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English Adjectives
Simply put adjectives are descriptive words. Adjectives are used to describe or give information about
things, ideas and people: nouns or pronouns.
For Example:-

The grey dog barked. (The adjective grey describes the noun "dog".)

The most common question an adjective might answer is "What kind of ...?"
The good news is that in English the form of an adjective does not change, once you have learnt it that's it
and it does not matter if the noun being described is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object.
Yay!
Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun - age, size colour etc (fact adjectives - can't
be argued with).
Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody - nice, horrid, beautiful etc
(opinion adjectives - not everyone may agree).
If you are asked questions with which, whose, what kind, or how many, you need an adjective to be able
to answer.
There are different types of adjectives in the English language:
Numeric: six, one hundred and one etc.
Quantitative: more, all, some, half, more than enough etc.
Qualitative: colour, size, smell etc.
Possessive: my, his, their, your etc.
Interrogative: which, whose, what etc.
Demonstrative: this, that, those, these etc.
!Note - The articles a, an, and the are a special kind of adjective called articles, and the possessives my,
our, your, and their are sometimes known as possessive adjectives.
Colour
Adjectives can be used to describe colour.

blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, etc.

For Example:
"The blue bag." or "The blue bags".
Opinion
Adjectives can be used to give your opinion about something.

good, pretty, right, wrong, funny, light, happy, sad, full, soft, hard etc.
For Example:
He was a silly boy. / She was a silly girl.
Size
Adjectives can be used to describe size.

big, small, little, long, tall, short, same as, etc.

For Example:
 "The big man." or "The big woman".
Age
Adjectives can be used to describe age.

For Example:
"He was an old man." or "She was an old woman."

Shape
Adjectives can be used to describe shape.

round, circular, triangular, rectangular, square, oval, etc.

For Example:
"It was a square box." or "They were square boxes."
Origin
Adjectives can be used to describe origin.

For Example:-
"It was a German flag." or "They were German flags."
Material
Adjectives can be used to identify the material something is made of.

"A wooden cupboard." or "Wooden cupboards."

!Note - In English we often change nouns into adjectives.
For Example: glass - a glass vase / metal - a metal tray etc.
Distance
Adjectives can be used to describe distance.
l -- o -- n -- g / short
long, short, far, around, start, high, low, etc.
For Example:
"She went for a long walk." or "They went for lots of long walks."

Temperature
Adjectives can be used to describe temperature.

cold, warm, hot, cool, etc.

For Example:
"It was a hot day" or "We eat ice cream on hot days."
Time
Adjectives can be used to describe time.
late, early, bed, nap, dinner, lunch, day, morning, night, etc.
For Example:
"She had an early start."

Purpose
Adjectives can be used to describe purpose. (These adjectives often end with "-ing".)
For Example:
"She gave them a sleeping bag." or "She gave them sleeping bags."
!Note - Have you noticed how the adjective stays the same, whether it is describing a masculine,
feminine, singular or plural noun? Nice huh?
When using more than one adjective to modify a noun, the adjectives may be separated by a conjunction
(and) or by commas (,).
For Example:
"Her hair was long and blonde." or "She had long, blonde hair."
More examples:
Adjective Pretty Serious Fast Quiet
For Example: She is a pretty girl. He was a serious boy. It could be a fast car. They were quiet children.

!Note - Adjectives that go immediately before the noun are called attributive adjectives.
Adjectives can also be used after some verbs. They do not describe the verb, adverbs do that.
Adjectives after a verb describe the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun).
For Example:
"Lynne looks tired."
The subject (in this case Lynne) is being described as tired not the verb to look.
There is also the adjective used to, which is such a beast that it gets its own section - Used To.
English Adjectives
Adjective Order
Overview | Order | Comparative | Possessive | Superlative
Adjectives can be used to describe lots of things, from physical size, age, shape, colour, material, to more
abstract things like opinion, origin and purpose.
We can use adjectives together to give a detailed description of something.
Adjectives that express opinions usually come before all others, but it can sometimes depend on what
exactly you want to emphasise.
For example:

"That's a nice, big, blue bag." (You like the bag.)

