S3 English

Lesson 20
Adjective
Patterns,
comprehension
S3 2nd term English Lesson
Adjective Patterns

1. Introduction
Adjective patterns are usually used to express opinions and feeling. Using a variety of adjective
patterns also makes our writing colorful. In this chapter, we will learn how to form sentences with
adjectives.

2. It is / It’s + adjective + that

This sentence pattern is usually used to express feelings or opinions.

e.g. It is common that everyone is using smartphones.

It is obvious that my father loves my mother very much.
It is strange that my school bag suddenly disappears

ATTENTION
In this pattern, the word “that” should be followed by a complete sentence. It is called a
that-clause.
Examples:
It is unusual that no one is walking in the street now. (S + V + O)
It is unusual that no one in the street now.

3. It is / It’s + adjective + of + somebody + to-infinitive …

We use this sentence pattern to express our comments towards someone’s action.

e.g. It is nice of you to visit us.

It is silly of them to throw away all their photo albums.
It is brave of Jonatan to climb the highest mountain in the world.

4. It is / It’s + adjective + (for somebody) + to-infinitive …

By using this pattern, we can express our suggestions, comments or wishes towards someone’s action.
Information or feelings are also emphasized.

e.g. It is possible (for Mary) to join the choir.

It is important (for my brother) to get into a good university.

1
2021-2022-->week20 11
 There is a difference between the use of “of + somebody” and “for + somebody” in the adjective
patterns.
- “of + somebody”
It is used when we use an adjective that describes personal qualities (nice, kind, careless,
generous, etc.)
e.g. It is generous of her to donate money to the charity.
- “for + somebody”
It is used when we use an adjective that describes how somebody feels towards something
(difficult, necessary, important, possible, etc.)
e.g. It is impossible for me to finish all the housework in 30 minutes.

5. Subject + be + adjective + to-infinitive

Instead of using “it is”, we can also use a person or an object as the subject.

- If the subject is a person, the adjective is used to describe people’s feelings towards the action.
e.g. Patrick was anxious to leave before six o’clock.
Steven is happy to have a little brother in 3 months.

- If the subject is an object, the adjective is used to express comments on it.

e.g. Birthday cakes are easy to make.
Mathematics is hard to learn.

ATTENTION
In the above adjective pattern when the subject is an object no object can be found after the
to-infinitive.

The question is difficult to answer it.

The question is difficult to answer.

6. Subject + be + adjective + enough + to-infinitive

We put “enough” after the adjective to mean that a person or thing suits a particular purpose or to
do a particular action.
e.g. They are not old enough to enter the casino.
I am strong enough to lift up a piano.
*Compare: (1) Jasmine is happy to have a new job. (2) Jasmine is good enough to have a new job.
In sentence (1), the speaker only expresses Jasmine’s feelings when she gets a new job. In sentence (2),
it talks about Jasmine’s ability instead. Therefore, “enough” has added extra meaning to the sentence.

2021-2022-->week20 2
Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks by choosing the most appropriate words from the table below. The first one has been
done for you.
Adjectives Verbs
impolite listen
unhealthy hear
possible wear
impossible use
inappropriate watch
environmentally-friendly put
sad eat
relaxing cross
unlucky live
inconvenient travel
exciting lose
dangerous shout

1. It is dangerous to cross the road carelessly.

2. It is _________________________________ a movie about death and misery.

3. It is _________________________________ miniskirts to school.

4. It is _________________________________ at others rudely.

5. It is _________________________________ a wallet on the bus.

6. It is _________________________________ good news from you.

7. It is _________________________________ too much junk food.

8. It is _________________________________ to some soft music.

9. It is _________________________________ without air and water.

10. It is _________________________________ a book shelf in the middle of the room.

11. It is _________________________________ paper on both sides.

12. It is _________________________________ to the moon.

2021-2022-->week20 3
Exercise 2
Jennifer is holding a big party in her house. Here is part of the conversation between Jennifer and her
guests. Fill in the blanks with the corresponding letters of the most suitable answers.

Marilyn, Jennifer’s sister:

It’s 1. ________ that Jacky, my husband 2. ________ a car in the lucky draw! He is 3. ________ to change

his car tonight. I am so happy!

A. sad D. amazing

B. wins E. to win

C. win F. lucky enough

Jane, Jennifer’s friend:

It is very kind 4. ________ to invite me to your party. We 5. ________ each other for 3 years already. I am

very happy 6. ________ you again.

