Commonly used adjectives in English. Learn beautiful adjectives in English! 1.2
Adjective(Adjective) is an independent part of speech that indicates a sign of a person, object or concept and answers the question " which?". In English, they do not have the category of gender and number, so they do not change their form. Adjectives are most often used with nouns and in sentences they act as a definition or nominal part of a compound predicate.
- That good-looking lady is John's wife.– Ta good looking the lady is John's wife.
- Matt's dog was really naughty. Matt's dog was really naughty.
Types of adjectives by education
adjectives English in their form are divided into simple, derivatives and complex.
Simple adjectives (simple adjectives) consist of a single root with no suffixes or prefixes.
- good - good
- bad - bad
- happy - cheerful, happy
- sad - sad
- My bag is old . I want to buy a new one.- My bag is old. I want to buy a new one.
- You don't have any right to decide what is good and what is bad for me.“You have no right to decide what is good and what is bad for me.
Derived adjectives (derivative adjectives) consist of a root with the addition of certain suffixes and prefixes. These adjectives are formed from other parts of speech, mainly from verbs.
- use ful- useful, useful
- derived ive- derivative
- unexpect ed- unexpected
- illogic al- illogical
- scar ing- scary, scary
- curi ous- curious
- user ess- useless
- imposs ible- impossible
- One unexpected accident has happened to me today.“An unexpected incident happened to me today.
- I will prove to you that this is not impossible. I will show you that it is possible (not impossible).
Compound adjectives (compound adjectives) were formed by the fusion of two or more bases. Such adjectives are written with a hyphen.
- well-known - well-known
- good-looking - looking good
- blue-eyed - blue-eyed
- Russian-speaking - Russian-speaking
- alcohol-free - non-alcoholic
- three-day - three-day
- He drinks only alcohol-free beer. He only drinks non-alcoholic beer.
- Haruki Murakami is a well-known writer. Haruki Murakami is a well-known writer.
Types of adjectives by meaning
According to the rules of the English language adjectives according to their meaning and functions are divided into quality or descriptive adjectives, quantitative adjectives, possessive adjectives, index and interrogative adjectives.
Quality adjectives
quality or descriptive adjectives (descriptive adjectives or adjectives of quality) indicate a certain quality, characteristic of a living object, object, concept or action. This is the largest group of adjectives. For convenience, they are divided into quality and relative adjectives.
Quality adjectives express direct signs of an object: state, properties, color, shape, size, taste, weight. Qualitative adjectives form degrees of comparison.
- straight - straight
- blue - blue
- dangerous - dangerous
- strong - strong
- Kate's blue eyes can charm anyone. Kate's blue eyes can charm anyone.
- It's dangerous to touch a snake. It may be poisonous.– Touching a snake is dangerous. She may be poisonous.
Relative adjectives indicate the material, nationality, attitude to the place, time, field of knowledge, interpersonal relationships, and more. Usually, relative adjectives do not form degrees of comparison.
- religious - religious
- French - French
- monthly - monthly
- short-term - short-term
- Mr. Jefferson prefers French cuisine to American one.- Mr. Jefferson prefers French cuisine to American cuisine.
- His monthly salary is not that high. His monthly salary is not that high.
Quantitative adjectives
Quantitative adjectives(quantitative adjectives or numeral adjectives) indicate the number of objects or concepts, their approximate or exact number. They are subdivided into certain, uncertain and separating quantitative adjectives.
Certain quantitative adjectives (definite numeral adjectives) indicate the exact number of objects and concepts, or their order. They fully correspond to the numerals.
- two - two
- second - second
- thirty five - thirty five
- thirty-fifth - thirty-fifth
- Claire has two sisters and three brothers. Claire has two sisters and three brothers.
- Usain Bolt runs really fast so he always finishes first .– Usain Bolt runs really fast, so he always finishes first.
Indefinite quantitative adjectives(indefinite numeral adjectives) indicate an indefinite or approximate number of items without naming it.
