Adjectives belong to, and qualify nouns, expressed or understood; as,
"He is a _good_, as well as a _wise_ man."
NOTE 1. Adjectives frequently belong to pronouns; as, "I am
_miserable; He_ is _industrious_."
2. Numeral adjectives belong to nouns, which nouns must agree in
number with their adjectives, when of the _cardinal_ kind; as, "Ten
_feet_; Eighty _fathoms_." But some anomalous and figurative
expressions form an exception to this rule; as, "A fleet of _forty
sail;" "Two hundred head of cattle_."
3. Adjectives sometimes belong to verbs in the infinitive mood, or
to a part of a sentence; as, "_To see_ is _pleasant_; To be blind is
_unfortunate_; To die for our country is _glorious_."
4. Adjectives are often used to modify the sense of other
adjectives, or the action of verbs, and to express the quality of
things in connexion with the action by which that quality is
produced; as, "_Red hot_ iron; _Pale blue_ lining; _Deep sea-green_
sash; The apples boil _soft_; Open your hand _wide_; The clay burns
_white_; The fire burns _blue_; The eggs boil _hard_."
5. When an adjective is preceded by a preposition, and the noun is
understood, the two words may be considered an adverbial phrase; as,
"In general, in particular;" that is, generally, particularly.
6. Adjectives should be placed next to the nouns which they qualify;
as, "A tract of _good_ land."
7. We should generally avoid comparing such adjectives as do not
literally admit of comparison; such as, _more impossible, most
impossible; more unconquerable, more perfect_, &c. See REMARKS on
adjectives, page 76.
8. When an adjective or an adverb is used in comparing two objects,
it should be in the comparative degree; but when more than two are
compared, the superlative ought to be employed; as, "Julia is the
_taller_ of the two; Her specimen is the _best_ of the three."