A. to see E. seeing

B. see F. of you

C. for you G. didn’t see

D. haven’t seen H. to you

Jackson, the doctor:

It’s difficult 7. ________ to hold such a big party. I have met a lot of friends who were once my patients. I

am 8. ________ that they 9. ________ all very healthy now.

A. upset E. glad to know

B. have been F. glad knowing

C. for you G. of you

D. to you H. are

2021-2022-->week20 4
Joey, the pop singer:

The singer in your party is of low quality. It is important 10. ________ to have a sense of rhythm and

pitch. You had better 11. ________ me to be the singer of your party next time.

A. for a singer D. of a singer

B. of you E. for you

C. invite F. to invite

The children:

Auntie Jennifer, you are 12. ________ to be friends with these pop singers! We love them all! We are

lucky that 13. ________ many autographs from them!

A. we get D. too famous

B. we have got E. being famous

C. we are getting F. famous enough

Jennifer:

Thanks everyone for coming! I am honored 14. ________ you all with me this year. I hope that my party is

15. ________ to please you tonight!

A. to have D. good

B. having E. so good

C. have F. good enough

2021-2022-->week20 5
Exercise 3
Read the following sentences. Then, use the adjective patterns to make a sentence with the words
provided: it is / was + adjective + for / of + noun / pronoun + to-infinitive
The first one has been done for you as an example.

1. You should do exercise to stay healthy. (good / you)

It is good for you to do exercise to stay healthy._____________________________________________

2. I find it difficult to work out the solution of this formula. (difficult / me)
___________________________________________________________________________________

3. Thanks for helping me to carry my luggage yesterday. (nice / you)

___________________________________________________________________________________

4. John can finish the exam paper within 30 minutes. (possible / John)
___________________________________________________________________________________

5. She broke her mother’s vase last night. (careless / her)

___________________________________________________________________________________

6. We can’t win the competition if we don’t work hard and practice. (necessary / us)
___________________________________________________________________________________

7. Debbie seldom borrows money from others. (unusual / Debbie)

___________________________________________________________________________________

8. She promised to take care of her baby sister. (considerate / her)

___________________________________________________________________________________

9. The team can never score a goal if they keep missing the ball. (impossible / team)
___________________________________________________________________________________

10. We asked Tom to share the food with us, but he took it all away. (selfish / Tom)
___________________________________________________________________________________

2021-2022-->week20 6
Exercise 4
Proofread the following passage. There is at most one mistake in each numbered line. There are three
types of mistakes in the passage:

1. Underline the word that is incorrect and write the missing word above it.

2. If there is a missing word, mark it with a “^”.

3. Cross any unnecessary word with a “”.

4. Put a tick () at the end of the line if there is no mistake.

1 Arcade games such Tetris, Pacman and Pinball machines are popular among young

2 people, but they could only be found in game centers I the pass. Today, you can enjoy most

3 of these games on ION Audio ICade without leaving your house! This gadget is attract

4 enough to make you spending a whole day playing it. With ION Audio, you can change an

5 IPAD into an arcade by placing it into an ICade cabinet, is a cardboard set that looks the

6 same as a traditional arcade, but in smaller size. It is surprising that the IPad immediately

7 becomes real arcade with joysticks and buttons. After downloading some arcade games

8 apps, you can put ICade on a table and start playing. It is easy of you to play it. Of course, it

9 is quite expensive for buy the ICade cabinet. However, it is more convenient for you to keep

10 an arcade at home than visiting the arcade center every time you feel like playing classic

11 games. Most importantly, it is not necessary of you to queue up. You are always the first

12 one to enjoy the game. You can also has enough practice before showing off your skills at

13 read arcade! However, some people may find playing arcade games on an ICade cabinet less

14 excited, as you cannot enjoy the games with your friends. Which one do you prefer then?

2021-2022-->week20 7
Reading Comprehension Will the law ever own its mistakes?

Did you know?

Currently, the United States has the highest imprisonment rate in the world, with 743 adults being locked

up for every 100,000 people in the country’s overall population. In China, the rate is 120 prisoners per

100,000 population.