- all - everything, everything
- no - none, nothing
- few / a few - a few, a little
- certain - certain
- some - a certain amount, a little
- any - any
- several - several, different
- sundry - various, several
- many - a lot
- much - a lot
- most - most
- little / a little - a little, a little
- more - more
- none (of)
- too much - too much
- too many - too many
- a lot of - a lot
- plenty of - a lot, full, in abundance
- Jack has no patience. Jack has no patience.
- There is too much sugar in this coffee. There is too much sugar in this coffee.
Separative quantitative adjectives(distributive numeral adjectives) are adjectives that refer to one object or concept from their total number. They are mostly used with nouns. in the singular.
- neither - none, none (of two)
- either - both, and one and the other (of two)
- every - everyone, everything, everyone
- each - each, everyone (separately)
- other - other, others
- the other - another (of two), second, last
- another - another, one more
- Where is my other sock? Where is my other sock?
- You are busy now so i will come to you another day. You are busy now, so I will come to you another day.
- Neither delegate knows how to fill in this application form.– None of the (two) delegates know how to complete this application.
many and much
adjectives many and much have the same meaning a lot of". However many only used with countable nouns, and much- with uncountable . They can be replaced by generic expressions a lot of(lots of)or plenty of(many, full, abundant).
- There are many ways to solve this problem.– There are many ways to solve this problem.
- I have many cats at home.- I have a lot of cats at home.
- I always put much sugar in my tea. I have a sweet tooth. I always put a lot of sugar in my tea. I have a sweet tooth.
- There wasn't much rain yesterday, so we could play rugby. It rained a little yesterday, so we were able to play rugby.
- There are a lot of places you can visit in Paris. There are many places in Paris that you can visit.
- I like spaghetti with plenty of tomato sauce.- I like spaghetti with large quantity tomato sauce.
Every and each
Every and each have the same meaning, so in most cases they replace each other. However, they also differ in their use.
Every used to refer to one item from a large number of other similar items. After every the plural form of the verb is never used. Every also used to indicate intervals of time or frequency of action. Every cannot be used on its own.
- Every student of this university has to hand in his paper till the end of this year. Each of the students of this university must hand in their work before the end of this year.
- Every day I go to the gym.– Every day I go to the gym.
- My mother calls me every ten minutes.- My mom is calling me. every ten minutes.
each indicates one item out of two items or out of a small number of other items. each can be used on its own at the end of a sentence. It can be followed by a pronoun one(one) to avoid repetition. each not used to indicate intervals of time.
- In this family each one takes turn throwing garbage. In this family, everyone takes turns taking out the trash.
- These books are worth $100 each. These books cost $100 each.
Expression each of(each of) can refer to many things and should be followed by the singular form of the verb, but in colloquial speech the plural form is also acceptable. Each of also used with pronouns you, us and them followed by a singular verb.
- Each of the students in this group have to hand in their papers till the end of this year. Each of the students in this group must hand in their work before the end of this year.
- Each of them has to apply for this job. Each of them should apply for this job.
Few or a few. Little or a little
There is a difference between adjectives few / a few(a few, a little) and little / a little(little, little).
Few and a few are only used with countable nouns. Few has the meaning " very few», « not enough».
- We only have few eggs left. We should buy more. We have nothing left of eggs. We must buy more.
- She had only few potatoes. It wasn't enough for a proper meal. She didn't have many potatoes. This was not enough for a full meal.
A few means " a little», « several», « few, but enough».
- Don't worry, we still have a few minutes. Don't worry, we still have a few minutes.
- I have a few cookies, i will give you some.- I have some cookies, I'll give you a few.
Little and a little used for uncountable nouns . Little has the meaning " very few», « not enough».
- There is little flour in this box. It's not enough for a cake. There is little flour in this box. It's not enough for a pie.
- He had little patience to complete this task. He had little patience to complete this task.
A little means " a little», « several», « few, but enough».
- I have a little coffee. I don't need more.– I have some coffee. I don't need more.
- I need a little time to do it. Wait a bit. I need some time to do this. Wait please.
Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives(demonstrative adjectives) are demonstrative pronouns, which are not used independently, but paired with a noun. In a sentence, they are used as a definition for nouns.
- This dog is aggressive. It's better to keep away from it. This dog is aggressive. Better to stay away from her.
- I like those flowers. Would you buy some for me?– I like those flowers. Will you buy some for me?
