The English language uses a wide variety of grammatical structures and terminologies. Let us explore this specific topic in further detail with the aid of the word “fair”.
The word “fair” may be employed as an adjective, noun, or verb, depending on the situation, the word choice, the form, or where it comes in a sentence.
Now, let us take a closer look at this topic using some facts, concrete example sentences, and explanations.
When is “fair” an adjective?
There are many scenarios wherein a word like “fair” is used in many different grammatical forms. Let us take a look at one of them.
“Fair” is regarded as an adjective when it is used in a way that it precedes a noun or is used as a qualifier for one and also acts as a determiner for said nouns.
Example: The judges were quite fair in their judgement.
Explanation: The word “fair” has been placed as a descriptor of the noun ‘judges’, thus clearly making it an adjective. Even though the said adjective has not been placed directly before the noun it is still used in reference to the noun, that is, it acts as a qualifying agent to given noun, thus keeping its form as a descriptive adjective
Is “fair” a descriptive adjective?
The adjective form has various sub-types that different words tend to function under. Let us look at one of them.
“Fair” is a descriptive adjective since it describes the state of the noun it comes before or refers to it directly.
Example: He has given us a fair example of what must be done if a situation like this ever arises.
Explanation: In this particular example the adjective “fair” is used to describe the noun ‘example’, therefore making it a descriptive adjective. This is because the term “fair” gives the reader further information about the term ‘example’, therefore acting as its qualifier and determining the nouns quality as a word.
When is “fair” a descriptive adjective?
The adjective “fair” is regarded as a descriptive adjective when it aids in elaborating on the state or quality of the noun it is intended to describe.
Now let us examine a few more uses of the descriptor “fair” that have also been discussed on the side to gain a better understanding of this topic.
| Examples | Explanations |
| 1. We gave him a fair number of chances to redeem himself but he misused all of them. | In the this given example, the term “fair” has been used in front of the noun ‘number’, therefore making it an adjective. |
| 2. The captain is a fairer player than all of his teammates and would never play foul. | The comparative form of the descriptive adjective in question, which is- “fairer” has been used to describe the noun ‘player’. |
| 3. Mrs. Woods was the most impartial and fairest teacher we ever had as she always believed in all her students’ abilities. | The superlative form of the adjective “fair” which is- “fairest” has been used as a descriptive adjective in front of the noun ‘teacher’. |
| 4. European women are considered to have fair skin, which is another term for pale skin. | The adjective “fair” is used to describe the noun ‘skin’, therefore making it a descriptive adjective. |
| 5. He was known to be a fair ruler because he listened to and indulged all his subjects’ concerns. | In this written statement the term “fair” has been used in front of the noun ‘ruler’, therefore making it an adjective. |
| 6. The employee made a fairer point than the boss on how the project should have moved forward. | The comparative form of the adjective, which is- “fairer” has been used as a descriptive adjective in front of the noun ‘point’. |
| 7. That is the fairest opinion I have ever seen anybody give. | The superlative form of the descriptive adjective which is- “fairest” has been used to describe the noun ‘opinion’. |
Is “fair” a noun?
The term “fair” functions as a noun but only under a certain form. Let us look into what that is.
“Fair” in and of itself cannot be used as a noun but it can be used as a noun in different grammatical form, which is; “fairness”.
Example: The king served his subjects with fairness.
Explanation: A noun like “fairness” is usually considered as an abstract noun since it expands on the meaning of an intangible concept. “Fairness” in this case means impartiality or conduct toward someone or something with equality. It can also be connoted to a paler skin complexion.
When is “fair” a noun?
“Fairness” is considered as a noun and is utilized as one when it is used as a subject or object of a sentence, as most nouns are.
Let us take a look at some extra examples of “fairness” being put to use as a noun that have also been explained in the next column as they provide a better understanding of this topic.
| Examples | Explanations |
| 1. In all fairness, the other group started the quarrel. | The abstract noun “fairness” over here has been put to use as a subject of the written sentence. |
| 2. We, as an agency, need to make sure that all parties that are participating are treated with the most amount of fairness. | The term “fairness” in this sentence can be seen as a noun, specifically an uncountable noun. |
| 3. Fairness in judgement will get you clearer results. | “Fairness” has been used as the subject of the given sentence which automatically makes it a noun. |
| 4. We must treat all the participants with fairness to make sure morale stays up. | The noun “fairness” denotes an idea rather than a thing or object, making it an abstract noun, but a noun nonetheless. |
| 5. She took steps in total fairness and it was only for greater good for all of us. | In this particular instance, the word “fairness” has been used as the object of the sentence, making it a noun. |
Is “fair” a verb?
“Fair” as a term functions under various grammatical structures. Let us explore one of them.
“Fair” is a verb because it can occasionally be used to describe an action rather than to describe something in a specific circumstance.
Example: She faired greatly and ranked number one in all her exams and her family is extremely proud of her.
Explanation: In the above sentence, the word “faired” was utilised as an action word, making it a verb. The tense it has been used in is- Present Perfect Tense.
When is “fair” a verb?
“Fair” is a verb when it is utilized in an action form, like most verbs, other than being used in a descriptive form.
To have a deeper knowledge of this , let us examine some further justifications and uses of the verb “fair”.
| Examples | Tense Form | Explanations |
| 1. I do not think I will be fairing well in my driver’s test as I have not taken my car out very much. | Future Continuous Tense | “Fairing” being an action word in this example is automatically considered as a verb. |
| 2. We all will fair well on the questionnaire, I just know it. | Simple Future Tense | In this example sentence, the word “fair” has been used to denote an action, consequently making it a verb. |
| 3. How did all the kids fair in the race? | Simple Present Tense | Here too, “fair” has been used as an action word, therefor it is considered as a verb. |
| 4. Who from this particular batch of children faired the best in the national competition for drawing and painting? | Present Perfect Tense | Since verbs are action words and here the word “faired” is used to denote action, it is considered as a verb. |
| 5. I was fairing pretty well during my viva until I blanked out on one of my answers and began to fumble all my answers going forward. | Past Continuous Tense | Once again, “fairing” is used as a verb since in this case it denotes action. |
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that as long as terms like “fair” are put to use appropriately according to what grammatical function a statement calls for, they can quite possibly function as adjectives, nouns and even verbs.
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