In 2007, John Garrison had everything that he had ever hoped to acquire – a partnership in a successful law

firm, a loving wife, two healthy, happy young sons, a multi-million-dollar house in an affluent

neighbourhood in Boston. However, in May of that year, his seemingly perfect world came crashing down

around him. He was exposed as an embezzler and con artist, banned from ever practicing law again and

sentenced to eleven years in prison for stealing millions from his partners, his clients and even the

government. After serving six years of his term, Mr Garrison was released back into society, and since then,

he has started a new career as a non-fiction writer.

Why do you think people commit crimes?

I think - for the most part - It comes down to deprivation. if people don't have at least one loving parent,

enough money to live on, other people in their lives to care about them and support them, and so on,

they'll be more likely to commit a crime. Of course, there's also what I call the ‘greed gene’ - some people

will commit crimes for the simple fact that they’re greedy. lt's just who they are. I know - because it's the

reason I went to prison.

Do you think you were punished property as a white collar criminal?

Yes – and no. I recognize that society had to punish me, but l'll be very honest with you - I think I could

have done more to repay my debt to society outside of prison. I’m going to propose an option that isn’t

very popular with judges, prosecutors or the public, but I think I should have been allowed to stay out of

prison, and simply give most of the money I earned over a certain time period – say, fifteen years – to the

courts as a form of rehabilitation. This would have allowed me to repay the money I stole without making

the public pay for the high cost of keeping me in prison.

2021-2022-->week20 8
Did you have a hard time in prison?

I’ll let you in on a little secret – prison time isn’t the worst punishment a criminal can get. The hard part is

returning to society and trying to lead a normal life. I was rehabilitated in prison – I won’t commit another

crime as long as I live – but I also won’t have a law career, or any other professional career that involves

getting hired by someone; I won’t have the genuine respect or trust of my boys; l won’t be able to hear ‘I

love you’ from the woman who used to call herself my wife. In this sense, my punishment will last forever.

I’m going to try to get my life back on track through my writing. But it won’t be easy.

In your memoir, Cages, you mention that rehabilitating criminals is extremely difficult to accomplish in a

prison setting. What do you mean by this?

Difficult —— and in some cases, impossible. The trouble is that society isn’t really interested in

rehabilitating prisoners, and this isn’t going to change anytime soon. How many convicts spend time in

prison and then go out and commit the very same crimes again? I’ll tell you how many – lots! Prisons tend

to fail at rehabilitating offenders because at their core, they’re meant to punish, not rehabilitate – and

they’re very good at it. Of course, society doesn’t want to admit this. It wants to believe that you can teach

a person in captivity how to behave in public, but in most cases, this simply isn’t possible. You can’t force

treatment on somebody – any therapist will tell you that.

Are you saying that we shouldn’t have prisons?

No, absolutely not. We need to keep criminals away from the rest of society - for their sake and society's.

What I’m saying is that we need to rethink the entire system. We need to find a way to allow criminals to

repay their debt while helping them to grow into healthy, productive human beings. We need to stop

treating the prison system like a factory that takes in raw materials - convicted criminals - and then churns

out a steady stream of broken individuals who are doomed to repeat their cycle of crime.

2021-2022-->week20 9
Answer the following questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided. For the multiple—choice

questions, choose the best answer and blacken the circle under the corresponding letter.

1. Which of these pictures Show aspects of John Garrison's former way of life as mentioned in paragraph

1? Mark each picture with a tick (✓) in the circle if it shows an aspect of his former way of life and a

cross (X) if it does not.

2. In lines 7-8, the phrase ‘came crashing down’ is used to say that Garrison's __________

A. family was in a car crash B. house burnt down

C. situation suddenly changed for the worse D. wealth was lost in a stock market crash

3. Find words in paragraph 1 that mean the same as the following:

a) obtain ____________________

b) wealthy ____________________

c) apparently ____________________

d) forbidden ____________________

4. In line 14, what does ‘then’ refer to?

_______________________________________________________

2021-2022-->week20 10
5. Which of the following texts would Garrison be interested in Writing?

A. a magazine article B. a novel

C. a play D. a short story

6. Use ONE word to complete each blank.

When Garrison worked in the law firm, he became involved in (a) ________________ because he was

(b) __________________.

7. A ‘white collar criminal’ (lines 26-27) is a __________.

A. criminal who wears a white shirt

B. lawyer who steals money

C. murderer who targets people in the business community

D. person who uses his or her career to commit a crime

8. According to Garrison, serving a prison sentence was not the worst punishment that he received.

What other punishments were harder for him to bear?