Possessive adjectives
Possessive adjectives(possessive adjectives) fully correspond to possessive pronouns. They are always used together with a noun.
- My car is broken so I will take my mother's one. My car is broken, so I will take my mom's car.
- His dog broke his house. His dog broke his house.
Interrogative adjectives
Interrogative adjectives(interrogative adjectives) correspond to question words which and what when they come directly before nouns.
- Which house on this street is yours? What house on this street is yours?
- What music do you listen to?- What kind of music do you listen to?
Order of adjectives in a sentence
There is a special sequence in English adjectives in a sentence strictly adhered to by native speakers.
Exist adjectives, which can only be used before a noun.
- north, northern - northern
- countless - countless, countless
- south, southern - southern
- occasional - random, rare, periodic
- east, eastern - eastern
- lone - lonely, withdrawn, unmarried
- west, western - western
- eventful - full of events
- outdoor - outdoor
- indoor - taking place indoors
- My aunt lives in the southern district. My aunt lives in the southern region.
- I prefer outdoor games.- I prefer games outdoors.
Some adjectives are not placed before the noun. These include many common adjectives with the -ed suffix.
- I think i'm ill.- I think I got sick.
- I'm really glad to meet you again.“I'm really glad to meet you again.
- Our project isn't finished. We have to hurry up! Our project is not finished. We must hurry.
Adjectives ending in suffixes -able, -ible can come before or after nouns.
- I have booked the first available flight.
- I have booked the first flight available.– I booked the first available flight.
adjectives are always placed after indefinite pronouns and never before them.
- Yesterday I met someone beautiful. Yesterday I met a handsome man.
- Anna is trying to cook something tasty. Anna is trying to cook something delicious.
In most cases it is used no more than three adjectives together. An adjective that is more closely related in meaning to the noun it defines is placed before it. Speaker score placed before other adjectives.
- I need a red wood pencil.- I need red wooden pencil.
- Lauren bought a beautiful black silk dress. Lauren bought beautiful black silk dress.
When adjectives more than three are used in a sentence, they are placed in certain order:
- 1. article, quantity - article, numeral, quantitative adjective (a, one ...)
- 2. value, opinion - assessment, opinion (fancy, beautiful, difficult, horrible ...)
- 3. size - size (little, large, enormous ...)
- 4. quality, temperature - quality, condition, characteristic, temperature (well-tailored, cold, hot ...)
- 5. age - age (new, old, young, ancient ...)
- 6. shape - shape (flat, square, round, rectangular ...)
- 7. color - color (green, blue, pink, gray ...)
- 8. origin - origin (American, European, lunar ...)
- 9. material - material (metal, wooden, paper ...)
- 10. purpose - purpose, purpose (often in -ing: sleeping bag, cutting machine, table cloth ...)
- 11. noun
- I've bought two beautiful middle-sized round red wax candles. I bought two beautiful medium sized rounded red wax candles.
- Ann doesn't want to throw away this big scratched old rectangular brown wooden chest of drawers. Ann doesn't want to throw away this big scratched old rectangular brown wooden chest of drawers.
Hello! We have already learned verbs in English with you, studied tables of English pronouns. It's time to relax a little and learn adjectives in English. These words are very important for a lively and rich English speech, so if you want to become a full member of the English-speaking society, then you just need to know at least basic adjectives.
English adjectives The adjective is the main part of speech that denotes a sign of a phenomenon, person or object - green room (green room), warm rain (warm rain), good friend (good friend). Answers the question (what? what? what?). As you can see from the question, unlike the Russian language, adjectives in English do not change by gender, number and case, do not form short forms, so it is much easier to learn them.
A number of English adjectives in their form, that is, in spelling, are no different from adverbs. To distinguish between them, it must be remembered that adverbs determine the Adjective, verb or other adverb - well (good), little (little), late (late), and adjectives - noun - well (good), little (small), late (late).
According to their meaning, adjectives in English are divided into:
- relative- do not match adverb very (very) and do not form degrees of comparison. There are much fewer of them, they convey such signs of a phenomenon, person or object that cannot be in them to a lesser or greater extent. For example: location central (central), material - g lass (glass) etc.
