Any word that can be used to replace the word “ጎበዝ / smart” is called an adjective.

• (ሀ) ጐበዝ ተማሪ (Smart student)
• (ለ) በጣም ጐበዝ (Very smart)

The word “ጐበዝ / smart” can be replaced by words like (ብልህ) intelligent, ረጅም (tall), ሰነፍ (lazy), etc.

However, words like “ገደለ (killed)” and “ሰው (human)” cannot replace the word “ጐበዝ / smart, brave.” Because these words are parts of a noun and a verb. They cannot be classified as adjectives.

ለምሳሌ፦

• አበበ ሰነፍ ነው። (Abebe is lazy.)
• አንተ ሰነፍ ነህ። (You are lazy.)
• ሰነፍ ስለሆንክ ነው በቶሎ ያልተማርከው። (It’s because you’re lazy that you didn’t learn sooner.)
• እኔ ሰነፍ ተማሪ አልወድም። (I don’t like a lazy student.)

A descriptive adjective is a word that describes the type and character of a person or thing. Descriptive adjectives describe qualities or characteristics of a noun. The following 4 words are examples of descriptive adjectives.

• ውብ (Beautiful)
• ቂል (silly)
• ረጅም (tall)
• የሚያናድድ  (annoying)
• ጥሩ (nice) ወዘተ

ምሳሌ፦

• እሱ ትልቅ ሀሳብ ሰጠኝ። He gave me a great idea.
• እሷ ጥሩ ሰው ናት። She is a good person.
• መጥፎ ሀሳብ አይደለም። That is not a bad idea.
• እኔ ከባድ መስሎኝ ነበር። I thought it was difficult.

መልመጃ፦ Identify the Amharic descriptive adjectives in the following sentences.

1. እሷ ጥሩ ህይወት ትኖራለች። She has a good life.
2. እሱ እጅግ በጣም ጥሩ ኳስ ተጫዋች ነው። He is an excellent ball player.
3. እዚህ አካባቢ መጥፎ ሽታ አለ። There is a bad smell around here.
4. ድመቷ ሰማያዊ የሆኑ ቆንጆ ዓይኖች አሏት። The cat has beautiful blue eyes.
5. እሱ ከፍተኛ የማሰብና የመመራመር ችሎታ ያለው ሰው ነው። He is a man of great intellectual.
6. እኛ የቅርብ ጓደኛሞች ነን። We are intimate friends.
7. ለወደፊቱ ጠንቃቃ ሁን። Be careful in the future.
8. በቂ ያልሆነ ትምህርት ለኑሮ መሳካት እንቅፋት ሊሆን ይችላል። A poor education can be a hindrance to success.
9. ይህ የማይረባ ምክንያት ነው። This is a poor excuse.
10. ጸጉሬ ሸብቷል። My hair has turned gray.
11. ባሏ ቀናተኛ ነው። Her husband is jealous.