"That's a nice blue." (You like the colour.)
When we group adjectives together there is a general (sometimes flexible) rule for the position of each
type of adjective, these are:-
Position 1st* 2nd* 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Material Origin Purpose
Nice Small Old Square Black Plastic British Racing
Ugly Big New Circular Blue Cotton American Running

You might swap adjectives that express an opinion and an adjective based on fact depending on what you
wish to emphasise:-
For example:
"She had a long, ugly nose." emphasising the length of her nose.
 "He was a silly, little man." emphasising that the man was silly.
This is just for fun as you wouldn't normally see so many adjectives in one description.
For example:
"She had a big, ugly, old, baggy, blue, stripey, cotton, British, knitting bag."
Does it matter if you get it wrong? Well outside of exams and tests, it won't kill you, but people reading
or listening to you will find it odd if you mix up the order.
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English Adjectives
Comparative form of Adjectives
Overview | Order | Comparative | Possessive | Superlative
When we compare things, people or even ideas we look at what makes them different from each other.
Comparative adjectives are used to show what quality one thing has more or less than the other. They
normally come before any other adjectives.
!Tip - It's a good idea to learn opposites (antonyms) when learning adjectives.
For example:
Tall / Short

The man on the left is taller than the man on the right.
The man on the right is shorter than the man on the left.

!Note - Have you noticed that when we are comparing two things like this we put than between the
adjective and the thing being compared.
Fast / Slow

A car is faster than a bicycle.

A bicycle is slower than a car.
For example:
Big / Small

The red bag is bigger than the blue bag.

The blue bag is smaller than the red bag.
Forming the comparative
The way you form the comparative from an adjective depends on the number of syllables and the
spelling of the adjective.
Form Rule For example
Add -r to the end of the
Words of one syllable ending in 'e'. wide - wider
word.
For example:-
A motorway is wider than a road.

Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one Double the consonant and
big - bigger
consonant at the end. add -er to the end of the
 word.
For example:-

http://www.leunig.com.au/ - Reproduced with permission.

Words of one syllable, with more than one vowel or Add - er to the end of the
high - higher
more than one consonant at the end. word.
Mount Everest is higher than Mount Snowdon.
Change 'y' to 'i', and add -er
Words of two syllables, ending in 'y'. happy - happier
to the end of the word.
For example:-
Some people seem to be luckier than other people.
Place 'more' before the beautiful - more
Words of two syllables or more, not ending in 'y'.
adjective. beautiful
For example:-
Arguably Rome is more beautiful than Paris.

!Warning - For every rule, there is at least one exception and there are also irregular adjectives that you
need to memorise as you come across them.
For example:-
'good' becomes 'better'
'bad' becomes 'worse'
'far' becomes 'farther' or 'further'
!Warning - A lot of people write "then" instead of "than"- avoid it as it's simply not correct, and let's face
it, you would be marked down in a test or exam.

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English Adjectives
Possessive Adjectives
Overview | Order | Comparative | Possessive | Superlative
Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership or possession.
Subject pronoun Possessive adjective
Singular
I my
you your
he his
she her
it its
Plural
you your
we our
they their
For example:
I own a laptop. = It is my laptop.
You own this computer (I presume). = It is your computer.
David owns a black car. = It is his car.
Karen owns a house. = It is her house.
We hope you all enjoy these lessons. = They are your lessons.
The dog has a food bowl. = It is its food bowl.
We love this website. = It is our website.
Manchester United own a football ground. = It is their football ground.
!Note - You - Your = the same for singular and plural.
English Adjectives
Superlative Adjectives
Overview | Order | Comparative | Possessive | Superlative
The superlative is used to say what thing, person, or idea has the most of a particular quality within a
group or of its kind.
Superlative adjectives normally come before any other adjectives.
Snowdon is not
the highest
mountain in
Britain.
Ben Nevis is
the highest
Mount Snowdon is 3,559 feet Ben Nevis is 4,408 feet mountain in
high. high. Britain.

