| Adjective denotes a quality or a feature of an object.
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| Formation
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| suffixes
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| -able fashionable
-al magical
-ant important
-ar spectacular
-ary disciplinary
-ate delicate
-ial national
| -entpatient
-esque picturesque
-fulfaithful
-ian Iranian
-ible terrible
-ic melodic
| -ical physical
-ious rebellious
-ish stylish
-ist racist
-ive selective
-less faultless
| -like woman-like
-ly deathly
-ory sensory
-ous humorous
-some bothersome
-y sandy
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| prefixes
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| a asexual
ab abnormal
anti antisocial
dis disinterested
hyper hyperactive
ilillegible
| im immoral
in inactive
ir irresponsible
mal maladjusted
non non-existent
over overweight
| pre prearranged
propro-war
sub sub-zero
super superhuman
un unavailable
under understaffed
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| Compound adjectives are formed with:
- present participles: a long-playing record
- past participles: undercooked meat, cut-off jeans
- cardinal numbers + nouns (in singular): a ten-minute journey
- well, badly, ill, poorly + past participle: a poorly-kept garden, a well-timed joke.
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| Order of adjectives
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| Opinion adjectives
| Fact adjectives
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| size
| age
| shape
| colour
| origin
| material
| use for/be about
| noun
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| It’s a
| beautiful
| big
| old
| round
| brown
| Italian
| oak
| dining
| table.
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| Substantivized adjectives
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| There are some adjectives that we can use with theto talk about groups of people in society
Words that we can use in a phrase with the
- to do with social or economic position
- to do with physical condition or health
- to do with age
The youngmeans 'young people in general'
When we mean a specific person or a specific group of people, then we use man, woman, people,etc.
| the disabled, the blind
the disadvantaged, the homeless, the hungry, the poor, the privileged, the rich, the starving
the blind, the deaf, the dead, the disabled, the handicapped
the elderly, the middle-aged, the old, the over-sixties, the under-fives
The young have their lives in front of them.
None of the young peoplein the village can find jobs here.
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| Direct meaning
| Figurative meaning
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| A silk scarf, a stone cottage, a gold pen, a feather duster, a metal chair, a leather wallet, lead pipes, a steel framework.
| silky hair, a stony expression, golden hair, feathery leaves, a metallic colour, a leathery skin, a leaden feeling, a steely look.
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| Degrees of comparison
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| Most adjectives have three degrees of comparison:
| Irregular comparisons
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| Positive
| Comparative
| Superlative
| bad worse worst
far farther farthest
further furthest
good better best
little less least
many/much more most
old elder eldest
older oldest
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| dark
| darker
| darkest
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| one-syllable adj:
positive form + er & est
| bright brighter brightest
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| adj of three or more
syllables:more & most+ the positive:
| interested more interested most interested
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| adj of 2 syllables follow one or other of the above rules
| doubtful moredoubtful most doubtful, clever cleverercleverest
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| farther/farthest & further/furthest
both can be used of distances
York is farther/further than Selby.
Further can be used with abstract nouns to mean ‘additional/extra’
Further discussion/debate would be pointless.
Similarly: further enquires/delays/demands/information/ instructions.
| elder, eldest imply seniority rather than age. They are used for comparison within a family:
my elder brother
But! Elder is not used withthan, so we use older: He’s older than I am.
We use eldest for people only, but oldest we use for both people & things.
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Beforethe comparative we should use a bit, a little, slightly, much, a lot, far:
English is a bit/ a little/ slightly/ much/ a lot/ farmore easier than German. |
| Constructions with comparisons
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| Positive form => ‘+’ as … as; ‘-‘ not as/not so … as.
He was as white as a sheet.
Your coffee is not as/so good as the coffee my mother makes.
The new building is twice as high asthe old one. – в 2 раза выше
Comparative form => than.
He’s stronger than I expected = I didn’t expect him to be so strong.
Superlative form => the … in/of:
This is the oldest theatrein London.
Superlative form + present perfect:
This isthe worst film I have ever seen.
Note! most+adjective without the means very:
You’re most kind = You’reverykind.
the + comparative… the + comparative:
The smaller the house is, the less it will cost us to heat it.
Comparatives joined by and:
The weather is getting colder and colder.
| like + noun & as + noun:
He worked like a slave. (very hard indeed)
He worked as a slave. (He was a slave)
than/as + pronoun+auxiliary
I earn less than he does. (=less than he earns)
than/as+I/we/you+verb = omit the verb.
I’m not as old as you (are).
than/as is followed by he/she/it + verb, we normally keep the verb: You’re stronger than he is.
But we can drop the verb and use him/her/them:
I swim better a him.
Adjectives + one/ones
One/ones = previously mentioned noun:
I lost my old camera; this is a new one.
first/second can be used with or without one/ones:
Which train did you catch? ~ I caught the first (one).
Adjectives of colourcan sometimes be used as
pronouns:
I like the blue (one) best.
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| ‘as …as…’ with ‘twice’, ‘three times’, etc., ‘half’, ‘a third’, etc.:
Japan’s car exports are twice as high as Britain’s. Rice-growing is only half as important as it used to be.
NotePresent and Past Participles can be used as adjectives: Present Participles describe the quality of a noun / annoying behaviour / (what kind of behaviour)
Past Participles describe how the subject feels / annoyed teacher / (How does the teacher feel)
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| Proverbs & Sayings
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| As dumb as a wooden Indian
As easy as ABC
As silent as a grave
As fit as a fiddle
As white as a sheet
As stubborn as a mule
| Дурний, як пробка
Простіше простого
Німий, як могила
При повному здоров'ї
Білий, як крейда
Упертий, як осел
| As old as the hills
Like bull in a China shop
To sleep like a log
To smoke like a chimney
To sell like hot cakes
| Старе, як світ.
Як слон у посудній лавці
Спати, як убитий
Диміти, як труба
Бути нарозхват
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| The best is the enemy of the good. (Walter Scott)
It’s much easier to be critical than to be correct. (Disraeli)
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