Adjectives

An adjective is a describing word.

I am Australian.

I am from a little village.

She is very pretty.

She is intelligent and beautiful at the same time.

She is nice.

She is a good friend.

You are really nice.

He is a lucky guy.

I am good thanks but I am really busy.

What’s wrong?

Do you feel lonely?

You are a good friend.

Adjectives often come in pairs of opposites:

big – little

large – small

black – white

good – bad

hot – cold

cool- warm

easy – difficult

nice – awful

busy – free

cheap (inexpensive) – expensive

complicated – simple

close – far

sweet – salty

spicy – bland

fast – slow

ugly – beautiful

tall – short

long – short

fat – thin

thick – thin

Present Participless as Adjectives

an interesting story

a fascinating person

a boring lecture

a convincing argument

a passing car

a passing stranger

a speeding car

Past Participles as Adjectives

a collapsed building

a fallen tree

an injured man

a wounded soldier

a ruined building

a bankrupt businessman

a corrupt politician

a well-paid public servant

a stolen credit card

a reserved seat

unaccompanied baggage

damaged goods

Back to “the Fun Page”

The Philosophy of the Adjective

The adjective sets up scales. It sets up qualities which are degrees on scales. Look at these scales:

good
better
best

Goodness and beauty are both important.

beautiful
more beautiful
most beautiful

And it is important to be temperate. Look at this scale of temperature:

cold
cool
average
warm
hot
very hot
boiling
sizzling

You can flesh out your vocabulary by becoming aware of scales like this. When you learn a word, try to learn its opposite and its place in a a scale.

The verb describes an action but the adjective is a quality. This quality is often a point on a scale.

These points on a scale often use adverbs like this:

extremely expensive
really expensive
very expensive
expensive
quite expensive
reasonably expensive
a bit expensive

but sometimes adverbs are not necessary

tiny
small
average
large
enormous
huge

Activities

Go through each dialogue in this series of dialogues. Pick out the adjectives. Write them down like this:

nice
Australian
big
small
local
handsome

Find their opposites like this:

Australian – non-Australian
small -large
nice – awful

Find other degrees in a scale like this:

big
fairly big – pretty big
very big
extremely big
huge
enormous

Look at ways to compare the quality that they describe like this:

big
bigger
biggest

Tell us what you find and ask questions on the grammar page: The Grammar Page

Are you interested in grammar?

Do you think grammar is interesting?

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Link to listening activity with Adjectives

Vocabulary Lists of Adjectives

Look at these vocabulary lists:

Adjectives for Describing People

adventurous
arrogant
boastful
brave
competitive
courageous
dim-witted
evil
funny
good-looking
honest
impractical
kind
lonely
lonesome
loyal
modest
naive
practical
quiet
rude
strong
stupid
wise

Adjective Noun Combinations

adventurous – adventure
arrogant – arrogance
boastful – boasting
brave – bravery/courage
courageous – courage/bravery
competitive – competition
dim-witted – dim-wittedness/stupidity
evil – evilness/malevolence
funny – humour
good-looking – good looks
handsome – handsomeness/good looks
honest – honesty
impractical -impracticality/lack of …
kind – kindness
lonely – loneliness
lonesome – lonesomeness
loyal – loyalty
modest – modesty/shyness
naive – naivete/stupidity
practical – practicality/presence of mind
quiet – quietness/serenity
rude – rudeness/bad manners
stupid – stupidity
strong – strength
wise – wisdom

Comparative Variations of Adjectives for Describing People

adventurous – more adventurous – less adventurous
arrogant – more arrogant – less arrogant – more humble
boastful -more boastful – less boastful – more humble
brave – braver – more courageous – less courageous – not so brave – cowardly
competitive – more competitive – less competitive – less aggressive
courageous – more courageous – braver – less courageous – a chicken – a coward
dim-witted – more dim-witted – dumber- more stupid – less stupid – more intelligent – cleverer – more clever
evil – more evil – less evil – better – worse
funny – funnier – less funny – not as funny – not so funny
good-looking – more good-looking/better-looking
honest – more honest/honester – less honest – dishonest
impractical – more impractical – less practical
kind – kinder – more kind
lonely – lonelier more lonely
lonesome – more lonesome – lonelier/lonesomer – less lonely/less lonesome
loyal – more loyal – less loyal/less trustworthy
modest – more modest – less modest – less humble
naive – more naive – less naive
practical – more practical – less practical
quiet – more quiet – less quiet
rude – ruder – more rude – less rude
strong – stronger – more strong – less strong/weaker
stupid – stupider/more stupid.
wise – wiser – more intelligent – less intelligent

Superlatives

adventurous – the most adventurous
arrogant – the most arrogant
boastful – the most boastful
brave – the bravest
competitive – the most competitive
courageous – the most courageous
dim-witted – the most dim-witted
evil – the most evil
funny – the funniest
good-looking – the best looking
honest – the most honest
impractical – the most impractical
kind – the kindest
lonely – the most lonely/ the loneliest
lonesome – the most lonesome/ the lonesomest
loyal – the most loyal/ the most trustworthy
modest – the most modest
naive – the most naive
practical – the most practical
quiet – the quietest/the most serene
rude – the rudest
strong – the strongest
stupid – the stupidest/the dumbest
wise – the wisest/ the most intelligent

Learn Adjectives in the Context of a Story

It is daunting to look at vocabulary lists. It is difficult to learn a whole list of words. It is better to learn words in context. it is better to learn words in the context of a story.

Siegfried

Link to a story with these words in context: Love and Death : The Story of Siegfried

World English Course

There are lots of things you can learn in the World English Course. There is a place where you can talk about work and there is also a place where you can find a job and a place where you can find staff. There is a place where you can have fun and there is a place where you can talk about food or family. There is also a place where you can talk about money or love or philosophy. You can study anything you want anytime you want. You can do it once a week or every day or any time you like. Have fun! Work hard! Tell your friends and family members! Enjoy!