Words like steady, restful, etc. are some of the words that are helpful for the description of the word “calm”. Let us check the role the word “calm” plays as a part of speech.
The word “calm” belongs to the group of adjectives among the eight groups of English parts of speech. The word “calm” does not change its form while performing the role of an adjective, noun, or verb.
Now, we will go through various facts and explanations related to the use of the word “calm” as an adjective, noun, or verb.
When is “calm” an adjective?
Adjectives not only modify any noun or noun equivalent of a sentence but also act as a subject complement. Let us check when we can use the word “calm” as an adjective.
The word “calm” becomes an adjective when we use it to modify or describe any noun, pronoun, or noun equivalent to depict the attribute mild, placid, pacific, etc. of that specific noun or noun equivalent.
Now we are going to learn the situations where we can use the adjective “calm” along with related facts and explanations.
| Situations to use the adjective “calm” | Example | Explanation |
| 1. The adjective “calm” can be used to modify the attributes of any singular noun. | Sometimes my daughter behaves as if she is calm as an angel. | The mild nature of the singular noun daughter has been described with the help of the adjective “calm.” |
| 2. The attribute of any plural noun can be modified with the help of the adjective “calm”. | Sometimes my nieces behave as if they are calm as an angel. | The mild nature of the plural noun nieces has been described with the help of the adjective “calm.” |
| 3. The attribute of any singular noun phrase can be modified with the help of the adjective “calm”. | Sometimes my sweet little daughter behaves as if she is calm as an angel. | The meek nature of the singular noun phrase sweet little daughter has been described with the help of the adjective “calm.” |
| 4. The attribute of any plural noun phrase can be modified with the help of the adjective “calm”. | Sometimes my naughty nieces behave as if they are calm as an angel. | The meek nature of the plural noun phrase naughty nieces has been described with the help of the adjective “calm.” |
| 5. The attribute of any singular pronoun can be modified with the help of the adjective “calm”. | My daughter does not like to make many friends, though she studies in class V. She is calm even if her friends are shouting and enjoying a fun game. | The inactive nature of the singular pronoun she has been described with the help of the adjective “calm,” while the pronoun she refers to the noun the speaker’s daughter. |
| 6. The attribute of a plural pronoun can be modified with the help of the adjective “calm”. | The children of my neighborhood are very talkative, though they are calm in school. | The placid nature of the plural pronoun they has been described with the help of the adjective “calm,” while the pronoun they refers to the noun children. |
| 7. The adjective “calm” can be used to show similarity in any particular attribute among naming entities. | Renu is not as calm as her sister Menu, though they are twin sisters. | The adjective “calm” is used to show the similarity between the nature of the two twin sisters, Renu and Menu. |
| 8. Comparison in any particular attribute between naming entities can also be done with the help of the adjective “calm”. | Renu is calmer than her sister Menu, though they are twin sisters. | The adjective “calm” is used to show the comparison between the nature of the two twin sisters, Renu and Menu. |
| 9. The superiority of any noun or noun equivalent in any particular attribute can also be done with the help of the adjective “calm”. | Renu is the calmest among all the students during any class, though she is very talkative during the recess period. | The adjective “calm” is used to show the superiority of Renu’s nature over all the other students during the class. |
Is “calm” a descriptive adjective?
The adjective “calm” is mainly related to words like soothing, relaxing, peaceful, etc. Let us check if the adjective “calm” belongs to the group of descriptive adjectives.
The word “calm” can certainly be marked as an adjective in those sentences where it is used to describe the position of mind in terms of emotion or situation in terms of ambiance. There are specific situations where we can use the adjective “calm” to describe that situation.
When is “calm” a descriptive adjective?
A list of the situations where we can use the descriptive adjective “calm” has been given below.