- quality- Larger group. They denote such features that may be inherent in a person, object or phenomenon to a lesser or greater extent, therefore, qualitative adjectives form three degrees of comparison: excellent, comparative and positive. For example, soft - soft(positive) — softer - softer(comparative) - softest - softest(excellent). The corresponding abstract nouns are formed from qualitative ones - darkness (darkness), cold (cold).
As in Russian, English has adjectives:
- Simple- in them, except for the root, the suffix and prefix are \u200b\u200bnot distinguished: little (small), black (black), short (short)
- Derivatives- in these words, both the root, and the prefix and suffix stand out: unkind (unkind), beautiful (beautiful), untrue (wrong)
- Composite (complex)- consist of several bases, most often separated by a hyphen: snow-white (snow-white), high-bred (well-bred), red-hot (hot).
A distinction should be made between English adjectives that end in " -ing" and " -ed". You need to know this so as not to confuse them with past verbs, gerunds and participles. In this case, you need to focus on their role and place in the proposal. In a word "-ing" usually describe the impression of an object, phenomenon or person, and words on "-ed"- the state of the person.
Study Table 1. What words did you know? Write down new words for you along with the translation and learn:
| shocking | shocking | shocked | shocked |
| surprise | amazing | surprised | surprised |
| exciting | exciting | excited | excited |
| tiring | tedious | tired | tired |
| interesting | interesting | interested | interested |
The role of adjectives in a sentence
The Adjective refers to a pronoun or, most commonly, a noun. The offer can perform the following functions:
- Definitions(attributive adjectives) He wears black shoes (He wears black shoes) comes before a noun. If there are demonstrative, possessive pronouns and an article, then the adjective is placed between the noun determiner and the noun itself: Moscow is a beautiful city (Moscow is a beautiful city). If the adjective is preceded by an adverb of degree that enhances its meaning, then the noun being defined is omitted, but the meaning is implied: I thought shi very clever (woman) - I thought she was very smart (woman).
In the case when a noun is determined by several adjectives at once, then those Adjectives that reflect the state of things are closer, and then the words that express an opinion: It was a nice sunny day - It was a nice sunny day. The fact that the day is sunny is a fact, a state, but the fact that it is glorious is a subjective opinion.
Study Table No. 2 to find out the rules for the placement of adjectives characterizing a noun:
Epithet, quality: | good |
|
big |
||
round |
||
old |
||
brown |
||
Origin: | Spanish |
|
Substance, material: | wood |
|
A word that forms a single semantic group with a noun: | dining |
|
Noun: | table |
Attributive adjectives are placed after the noun if:
- The adjective defines an indefinite pronoun: There is nothing wrong (It's all right)
- The adjective itself has a dependent word in a comparative construction: They have a court yard larger than yours (They have a yard larger than yours)
- The definition is expressed by the words present (present), absent (absent) and some other words: Absent will be not in a rate (Absent will not be aware)
2. Compound nominal predicate (predicative) — His shoes are red (His shoes are red), stands after the linking verb - to be (is, am, are, was ...): Moscow is beautiful (Moscow is beautiful (beautiful). A number of other verbs can be used in the same capacity: to get, to turn, to become, to look, to seem - Shi is getting old (She is getting old).
Adjectives such as well (good health) and ill (sick), as well as words starting with “a” - awake (awake), asleep (sleeping), afraid (scared), alive (alive) and others are used exclusively in the function predicative and they have no degrees of comparison: Hi is ill again (He is sick again).
Adjectives for everyday communication
Adjectives that denote shapes, tastes, sizes, colors and qualities are very important, as they are most often used in everyday everyday communication.
