Adjectives can come before a noun and after verbs such as feel, be, and seem. An adjective comes before a noun because it is modifying the attributes of the noun. When adjectives are used to describe the effect of a verb, they come after it as in the statement, "It feels cold outside." Additionally, adverbs, which are words that define anything other than the noun, can be used to modify adjectives, provide additional information and emphasis, so "the hungry dog" becomes "the really hungry dog."
Descriptive adjectives do as the name suggests, they describe the noun or pronoun in use, such as the yellow lemon, or the fast car. There are two types of descriptive adjectives: attributive adjectives and predicate adjectives. An attributive adjective usually comes before the noun and can be used with other adjectives to describe the same noun. For example, "A loud crash disturbed the attentive quiet class."
Predicate adjectives come after a verb that links the noun and adjective together, and make up part of the predicate portion of a sentence. They offer more information about the subject by following a linking verb, as in "The dishes are clean."
Limiting adjectives are used to limit or specify the noun, such as when providing us with quantitative information about the noun. Examples: "There are eight chairs for sale." A limiting adjective can also be "this" or "that," which become adjectives instead of demonstrative pronouns in uses like "Did you see that game?" or "Look at this paper." Possessives can also constitute limiting adjectives, e.g., "This is the girl's doll." Possessive adjectives also include my, your, his, her, our, their and its, and are used to express ownership of the noun.
Proper adjectives, like "French wine," originate from proper nouns. When an adjective is used as the noun of a sentence, such as "the wealthy" or "the old," it is called an adjectival noun. Finally, some adjectives, called resultative adjectives, come after the noun they modify to describe the effect of the verb on the noun, e.g., "He polished his shoes clean."