| Usage of the Descriptive Adjective “calm” | Example | Explanation |
| 1.To describe a mental situation without any harsh emotions, like anger, tension, etc. | My mother has been calming me down for the last four hours as I am very angry at her for not allowing me to go to play. | The adjective “calm” is used to describe the mental situation in which the mother of the speaker is trying to impact upon the speaker as the speaker is very angry with her mother. We must notice the form “calming” as the sentence is in the present perfect continuous tense. |
| 2.To describe any soothing attribute of a noun | I can feel the calm voice of my teacher even without opening my eyes. | The adjective “calm” is used to describe the soothing voice of the noun speaker’s mother and we have used the root form “calm” as the sentence is in simple present tense. |
| 3. To describe non-movement of any physical aspect. | Renu is trying hard to see her complete feature on the calm water of the blue lake. | The adjective “calm” is used to describe the still water and we have used the root form “calm” as it is describing the nature of water, though the sentence is in the present progressive tense. |
| 4.To describe a situation without any excitement | The female members of a family are solely responsible for making the situation calm as the males are always busy arguing to prove their point. | The adjective “calm” is used to describe a situation that the ladies of the family are trying to create in a family while others are busy arguing, and the root form “calm” is in use as the sentence is in a simple present sentence. |
| 5.To describe a situation which is not stormy or not affected by any natural turbulence | We could not go shopping as the weather had not calmed down even after two hours of starting rain. | The adjective “calm” is used to describe a situation that was affected by the natural force rain, and we have used the past participle form “calmed” as the sentence is in the past perfect tense. |
Is “calm” a noun?
A noun does not always need to be the subject, but can also be a subject complement, direct object, etc. in a sentence. Let us check if the word “calm” is a noun or not.
The word “calm” can be certainly marked as a noun in a sentence if it is in use as a naming entity for some particular acts.
The list of usages of the word “calm” as a noun has been given below.
| Usages of the word “calm” as a “noun” | Example | Explanation |
| 1. The noun “calm” can be used to denote a situation without any tranquility. | Renu wants calm and to study well without any disturbance. | The noun “calm” is in use to denote a peaceful situation, which will help the subject, Rina, to study well without any disturbance. |
| 2. The noun “calm” can be used to denote a weather condition without any storm or wind. | The captain prefers to keep his ship calm in order to avoid any labour issues. | The noun “calm” is in use to denote a weather condition which is without any natural calamities, like; rain and storm. |
| 3. The noun “calm” can be used to denote a mental state without any harsh emotions. | Mina wants to have calm to meditate well and leave life peacefully. | The noun “calm” is used to denote an untroubled mental state which is not affected by any harsh emotions, for example, anger, disappointment, etc. |
Is “calm” a verb?
Each and every verb changes its formation according to the person and tense in which the sentence is. Let us check if the word “calm” can perform the role of a verb or not.
The word “calm” can be in possession of the parts of speech group verb in a sentence where it is in use as an activity and not as a naming entity or any attribute to modify a noun or noun equivalent.
What type of verb is “Calm”?
The verb “calm” can be poured into two types of verb groups: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. If the verb “calm” is being used to soothe someone, then it can be marked as a transitive verb. If someone or something is being soothed, then the verb “calm” can be termed as an intransitive verb.
The change of the verb “calm” according to the person of the sentence:
| Person | Various Forms of the Verb “calm” |
| 1.1st Person Singular Number | “calm” |
| 2.1st Person Plural Number | “calm” |
| 3.2nd Person Singular Number | “calm” |
| 4.2nd Person Plural Number | “calm” |
| 5.3rd Person Singular Number | “calms” |
| 6.3rd Person Plural Number | “calm” |
The change of the verb “calm” according to the tense of the sentence:
| Tense | Various Forms of the Verb “calm” |
| 1.Simple Present | “calm” |
| 2.Simple Past | “calmed” |
| 3.Progressive | “calming” |
| 4.Past Participle | “calmed” |
When we can use the verb “calm” –
Now, we will go through various usages of the verb “calm” along with related examples and explanations.
| Usages of the verb “calm” | Example | Explanation |
| 1. To feel relaxed or without any worry” | All my family members are arguing about yesterday’s cricket match, but I am trying to calm myself as I am not interested in these trivial things. | The verb “calm” has been used by the speaker to mark the meaning that she or he is trying to soothe or relax. |
| 2. To create an anxiety or tension free situation” | I am trying to calm the atmosphere of our home as all are in despair after the result of yesterday’s cricket match. | The verb “calm” has been used by the speaker to mark the meaning that she or he is trying remove the anxiety from the atmosphere of her or his home. |
Conclusion –
Now, let us make a note of the most common phrasal verb that has been framed with the word “calm”. Most of the time, we add the proposition down to the verb “calm” to frame the phrasal verb calm down to denote the meaning to make someone relaxed or without worry.
Hey! I am Arpita Bose Roy. My qualifications are M.A. in English with B. Ed. in both general education and special education. I have 2 years of experience as a “language analyst” at IIT Kharagpur and 4 years of experience as an “Academic Content Developer” at IIT Kharagpur. Currently, I am working as an academic writer at Lambdageeks.