Carefully study table number 3. Try to remember the most common words, write down the most difficult:
Colors | Sizes | Shapes |
||||||
| white | White | wide | Wide | triangular | Triangular | |||
| black | Black | thin | Thin | square | Square | |||
| yellow | Yellow | thick | Thick | straight | Straight | |||
| red | Red | tall | High | circular | Circular | |||
| purple | Purple | small | Small | - | - | |||
| orange | Orange | short | Short | - | - | |||
| green | Green | narrow | Narrow | - | - | |||
| gray | Grey | long | Long | - | - | |||
| brown | Brown | deep | Deep | - | - | |||
| blue | Blue | big | Big | - | - | |||
Tastes | Qualities | Quantities |
||||||
| sweet | Sweet | young | Young | wholesale | Whole | |||
| spicy | Spicy | old | Old | a few | Several | |||
| sour | Sour | bad | Bad | some | Some | |||
| salty | Salty | good | Good | part | Part | |||
| fresh | Fresh | heavy | Heavy | much | A lot of | |||
| bitter | Bitter | easy | Light | many | Many | |||
| - | - | dry | Dry | little | Small | |||
| - | - | wet | Wet | few | Several | |||
| - | - | soft | Soft | - | - | |||
| - | - | new | New | - | - | |||
An adjective is a part of speech that denotes a sign of an object and answers the questions “what?”, “Whose?”. We use an adjective with a noun to show a feature or property of the latter. Thanks to adjectives, our speech becomes diverse and emotionally rich.
Unlike the adjectives of the Russian language, adjectives in English do not change either by gender, or by cases, or by numbers. We are very lucky - you have to remember less. Just take an adjective and put any noun after it.
- clever boy- smart th boy;
- clever girl- smart and I girls a;
- clever children- smart s children and.
In a sentence, the adjective usually comes before the noun. If there are two or more adjectives, then you need to use them in a certain order. The first will be adjectives denoting the attitude of the speaker to the subject: beautiful(beautiful), ugly(ugly) expensive(expensive). The second is used adjectives that describe the parameters of the subject: blue(blue), old(old), big(big).
He has got an expensive red car. He has an expensive red car.
- And if you have more than 2 adjectives before a noun, then we advise you to read the article "".
Types of adjectives
Linguists distinguish 3 types of adjectives: simple, derivative and compound adjectives.
- Simple adjectives in English do not have prefixes or suffixes.
- small- small;
- big- big;
- nice- cute.
- Derived adjectives contain prefixes and suffixes.
- un happy- unhappy;
- nature al - natural;
- use ful - useful.
English has a list of suffixes that form adjectives. If you know these suffixes, then in any text you can easily find an adjective and understand from which word it was formed. A very useful skill if you are reading an English text that has a lot of unfamiliar words. Having disassembled an unfamiliar word “piece by piece”, you can guess its meaning. For example, do you know the word use- "use". And in the text you come across an unfamiliar word useful, which consists of two parts: use + ful= "full of usefulness" or "useful". Here is a list of suffixes most characteristic of adjectives:
- -able: suitable(suitable);
- -ible: responsible(responsible);
- -al: central(central);
- -ent: intelligent(smart);
- -ary: elementary(elementary);
- -ful: careful(attentive);
- -ic: heroic(heroic);
- -ive: aggressive(aggressive);
- -less: useless(useless);
- -ous: ambitious(ambitious);
- -y: snowy(snow).
The most common prefixes:
- un-: unequal(unequal);
- in-: incorrect(wrong).
- im-: impolite(rude).
- snow white- snow-white;
- red-cheeked- red-cheeked.
Use of adjectives
If there is no noun after the adjective, then we do not use the article.
My sister is beautiful. - My sister is beautiful.
BUT
I have a beautiful sister. - I have a beautiful sister.
Sometimes we need to use an adjective as a noun: " rich crying too." The word "rich" answers the question "what kind?" and is an adjective, yet we use it as a noun. And in English, we can also make nouns out of adjectives. To do this, we need to add the article the before the adjective, and we get the word in the plural.
The rich also cry. The rich also cry.
All the doctors examined the sick. All the doctors examined the patients.
Adjectives in English are one of the easiest grammar topics. In fact, you only need to know the adjective itself, its place in the sentence and the principles for forming degrees of comparison. By the way, you can read about this in our article "".
I suggest you take a test in which you need to find adjectives in the text:
Test
Adjective in English.
To paraphrase a famous saying: The further into English, the more rules. If you are seriously busy studying and plan to communicate at a high level, then you can’t get away from the nuances and subtleties. To understand how any foreign language works, you need to know the properties of parts of speech and the features of their use. In this material, we will focus on adjectives and their categories, because the use directly depends on which category they belong to.
