The following adjectives and descriptive words can only come before the noun. They cannot follow a linking verb.
| Category | Example words | Example sentences | Notes/exceptions |
|---|---|---|---|
Quantity adjectives | every, some, all, much, most, no, ... | ✅ Every kid liked the movie. ✅ Most kids liked the movie. ❌ The kids were every. ❌ The kids were most. | A few quantity adjectives often follow ,be for example: sufficient, enough, insufficient, abundant, sparse, numerous. A few more can follow be, but it sounds old fashioned or poetic: many, few, plenty. |
Numerals1 | one, five, six, thirty-two, ... | ✅ One kid liked the movie. ✅ Seven kids liked the movie. ❌ The kid was one. ❌ The kids were seven. | If you want to say how many people or things were present, instead say: ✅ There was one kid. ✅ There were seven kids. (learn more from our post on “there is” sentences in English!) |
Adjectives of degree | total, absolute, complete, true, actual, real, utter, perfect, non-, practical, pure, ... | ✅ She was a perfect stranger. She was 100% a stranger. ✅ She was a practical stranger. She was 95% a stranger. ❌ The stranger was perfect. ❌ The stranger was practical. | A few of these can come after to be in poetic uses or set phrases: ✅ The darkness was absolute. Most of these words have other meanings that can follow the verb to be. Their position is only restricted when they describe degree. For example: ✅ The stranger was perfect. The stranger was amazing and correct. ✅ The stranger was practical. The stranger was sensible. |
Adjectives that place a noun on a timeline | former, early, old, late, future, present, ... | ✅ He is a former teacher. ✅ He is a future teacher. ✅ I was born in the early 90’s ❌ The teacher is former. ❌ The teacher is future. ❌The 90’s were early, when I was born. | With other meanings, these adjectives can follow to be: ✅ I was early. I arrived too soon. I was present. I attended. |
Possessive adjectives | my, your, his, her, its, our, their | ✅ She is your daughter. ✅ She is our daughter. ❌ She is your. ❌ She is our. | After a verb, use possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs): ✅ She is yours. ✅ She is ours. |
Adjectives that make a noun specific or “point to” a noun2 | particular, exact, main, only, specific, chief, major, ... | ✅ This is the only problem. ✅ This is my chief concern. ❌ The problem is only. ❌ My concern is chief. | With other meanings, these adjectives can follow to be ✅ She was particular. She was picky. ✅ She was specific. She gave clear instructions. |
1 Ordinal numbers (first ,second, third ,...) and other adjectives used to order items in a list (next , last, ...) can come after the verb to be. However, after the verb ,to be we use these words after the word the, to replace the whole phrase the+ order adjective + noun. For example:
🆗 My birthday was first. | → | ✅ My birthday was the first. My birthday was the first birthday. |
2 Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those) technically fall into this category as well, but only because after the verb to be we call them “demonstrative pronouns” instead.