4.1 What Is an Adjective?

Adjectives describe nouns. In grammar we say that adjectives "modify" nouns. The word modify means "change a little". Adjectives give a little different meaning to a noun.

Examples:

Intelligent student.
Lazy student.
Good student.

An Adjective is neither singular nor plural. A final -s is not added to an Adjective.

Examples:

Correct: I saw some beautiful pictures.
Incorrect: I saw some beautifuls pictures.

They don't have gender.

Examples:

The tall boy is my brother.
The tall girl is my sister.

Adjectives go before the noun or after the verb To Be.

Examples:

The tall boy plays basketball.
Adj + Noun

The boy is tall.
To Be + Adj

4.2 Adjective Classification

4.2.1 Possessive Adjectives

Your

His

Her

Its

Our

Your

Their

Examples:

My farm is far away from the city.
Their hobby is ping pong.

Exercise 1

1. My hair is yours.

2. My hair isn't yours. Mine is a little wavy.

3. Sarah's husband isn't mine. My husband is taller and more handsome.

4. -Hey, Patty! My husband yours!

5. John and Ann say that English is favorite language.

4.2.2 Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers and Cardinal Numbers are different. The cardinal are normal numbers (one, two, three, etc) are not considered adjectives.

The Ordinal Numbers are considered adjectives because they describe the order of something.

First (1st)

Second (2nd)

Third (3rd)

Fourth (4th)

Twenty–first (21st)

Thirty second (32nd)

Forty third (43rd)

Fifty fourth (54th)

Examples:

The first (1st) round was really boring.
This is the fourth (4th) time that I go to that restaurant.

Exercise 2

Fill in the blank with the correct Ordinal Number.

1. The time that I went to a circus, I was amazed.

2. I have bought my children four school uniforms in 1 year. I have to buy another one, it will be the uniform.

3. The color of the Colombian flag is Red.

4. The month of the year is April.

5. The day of the week is Saturday, my favorite!

4.2.3 Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive Adjectives are words that state the different characteristic that a noun can have.

Examples:

The London Bridge is a wide bridge.
The dress you bought is ugly.

light	loose	tight	fast	slow
straight	crooked	poor	curly	wide
narrow	thick	thin	dark	open
new	old	young	sharp	quiet
noisy	hot	cold	soft	hard
easy	difficult	neat	messy	clean
dirty	bad	good	married	single
handsome	ugly	pretty	empty	closed
wet	dry	full	expensive	cheap
fancy	plain

Exercise 2

Fill in the blank with the correct Descriptive Adjective.

Good

loose

fast

bad

ugly

1. The kid is . He behaves and listens to his parents.

2. Her husband is very . He stays out until late on weekends and arrives home drunk.

3. The witch is .

4. The thief escaped the cops.

5. Most nurses wear a uniform to work more comfortably.

4.2.4 Physical States and Emotions

These adjectives describe the way a person feels physically or emotionally. Look at these examples.

tired	sleepy	exhausted	hot
hungry	thirsty	full	sick
happy	sad	miserable	upset
frustrated	angry	furious	disgusted
surprised	shocked	nervous	worried
scared	bored	proud	embarrassed
ashamed

Examples:

The baby is hungry.
The parrot yells when it is excited.

Exercise 4

Fill in the blank with the correct adjective.

exhauste

proud

worried

nervous

happy

1. I am because I learnt English.

2. The woman feels . She hasn't slept in 2 days.

3. The teacher is very to see the results of the students.

4. Many artists are when they have to perform in public.

5. He is because his son has not arrived since yesterday.

4.3 Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Case	Positive	Comparative	Superlative
With adjectives of one or two syllables, add er to the adjective followed by than.	old fast clever	Older than Faster than Cleverer than	The oldest The fastest The cleverest
With one syllable adjective ending in a vowel followed by a consonant, double the consonant and add er (comparative) or est (superlative)	thin big hot	Thinner than Bigger than Hotter than	The thinnest The biggest The hottest
With two syllable adjectives that end in y, change the y to i and add er (Comparative) and est (Superlative)	easy funny tasty	Easier than Funnier than Tastier thanListened	The easiest The funniest The tastiest
With adjectives of two or more syllables, add more (Comparative) and most (Superlative)	famous childish serious	More famous than More childish than More serious than	The most famous The most childish The most serious

Exercise 5

Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the adjective (Comparative or S uperlative). You can use your lists of adjectives as reference.

1. Mary has three children John is than Mike and Karen is the .

2. Shakira is a singer but Madonna is .

3. That dress than the blue one, but the green one is .

4. You are but He is .

5. This book is than the other one.

6. She is a girl but he is than her.

7. The detective is but the thief is .

8. The cake tastes good but the pie tastes John likes the cheese rolls .

9. Your grandfather is but that old man is .

10. I will be this week but next week I'll be .

11. My job is than the movie but my family is the thing in the world for me.

12. "Be when you use fire but be around children.

