In the following sentences the adjectives are printed in _italics_. Study them carefully and determine which are qualifying and which are limiting adjectives. Note that the possessive nouns and possessive pronouns are _not_ adjectives. _Its_ in the phrases _its cruel fangs_ and _its savage claws_, is a possessive pronoun, third person singular. In the last sentence _beggar's_, _miser's_, and _Ingersoll's_, are nouns in the possessive form.
_This terrible_ war in Europe is slaughtering _the_ working-class. _Gaunt_ famine follows war. A _docile_, _meek_, _humble_, working-class makes war _possible_. _The shrieking_ shell snarls like a _living_ thing; like _some wild_ beast in _ferocious_ glee it thrusts its _cruel_ fangs in earth and rock and rends _living_ flesh with its _savage_ claws. Its _fetid_ breath of _poison_ powder scorches in _the autumn_ winds. _Shattered_ bones, _torn_ flesh and _flowing_ blood were mingled on _the_ battlefield with _broken_ swords and _split_ rifles. _The best modern_ rifles will force _a_ bullet through _five human_ bodies at _a_ range of _twelve hundred_ feet. _The pitiful_ dead, _slain_ in war, sleep under _the solemn_ pines, _the sad_ hemlock, _the tearful_ willow and _the embracing_ vines. A world without _the_ beggar's _outstretched_ palm, _the_ miser's _heartless_ _stony_ stare, _the piteous_ wail of want, _the livid_ lips of lies, _the cruel_ eyes of scorn, was Ingersoll's vision of _the_ future.
+248.+ Qualifying adjectives are also called _descriptive_ adjectives because they describe the noun. They answer the questions _which_ and _what kind_.
You remember we found in the beginning of our study of English, that words were grouped into classes according to the work which they do in the sentence, not according to the form of the word itself. For instance, we have already found that some words, without changing their form, may be used either as a noun or as a verb. Take the word _oil_, for instance. I may say, _I oil the engine_. Here I have used the word _oil_ as a verb telling what I do. But I may say, _The oil is gone_. Here I have used the word _oil_ as a noun, subject of the sentence. The part of speech to which a word belongs in the English language, always depends upon the work which it does in the sentence.