ADJECTIVES

ADJECTIVES

A.   FORM AND FUNCTION OF ADJECTIVES

Form of Adjectives

Rules

1. Adjectives are invariable:
They do not change their form depending on the gender or number of the noun.

A hot potato

Some hot potatoes

2. To emphasise or strengthen the meaning of an adjective use 'very' or 'really':

A very hot potato

Some really hot potatoes.

(BUT see also Modifiers/Adverbs)

Position of adjectives

a) Usually in front of a noun: A beautiful girl.

b) After verbs like "to be", "to seem" , "to look", "to taste":

Examples

• The girl is beautiful
• You look tired
• This meat tastes funny.

c) After the noun: in some fixed expressions:

Examples

• The Princess Royal
• The President elect
• a court martial

d) After the noun with the adjectives involved, present, concerned:

Examples

1. I want to see the people involved/concerned (= the people who have something to do with the matter)
2. Here is a list of the people present (= the people who were in the building or at the meeting)

Be careful! When these adjectives are used before the noun they have a different meaning:

• An involved discussion = detailed, complex
• A concerned father = worried, anxious
• The present situation = current, happening now

Function of Adjectives

Adjectives can:

Describe feelings or qualities:

Examples

• He is a lonely man
• They are honest people

Give nationality or origin:

Examples

• Pierre is French
• This clock is German
• Our house is Victorian

Tell more about a thing's characteristics:

Examples

• A wooden table.
• The knife is sharp.

Tell us about age:

Examples

• He's young man
• My coat is very old

Tell us about size and measurement:

Examples

• John tall man.
• This is a very long film.

Tell us about colour:

Examples

• Paul wore a red shirt.
• The sunset was crimson and gold.

Tell us about material/what something is made of:

Examples

• It was a wooden table
• She wore a cotton dress

Tell us about shape:

Examples

• A rectangular box
• A square envelope

Express a judgement or a value:

Examples

• A fantastic film
• Grammar is boring.

Order of Adjectives

Rules

Where a number of adjectives are used together, the order depends on the function of the adjective. The usual order is:

Value/opinion, Size, Age/Temperature, Shape, Colour, Origin, Material

Value/opinion	delicious, lovely, charming
Size	small, huge, tiny
Age/Temperature	old, hot, young
Shape	round, square, rectangular
Colour	red, blonde, black
Origin	Swedish, Victorian, Chinese
Material	plastic, wooden, silver

Examples:

• a lovely old red post-box
• some small round plastic tables
• some charming small silver ornaments

B.   COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES

FORMING THE COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

Using the comparative of adjectives in English is quite easy once you have understood the few simple rules that govern them. Below you will find the rules with examples for each condition. If you are not sure what a syllable or a consonant is - have a look here.

Rules

Number of syllables	Comparative	Superlative (see rule)
one syllable	+ -er	+ -est
tall	taller	tallest
one syllable with the spelling consonant + single vowel + consonant: double the final consonant:
fat	fatter	fattest
big	bigger	biggest
sad	sadder	saddest
Number of syllables	Comparative	Superlative
two syllables	+ -er OR more + adj	+ -est OR most + adj
ending in: -y, -ly, -ow ending in: -le, -er or -ure these common adjectives - handsome, polite, pleasant, common, quiet
happy	happier/ more happy	happiest/ most happy
yellow	yellower/ more yellow	yellowest/ most yellow
simple	simpler/ more simple	simplest/ most simple
tender	tenderer/ more tender	tenderest/ most tender
If you are not sure, use MORE + OR MOST + Note: Adjectives ending in '-y' like happy, pretty, busy, sunny, lucky etc:. replace the -y with -ier or -iest in the comparative and superlative form
busy	busier	busiest
Number of syllables	Comparative	Superlative
three syllables or more	more + adj	most + adj
important	more important	most important
expensive	more expensive	most expensive

Examples

• A cat is fast, a tiger is faster but a cheetah is the fastest
• A car is heavy, a truck is heavier, but a train is the heaviest
• A park bench is comfortable, a restaurant chair is more comfortable, but a sofa is the most comfortable

IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

These adjectives have completely irregular comparative and superlative forms:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
good	better	best
bad	worse	worst
little	less	least
much	more	most
far	further / farther	furthest / farthest

THE + SUPERLATIVE

Rule

'the' is placed before the superlative:

Examples:

• He is the richest man in the world.
• That is the biggest crocodile I have ever seen.
• She is the tallest girl in her class.

COMPARATIVE + THAN

To compare the difference between two people, things or events.

Examples

• Mt. Everest is higher than Mt. Blanc.
• Thailand is sunnier than Norway.
• A car is more expensive than a bicycle.
• Albert is more intelligent than Arthur.

AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

Usage

To compare people, places, events or things, when there is no difference, use as + adjective + as:

Examples

• Peter is 24 years old. John is 24 years old. Peter is as old as John.
• Moscow is as cold as St. Petersburg in the winter.
• Ramona is as happy as Raphael.
• Einstein is as famous as Darwin.
• A tiger is as dangerous as a lion.

NOT AS + ADJECTIVE + AS

Difference can also be shown by using not so/as ...as:

Examples

• Mont Blanc is not as high as Mount Everest
• Norway is not as sunny as Thailand
• A bicycle is not as expensive as a car
• Arthur is not as intelligent as Albert

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than
To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

To show difference: more, less, fewer + than

Examples:

With countable nouns: more / fewer

·         Eloise has more children than Chantal.

·         Chantal has fewer children than Eloise.

·         There are fewer dogs in Cardiff than in Bristol

·         I have visited fewer countries than my friend has.

·         He has read fewer books than she has.

With uncountable nouns: more / less

·         Eloise has more money than Chantal.

·         Chantal has less money than Eloise.

·         I spend less time on homework than you do.

·         Cats drink less water than dogs.

·         This new dictionary gives more information than the old one.

So, the rule is:

MORE + nouns that are countable or uncountable
FEWER + countable nouns
LESS + uncountable nouns

COMPARISONS OF QUANTITY

Rules

To show no difference: as much as , as many as, as few as, as little as

• as many as / as few as + countable nouns
• as much as / as little as + uncountable nouns

Examples:

With countable nouns:

• They have as many children as us.
• We have as many customers as them.
• Tom has as few books as Jane.
• There are as few houses in his village as in mine.
• You know as many people as I do.
• I have visited the States as many times as he has.

With uncountable nouns:

• John eats as much food as Peter.
• Jim has as little food as Sam.
• You've heard as much news as I have.
• He's had as much success as his brother has.
• They've got as little water as we have.