Adjectives

Adjectives are words that enhance and describe nouns or pronouns.

• Joseph has got a beautiful car.
• The little boy was playing in the yard.
• The tall tree swayed gently in the breeze.
• This restaurant makes delicious dishes.
• My elder sister wore a pink dress to the party.

Adjective + noun

When we use adjectives with a noun in English, the adjectives go before the noun.

It is a red car.

Am/is/are + adjective

We can also use adjectives without a noun after the verb be.

My flowers are fresh.

Are your flowers fresh?

Feel/look/smell/sound/taste + adjective

We can also use adjectives without a noun after the verbs of the senses: feel, look, smell, sound, taste.

• Your idea sounds interesting. 
• I don’t like this soup. It tastes horrible.
• You look tired. 
• These cookies smell delicious. 
• I feel depressed. 

No plural

Adjectives in English have no plural. They are always singular.

He is blond and has blue eyes

Very/quite

We can use very and quite before the adjectives.

• This house is very expensive.
• This house is quite expensive.

Comparative adjectives

We use more + adjective + than or adjective + -er + than to compare things or people.

• My house is more expensive than yours. 
• I am older than my sisters. 

We use the comparative form of an adjective to compare two things.

• Luke is taller than Jake.
• This bed is more comfortable than the sofa.

Less … than

When we compare two things, we can also use the form less + adjective + than 

• Peter is less popular than Marta. 

Than me

If we use a personal pronoun after than, we need an object pronoun (me, you, him, etc.).

• His brother is taller than him.

Much/a bit + more

More or -er

Than + another comparison element

We use than + the second thing that we are comparing. When we don’t mention the second element of the comparison, we do NOT use than.

Comparative adjectives

Less … than

When comparing two things, we can also use the form less + adjective + than (less ≠ more).

Not as … as

We can also use the form (not) as + adjective + as.

Than me / than I am

After than or as … as we can use an object pronoun (me, you, him, etc.), or we can also use a subject pronoun (I, you, he, etc.) + verb.

Much/a lot/a bit more

Before the comparative (more or –er), we can use much, a lot or a bit.

-ed/-ing adjectives

A lot of adjectives are made from verbs by adding -ing or -ed. They are called participial adjectives they take the forms of the present (-ing) and past participle (-ed) of the verb.

-ed adjectives

-ed adjectives are used to describe how we feel. Look at the following examples:

• We’re tired. Can we stop walking around and go home?
  

-ing adjectives

-ing adjectives are used to talk about the things that produce these feelings. Check the examples below:

• Running is very tiring. We don’t want to run.
• This film is very boring. Let’s play cards.
• Her visit was very surprising. We weren’t expecting her.

Adjective order

1. OPINION: wonderful, terrible, lovely
2. SIZE: small, huge, tiny
3. AGE: ancient, new, young
4. SHAPE: round, square, oblong
5. COLOUR: green, bright, pale
6. ORIGIN: Victorian, American, Turkish
7. MATERIAL: wooden, metallic, cotton
8. PURPOSE: racing, sleeping, cooking

When should we use the hyphen?

The hyphen should be used to connect the different words of a compound adjective when we use it before a noun, but when we use the adjective after the verb be or a sensory verb, the words often remain separate.

• He is a well-known actor. 
• This actor is well known for his impactful performances. 

However, some common compound adjectives are consistently hyphenated. It’s a good idea to consult a dictionary or verify online.

• Their relationship was short-lived.

While English speakers might occasionally skip the hyphen, its correct use is crucial to prevent misunderstandings. Consider the difference in these sentences:

• He is a large truck driver. (This means the driver himself is large.)
• He is a large-truck driver. (This indicates he drives large trucks.)

Degrees Of Adjectives

1. Positive Degree:

• • This is the simplest form of an adjective
    • Positive: The cat is grey.

1. Comparative Degree:

• • Used to compare two things or qualities, the comparative degree often ends in “-er” or is preceded by “more” when dealing with longer adjectives. 
    • Comparative: The cheetah is faster than the lion.
    • Comparative with “more”: The plot of the movie is more interesting than the book.

1. Superlative Degree:

• • This degree is employed when comparing three or more things or qualities. It typically ends in “-est” or is preceded by “most” for longer adjectives. Examples include:
    • Superlative: the fastest cat 

Superlative with “most”: the most beautiful sunset