13. The of all my students is Paul.

14. The member in my family is 95 years old.

15. The most jewelry in that store costs $25,000 dollars.

16. Mr. Todd is very but his mother is .

17. My mother is the person that I have ever seen.

18. Your brother is very but your sister is the person I know.

19. The most movie I have ever been to is...

20. The most book I have read is "Dracula".

21. I don't like spicy food. Korean food is but Hindu food is .

22. Batman is but Superman is the of all action heroes.

23. Paul is a man but Tony is the man I have met.

24. The tree is very high but the ladder is .

25. Sarah is but Tom is than her.

26. Out of all of the vegetables on earth I like broccoli the .

27. This ice cream is than yours.

28. Some oranges are but lemons are .

29. Mrs. Sharkey is a person but her sister is than her.

4.3.1 Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives

An Irregular Comparative and Superlative does not need er or more for the comparative form or est or the most for the superlative form. As the name indicates these are irregular and change completely.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Good	Better than	The best
Bad	Worse than	The worst
Little	Less than	The least
Far (distance)	Farther than	The farthest
Far (distance/additional)	Further than	The furthest

Both farther and further are used to compare physical distances; I walked farther / further than my friend did. Further (but not farther) can also mean "additional"; I need further information.

Exercise 6

Use the words from your chart to complete the sentences.

1. I think that Arnold Schwarzenegger is a actor John Claude Van Damme.

2. You are putting too much baking powder in that cake recipe. Use than that.

3. My house is than your house but Mario's house is the of all three.

4. The doctor said that the case would be a very bad infection if we didn't treat the wound well.

5. My friend is Cary. She is always there when I need her!

4.3.2 Comparative Degree of Equality

To compare two things equally, use the adverb "as" before and after the adjective.

Examples:

The blue dress is as attractive as the brown one.

Exercise 7

Use the adjectives in the box to compare equally in positive and negative form.

Nice

Big

Straight

Good looking

High

Dificult

Interesting

Comfortable

1. My hair is yours.

2. My hair isn't yours. Mine is a little wavy.

3. Sarah's husband isn't mine. My husband is taller and more handsome.

4. -Hey, Patty! My husband yours! -Of course silly! They are identical twins!

5. The building across the street my apartment building. They both have 12 floors.

6. Thank God that the building that they are building across the street my apartment building because otherwise it would cover all of the sunlight.

7. Our neighbors from the left side the ones from the right side. They are always complaining about something!

8. Our next door neighbors are we are. We get along very well.

9. This final exam last semester's final. It is easier.

10. This final exam last semester's final. I hope I get a good grade.

11. My baby yours and mine is younger!

12. My baby yours because he is younger.

13. This book the one I read last month! I love it!

14. This book the one I read last month, the other one was better.

15. My new shoes my old shoes...I prefer the old ones!

16. It is a good thing that I could find shoes that my old shoes!

4.3.3 Comparative Degree of Inferiority

With adjectives of three or more syllables, use less and than to show a c omparative degree of inferiority.

Examples:

Money is less important than good health.
Canada is less populated than China.

Exercise 8

Rephrase the following sentences. Give two options.

Examples:

1. Her mother is less dedicated than yours.
Means: Your mother is more dedicated than hers.
Could mean: Her mother isn't as dedicated as yours.
Or: Your mother isn't as distracted as hers.

2. This pediatrician is less careful than the one I had before.

3.My kid is less independent than most kids his age.

4. The silver ring is less beautiful than the gold ring.

5. Personally I think that your idea of going camping is less appealing than going to the hotel to spend the holidays..

4.4 Demonstrative Adjectives

These adjectives come before nouns to specify which noun or nouns the person is t alking about.

This –These
That–Those

Examples:

That house is falling apart.
Those computers are updated.

Exercise 9

Fill in the blank with the correct Demonstrative Adjective.

1. woman is staring at me.

2. women are staring at me.

3. I have same shirt.

4. English institute is the best!

5. I want to get shoes. They are cheap and comfortable.

4.5 -ing, -ed Adjectives

These adjectives end in -ing or -ed. Be careful with these adjectives because you can confuse them with verbs.
The adjectives that end in -ing describe the cause of a feeling, while the adjectives that end in -ed describe the receiver of the feeling. Look at these examples.

Examples:

The situation is embarrassing.
I am embarrassed because of the situation.

