Adjectives are used to describe someone or something, adverbs to modify other words, and nouns to name things. Let us check if “proud’’ acts as an adjective, adverb, or noun.
The term “proud’’ bearing the meanings “arrogant’’ and “magisterial’’ can be used as an adjective. In addition to it, the word can be applied as an adverb, and a noun with the forms “proudly’’ and “pride’’. The adverb form modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. The noun form shows an abstract thought.
Now we will take a closer look at this topic by applying some facts with concrete examples and detailed explanations.
When is “proud” an adjective?
The words that help us to describe other parts of speech in English grammar are regarded as adjectives. Let us check if the word “proud’’ is an adjective.
We can definitely regard the term “proud’’ as an adjective when it is inserted into a sentence it can describe the naming words or their references giving us the meanings of elated, arrogant, bloated, haughty, and so on.
There are many aspects or situations when the word “proud’’ can be used as an adjective. Let us take a glance at this point.
| Aspects of “proud’’ being an adjective | Example | Explanation |
| 1. To exhibit a feeling of happiness about our achievements, our possessions, or people who are connected with. | We are very proud of Sinita’s telling the truth. | Here the word “proud’’ is working as an adjective that describes our feeling of happiness. |
| 2. To show the things for which we are proud. | Our country has a proud record of producing rice. | Here the term “proud’’ is working as an adjective that describes the noun “country’’ as she is arrogant for producing a record amount of rice. |
| 3. To show someone who feels very proud thinking better himself than others. | Ranita seems proud of being the first girl in the class. | Here the word “proud’’ is used as an adjective that describes the noun “Ranita’’ who thinks herself better than others in the class. |
| 4. To show a proud person who does not like other people to help them or think they are weak. | Kamal was too proud to admit his mistake. | In this cited example, the term “proud’’ is used as an adjective that describes the noun ‘Kamal’’ who thinks of himself as stronger than others. |
Is “proud” a descriptive adjective?
Descriptive adjectives belong to the category of words that can describe the naming of words. Now we will check if “proud’’ is a descriptive adjective.
The adjective “proud’’ surely comes into the category of a descriptive adjective as it can describe the nouns that follow it with the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction about something or someone.
When is “proud’’ a descriptive adjective?
The adjective “proud’’ can be counted as a descriptive adjective when it serves the purpose of describing the naming words or their very same providing us the thoughts of extreme delight or pleasure.
The examples and their explanations regarding the use of “proud’’ as a descriptive adjective will assist us to learn it clearly.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. Dilip and Sandip are very proud of each other for being friends. | The adjective “proud’’ is used here as a descriptive adjective because it describes Dilip and Sandip’s mental perception of arrogance in being friends. |
| 2. She is proud of riding a horse on the sea beach. | In the cited example, the adjective “proud’’ is working as a descriptive adjective as it serves the purpose of describing her pride in riding the horse. |
| 3. I am so happy that my wife and daughter are both proud of me. | Here the adjective “proud’’ is in used to describe my haughty nature toward my wife and daughter. |
| 4. The teacher recalls his school days and his eyes seem to be very proud. | The adjective “proud’’ is used as descriptive because it describes the teacher’s arrogance in having happy school days. |
| 5. Seema is wearing a pretty dress and seems to be proud of it. | The adjective “proud’’ is termed as a descriptive adjective as it can describe the naming word Seema’s highly satisfied mind wearing a pretty dress. |
| 6. The dwellers of Kolkata are proud of the Victoria Memorial Hall. | In this present sentence, the adjective “proud’’ is used as a descriptive adjective as it serves the qualification of the naming word “dwellers’’. It gives us the idea of the people who are arrogant about the Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata. |
| 7. If your parents heard of your success, they would be very proud of you. | The adjective “proud’’ in this sentence has been used as a descriptive adjective because it describes the naming word “parents’’ who will be very haughty hearing their son’s success. |
Is “proud” an adverb?
An adverb is a word that gives us the answers to the questions of how, where, or with what frequency. Let us examine if “proud’’ is an adverb.
The term “proud’’ cannot be used as an adverb. The adverbial form is “proudly’ which is made by adding the suffix “ly’’ with the root word. It can be used as an adverb to modify the describing word, action word, or another adverb.
When is “proudly” an adverb?
The word “proudly” is considered as an adverb when it is inserted into a sentence to refer to feelings of satisfaction and pleasure because of something we have achieved. It is termed as also an adverb when it is presented with respect for ourselves, recognizing our own worth.
The tabular format below contains examples and explanations on the usage of “proudly’’ as an adverb.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. The boy proudly displayed his progress report to his parents. | The term “proudly’’ is used as an adverb that acts to modify the action word “displayed’’ depicting the manner of arrogance that made the parent elated. |
| 2. Rittica proudly showed her friends her awards. | The term “proudly’’ is used as an adverb that has the modification of the verb “showed’’. |
| 3. We can proudly announce that India has won the match against the Australian team. | In the cited sentence, the term “proudly’’ acts as an adverb that modifies the verb “announce’’ relating our pleasure for winning the match. |
| 4. The computer center opened its branch proudly at Balichak three years ago. | Here the word “proudly’’ is acting as an adverb that has modified the action verb “opened’’. |
| 5. My daughter speaks proudly of her winning the first prize in the drawing competition. | We see the term “proudly” working as an adverb that shows the modification of the verb “speaks’’. It has been expressed that my daughter’s winning the first prize in the drawing competition makes me haughty. |
Is “proud” a noun?
Nouns are the naming words that mainly refer to concrete things like person, place, or things and abstract ideas. Now we will check if “proud’’ is a noun.
The word “proud’’ cannot be used as a noun as it is unable to fulfill the features of a noun. It is used as a noun in the form “pride’’ providing us the meanings of vanity, arrogance, vaunt, egoism, and so on.
When is “pride’’ a noun?
The word “pride’’ is applied as a noun when it describes the feeling of happiness that comes after achieving something. It is used as a noun in the situations that follow.
- The term “pride’’ is a noun when we refer to a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction that we get when we achieve something special.
- The term “pride’’ acts as a noun when we refer to a feeling of respect for someone.
- The term “pride’’ acts as a noun when we refer to a feeling that we are better or more important than other people.
The examples and explanation on the usage of “pride’’ as a noun will assist us to get proper knowledge on this topic.
| Example | Explanation |
| 1. We take pride in the glory of our school which is one of the oldest institutions in our locality. | The noun “pride’’ is used here to show our arrogance for the glory of the school. |
| 2. We can see the pride in the faces of the players when they talk of their captain. | The term “pride’’ is used as a noun here. It is applied to show the players’ vanity on their faces when they talk of their captain. |
| 3. The girl can certainly look back on her performance in the recitation competition with pride. | Here the term “pride’’ is used as a noun that expresses the extreme haughtiness of the girl for her performance in the recitation. |
| 4. The win of the national team restored national pride. | The term “pride’’ in the present example is used as a noun that expresses the arrogance of the nation for winning the team. |
| 5. My grandfather who is ninety-five years old is the pride of our family. | Here the usage of the noun “pride’’ shows the happiness of my grandfather for our family. |
Conclusion
The article clearly describes the correct usage of the term “proud’’ as an adjective and the noun and verb forms are also discussed with examples and explanations. It is to be remembered that the term “proud” can also be used as an action verb with the form “pride’’.
Hi…. I am Goutam Datta. I have completed a double M. A. in English and B. Ed. I am a creative writer. Currently, I am a part of the LambdaGeeks.