Download Adjectives In English

Adjectives in English
I.
Defining Adjectives
Examples:
Noun:
It is a cold day.
Noun Phrase:
an interesting experience for everyone.
Clause:
The joke she told was so funny that I couldn’t stop laughing all
day.
Read the text and indicate all the adjectives you find.
Arriving in Spain
A brilliant November morning with a sky of diamond blue above the bay and the red
flowers of a long summer still glowing darkly on the Rock. The intense blackness of
the lampless night had rolled away to reveal, incandescent on the northern horizon,
the country we had come to seek. It crouched before us in a great ring of lioncoloured mountains, raw, sleeping and savage. There were the scarred and crumpled
valleys. The sharp peaks wreathed in their dusty fires and below them the white
towns piled high on their little hills and the empty roads running crimson along the
faces of the cliffs. Already, across the water, one heard or fancied one heard the
sobbing of asses, the cries and salty voices cutting through the thin gold air. And
from a steep hillside rose a column of smoke, cool as marble, pungent as pine,
which hung like a signal over the landscape, obscure, imperative and motionless.
II.
Forming Adjectives
A. Verb  Adjective
-ABLE
avoid  avoidable
bend  bendable
desire  desirable
hope  hopeful
fear  fearful
-FUL (verbs or nouns)
power  powerful
Inglês IV
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B. Noun  Adjective
-AL
nation  national
culture  cultural
emotion  emotional
suburb  suburban
Sagittarius  Sagittarian
-AN/ -EAN/ -IAN
America  American
-ISH
a. Britain  British
Poland  Polish
b. baby  babyish
fool  foolish
c. Adjective  Adjective
young  youngish
red  reddish
-LY
father  fatherly
coward  cowardly
friend  friendly
C. Adjectives ending in -ING
a. To describe the effect that something has on someone’s feelings
Example: A surprising number – a number that surprises you
alarming
charming
embarrassing
surprising
amazing
confusing
exciting
terrifying
annoying
convincing
frightening
tiring
b. To describe something that continues over a period of time.
Example: Portugal is an ageing society.
Increasing oil prices are making certain products very expensive.
ageing
decreasing
existing
living
booming
dying
increasing
remaining
Inglês IV
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D. Adjectives ending in –ED
a. To describe people’s feelings.
Example: A frightened person is a person who has been frightened by something.
alarmed
delighted
frightened
surprised
b. Some adjectives ending in –ED are used after linking verbs such as be, become,
or feel.
Examples:
The Europeans are pleased with the results.
He was always prepared to account for his actions.
She was scared that they would find her.
convinced
interested
prepared
tired
delighted
involved
scared
touched
finished
pleased
thrilled
worried
E. Adjectives ending in –IVE
Example: extensive – doing something large in amount
F.
Adjectives ending in –EN
Example: wooden – made of wood
G. Adjectives ending in –IC
Example: heroic – means the characteristic of a hero
H. Other common suffixes
Inglês IV
-ant (reluctant)
-ar (popular)
-ary (imaginary)
-ate (passionate)
-ent (dependent)
ible (horrible)
-ious (victorious)
-ist (racist)
-ive (attractive)
-less (careless)
- ous (dangerous)
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I.
Multiword Adjectives
1. Past Participles
i.
The second part of multiword adjectives is often a past participle
form.
Adverb + past participle: well-liked
beautifully-written
Noun + past participle: self-centered
ii.
goal-oriented
The first part of the multiword adjective may be a past participle
Examples: worn-out
tied-up
laid-back
broken-down
2. Present Participles
Examples:
time-consuming
never-ending
3. Cardinal numbers + nouns
Examples:
a two-day seminar
a three-week holiday
4. Other multi-word adjectives
Examples: slip-on
III.
tax-free
a top secret file
Order of Adjectives
Value/ Opinion
Delicious, lovely, charming
Size
Small, huge, tiny
Age / Temperature
Old, hot, young
Shape
Round, square, rectangular
Color
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 Christmas ornaments
Inglês IV
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IV.
Comparison of Adjectives
A. Comparative Forms
1. Comparatives with –er
cheap  cheaper
Examples:
early earlier
2. Comparative with more or less
modern  more modern
Examples:
interesting  less interesting
3. Irregular Comparatives
Far  further, farther
Good  better
bad  worse
Making Comparisons
-
The simplest kind of comparison is with a comparative and than.
Example: You don’t look older than your brother.
-
Comparatives can be intensified by using these words:
Much
far
a lot
a little
Example: This book is much/ far/ a lot/ a little more expensive.
Comparison Clauses
-
with not as/ so … as
Example: Being a nurse is not as interesting as being a doctor.
-
with (just) as … as
Example: Living in the country is just as expensive as living in London.
-
with such … as
Example: I’ve never been to such a good party as that one.
B. Superlative Forms
1. Superlative with –est
Examples:
cheap  the cheapest
early the earliest
2. Superlatives with most or least
Examples: the most modern
the least interesting
3. Irregular Comparatives
Far  the furthest
Inglês IV
Good the best
bad  the worst
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