Adjective (Visheshan) — Patwari Notes
Visheshan are words that describe a quality, number, or quantity of a noun or pronoun. In the exam, an underlined word from a passage is given and you're asked to identify its word class — telling a pronominal adjective apart from a plain pronoun is the most essential skill here.
- Class 6-8 depth level
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What is Visheshan (an adjective)?
Words that limit or make clearer the meaning of a noun or pronoun by stating its quality, flaw, colour, shape, number, or quantity are called visheshan (adjectives) — for example, in 'सुंदर लड़की' ('a beautiful girl'), 'सुंदर' is the adjective. The noun/pronoun whose quality is being described is called the visheshya.
Hindi grammar recognises four main types of adjective: gunvachak (qualitative — describing a quality/flaw/colour/shape: अच्छा, लाल, मीठा), sankhyavachak (numeral — stating a number: एक, दो, कुछ), parimanvachak (quantitative — stating an amount/measure: दो किलो, थोड़ा), and sarvanamik (pronominal — a pronoun that comes before a noun and describes it: यह, वह, कौन-सा).
In Hindi, the usual order is adjective first, then the noun it describes (जैसे 'सुंदर लड़की'), the same order as in English, though in poetry and literary language this order is sometimes reversed (as in 'लड़की सुंदर है', where the adjective comes after, as a complement). A single sentence can also carry more than one adjective, as in 'वह एक लंबा, दुबला, ईमानदार युवक है' ('he is a tall, thin, honest young man') — here लंबा and दुबला are qualitative adjectives, and 'एक' is a numeral adjective. In the exam, such mixed sentences require you to identify the type of each adjective separately.
Types of Visheshan, with examples
| Type | Sub-type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| गुणवाचक विशेषण — Qualitative adjective | Quality, flaw, colour, shape, taste, state | अच्छा लड़का, लाल फूल, मीठा फल, प्राचीन काल |
| संख्यावाचक विशेषण — Numeral adjective | Definite (cardinal: एक, दो; ordinal: पहला, दूसरा) and indefinite (कुछ, कई, अनेक) | दो किताबें (definite), कई लोग (indefinite) |
| परिमाणवाचक विशेषण — Quantitative adjective | Definite (an exactly measured amount) and indefinite (an estimated amount) | दो लीटर दूध (definite), थोड़ा दूध (indefinite) |
| सार्वनामिक विशेषण — Pronominal adjective | A pronoun word that comes before a noun and points to it | यह भूमि, वह लड़का, कौन-सा छात्र |
Degrees of comparison for adjectives
To compare qualitative adjectives, Hindi recognises three degrees — moolavastha (the positive degree, stating a plain quality, such as 'लघु' — small), uttaravastha or the comparative degree (comparing two things, such as 'लघुतर' — smaller than another), and uttamavastha, the superlative degree (stating the greatest/best, such as 'लघुतम' — the smallest). These forms are built by adding the Sanskrit suffixes 'तर' and 'तम' — as in उच्च-उच्चतर-उच्चतम (high-higher-highest), अधिक-अधिकतर-अधिकतम (more-more-most).
Pairing this concept with qualitative adjectives is useful for the exam, because questions sometimes ask you to identify the degree of comparison rather than the type of adjective directly — for example, you might be asked which degree 'सुंदरतम' (most beautiful) is an example of (answer: the superlative degree).
Keep in mind that the 'तर'-'तम' suffixes don't attach naturally to every qualitative adjective — with some native Hindi (tadbhav) adjectives, comparison is made by adding words like 'से अधिक', 'से ज्यादा', or 'सबसे' (as in 'अच्छा' → 'सबसे अच्छा' — best), whereas tatsam (Sanskrit-derived) adjectives take the suffixes directly (उच्च-उच्चतम). It's also useful in the exam to recognise which method a given adjective uses to form its comparative/superlative degree.
The visheshya is the noun/pronoun whose quality is described by the adjective — for instance, in 'सुंदर लड़की', 'लड़की' is the visheshya. The easiest way to spot a qualitative adjective is to ask 'कैसा/कैसी/कैसे' (what kind of) before the noun — whatever answers that question is the qualitative adjective.
Another important rule is that an adjective can also change its form by gender and number, especially when it comes right before the visheshya — as in 'अच्छा लड़का' (masculine singular), 'अच्छी लड़की' (feminine singular), and 'अच्छे लड़के' (masculine plural). Note that not every adjective changes this way — some adjectives, like 'सुंदर' and 'ईमानदार', stay the same across every gender and number (सुंदर लड़का, सुंदर लड़की). Sentence-correction questions in the exam may also test spotting an incorrect gender-number match between an adjective and its visheshya, so this rule is worth understanding thoroughly with examples.
Identifying a Sarvanamik Visheshan (pronominal adjective)
When pronoun words like 'यह', 'वह', 'कोई', 'कौन-सा' come right before a noun and describe or identify it (rather than standing in for the noun themselves), they are called sarvanamik visheshan (pronominal adjectives). For example, in 'यह भूमि शस्यश्यामला हो जाती है' ('this land becomes lush with crops'), 'यह' does not stand alone in place of a noun — it attaches to 'भूमि' and points to it — so this is a pronominal adjective, not a plain pronoun. This distinction connects directly to the Pronoun (sarvanam) topic, so it's useful to study both together.
Memory trick / exam tip
If a noun comes right after 'यह/वह/कौन-सा', treat it as a pronominal adjective; if these words stand alone (with no following noun), treat them as pronouns. This one rule applies to both the Pronoun and Adjective topics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Visheshan (an adjective)?+
Words that limit or make clearer the meaning of a noun or pronoun by stating its quality, number, or quantity are called visheshan (adjectives).
How many types of Visheshan are there?+
Hindi grammar recognises four main types of adjective — qualitative, numeral, quantitative, and pronominal.
What is the difference between a pronominal adjective and a pronoun?+
When a pronoun word stands alone in place of a noun, it is a pronoun; when the same word comes before a noun and describes it, it is called a pronominal adjective.
How many degrees of comparison does an adjective have?+
Three — the positive degree (a plain quality, such as लघु), the comparative degree (comparing two things, such as लघुतर), and the superlative degree (the greatest, such as लघुतम), formed by adding the suffixes 'तर' and 'तम'.