Definition of adjective

(a) Read the following sentences :
1. Apoorva is an intelligent boy. (What kind of boy ?)
2. I don’t like that house.  (Which house ?)
3. I have five books.  (How many books ?)
4. There is little time left. (How much time ?)
In sentence 1, ‘intelligent’ shows what kind of boy Apoorva is.
In sentence 2, ‘that’ points out which house is meant.
In sentence 3, ‘five’ shows how many books I have.
In sentence 4, ‘little’ shows how much time is left.
Definition. A word used with a noun to describe it (kind, place, number, quantity) is called an adjective.
The word ‘adjective’ means ‘added to’.

(b) Look at the following sentences :

1. The boy is hardworking.
2. The hardworking boy stood first.

In both these sentences, hardworking describes the boy. Hence it is adjective in both the sentences.
In the first sentence ‘hardworking is used along with the verb ‘is’ and is a part of the predicate. It is therefore said to be used predicatively.
In the second sentence, ‘hardworking’ is used along with the noun ‘boy’ i.e.. as an attribute of the boy. It is therefore said to be used attributively.