ENGLISH ADJECTIVES
I. ABOUT ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are words that tell us about nouns or other adjectives.
They tell us size and shape and quantity and quality.
For example, read this sentence:
The man is tall.
We know that there is a man and he is
tall.
The word TALL is an adjective describing the noun MAN.
Now read this sentence:
The tall man is strong.
Now we know something more about the man.
The word STRONG is also an adjective describing the
noun MAN.
Now read this sentence:
The man is tall and strong.
This sentence tells us the same things about the man.
Now read this sentence:
The big blue bull and the great brown bear met in the large, green field.
Can you find the adjectives?
They are: big, blue, great, brown, large and green.
BIG is an
adjective describing the noun BULL.
BLUE is also an adjective describing the noun BULL.
GREAT is an
adjective describing the noun BEAR.
BROWN is an adjective describing the noun BEAR.
LARGE is an
adjective describing the noun FIELD.
GREEN is an adjective describing the noun FIELD.
II. COMMON ENGLISH ADJECTIVES
COLORS
Red, blue, green, white, black, orange, yellow...
Example: The sky is blue.
SIZE
Tall/short, big/ little, large/small, long/short...
Example: The building is tall.
SHAPE
Square, round, circular, straight, crocked, twist...
Example: A circle is round.
QUALITY
Beautiful, pretty, ugly, attractive, repulsive, sharp, du...
Example: My girlfriend is beautiful.
QUANTITY
One, two, three, many, several, numerous, some, few, any, every, each
Example: There are three people sitting at the table.
AGE Young,
old, new, used
Example: The books are new.
CONDITION
Clean, dirty, broken, working
Example: The classroom is clean.
LOCATION
High/low, far/near
Example: Philadelphia is not far from here.
Please underline the adjectives in the following sentences:
There was a tall man with a big head looking at the blue sky.
The quick brown fox jumped over the small white dog.
This smart child has many words in her vocabulary.
My big wide smile shows you that my two students are very hard-working.
III. ADJECTIVES FOR COMPARISON
A. COMPARISON: ONE-SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES:
In English, we use different forms of the adjective to compare things.
For short, one syllable adjectives, the ending ER is added to create the comparative form:
Your dog is small. My dog is smaller.
Quality |
Examples |
Comparative |
Examples |
Add ER |
|||
Large |
This is a large bag. |
Larger |
That bag is larger. |
Small |
That is a small bag. |
Smaller |
This bag is smaller. |
Old |
My father is old. |
Older |
My grandfather is older. |
Young |
My daughter is young. |
Younger |
My son is younger. |
Long |
A day is long. |
Longer |
A week is longer. |
Short |
My friend is short. |
Shorter |
His wife is shorter. |
Note that we add the word 'than' when comparing two things:
My dog is bigger than
your dog.
My brother is smarter than your brother.
My computer is slower than yours.
The way you want to go is longer than the shortcut
I know.
Please do not confuse THAN with THEN!
For many two syllable adjectives, we use the word 'MORE' in front of the adjective to form the comparative:
That man is a wonderful painter. He learned from a MORE wonderful teacher.
Quality |
Examples |
Comparative |
Examples |
Handsome |
He is a handsome man. |
More handsome |
His brother is more handsome than he is. |
Beautiful |
She is a beautiful woman. |
More beautiful |
Her sister is more beautiful than she is. |
Competent |
My nephew is a competent worker. |
More competent |
When he becomes more competent, he will get a raise in salary. |
Experienced |
My sister is an experienced knitter. |
More experienced |
Her mother is more experienced as a knitter than she is. |
Worldly |
My friend is a worldly man. |
More worldly |
His father was more worldly than he is. |
For other two syllable
adjectives, use either the construction ER/IER or MORE ____:
Adjective: |
Comparative form: |
Comparative form: |
Lengthy |
Lengthier |
More lengthy |
Friendly |
Friendlier |
More friendly |
Cloudy |
Cloudier |
More cloudy |
He presented a lengthier paper at the conference than anyone else. OR
He presented a paper that was more lengthy than any other.
She was more friendly to me last night when we were out dancing. OR
She was friendlier to me last night when we were out dancing.
The sky is cloudier today than yesterday. OR
The sky is more cloudy today than yesterday.
For three syllable adjectives, always use the word 'MORE' to form the comparative:
Adjective |
Comparative |
Example |
Intelligent |
More intelligent |
He is more intelligent man I thought he was. |
Succinct |
More succinct |
Each comment was more succinct than the last. |
Wonderful |
More wonderful |
They had a more wonderful time because you were there. |
Exciting |
More exciting |
Watching football is more exciting when you are with friends. |
In English, we use a different form of the same adjective to indicate the highest limit of any quality.
