qualifying adjective

6.5

A word that describes a quality of a person, place, or thing

noun
/ˈkwɑlɪˌfaɪɪŋ ˈædʒɛktɪv/

Specialized

: adjetivo calificativo

In the phrase 'a cold morning', the word cold is a qualifying adjective describing the noun.

Examples

In the sentence 'The bright star shone in the night sky,' the word 'bright' is a qualifying adjective that describes the noun 'star.'
A qualifying adjective provides important details about a noun.
A qualifying adjective such as 'happy' can be used before a noun to provide more information about it.
Teachers often highlight qualifying adjectives in sentences to help students understand how description works.
Can you give me an example of a qualifying adjective?
A qualifying adjective like 'tall' can help clarify which person you mean in a conversation.
Learning about qualifying adjectives can help students use more descriptive language in their writing.

Synonyms

descriptive adjective

vsqualifying adjective

Specialized

3.4

Word that describes a quality of a thing, like tall or blue

frames the same idea using the verb 'express' instead of 'describe'

Surface Forms

qualifying adjective singular

qualifying adjectives plural

Morphology

qualifying + adjective

The phrase is compositionally built from 'qualifying' (performing the action of qualifying/limiting or modifying) + 'adjective' (a word that describes a noun), so its meaning 'an adjective that qualifies or modifies a noun' is directly derivable from the parts. This is a straightforward grammatical label found across languages (e.g., Spanish 'adjetivo calificativo'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words should understand it.

Etymology

Qualifying adjective may come from the idea of a small sticker placed on a noun to show one feature. The word qualifying 'adds a quality' and adjective is the describing word, so the phrase means a word that 'gives extra detail' about a noun.