Adjectives and adverbs
Comparatives and superlatives, as...as, comparison intensifiers, adjective order, adjective vs adverb form, -ed/-ing adjectives, and too/enough.
Adjectives describe nouns (a quick runner) and adverbs describe verbs, adjectives or other adverbs (she runs quickly). To compare two things we use the comparative: short adjectives add -er (taller), longer ones take 'more' (more interesting), and some are irregular (good - better - best, bad - worse - worst). To compare three or more we use the superlative with 'the' (the tallest, the most interesting). We say 'as ... as' for equal things and 'not as ... as' for unequal ones, and we can strengthen a comparative with much, far or a bit (much bigger). The structure 'the + comparative ..., the + comparative ...' shows that two things change together. When several adjectives come before a noun they follow a fixed order (opinion, size, age, colour, origin). We also use -ed adjectives for how we feel (bored) and -ing adjectives for what causes the feeling (boring), and 'too' (before an adjective) and 'enough' (after an adjective) to show excess or sufficiency. For example: 'The more you practise, the better you become.'
Key terms
| Position | Category | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Opinion | beautiful, lovely |
| 2 | Size | little, small |
| 3 | Age | old, antique |
| 4 | Shape | round |
| 5 | Colour | brown |
| 6 | Origin | Chinese |
| 7 | Material | leather, wooden, silver |
| 8 | Purpose / noun | jacket, table, ring |
| Form | Describes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ed | how you feel | I was bored by the lecture. |
| -ing | the cause of the feeling | The lecture was boring. |
| -ed | how you feel | The children were excited. |
| -ing | the cause of the feeling | The news was shocking. |
- 1Sentence: She bought a ___ leather jacket: beautiful, old, brown.
- 2Apply the order: Opinion before size/age before colour, then material: opinion (beautiful), age (old), colour (brown).
- 3Result: She bought a beautiful old brown leather jacket.
- 1Sentence: I was really ___ by the long, slow lecture.
- 2Ask: feeling or cause?: The subject 'I' tells how a person feels, so use the -ed form, not the -ing form (which names the cause).
- 3Result: I was really bored by the long, slow lecture. (The lecture itself would be boring.)
Adjective order is fixed: opinion comes before age, which comes before colour, origin and material. Write 'a beautiful old brown leather jacket', not 'a brown old beautiful' one.
Use the -ed form for how a person feels and the -ing form for what causes the feeling. After a boring lecture you are bored, not 'boring'.
Adverbs describe verbs, so use the -ly form to say how an action is done: 'He drives carefully' and 'speak slowly', not 'careful' or 'slow'. But linking verbs like taste, seem and feel take an adjective: 'the soup tasted wonderful'.
Put 'too' before the adjective for excess (too hot to drink) and 'enough' after the adjective for sufficiency (old enough to drive).
Rules
- 1Comparatives: short adjectives add -er + 'than' (faster than); long adjectives use 'more ... than' (more careful than); irregular forms include good/better, bad/worse, far/further.
- 2Superlatives need 'the': the fastest, the most careful, the best; use them for three or more things.
- 3'as + adjective + as' shows equality; 'not as/so + adjective + as' shows the first thing is less; intensify comparatives with much/far/a lot/a bit (much cheaper).
- 4Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs (often -ly) describe verbs; use the structure 'the + comparative, the + comparative' for linked change (the more, the merrier).
- 5Order of adjectives before a noun: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material; use -ed for the person who feels (interested) and -ing for the thing that causes it (interesting); 'too + adjective' = more than needed, 'adjective + enough' = sufficient.
Practice
15 easy · 15 medium · 15 hard
10 random questions per test