A Very Jective Truth

Posted on by Zahid Hussain

For those who know the English language intimately and languages in general, the elements of grammar termed the parts of speech such as the noun, pronoun, verb are familiar friends. But have you met the jective? My guess is that you’ve been using jectives all your life, but didn’t know it, because you were calling them adjectives.

Hmm, let me show you this conundrum in a different way using the grand modifier, the adverb:

  • An adverb adds meaning to and modifies a verb.
  • An adjective adds meaning to and modifies an, erm, a jective! 

Simple, no? But who said language was logical? Not me. Actually, for a long time we used to call adjectives, noun adjectives and therein lies the word’s true origin. A jective is just a noun now, although it wasn’t once and pronouns are projectives. Isn’t it cool?

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