A verbal adjective is an adjective first and foremost. This means that it’s used to describe a noun. What makes a verbal adjective special is that it looks like a verb.
For example:
- “My little brother is annoying me.” – In this sentence, annoying is a verb. It shows what action my brother is taking.
- “I have such an annoying brother.” – In this sentence, annoying is a verbal adjective. It describes my brother.
Mostly verbal adjectives will use the present participle form of a verb (-ing), like annoying, satisfying, confusing, etc. Or it will use the past with –ed, like with scared, confused, or bored.
Here’s another example using the –ed past tense verb form.
- “That ghost movie scared me!” – Scared is a verb in this sentence. The movie had an effect on me.
- “Did you see that scared girl sitting next to us in the movies?” – Here scared is an adjective describing the girl.
