Adjectives
Adjectives describe or modify nouns.
I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an imaginary story that has unrealistic characters in a fantastic background. It makes me forget about the real world and refreshes my tired mind.
Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun.
- A pretty girl
- Red flowers
- A long stick
- Heavy boxes
- Warm weather
Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix such as un, in, or dis.
- clear – unclear, important – unimportant, predictable – unpredictable, believable – unbelievable, common – uncommon, aware – unaware, ambiguous – unambiguous, conventional – unconventional, certain – uncertain
- definite – indefinite, correct – incorrect, comparable – incomparable, complete – incomplete, evitable – inevitable, expensive – inexpensive
- able – disable, assemble – disassemble, content – discontent, similar – dissimilar
When using a string of adjectives, they should appear in a set order: size/shape + age + color + origin + material.
- A big brown house
- A small old English desk
- A beautiful black Italian leather purse
- Delicious Chinese food
The+ adjective describes a class or group of people and acts as a noun.
- the old, the young, the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, etc.
- This popular TV show is loved by the old.
Comparative and Superlative Adjectives
Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things
Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'.
- old – older – oldest
- young – younger – youngest
- pretty – prettier – prettiest
- long – longer – longest
- short – shorter – shortest
- bright – brighter – brightest
- close – closer – closest
- happy – happier - happiest
Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add more to form comparatives and most to form superlatives.
- respectable – more respectable – most respectable
- beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful
- preferable – more preferable – most preferable
- hardworking – more hardworking – most hardworking
Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives.
- good – better – best
- bad – worse – worst
- little – less – least
- much (many) – more – most
- far – further - furthest
The word than typically appears in comparative sentences.
- Amy is smarter than Betty.
- Chad is stronger than Dan.
- Greg is more diligent than his brother.
- I have more apples than he.
- She likes him more than me.
Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the.
- Tom is the oldest man in town.
- Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood.
- That shade of blue is the most beautiful color.
- This is the longest song that I have ever heard.