There are several classifications of adjectives, the authors of textbooks distinguish various features and categories. We will not delve into a complex and unnecessary theory for you, but consider two categories of adjectives in which most authors agree: these are quality and relative adjectives. They differ in their properties and in order to use them correctly, you should remember the features of each of the two categories.
quality or descriptive adjectives ( quality or descriptive adjectives) describe a certain attribute or quality of an object. Qualitative adjectives can also be divided into semantic subcategories:
adjectives denoting the size(Size): small, large, big, tiny, etc.
color(Color): red, white, blue, green etc.
adjectives denoting age(age): young, old, recent, ancient, etc.
adjectives denoting form(shape): round, square, long, heart-shaped etc.
adjectives denoting emotions(Emotions): sad, glad, happy, upset, etc.
adjectives denoting Feel(Senses): tasty, cold, hot, smooth etc.
adjectives expressing quality assessment(Quality): good, bad, excellent, terrible, etc.
adjectives expressing personal opinion(Personal opinion): beautiful, nice, pleasant, cheap, etc.
Note that some adjectives are difficult to classify into any of the above subcategories, and some may fall into more than one category at the same time. For example, the adjective good can express both a qualitative assessment and a personal opinion.
Another category of adjectives in English is relative adjectives (classifying adjectives). As the name implies, they refer a noun to a particular class and indicate the characteristics of an object that depend on its relationship with other objects.
Relative adjectives include:
Adjectives that denote belonging to a specific area or industry: political, economic, electrical etc.
time-related features: daily, weekly, yearly, monthly, etc.
adjectives denoting materials(materials): gold, iron, wood, glass, etc.
Adjectives referring to origin(Origin): American, Russian, Latin, etc.
Adjectives referring to location:inside, south, top etc.
Adjectives can move from the category of qualitative to the category of relative and vice versa, depending on the context. The key difference between these two categories is that qualitative adjectives can have degrees of comparison, while relative adjectives usually do not have degrees of comparison.
To determine exactly which adjective is in front of you: quality or relative, remember the rule: since relative adjectives (classifying adjectives) do not have a degree of expression of a feature, they do not have degrees of comparison and cannot be used with adjective-defining words: very (very), too (too), enough (enough), quite ( enough), pretty (pretty), rather (pretty) and others that indicate a more or less pronounced feature. For example, phrases very daily newspaper, too electrical stove, enough milk bottle sound very strange.
The adjective English is an example of how an adjective can change category if the context allows:
I have many English books. — I have many English books (books in English).- In this sentence, the adjective English is classifying, since you cannot say "very English books" or "too English books".
The setting of the dining room was very English. The decor of the dining room was very English. — Here we see the word very, which is normally combined with the adjective English, which means the adjective is describing.
When a noun needs to be described by two adjectives, one of which is qualitative and the other is relative, then the qualitative adjective should come first:
Old political party - old political party (not political old party)
modern electrical stove - modern electric stove (not electrical modern stove)
beautiful glass sculpture - beautiful glass sculpture (not glass beautiful sculpture)
Good luck in learning English! And do not forget that if you need professional help in learning English, our online school is always happy to offer you individual lessons via Skype. It's worth a try! Leave right now.
Hey everyone! Today we will discuss English adjectives, or rather: their role and order in a sentence, types, structure, formation, characteristic suffixes and prefixes, degrees of comparison and the use of the article with them. You need this! C "mon!
Adjective(adjective) is one of the main parts of speech, which denotes a sign of an object and answers the questions " which?», « whose?».
An adjective is used with a nounto show its special feature, property and give additional characteristics of a different nature. It is thanks to adjectives that our speech becomes diverse and emotionally rich.
Unlike adjectives in Russian, in English they do not change neither by gender, nor by cases, nor even by numbers.
Just take an adjective and put any noun after it. Easy!
smart cat - smart cat;
cute kids - cute children;
hot stuff is hot stuff.
Order of adjectives in an English sentence
adjective in definition functions stands before the noun to which it refers, and in nominal part functions compound predicate - after the linking verb:
I have bought a black cat. - I bought a black cat (definition).
