ADJECTIVES:

advanced grammar

What are adjectives in English? Do you know how to use them? If you are unsure, this blog post is for you! Let us know if this was helpful. Remember to sign up for your free first lesson to discuss any questions you might have with your favorite Fluentella teacher! 

What are adjectives?

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Adjectives are words describing nouns and pronouns (singular or plural).

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They can be used in any verb tense!

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Most of them have common adjectives endings (suffixes).

Common mistakes with adjectives and feelings:

I am scary! (incorrect)

The book is scared. (incorrect)

*Remember:

Adjectives ending in -ed describe feelings that are inside a person.

Examples of feeling adjectives to describe how a person is feeling: Amazed, amused, bored, confused, depressed, disappointed, excited, interested, irritated, shocked

For example: I am amazed by you.

 

Adjectives ending in -ing are the results of outer causes (not inside the person who is experiencing the feeling).

Amazing, amusing, boring, confusing, depressing, disappointing, exciting, interesting, irritating, shocking

For example: You are amazing.

 

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES

*Used to compare 2 things or 2 people

*Add an -er to the adjective

*Add ‘more’ in front of adjectives with 3 syllables or more (beau/ti/ful)

S + be verb + comparative adj + than + O

She is faster than her brother.

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES

 

*Used to compare 3 or more things or people

*Add an -est to the adjective

S + be verb + the superlative adj + noun + O

She is the fastest girl in the school.

More ways to compare:

She is just as intelligent as Einstein.

*just as ___________ as (meaning they are equal)

Today is almost as hot as yesterday.

*almost/nearly as __________ as (meaning the subject is close but not the same as the object)

It is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island.

*one of the most _____________ (meaning there are few more *adj than this one)

Adjective order in sentences: Yes, there is an order 🙂

We generally don’t use more than 3-4 adjectives per noun, if you use more you will sound unnatural.

In a noun phrase, they should be used after the DETERMINER (quantifiers / possessives / demonstratives / articles) and before the NOUN. 

1. NUMBERS:

Ordinal (first, second, third) / cardinal (one, two, three)

2. OPINION ADJECTIVES:

Example: amazing, ugly, glamorous

3. SIZE ADJECTIVES:

Example: gigantic, tiny, huge

4. AGE ADJECTIVES:

Example: young, old, new, modern, ancient

5. SHAPE ADJECTIVES:

Example: oval, triangular, heart-shaped

6. COLOR ADJECTIVES:

Example: yellow, maroon, brown

7. ORIGIN ADJECTIVES:

Example: Finnish, Korean, eastern

8. MATERIAL ADJECTIVES: 

Example: plastic, iron, paper

9. PURPOSE ADJECTIVES: 

Example: soccer (as in soccer ball), school (as in school bus), table (as in table cloth)

THE NOUN YOU ARE DESCRIBING:

I HAVE A LARGE, BROWN, GUARD DOG.

Quiz: Check your understanding

 

 

Try it out!

LOOK AT THE PICTURES ON THE RIGHT AND TRY TO DESCRIBE THEM USING THE CORRECT ADJECTIVE ORDER.

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