_____________________________________________________________________________

8. In Garrison's opinion, prisons __________.

A. are good at rehabilitating prisoners

B. are not necessary in society

C. impose treatment on prisoners

D. should be more like factories

2021-2022-->week20 11
9. In paragraph 5, find THREE other words used to refer to ‘criminals’. (Do NOT include ‘criminals’ as an

answer.)

a) ____________________ b) ____________________ c) ____________________

10. Two friends are discussing John Garrison’s interview. Complete their conversation with suitable phrases

from the box below. Use each phrase ONCE only. The first one has been done for you as an example.

A after sewing more than half B he became an embezzler and con artist

C he came up with D he shouldn't have gone to prison

E how much money it'd save society F the term white collar criminal

G what it's like to be a rehabilitated criminal H what kind of criminal the term refers to

I who aren’t dangerous J with a rehabilitated criminal

What did you think of the interview (a) I thought it was interesting to read about how Mr

__________ that we read in Social Studies, Erica? Garrison is trying to get his life bank on track (b)

__________ of an eleven-year prison term.

I thought he showed a lot of character by I know I like the expression (d) __________ - his

admitting that (c) __________ simply out of so-called ‘greed gene’.

greed.

Had you ever heard of (e) __________? l hadn’t Yes, but I hadn't really Known what it meant.

Reading the interview gave me a better idea

about (f) __________.

At first I was surprised to learn that Mr Garrison Letting criminals (h) ___________ earn money to

thinks (g) __________, but the more I thought repay the people they stole from is a pretty good

2021-2022-->week20 12
about his idea, the more it started to make sense. idea, isn’t it?

Especially when you think about (i) __________. Good point. I’m going to read Mr Garrison’s

It’s very expensive to keep prisoners locked up. memoir to learn more about (j) __________.

Vocabulary focus

Match the types of criminals with the meanings below. Write the correct letters in the boxes provided.

Types of criminals

A arsonist B blackmailer C burglar

D car thief E con artist F counterfeiter

G drug dealer H embezzler I forger

J kidnapper K murderer L pickpocket

(1) a criminal who breaks into houses, shops, etc. in order to steal things ❏

(2) a criminal who tricks or deceives people in order to get money from them ❏

(3) a criminal who kills another person ❏

(4) a criminal who tries to get money from other people by threatening to expose their ❏

secrets

(5) a criminal who creates bills of money and then uses them as if they are real ❏

(6) a criminal who purposely sets houses, buildings, cars, etc. on fire ❏

(7) a criminal who copies documents, paintings, etc. in order to make people think they ❏

are real

2021-2022-->week20 13
 (8) a criminal who takes someone somewhere, illegally and by force, in order to get money ❏

for returning the person

(9) a criminal who sells illegal substances such as heroin and ketamine to people ❏

(10) a criminal who steals automobiles ‘usually for the purpose of selling them ❏

(11) a criminal who steals things from people's pockets, especially in crowded places ❏

(12) a criminal who steals money that belongs to his or her employer ❏

Complete what the rehabilitated criminals say below with the types of criminals.

I used to be a (1) ____________________. I used In my old life, I made a living as a (3) __________.

to lie to my own mother to trick her into giving I was good at breaking into flats without leaving

me money. I was also a (2) any evidence into flats without leaving any

____________________ and spent hours riding evidence behind. I was also a (4) __________ for a

the MTR in order to steal wallets and mobiles short time, but stealing automobiles wasn’t as

from people. profitable, so I soon gave it up.

Ten years ago, a local crime boss recruited me to I used to live on the streets. I eventually became a

be a (5)___________ and make fake money for (7) __________ and sold all kinds of illegal drugs

him. He also paid me to be a (6)__________, as to people. Once, a customer refused to pay me,

I'm a very skilled painter, but one of the paintings so I lit his car on fire. I got caught and served time

I made for him was discovered by the police. as an (8) __________.

I spent twenty-five years in prison for killing I started out as an (11) __________, stealing

someone. I didn't mean to be a (9) __________. I money from the company I worked for, but my

was a (10) __________ waiting for a woman's boss caught me, so I threatened to tell his wife

husband to paw me to bring her back, but when about his affairs with other women. Strangely,

the police charged into my flat, I accidentally shot being a (12) ___________ was the most shameful

one of them. thing about that dark time in my life.

2021-2022-->week20 14
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