ADJECTIVES

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. They never take the form. There are many types of adjectives: 1. Descriptive adjectives which describe colour, size and shape. Examples: a pink car an orange curtain a maroon blouse a small cottage a plump woman a square cake a tall building a rectangular court 2. Descriptive adjectives which describe qualities. Examples: a cold weather an enjoyable holiday a handsome actor a happy person a strict leader a sharp knife

a turquoise uniform a short man an oval diamond a round table

a funny story a healthy diet a wild animal

3. Quantitative adjectives which describe the quantity, amount, or number of things. Examples: Only a few of us were invited for the talk. Some students are involved in the campaign. Many people watched the movie on Sunday. There is plenty of food left. Much of the information we found was useful. Thousands of citizens were hurt in the tornado. 4. Distributive adjectives which are used to refer to each one of a number. Examples: Each one of use was supposed to help with the homework. Every student is attending the motivational talk. 5. Compound adjectives which consist of two or more words. Examples: We are advised to wear waterproof jackets for the camping. There are many high-rise buildings in the city. The police officers wore bulletproof vests to protect themselves. Adam wore a pinstriped suit on his first day to the office. 6. The negative of adjectives which can be formed by adding the prefixes un-, dis-, im- and non-. Examples: an unkind person an untidy room a dishonest mechanic a dissatisfied customer an impatient child an impossible task non-flowering plants a non-smoking section 7. Adjectives which can be formed by adding the prefixes - inter- and pre-. Examples: Interschool debate international event interactive game Prehistoric animals prepaid card preschool children 8. Comparison adjectives which are words that compare the different features of the noun. There are three degrees of comparison: a. Positive used to describe a person or thing. b. Comparative used when comparing two persons or things. 1

c. Superlative

used when comparing three or more persons or things.

9. If you want to use more than one adjective to describe something, use them in this order: Quality of appearance, size, shape, colour and material. Examples: 1. I saw an ugly, huge, round, green alien on the roof. 2. She usually carries a small, black leather handbag. 3. Jenny likes to collect small porcelain teapots. [NOTE For comparison adjectives in regular form, add the suffix er in the comparative and the articles + suffix est in the superlative.] Examples:
POSITIVE big smart happy sweet dark smooth friendly COMPARATIVE bigger smarter happier sweeter darker smoother friendlier SUPERLATIVE the biggest the smartest the happiest the sweetest the darkest the smoothest the friendliest

[NOTE For irregular comparison adjectives, we must change the words altogether in the comparative and superlative forms] Examples:
POSITIVE good bad many/much far little COMPARATIVE better worse more further less SUPERLATIVE the best the worst the most the furthest the least

[NOTE For adjectives that contain three syllables or more, add the word MORE in the comparative and the MOST in the superlative.] Examples:
POSITIVE beautiful courageous popular brilliant talkative talented COMPARATIVE more beautiful more courageous more popular more brilliant more talkative more talented SUPERLATIVE the most beautiful the most courageous the most popular the most brilliant the most talkative the most talented

[NOTE When comparing people and things that are of the same quality use as as. In this instance we use the positive form. Examples: Fiona is as pretty as Marina. Hassan is as talkative as his sister. This muffin is not as tasty as that one. The room is as spacious as the one we saw earlier. [NOTE When comparing things and people that are not equal use not as as. In this instance we use the positive form. Examples: My dress is not as new as Melissas. Fauzi is not as popular as Nordin. This building is not as tall as that one. My kitten is not as playful as yours. 2

 Mrs. Lew is not as nice as Mrs. Jacob.