Forming the superlative

Form Rule For example
Add -st to the end of the
Words of one syllable ending in 'e'. wide - widest
word.
The Amazon River is the widest river in the world.
Words of one syllable, with one Double the consonant
vowel and one consonant at the and add -est to the end of big - biggest
end. the word.
In 2010 a dog called Giant George was given the title of the biggest dog in the
world.
Words of one syllable, with more
Add - est to the end of
than one vowel or more than one high - highest
the word.
consonant at the end.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the word. (But it isn't the tallest
mountain in the world.)
Change 'y' to 'i', and add -
Words of two syllables, ending in happy -
est to the end of the
'y'. happiest
word.
In 2013 Australia was named the happiest country in the world.
Words of two syllables or more, Place 'the most' before beautiful - the
not ending in 'y'. the adjective. most beautiful
Some people say that the Maldives have the most beautiful beaches in the
world.
Don't forget that some adjectives are irregular:-
'good' becomes 'the best'
'bad' becomes 'the worst'
'far' becomes 'the furthest'
For example:
"Jill is the best student in the class ."
"Jack is the worst student in the class."
"In our solar system the planet Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun."
!Note - Have you noticed that these superlatives are preceded by 'the'.
For example:
"The Rio de la Plata river, on the southeast coastline of South America, is the widest river in the
world."
According to the List of World records Carol Yager (1960-1994), from Michigan, is the fattest
person ever to live, weighing 725 kg (1,600 lb).
"Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world."
"I think that Castle Combe is the prettiest village in England."
"Arguably, Rome is the most beautiful city in the world."
You can find a list of common irregular adjectives here.

The comparative form

When two objects or persons are being compared, the comparative form of the adjective is used. The
comparative adjective can be formed in two ways:

1. Adding er to the absolute form of the adjective.

2. Adding the word more before the adjective.

For example:

1. My essay is longer than yours.

2. She is more beautiful than her sister.
Here are the rules for choosing and forming the right form:

Add When Example Forming and Exceptions

Words ending with e, add r to the end of the
word (e.g., lame lamer).
Words with one vowel and one consonant at the
end, double the consonant and add er to the end of
Words of one This is a longer
er the word (e.g., big bigger).
syllable book.
Words with more than one vowel or more than one
consonant at the end, add er to the end of the word
(e.g., hard harder).

Words of two
This doll is
er syllables ending Change y to i, and add er to the end of the word.
prettier.
with y
Words of two He is more
more syllables not ending charming than his Insert more before the adjective
with y friend.
Three syllable This is a more
more Insert more before the adjective
words or longer powerful cable.

When comparing two things, the word than is positioned between the adjective and the thing being
compared. For example:

1. Apples are tastier than oranges.

2. This painting is more interesting than that painting.

Superlatives
The superlative is used to say what thing or person has the most of a particular quality within a group or
of its kind. The superlative can be formed in two ways:

1. Adding est to the absolute form of the adjective.

2. Adding the word most before the adjective.

For example:

1. This is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.

2. The biggest table in the room.

Here are the rules for choosing and forming the right form:

Add When Example Forming and Exceptions

Words ending with e, add st to the end of the
word (e.g., large largest).
Words with one vowel and one consonant at the
end, double the consonant and add est to the end
Words of one This is the longest
est of the word (e.g., big biggest).
syllable book.
Words with more than one vowel or more than one
consonant at the end, add est to the end of the
word (e.g., blue bluest).
Add When Example Forming and Exceptions
Words of two
This doll is the
est syllables ending Change y to i, and add est to the end of the word.
prettiest.
with y
Words of two He is the most
most syllables not ending charming boy at Insert most before the adjective
with y school.
Three syllable This is the most
most Insert most before the adjective
words or longer powerful story.

Superlatives are usually preceded by the word the.

Positive form
The positive form is used in cases where there are no differences between the two compared things or
persons. To form the positive, we use the word as before and after the absolute form of the adjective. For
example:

1. Danny is as smart as Phillip.

2. She is as beautiful as her older sister.

This can also be applied in a negative context to indicate that the compared objects are not similar:

1. Danny is not as smart as Phillip.

2. She is not as beautiful as her older sister.

Exceptions (irregular forms)

Certain adjectives have irregular forms in the comparative and superlative degrees:

Absolute Comparative Superlative

Good Better Best
Bad Worse Worst
Little Less Least
Much/many/some More Most

Examples of comparing adjectives

1. This house is bigger than that one.
2. This flower is more beautiful than that.
3. He is taller than Mr. Hulas.
4. He is more intelligent than this boy.
5. Jonathan is the most handsome man on campus.
6. This is the prettiest dress in the window.
7. I lost my most comfortable shoes.
8. My job is worse than yours.

