The Adjective

The simplest definition of an adjective is that it is a word that describes or clarifies

a noun. Adjectives describe nouns by giving some information about an objects
size, shape, age, color, origin or material.

Its a big table. (size)

Its a round table. (shape)

Its an old table. (age)

Its a brown table. (color)

Its an English table. (origin)

Its a wooden table. (material)

Its a lovely table. (opinion)

Its a broken table. (observation)

Its a coffee table. (purpose)

When an item is defined by its purpose, that word is usually not an adjective, but
it acts as one in that situation.

coffee table
pool hall
hunting cabin
baseball player

What Do Adjectives Look Like?

English can be very tricky, so you have to be careful, but a lot of English
adjectives end with these suffixes:

-less

-able/-ible adorable, invisible, responsible, uncomfortable

-al educational, gradual, illegal, nocturnal, viral
-an American, Mexican, urban
-ar cellular, popular, spectacular, vulgar
-ent intelligent, potent, silent, violent
-ful harmful, powerful, tasteful, thoughtful
-ic/-ical athletic, energetic, magical, scientific
-ine bovine, canine, equine, feminine, masculine
-ile agile, docile, fertile, virile
-ive informative, native, talkative
careless, endless, homeless, timeless


-ous cautious, dangerous, enormous, malodorous

-some awesome, handsome, lonesome, wholesome

Many adjectives also end with -y, -ary and -ate, but lots of nouns and adverbs also
end with -y, lots of nouns also end with -ary, and lots of nouns and verbs also end
with -ate, so be careful with those.
Adjectives, ending in -ing and -ed
There are adjectives ending in -ing and -ed.
A) Here the adjective is put before the noun:
Yesterday I read an amusing story in a magazine.
Doris has a boring job.
We watched the group of excited people.
B) Here the adjective is put after the verb:
I was not at all amused by the dicussion.
Children get bored very quickly.
The end of the film was really exciting for me.

Whats the Correct Order for Multiple

Adjectives?
When you list several adjectives in a row, theres a specific order they need to be
written or spoken. Native speakers of English tend to put them in the correct order
naturally, but if youre learning English, youll have to memorize the order. It goes
like this:

Determiner This means an article (a, an, the), a number or amount, a

possessive adjective (my, his, her, its, your, our, their), or a demonstrative
(this, that, these, those).

Observation/Opinion Beautiful, expensive, gorgeous, broken, delicious,

ugly

Size Huge, tiny, 4-foot-tall

Shape Square, circular, oblong

Age 10-year-old, new, antique

Color Black, red, blue-green

Origin Roman, English, Mongolian

Material Silk, silver, plastic, wooden

Qualifier A noun or verb acting as adjective

This is the correct order for adjectives that come directly before a noun, and they
are separated by commas.

My beautiful, big, circular, antique, brown, English, wooden coffee table was
broken in the move.
Comparison of adjectives

A - Comparison with -er/-est

clean - cleaner - (the) cleanest
We use -er/-est with the following adjectives:
1) Adjectives with one syllable
positive

comparative

superlative

clean

cleaner

cleanest

new

newer

newest

cheap

cheaper

cheapest

2) Adjectives with two syllables and the following endings:

2 - 1) Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -y
positive

comparative

superlative

dirty

dirtier

dirtiest

easy

easier

easiest

happy

happier

happiest

pretty

prettier

prettiest

2 - 2) Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -er

positive

comparative

superlative

clever

cleverer

cleverest

2 - 3) Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -le

positive

comparative

superlative

simple

simpler

simplest

2 - 4) Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -ow

positive

comparative

superlative

narrow

narrower

narrowest

3) Spelling of the adjectives using the endings -er/-est

positive

comparative

superlative

comment

large

larger

largest

leave out the silent -e

big

bigger

biggest

sad

sadder

saddest

dirty

dirtier

dirtiest

Change -y to -i (consonant before -y)

shy

shyer

shyest

Here -y is not changed to -i.

(although consonant before -y)

Double the consonant after short vowel

B - Comparison with more - most

positive

comparative

superlative

difficult

more difficult

(the) most difficult

all adjectives with more than one syllable (except some adjectives with two syllables - see
2 - 1 to 2 - 4)

C - Irregular adjectives
positive

comparative

superlative

comment

good

better

best

bad

worse

worst

much

more

most

uncountable nouns

many

more

most

countable nouns

little

less

least

little

smaller

smallest

D - Special adjectives
Some adjectives have two possible forms of comparison (-er/est and more/most).

positive

comparative

superlative

clever

cleverer / more clever

cleverest / most clever

common

commoner / more common

commonest / most common

likely

likelier / more likely

likeliest / most likely

pleasant

pleasanter / more pleasant

pleasantest / most pleasant

polite

politer / more polite

politest / most polite

quiet

quieter / more quiet

quietest / most quiet

simple

simpler / more simple

simplest / most simple

stupid

stupider / more stupid

stupidest / most stupid

subtle

subtler / more subtle

subtlest / most subtle

sure

surer / more sure

surest / most sure

Exercises Adjectives
CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER FROM THE FOUR OPTIONS:
1. Rajesh is feeling very ______.

Angry

Angrier

Angriest
2. Nokia is a _______ company.

Good

Better

Best

3. Rajat is _______ than Ramesh.

Fast

Faster

Fastest
4. Amongst the three brothers, Aditya is the ________

Tall

Taller

Tallest
5. She will live ______ than him.

Long

Longest

Longer

Larger

6. What about this? Isnt it _______?

Beautiful

Beauteous

Beauty
7. The test was ________ than I thought it would be.