This cat is black. - This cat black(predicative).
If adjectives two or more, then you need to use them in a certain order.
First there will be adjectives showing the attitude (opinion) of the speaker to the subject: handsome (attractive), ugly (ugly), luxurious (luxurious).
Second adjectives are used that describe the parameters of the object (size, characteristics, age, shape, color): black (black), old (old), huge (huge).
BUT before a noun usually destination: kitchen (kitchen), throwing (throwing), educative (educational).
| Article/Determinant | a | some | my |
| Opinion | lovely (delightful) |
stunning (stunning) |
reasonably priced (inexpensive) |
| The size | big (big) |
small (small) |
- |
| Quality (state characteristic) |
well made (skillfully done) |
artistic (skillfully done) |
boiling (boiling) |
| Age | new (new) |
old (old) |
- |
| The form | rectangular (rectangular) |
square (square) |
- |
| Color | black | - | red (red) |
| Origin (country) |
american (American) |
english (English) |
Ukrainian (Ukrainian) |
| Material (substance) | steel (steel) |
oil (oil) |
- |
| purpose | throwing (propelling) |
ceiling (ceiling) |
halloween (Halloween) |
| Noun | knife (knife) |
paintings (paintings) |
meal (dish) |
She has fascinating long hair. - She has charming long hair.
Take that small black metal box. - Take that one small black metal box.
It was a modern wooden dinner table. - This was modern wooden dining room table.
I've bought a new steel carving knife. - I bought new steel cutting knife.
I've bought some expensive square fragile china plates. - I bought several expensive square fragile porcelain plates.
adjectives, showing measure(deep - depth, high - height, long - length, wide - width, etc.) are placed after the noun being defined.
The highway is 10 kilometers long. - This track is 10 kilometers long.
This lake isn't big, but it is 30 meters deep. - This lake is small, but depth 30 meters.
Formation of adjectives in English
Adjectives are simple, derivatives and complex(composite).
- Simple adjectives have neither prefixes nor suffixes (big, short, black, red).
- Derivatives include suffixes or prefixes, or both at the same time (natur al, in correct, un nature al).
- Complex(composite) adjectives are formed from two words denoting one concept: dark blue,red-cheeked, snow white.
Suffixes, prefixes and adjective endings
The most famous suffixes adjectives are:
«- less': help less helpless, use less useless;
«- able,« -ible»: suit able(suitable), access ible accessible;
«- ous": fam ous famous, danger ous dangerous;
«- ful': use ful useful, care ful(attentive);
«- ent': intelligent ent(smart); preval ent(common)
«- ary': element ary(elementary);
«- ive': aggressive ive(aggressive);
«- al': form al formal, central al central;
«- ic»: hero ic(heroic);
«- y': sno wy(snow).
The most well-known adjective prefixes include:
« un-»: un happy (unhappy), un equal (unequal);
« in-»: in complete (incomplete), in different (indifferent);
« im-»: im polite (impolite), im puberal (immature).
English has a list of adjectives that can be used and with suffixes, and with the words " more/most», « less/least».
able(capable);
angry(evil);
clever(smart);
common(general);
cruel(cruel);
friendly(friendly);
gentle(gentle);
handsome(beautiful);
narrow(narrow);
pleasant(nice);
polite(polite);
quiet(quiet);
serious(serious);
simple(simple);
sour(sour).
Types of adjectives in English
By meaning, adjectives in English are:
- quality(big - big, small - small, clever - smart).
- relative(wooden - wooden, central - central), etc.
Relative adjectives in English do not have degrees of comparison, and qualitative adjectives have the following degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.
Degrees of comparison of adjectives
Qualitative adjectives and adverbs of mode of action in English, as well as in Russian, have three degrees of comparison:
- absolute,
- comparative
- excellent (superlative).
So with absolute the form is clear: long, far, good, active, expensive etc.
comparative form An adjective is used when two or more objects or people are being compared.
A comparative adjective can be formed in two ways:
- adding a suffix«- er» to the absolute form of the adjective . This applies to single-syllable adjectives (long) and two-syllable adjectives with a “y” at the end (pretty).
This is a long er book.
This doll is prett ier.