A. SUPERLATIVES: ONE-SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES
Generally, the ending EST is added to create the superlative form:
Your dog is small. My dog is smaller. His dog is the smallest.
Note that we use the word 'the' is used to designate the superlative quality.
Quality |
Example |
Superlative |
Example |
Add EST |
|||
Large |
The large truck. |
Largest |
The largest truck. |
Small |
The small boy. |
Smallest |
The smallest boy. |
Old |
The old tree. |
Oldest |
The oldest tree. |
Young |
The young woman. |
Youngest |
The youngest woman. |
Long |
The long trail. |
Longest |
The longest trail. |
Short |
A short walk. |
Shortest |
The shortest walk. |
EXAMPLES:
My father was the smartest man I ever knew.
Your sister is the youngest in your family.
The California Redwoods are the tallest and oldest living things.
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
The superlative can also be formed by using the original form of the adjective and placing the words THE MOST before it. As follows:
Adjective |
Superlative |
Superlative |
Friendly |
Friendliest |
Most friendly |
Toasty |
Toastiest |
Most toasty |
Hardy |
Hardiest |
Most hardy |
Cloudy |
Cloudiest |
Most cloudy |
Your brother is the most friendly man. = Your brother is the friendliest man.
The sky is the most cloudy I have ever seen it. = The sky is the cloudiest I have ever seen.
The room has the toastiest fireplace. = This room has the most toasty fireplace.
He is the hardiest man I know. = He is the most hardy man I know.
For three syllable adjectives (or longer), always use the word 'MORE' and 'MOST' to form the superlative:
Adjective |
Superlative |
Example |
Intelligent |
Most intelligent |
He is the most intelligent man I ever met. |
Succinct |
Most succinct |
The last comment was the most succinct. |
Wonderful |
Most wonderful |
They had the most wonderful time because you were there. |
Exciting |
Most exciting |
Last night was my most exciting date ever. |
V. IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES FOR COMPARISON AND SUPERLATIVE
In English, there are several adjectives that change form in an irregular way:
Irregular Forms |
Examples |
|
Quality |
Big |
My dog is big. |
Comparative |
Bigger |
My dog is bigger than yours. |
Superlative |
Biggest |
My dog is the biggest. |
Quality |
Good |
My handwriting is good. |
Comparative |
Better |
My handwriting is better than yours. |
Superlative |
Best |
My handwriting is the best. |
Quality |
Bad |
My cooking is bad. |
Comparative |
Worse |
My cooking is worse than yours. |
Superlative |
Worst |
My cooking is the worst. |
Quality |
Sad |
It was a sad film we saw last night. |
Comparative |
Sadder |
It was sadder than the one we saw last week. |
Superlative |
Saddest |
But last year, I saw the saddest movie of all. |
For adjectives that end in a consonant following two vowels, just add ER (example:
cool, cooler, coolest).MORE IRREGULAR COMPARISONS AND SUPERLATIVES
Whenever an adjective ends in the letter Y you must change the Y to IER when forming the COMPARATIVE
OR
you may use the word MORE in front of the adjective.
Whenever an adjective ends in the letter Y, you must change the Y to EST when forming the SUPERLATIVE.
OR
you may use the word MOST in front of the adjective.
Quality |
Happy |
My girlfriend is happy. |
Comparative |
Happier |
She is happier than you. |
Comparative |
More happy |
She is more happy than you. |
Superlative |
Happiest |
She is the happiest of all the girls. |
Superlative |
Most happy |
She is the most happy of all the girls. |
Quality |
Sloppy |
My girlfriend is sloppy. |
Comparative |
Sloppier |
She is sloppier than you. |
Comparative |
More sloppy |
She is more sloppy than you. |
Superlative |
Sloppiest |
She is the sloppiest of all the girls. |
Superlative |
Most sloppy |
She is the most sloppy of all the girls. |
Quality |
Lucky |
My girlfriend is lucky. |
Comparative |
Luckier |
She is luckier than you. |
Comparative |
More lucky |
She is more lucky than you. |
Superlative |
Luckiest |
She is the luckiest of all the girls. |
Superlative |
Most lucky |
She is the most lucky of all the girls. |
limerick.There is a young woman named Fran,
Who is out looking for a new man,
When she meets handsome Bill,
She loses her free will,
And kisses him as best as she can.Note: this type of poem (the endings of the words rhyme) is called a
Copyright: 2004 English 4 All, Inc.