Cause of Feeling		Receiver of Feeling
alarming	frustrating	alarmed	frustrated
amusing	interesting	amused	interested
boring	overwhelming	bored	overwhelmed
concerning	pleasing	concerned	pleased
confusing	relaxing	confused	relaxed

Cause of Feeling		Receiver of Feeling
embarrassing	satisfying	embarrassed	satisfied
encouraging	shocking	encouraged	shocked
entertaining	surprising	entertained	surprised
exciting	terrifying	excited	terrified
exhausting	tiring	exhausted	tired
frightening		frightened

Exercise 10

Use the following words to complete the sentences.

relaxed

frustrating

exciting

boring

relaxing

frustrated

excited

bored

1. Mr. Smith's class is very .

2. That math problem is .

3. The boy was to ride in the roller coaster.

4. Going to that spa is a experience.

5. The child thought that the roller coaster ride was .

6. She was when she went to the spa.

7. That man felt after trying to do the math problem and not getting the correct answer.

8. We are in Mr. Smith's class.

4.5.1 Colors

4.6 The Order of Adjectives

Sometimes we can use many adjectives to describe one noun. Here we are going t o take a look at the order in which you use the adjectives.

Opinion: What you think about something.

Examples: Ugly, pretty, easy, difficult, etc.

Size: It tells how big or small is something.

Examples: Giant, small, tiny, little, huge, etc.

Age: It tells how old, new or young someone or something is.

Examples: Ancient, recent, young, old, new, elderly, etc.

Shape: It describes the shape of something.

Examples: Round, square, oval, flat, rectangular, etc.

Color: It describes the color of something.

Examples: Reddish, blue green, orange etc.

Origin: It describes where something comes from.

Examples: Colombian, American, Chinese, eastern, northern etc.

Material: It describes what the object is made of.

Examples: Wooden, metal, plastic, cotton, wool, glass, etc.

Purpose: It describes what something is used for. (These adjectives often end in -ing).

Examples: Sleeping bag, roasting tin, sewing machine etc.

Example of adjective order in sentences:

Opinion	Size	Age	Shape	Color	Origin	Material / Purpose	Noun
cute	tall				american		boy
	small			red			car
			square			wooden	hairbrush

Normally you will not have all the types of adjectives in the same sentence. Let's say, you have size (big) and material (plastic) in the sentence, the order would be: The big plastic jar = big goes before plastic because that is the order. Now it is your turn.

Exercise 11

Check the correct sentence.

Exercise 12

Write the sentences using the adjectives in the following order. Use the chart as a reference.

Examples:

Opinion

Size

Age

Shape

Age

Color

Origin

Material / Purpose

Noun

Examples:

1. Opinion, Color, Material:
The pretty, black, silk dress

2. Shape, Origin, Purpose:

3. Size, Age, Shape:

4. Shape, Origin, Material:

5. Opinion, Size, Origin:

6. Material, Purpose:

7. Age, Color, Origin:

8. Opinion, Material:

4.7 Tricky Possessives

Pay attention to these "Tricky Possessives", you might confuse them.

4.7.1 Possessive Pronouns

A Possessive Pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as a marker of p ossession and defines who owns a particular object or person. Note that Possessive Personal Pronouns are very similar to Possessive Adjectives like m y, her, and their.

These possessives are not followed immediately by a noun; they stand alone.

The Possessive Pronouns are:

Mine

Yours

His

Hers

Its

Ours

Yours

Theirs

Examples:

That book is mine. Those over there are yours.

4.7.2 Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives are followed immediately by a noun; they do not stand a lone. These are:

Your

His

Her

Its

Our

Your

Their

Examples:

My book is here. Your books are over there.

Possessive Nouns require apostrophes.

Examples:

That book is Mary's or That is Mary's book.

Possessive Pronouns or Possessive Adjectives do not take apostrophes.

Examples:

Correct: That book is hers, or that is her book
Incorrect: That book is her's or that is her's book.

Exercise 13

Replace the following

Possessive Nouns

with Possessive Adjectives or Possessive Pronouns.

Examples:

He writes in Mary's book and she writes in Pedro's.
He writes in her book and she writes in his

Examples:

I have Tom's pencil and he has Patricia's.
I have his pencil and he has hers.

1. We ate with Marco's sister and Tina's Daughter.

2. Mario washed the dog's collar.

3. Patricia's brother will go with Tammy.

4. Tina's husband said "Good Morning".

5. The man's children scream all day.

6. We invited the neighbor's friends.

Exercise 14

Choose the correct word in parentheses.

1. This is umbrella. umbrella is over there.

2. This umbrella is . The other one is .

3. Mary and Bob have . book. In other words, Mary has . and Bob has his.

4. A honeybee has two wings on each side of body.

5. true that a homing pigeon will find way home even though it begins trip in unfamiliar territory.

6. I have a pet. name is Squeak. a turtle.