Features of education:
in words ending in " e", is added" r» at the end (lam e- lame r);
- in words with one vowel and one consonant at the end doubles consonant and add "- er» (b ig- bi gger);
- in words with more than one vowel or with more than one consonant at the end, add "- er» at the end (ha rd- hard er).
- adding « more» before an adjective. This applies to two-syllable adjectives without a "y" at the end (charming) and adjectives with three or more syllables (powerful).
She is more charming than her friend.
This gun is more powerful than that one.
Features of education:
When comparing two objects (people), the word " than» located between adjective and object of comparison.
oranges are sweeter than grapefruits.
This painting is more interesting than that painting.
Superlatives used to show that a thing or person has the greatest amount of a particular quality (in a group or in its kind). Commonly used with article« the».
It can also be formed in two ways.
- adding «- est» to absolute form. This applies to single-syllable adjectives (big) and two-syllable adjectives ending in "y" (lucky).
This is the bigg est table in the room.
I'm the luck iest person in the company.
Features of education:
- in words, h ending in " e", the suffix "- st» at the end (large - the large st);
- in words with one vowel and one consonant at the end, the consonant is doubled and "- est» (big-bi gigest);
- in words with more than one vowel or with more than one consonant at the end, add "- est» (blue-blu est);
in words ending in " y', it is replaced by ' i" with addition "- est"(pretty - prettiest).
- adding « the most» before adjective. Applies to two-syllable adjectives with a "y" at the end, as well as adjectives with three or more syllables.
This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.
This is the most popular song on the list.
That was the most powerful weapon.
Note: adjectives in comparative and superlative degrees come before all others.
I'd like to buy this more beautiful white rose. - I would like to buy this more beautiful white rose.
At the there ceremony were some of the best young French actresses. - The ceremony was attended by some of the best young French actresses.
positive adjective form
The positive form is used when no difference between two compared things or people.
To form a positive, we use " as» before and after the absolute form of the adjective.
Danny is as smart as Phillip.
She is as beautiful as her older sister.
This can also be applied in a negative context by adding the word " not» before first « as". So we indicate that the compared objects not alike.
Danny is not as smart as Phillip.
She is not as beautiful as her older sister.
Exception adjectives
The following adjectives, the degrees of comparison of which are not formed according to the general rule, and their forms should be known by heart.
good- better- the best(good - better - best);
bad - worse- the worst(bad - worse - worse);
little- less- the least(small - less - smallest);
many/much - more- the most(many - more - largest);
old- older- the oldest(old - older - oldest);
old- elder-the eldest(old - older - oldest) - about family members;
late- later- the latest/last(later - later - last / last in time);
late- the latter- the last(late - the second of the two listed - the last in order);
near- nearer - the nearest(closer - closer - closest in distance);
near- nearer- next/the next(closer - closer - next in time / next in order);
far- farther- the farthest(far - farthest - farthest);
far- further- the furthest(distant, distant - further - further / additional).
Using the article with adjectives
A noun with a definition expressed by an adjective in a superlative degree is used with a definite articleif the meaning does not require any pronoun.
London is the largest city in the UK.
My best friend lives in Seattle.
The definite article is preserved before the superlative degree even when the noun is not mentioned (that is, the noun is implied).
The London underground is the most beautiful in the world.
An English sentence, the two parts of which (separated by a comma) begin with an adjective or an adverb in a comparative degree with a definite article in front of it, is translated into Russian using the conjunctions " how …, topics … »:
The more we suffer, the stronger we get.
Note: in English we can make nouns out of adjectives. For this we need to add definite article « the» before an adjective, and we get the word in plural number.
All the doctors examined the sick. - All doctors examined sick.
He always used to help the poor. - He always helped before poor.
The rich also cry. - Rich cry too.
Adjectives ending in "- sh» «- ch» (English, French), turning into nouns, are used with a plural meaning to refer to the nation as a whole.
In this case, they are preceded by the definite article: the French (French), the English (English), the Dutch (Dutch), the Spanish (Spaniards).
Conclusion
We hope that the topic of adjectives is now more than clear to you. To consolidate the material, we suggest you try our simulator for adjectives and degrees of comparison.
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