Difficult

More difficult

Most difficult
8. He is the ________ boy in his class.

Old

Older

Oldest
9. This locality is ________ than ours.

Expensive

More expensive

Most expensive
10. You are so ________, I am sure you can pick this up.

Strong

Weak

Fat

Thin

Choose the correct adjective:

1. My nephew was (amusing / amused) by the clown.
2. Its so (frustrating / frustrated)! No matter how much I study I cant seem to
remember this vocabulary.
3. This lesson is so (boring / bored)!
4. Im feeling (depressed / depressing), so Im going to go home, eat some
chocolate, and go to bed early with a good book.
5. I thought her new idea was absolutely (fascinated / fascinating).
6. This maths problem is so (confusing / confused). Can you help me?
7. The teacher was really (amusing / amused) so the lesson passed quickly.
8. The journey was (exhausting / exhausted)! Twelve hours by bus.
9. The plane began to move in a rather (alarming / alarmed) way.
10. He was (frightening / frightened) when he saw the spider.
11. I was really (embarrassing / embarrassed) when I fell over in the street.
12. That film was so (depressing / depressed)! There was no happy ending for any
of the characters.
13. Im sorry, I cant come tonight. Im completely (exhausting / exhausted).
14. We are going in a helicopter? How (exciting / excited)!
15. Dont show my baby photos to people, Mum! Its so (embarrassing /
embarrassed)!
16. Its okay, its only me. Dont be (alarming / alarmed).
17. My sister is so (exciting / excited) because she is going on holiday tomorrow.
18. I hate long flights, Im always really (boring / bored).
19. She looked very (confusing / confused) when I told her we had to change the
plan.
20. John was (fascinated / fascinating) by Mandarin when he first started learning

languages. He decided to study more and now he can speak it fluently.

Choose the correct adjective:
1. I am so (relaxing / relaxed) I dont want to move.
2. I find horror films really (frightening / frightened) and not at all fun to watch.
3. Sometimes I get really (frustrating / frustrated) when I cant express myself
well in English.
4. We were stopped by a man with a knife who took our money. It was
(terrifying / terrified).
5. The programme was really (interesting / interested).
6. She was (overwhelming / overwhelmed) when everyone cheered and we gave
her presents.
7. If I feel stressed, I find taking a bath is often (relaxing / relaxed).
8. I am really (tiring / tired); I think Ill go to bed.
9. Hes very (interesting / interested) in history.
10. The trip was (overwhelming / overwhelmed), with so many things to do and it
was all so new.
11. She is never (satisfying / satisfied) with her work.
12. Cleaning is so (tiring / tired)! I think Ill have a rest!
13. She thought the ride on the rollercoaster was (thrilled / thrilling).
14. I was really (surprising / surprised) when I saw you. I had thought you were on
holiday.
15. My grandmother was (shocking / shocked) by the mans bad language.
16. My niece is (terrifying / terrified) of dogs.
17. Thank you so much for the prize! Im (thrilled / thrilling)!
18. My job is very (satisfying / satisfied), I love helping people.
19. The news was so (shocking / shocked) that she burst into tears.
20. My exam results were great! Its really (surprising / surprised) but good, of

course
Circle the adjective in each sentence below. Underline the noun it describes.
1. The neighbors walk their spotted dog around the block.
2. Bill and Sue went on a wild ride at the park!
3. My group used purple markers to make our poster.
4. Moms new rose bush needs a lot of special care.
5. Porcupines are large rodents. .
6. The happy cheerleaders jump and yell.
7. Cherry pie is my favorite type of dessert.
8. My dad has many tools in the garage.
9. A spiders web is very silky.
10. The snowy driveway made it hard to walk without falling.
11. Grandma enjoyed a peaceful afternoon, reading a book.
12. My family made some tasty popcorn for tonight.

Circle the adjective in each sentence below. Underline the noun it describes.
1. A fox hunts for small animals at night.
2. I would love to learn to ride a beautiful horse.
3. Jake found an extra book so we didnt have to share.
4. My grandpa has an antique car that he takes to special shows.
5. I sprayed cold water from the hose on my brother. .
6. Aunt Kelly lives about two hours away.
7. We dove into the clear water at the lake.
8. My little brother uses an electric toothbrush.
9. I had a cinnamon muffin for breakfast.
10. We found some old jewelry in my grandmothers attic.
11. The plumber came to fix the leaky pipe.
12. A tiny ladybug landed on Laylas shoulder.

Circle the adjectives in the word bank. Then read the sentences. Use the word bank to place the
correct adjectives in the blank.
1. Jenna was too when she did her homework!
2. My sister was very and offered to share the cookie.
3. We listened to music at church.
4. I got a new, plate to make my sandwich.
5. I had to sharpen my pencil.
6. Mom stirred the soup while it cooked.
7. The teacher greeted us with a smile.
8. It took minutes for Kayla to glue the letters.
9. I chose the paper to use to make a card.
10. We saw a actor in New York City.
11. My book fell in the , muddy gutter.
12. The clown was doing some magic tricks!
Circle the adjectives in the word bank. Then read the sentences. Use the word bank to place the
correct adjectives in the blank.
1. She laid on the beach and enjoyed the sun.
2. The baker baked a cake for the wedding.
3. We picked some red, berries from the farm.
4. My family adopted a friendly, cat from the shelter.
5. The hawk swooped down and grabbed a field mouse.
6. The honey the bees made smelled so . .
7. The sunflowers lined the entire fence.
8. I rode the bus so that I could go to my band lesson.
9. The little boy didnt feel well and his face looked .
10. I bounced the big, beach ball in the air!
11. Kim was very because it was her birthday!
.