Comparing adjective exercises

1. Choose the comparative adjective in each group of sentences:
 A.
1. Her hair is short.
2. Her hair is shorter than it was before.
3. Her hair is the shortest it has ever been.
B.
1. We live nearer the train station than we used to.
2. Park in the lot nearest the train station.
3. I know the train station is somewhere near.
C.
1. My dog might be ugly, but he is nice.
2. Thats the ugliest dog Ive ever seen!
3. Because he was uglier than the others, my dog won the ugly dog contest.
D.
1. Your presentation was more informative than most.
2. She gave an informative talk on honeybees.
3. Thats the most informative speech Ive ever heard Professor Brown give!

Answers: A: 2 shorter B: 1 nearer C: 3 uglier D: 1: more informative

2. Which of the following sentences does not contain a comparing adjective?

A. Id like to have more participation from each of you this time around.
B. If youd have listened better, you wouldnt be confused right now.
C. They live in the brick house on the corner.

Answer:C

3. Choose the superlative adjective in each group of sentences:

A.
1. Thats the best ice cream Ive ever tasted!
2. Youre a lot nicer than your sister.
3. This is delicious cake.
B.
1. This presentation seems longer than usual.
2. Of all the hairstyles in the room, hers is most stylish.
3. Im often trying to do better than others.
C.
1. Lake Silfra has some of the clearest water on the world.
2. This shop carries nicer things than it used to.
3. My cat has three adorable kittens.
D.
1. Be careful; thats a fragile vase.
2. Youre more cheerful than you used to be.
3. This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me.

Answers: A 1: best B 2: most stylish C 1: clearest D 3: most exciting

4. Which of the following sentences contains a superlative adjective?

A. I can run further than before.

B. She has the pinkest cheeks Ive ever seen!
C. Jimmy is a cute baby.
Answer: : B pinkest

5. Choose the absolute adjective in each group of sentences:

A.
1. Your face is red.
2. You have the reddest face!
3. If you dont wear sunscreen, your face will get redder.
B.
1. This is the best book Ive ever read.
2. I like this book better than the last one I read.
3. Thats a good book.
C.
1. Most chocolate is sweet.
2. Milk chocolate is sweeter than dark chocolate.
3. Im not sure which chocolate is sweetest.
D.
1. This is a charming house.
2. Our new home is so much more charming than our old one.
3. Shes the most charming person Ive ever met.

Answers: A 1: red B 3: good C 1: sweet D charming

6. Choose the correct comparing adjective for each sentence:

A. My mother is a _____________ woman.

o Smart
o Smarter
o Smartest
B. The surgeon worked ____________ to stabilize the patient.
o Quickly
o Most quickly
o More quickly
C. We ran ______________ than we did last week.
o Fast
o Faster
o Fastest
D. After the party, the house was the _______________ its ever been.
o Messy
o Messier
o Messiest

Answers: A smart B quickly C faster D messiest

7. Name the type of comparing adjective in each sentence:

A. Jinx is a hairy dog.

B. She has the bluest eyes Ive ever seen.
C. He made me madder than Ive been in a long time.
D. We felt more excited than ever when we heard the news.

Answers: A absolute B superlative C comparative D comparative

8. Choose the sentence with the positive form comparing adjective:

 A. This book is more interesting than that one.
B. The story we heard this week was as interesting as last weeks.
C. This is one of the most interesting stories Ive ever heard.

Answer: B

9. Which of the following sentences contains a comparing adjective in the comparative form?

A. Weve had a run of bad luck lately.

B. This is the worst snowstorm we have had in ten years.
C. Your injury is worse than mine.

Answer: C worse

10. Which of the following sentences contains a comparing adjective in the superlative form?

A. She is not as mean as her older sister is.

B. This is the least exciting movie Ive ever seen.
C. Mr. Brown is more boring than Mr. Philips.

Answer: B least exciting