Adjectives

An adjective can come before a noun or after a noun.

Example:

✅I like your new shoes. (adjective + noun)

✅Your shoes are new. ( noun + adjective)

✅They are good friends. (adjective + noun)

Commonly used adjectives

Some adjectives are used more than others. Here are a few commonly used adjectives:

• good, bad, new, old, first,  last, long, short, big, small, great, little, big, high, different, large, next, early, young, important, few, same, able.

Two or more adjectives

General opinion adjectives

• good
• great
• amazing
• bad
• lovely
• strange
• awful
• important
• wonderful
• nasty
• nice
• beautiful
• brilliant
• excellent

✅ She’s a good/great/wonderful/amazing/brilliant/bad/dreadful singer.

Specific opinion adjectives

🍔 Adjectives used to describe food:

• tasty
• delicious

⛅Adjectives can be used to describe the weather:

• sunny
• rainy

🏡Adjectives used to describe furniture or houses:

• comfortable
• uncomfortable

🐈Adjectives used to describe people or animals:

• clever
• intelligent
• friendly
• Talented

• put a general adjective in front of a specific adjective,

✅A good comfortable sofa.

✅A nice sunny day.

• put an opinion adjective in front of a descriptive adjective.

✅A nice red dress. 

✅A silly old man.

Sometimes three or more adjectives are placed in front of a noun. It is fairly unusual.

✅A lovely handsome young boy.

Adjectives in front of nouns

Comparative and superlative adjectives

• 1️⃣They typically end in ‘er’ and are often followed by the word ‘than’.

✅A tiger is bigger than a dog.

✅A rocket is faster than an aeroplane.

✅Peter is older than his sister.

• 2️⃣If the noun used to compare the first noun to is clear from the context, it can be omitted.

✅One year ago, Peter and John were the same height. Now, Peter is taller.

✅I’m feeling more excited.

✅We need a bigger TV.

• 3️⃣To say that something is changing or has changed, you can use two comparative adjectives and join them with the conjunction and.

✅His body became stronger and stronger.

✅They were becoming more and more excited.

✅Instead of slowing down, she was running faster and faster.

• 4️⃣To show that one thing depends on another, we often use ‘the’ with two comparative adjectives.

✅The bigger the better.

✅The more you exercise, the stronger you become.

✅The further they went, the colder it got.

• 1️⃣We place the just before a superlative adjective.

✅This is the fastest car.

✅Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

✅It’s the best film I have ever seen.

✅Jane is the youngest child in the class.

How to form comparative and superlative adjectives

• 1️⃣We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives.
• 2️⃣If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st.
• 3️⃣If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant.
• 4️⃣If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –est.
• 5️⃣We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two-syllable adjectives and all adjectives with three or more syllables.
• 6️⃣However, with these common two-syllable adjectives, you can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or use more and most.

The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives.

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
Tall Small Large Slow Fast Old Cheap Long Short Safe High	Taller Smaller Larger Slower Faster Older Cheaper Longer Shorter Safer Higher	The tallest The smallest The largest The slowest The fastest The oldest The cheapest The longest The shortest The safest The highest	We usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and superlatives.
Big Hot Wet Sad Thin	Bigger Hotter Wetter Sadder Thinner	The biggest The hottest The wettest The saddest The thinnest	If an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant.
Pretty Easy Early Healthy Friendly Busy Sunny Dirty Dry Hungry	Prettier Easier Earlier Healthier Friendlier Busier Sunnier Dirtier Drier Hungrier	The prettiest The easiest The earliest The healthiest The friendliest The busiest The sunniest The dirtiest The driest The hungriest	If an adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –est.
Comfortable Boring Interesting Expensive Dangerous Popular Common Generous Difficult	More comfortable More boring More interesting More expensive More dangerous More popular More common More generous More difficult	The most comfortable The most boring The most interesting The most expensive The most dangerous The most popular The most common The most generous The most difficult	We use more and most to make comparatives and superlatives for most two-syllable adjectives and all adjectives with three or more syllables.

Personality adjectives

What is he like?

Active: he likes to play sports or do physical things.
Bright: he is intelligent.
Cunning: he uses his intelligence secretly/mysteriously to get what he wants.
Diligent: he is hardworking.
Extroverted: he is very outgoing. He likes to be the centre of attention.
Funny: he makes people laugh.
Generous: he likes to ‘give’ to help others.
Honest: he tells the truth.
Imaginative: he has a good imagination.
Jealous: (negative) he wants what other people have. He doesn’t like others to succeed
Kind: nice, gentle and helpful
Lazy: (negative) he doesn’t like to work or exercise. He’s happy doing nothing.
Moody: (negative) he often becomes angry and unfriendly because he is unhappy.
Naughty: (negative): usually for children) his behaviour is bad.
Optimistic: he is a positive person and positive about the future.
Pessimistic: he is a negative person. He thinks things will end badly. The opposite of optimistic.
Quiet: He doesn’t say much. He prefers to listen.
Rude: (negative) he is not polite and he offends people.
Sensible: he has good common sense and judgment.
Thoughtful: he carefully thinks about other people and how to help them.
Upbeat: he is positive and in a good mood.
Violent: (negative) he will hurt you. He is aggressive…so be careful!
Wonderful: he is great!
Xenophobic: he dislikes people from foreign countries. He is racist.
Youthful: he is young at heart.
Zany: he is a little crazy but in a fun way.