Identifying the Type of Adjective: 'Every'

The sentence provided is: "The manager expects every employee to do his duty."

Our task is to identify the specific type of adjective used to modify the noun 'employee'. In this sentence, the word 'every' is the adjective in question.

Understanding Different Types of Adjectives

Let's look at the categories provided in the options:

• Infinite Numeral Adjective: These describe numbers in an indefinite way, such as 'many', 'few', 'several', 'much', 'little'. They don't specify an exact quantity.
• Distributive Numeral Adjective: These adjectives refer to each person or thing in a group individually, considered one by one. Common examples include 'each', 'every', 'either', and 'neither'.
• Demonstrative Adjective: These point out specific nouns. Examples are 'this', 'that', 'these', and 'those'.
• Definite Numeral Adjective: These specify exact numbers or order, like 'one', 'two', 'three', 'first', 'second', etc.

Analyzing 'Every' in the Sentence

In the sentence, "The manager expects every employee to do his duty," the word 'every' refers to each employee individually within the group of employees. It emphasizes that the duty applies to each one separately.

This fits the definition of a Distributive Numeral Adjective because it distributes the action or expectation to each member of the set ('employees') considered individually.

• 'Every' is not indefinite (like infinite adjectives).
• 'Every' does not point to a specific item (like demonstrative adjectives).
• 'Every' does not state a precise count (like definite numeral adjectives).

Conclusion

Therefore, the adjective 'every' in the sentence "The manager expects every employee to do his duty" is correctly classified as a Distributive Numeral Adjective.