The Adjective
Lesson 14
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
What is an adjective?
Adjectives are describing words. Large, grey, and friendly are all examples of adjectives. In the examples below, these adjectives are used to describe an elephant.
• Large elephant
• Gray elephant
• Friendly elephant
Adjectives are added to nouns or pronouns to state what kind, what color, which one or how many. Adjectives are said to modify nouns or pronouns and are necessary to make the meanings of sentences clearer or more exact.
That big dog is hungry.
My sister is smart.
What movie are you watching?
Four students failed the exam.
We need some cheese for the
pizza.
An adjective often comes BEFORE or AFTER a noun:
I have a green car.
My car is green.
It’s a interesting story.
The story is interesting.
Adjective Form
Some adjectives have particular endings, for example:
-able/-ible: washable, credible -ish/-like: childish, childlike -ful/-less: careful, careless
-ous: dangerous, harmonious -y: dirty, pretty
Try to give your own examples.
Note that we can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady / it is black and white).
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
1. Descriptive adjective /adjective of quality
Says something about the quality or the kind of the noun or pronoun.
Erika is witty.
He is tired.
2. Adjectives of Number or Adjectives of Quantity A s e s the uestio , Ho a ? o Ho u h?
The plant need more water.
I can see two dolphins.
3. Demonstrative Adjectives
Points out pronouns and nouns, and always come before the words they are referring to.
I used to buy this kind of shirt. That is my cat.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Kinds of Adjective
4. Possessive adjective
Shows ownership or possession. Aside from that, possessive adjectives always come before the noun.
Her dress is red. Her dress is red.
5. Articles
Is always used with and gives some information about a noun. [a, an, the]
She is reading a book.
She is reading the purple book.
6. Interrogative Adjectives
Asks questions and are always followed by a noun.
What TV show are you watching? Whose pencil is this?
Note that in other references these types might be named differently.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Identify the adjectives in the
sentences and determine their types.
Give an appropriate adjective for each noun.
1. Sarah has a beautiful cat.
2. Kittens and cats make fun pets.
3. The textbook for the class was heavy.
4. Jack's computer got a virus.
5. Explorers came to America from foreign lands.
6. The professor taught a fascinating class.
7. The perfume in the container is fragrant.
8. My uncle who lives in Detroit is elderly.
9. Her mother is an amazing cook!
10. I did ’t a t to sit o the et g ou d.
11. The homework in science was very difficult.
12. The brown banana was used to make bread.
13. The adorable toddler smiled at her grandmother.
14. He was afraid to talk to the beautiful woman.
15. Explorers came to America from foreign lands.
1. Mother 2. Father 3. Glass 4. Bag 5. picture 6. Students 7. Papers 8. Class 9. Phone 10. Family 11. Project 12. Camera 13. Fish 14. She 15. Food
16. Pen 17. Mouse 18. Teacher 19. Balls 20. Friend 21. Flower 22. Shoes
23. Restaurant 24. Email
25. Wine 26. Lesson 27. English 28. Skirt 29. Weather 30. Day
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Every adjective has three degrees of its own.
They are : Positive, Comparative, Superlative degrees.
1. Positive Degree
The term positive degree relates to adjectives and adverbs. An adjective that does not make a comparison is said to be in the positive degree. In other words, the positive degree is the normal form of an adjective.
The knife is sharp. I thought it seemed strange. The jars are empty.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Degrees of Adjective
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different.
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
There are two ways to make or to "form" a comparative adjective:
short adjectives: add "-er"
long adjectives: use "more"
A1 is bigger that A2. I like cats better than dogs.
The queen is more beautiful than the witch.
We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things). Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
2. Comparative Degree
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Short adjectives: add -er examples
1-syllable adjectives old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
RULE: add "-er" old → olde
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late → late Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel,
consonant, double the last consonant
ig → igge
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happ → happier
Long adjectives: use more examples
2-syllable adjectives not ending in - y
modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "more" ode → o e ode
e pe si e → o e e pe si e
S T U D Y T H E T A B L E S
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality.
We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.
Formation of Superlative Adjectives
As with superlative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective: short adjectives: add "-est“
long adjectives: use "most"
We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.
I like dogs best of all.
We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things.
Chris is the tallest. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in 2. Superlative Degree
John = 1.75M David = 1.8M Chris =1.85M.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y modern, pleasant all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
RULE: use "most" ode → the ost ode
e pe si e → the ost e pe si e
S T U D Y T H E T A B L E S
Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
RULE: add "-est" old → the oldest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late → the latest Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel,
consonant, double the last consonant
ig → the iggest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happ → the happiest
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Positive Comparative Superlative Comment
good better best
bad worse worst
much more most uncountable nouns
many more most countable nouns
little less least
little smaller smallest
Compare nouns using the following adjectives.
