{"id":4042,"date":"2013-06-27T17:00:28","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T17:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/?page_id=4042"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:25:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T20:25:02","slug":"choosing-the-correct-adjective","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/choosing-the-correct-adjective\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Know Which Adjective to Choose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmDeferVideoEncompass_Aqh8SGHifaU\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n\t\t\t<picture>\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\">\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"> \n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" id=\"videoThumbnailImage_Aqh8SGHifaU\" data-source-videoID=\"Aqh8SGHifaU\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" alt=\"How to Know Which Adjective to Choose Video\" height=\"464\" width=\"825\" class=\"size-full\" data-matomo-title = \"How to Know Which Adjective to Choose\">\n\t\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<style>img#videoThumbnailImage_Aqh8SGHifaU:hover {cursor:pointer;} img#videoThumbnailImage_Aqh8SGHifaU {background-size:contain;background-image:url(\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/updated-how-to-know-which-adjective-to-choose-64bed7db40ca1.webp\");}<\/style>\n\t\t\t<script defer>\n\t\t\t  jQuery(\"img#videoThumbnailImage_Aqh8SGHifaU\").click(function() {\n\t\t\t\tlet videoId = jQuery(this).attr(\"data-source-videoID\");\n\t\t\t\tlet helpTag = '<div id=\"mmDeferVideoYTMessage_Aqh8SGHifaU\" style=\"display: none;position: absolute;top: -24px;width: 100%;text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;font-size: small;border-top: 1px solid #fc0;\">Having trouble? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v='+videoId+'\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch on YouTube.<\/a><\/span><\/div>';\n\t\t\t\tlet tag = document.createElement(\"iframe\");\n\t\t\t\ttag.id = \"yt\" + videoId;\n\t\t\t\ttag.src = \"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\" + videoId + \"?autoplay=1&controls=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0&egm=0&iv_load_policy=3&hd=0&enablejsapi=1\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.frameborder = 0;\n\t\t\t\ttag.allow = \"autoplay; fullscreen\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.width = this.width;\n\t\t\t\ttag.height = this.height;\n\t\t\t\ttag.setAttribute(\"data-matomo-title\",\"How to Know Which Adjective to Choose\");\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_Aqh8SGHifaU\").html(tag);\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_Aqh8SGHifaU\").prepend(helpTag);\n\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(function(){jQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoYTMessage_Aqh8SGHifaU\").css(\"display\", \"block\");}, 2000);\n\t\t\t  });\n\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><script>\nfunction n2a_Function() {\n  var x = document.getElementById(\"n2a\");\n  if (x.style.display === \"none\") {\n    x.style.display = \"block\";\n  } else {\n    x.style.display = \"none\";\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"moc-toc hide-on-desktop hide-on-tablet\">\n<div><button onclick=\"n2a_Function()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/toc2.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"show or hide table of contents\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>On this page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<nav id=\"n2a\" style=\"display:none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Farther_vs_Further\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Farther vs. Further<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Fewer_vs_Less\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Fewer vs. Less<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Superlatives\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Superlatives<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"accordion\"><input id=\"transcript\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"transcript\">Transcript<\/label>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"transcript-spoiler\">\n<p>Hey, guys! Welcome to this Mometrix video on using the correct adjective.<\/p>\n<p>There is a lot of freedom in deciding which <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/what-is-an-adjective\/\">adjectives<\/a> you use. It really just depends upon the point the author is trying to make, or what the author wants the reader or listener to envision.<\/p>\n<p>For example, someone may use certain adjectives in order to exaggerate a point, or they may use adjectives in order to be very specific. So, there is a way to write in which you may not be literally correct, but you can be grammatically correct.<\/p>\n<p>In this video, we will discuss a few adjectives that often get misused.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Farther_vs_Further\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Farther vs. Further<\/h2>\n<p>\nFirst, <em>farther<\/em> vs. <em>further<\/em>. You would use farther when you are talking about geographical distance. Look at this sentence:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">Once you see the red barn on your right, drive down about half a mile farther.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nIn this sentence, you are referring to the distance that someone should drive, so <em>farther<\/em> is the correct adjective.<\/p>\n<p>You would use <em>further<\/em> when describing the magnitude or severity of a situation or an action being taken, it can also refer to figurative distance. For example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">He decided that no further action was needed.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Fewer_vs_Less\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Fewer vs. Less<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe next set of adjectives that frequently get misused are <em>fewer<\/em> and <em>less<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>You should use fewer when you are referring to things that can or should have a specific measurable value, or can be counted. For example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">We brought fewer players to the tournament this year.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nIn this case, we are using <em>fewer<\/em> to reference something that can be easily quantified.<\/p>\n<p><em>Less<\/em> should be used when you are referring to something that is not specifically quantified, but rather you are referring to a whole. For example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">There was less water in the lake this year.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<em>Less<\/em> is used in this case, because they are not referring to a specific quantity. It is just generally being stated that the water was down.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Superlatives\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Superlatives<\/h2>\n<p>\nThe last type of adjective we will talk about are superlatives.<\/p>\n<p>A superlative can be an adjective or an <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/adverbs-that-modify-adjectives\/\">adverb<\/a> that refers to the subject as exceeding or surpassing everyone else. This means that there can only be one. Example of superlatives are <em>best<\/em>, <em>worst<\/em>, <em>least<\/em>, <em>most<\/em>, and several other words ending in <em>-est<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>For example. it would be incorrect to say, \u201cHe is one of the best athletes.\u201d A correct way to say this might be, \u201cHe is the best athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here is another example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The TV show we watched last night is one of the most popular shows on TV.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThis is incorrect. A correct way to say this could be to say, \u201cThe TV show we watched last night is among the more popular shows on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These distinctions may seem small and insignificant. Like, why does it matter? People will get the point either way. And you are probably right, however, as a writer or speaker, understanding these distinctions, can help to add clarity, and can help to minimize the risk of tainting your credibility.<\/p>\n<p>I hope that this video was helpful for you! See you guys next time!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"home-buttons\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/parts-of-a-sentence\/\">Return to Parts of a Sentence Videos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return to Parts of a Sentence Videos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":186056,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-4042","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"page_category-parts-of-a-sentence-videos","7":"page_category-video-pages-for-study-course-sidebar-ad","8":"page_type-video","9":"subject_matter-english"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4042"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292325,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4042\/revisions\/292325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}