1. better 4. less
2. Most 5. smallest
3. Many
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Irregular adjectives
Write the Comparative forms of the adjectives.
1. I am (tall) my sister.
2. My mum thinks that cats are (good) pets than dogs.
3. Cycling is one of (dangerous) sports.
4. I want to have (big) car.
5. A blue whale is (heavy) twenty-five elephants.
6. You look (thin) last month.
7. Bicycles are (slow) cars.
8. She is (nice) person I know.
9. What is (good) film you´ve seen?
10. Computers are (cheap) mobile phones.
11. Is your brother (tall) you?
12. I think Spanish is (easy) Japanese.
13. Our dog is (nice) your dog.
14. Glass bottles are (good) plastic bottles.
15. I think Rafael Nadal is (good) tennis
Write the Comparative forms of the adjectives.
1. The moon is the (close) planet to earth.
2. Jupiter is the (large) planet in our solar system.
3. Sirius is the (brilliant)star we can see from earth.
4. Venus is the (hot) planet in our solar system.
5. Ceres is the (big) asteroid in our solar system.
6. The Energya is the (powerful) rocket.
7. Karl Henize was the (old) man in space 8. Saturn is the (beautiful) planet.
9. Venus is the (bright) planet in our solar system.
10. The Apollo project was the (expensive) space programme.
11. Mercury is the (small) planet in our solar system.
12. Romenko is the (experienced) man in space.
He spent over 420 days in space.
13. Pluto is the (cold) planet in our solar system.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
1. My house is (big) than yours.
2. This flower is (beautiful) than that one.
3. This is the (interesting) book I have ever read.
4. Non-smokers usually live (long) than smokers.
5. I think she is still ill. She looks even(bad) than last week.
6. Which is the (dangerous) animal in the world?
7. I chose this car as my favorite because it's (fast)all the ones I have driven.
8. There are more accidents on this road because (narrow)it's than the others.
9. A holiday by the sea is (good) than a holiday in the mountains.
10. It is strange but often a coke is (expensive) than a beer.
11. Which of the three supermarkets do you think has(wide) range of products?
12. Who is the (rich) woman on earth?
13. The people in London are the (polite) in the country.
14. Things are better organized now - we have (less) problems than before.
15. The weather this summer is even (bad) than last summer.
16. He was the (clever) thief of all.
Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets (comparative or superlative).
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
What is an adjective phrase?
An adjective phrase (or adjectival phrase) is a phrase that tells us something about the noun it is modifying. The head (principal) word in an adjective phrase will be an adjective.
The nearby motel offers cheap but comfortable rooms.
(In this example, the head adjective starts the adjective phrase.)
These are unbelievably expensive shoes.
(In this example, the head adjective ends the adjective phrase.)
Sarah was fairly bored with you.
(In this example, the head adjective is in the middle of the adjective phrase.)
Like a normal adjective, an adjective phrase can be used before the noun it is modifying (like in the first two examples above) or after the noun it is modifying (like in the last example).
The extremely tired lioness is losing patience with her overly enthusiastic cub.
The dog covered in mud looked pleased with himself.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
An adjective phrase can be an attributive adjective or a predicative adjective.
1. Attributive Adjective
An attributive adjective is one that sits inside the noun phrase of the noun it modifies. Look at these two examples:
The beautifully carved frames are worth more than the painting.
(This is an attributive adjective phrase. It sits inside the noun phrase The beautifully carved frames.)
The frames beautifully carved by monks are worth more than the painting.
(This is also an attributive adjective phrase. It sits inside the noun phrase The frames beautifully carved by monks.)
2. Predicative Adjective
A predicative adjective sits outside the noun phrase of the noun it modifies. Typically, a predicative adjective is linked to the noun it modifies with a linking verb. For example:
The curtains look far too long.
(This is a predicative adjective phrase. The linking verb is look.)
The frames were beautifully carved by monks.
(This is a predicative adjective phrase. The linking verb is were.)
Ide tify the adje tive phrase i the se te es a d deter i e it’s attri utive or predicative adjective.
Lesson 14 – The Adjective
1. The cabin beside the lake was already occupied when we arrived.
2. Summer, which is my favorite season, will be here in another week.
3. He finished the dish of ice cream very quickly.
4. Newton, Iowa, is the town where Barbara was born.
5. Will you delay your trip to Disneyland?
6. That dog that you found belongs to the Olsons.
7. The sign contains information about the upcoming concert.
8. The King wore a crown made of gold.
9. He lived in a house built of stone.
10. There was a pot made of earth on the table.
11. She wore a necklace made of diamond.
12. Much has been said about the scenery of Switzerland.
13. The flag of Spain flew at the top of the mast.
14. Deeds of heroism are worthy of admiration.
15. They went by the railway running through Siberia.
16. I have passed several nights without sleep.
