Adjectives

Formation of Adjectives
-able (capable of being) – manageable
-ful (full of) – boastful
-ic – energetic
-ive (capable of being) – attractive
-ant – hesitant
-ible (like -able) – permissible
-(i)an (historical period, etc.) – Victorian
-ish (having the quantity of) – foolish, reddish
-ly (having this quantity) - friendly
-ous – humorous
-al – occasional
-less (lack of) - careless
Suffixes

Formation of Adjectives
un- - uncooked, unimaginable
in- - inhuman, incapable
il- - illegal, illegibale
im- - immoral, impractical
dis- - dishonest, disagreeable
ir- - irresponsible, irregular
Prefixes & Compound Adjectives
Compound adjectives as a rule refer to:
age – a three-year-old building
volume – a two-litre car
length – a twelve-inch ruler
price – a $50 dress (a fifty-dollar dress)
weight – a five-kilo bag
area – a fifty-acre farm
duration – a four-hour meeting
depth – a six-foot hole
time/distance – a ten-minute walk

Formation of Adjectives
Supply the right adjective forms for the italicized words.
2. manageable 7. boastful
3. hesitant 8. permissible
4. energetic 9. humorous
5. Victorian
6. reddish
I’m attracted by this scheme. I find it very attractive.
A class of forty can be managed. It’s just about _________.
I know I hesitated before agreeing. I couldn’t help being _________.
I don’t know where you find all that energy. You’re tremendously ______.
This piece of furniture was made in the reign of Victoria. It’s __________.
I don’t know how to describe the colour of the sky. It’s almost red, sort of _______.
I’ve never met anyone who boasts as he does. He’s extremely ________.
What level of radiation can be permitted? How much radiation is ______.
The story is full of humour. I’ve rarely read anything that’s so _________.

Comparisons

Comparisons
Give the comparative and superlative of the following adjectives
Polite, happy, glad, complete, grey, honourable, shy, dry, just, free, recent, merry, uncomfortable, joyful, hot, thin, accurate, narrow, real, sweet, right, wicked, yellow, cozy, merciful, bad, fat, cheap, big, clumsy, stupid;
far, miserable, narrow, virtuous, simple, regular, expensive, low, deep, sad, significant, bitter, intimate, lazy, old, serious, tiny, clever, little, considerate, good, much, dark, beautiful, dear, fit.

Comparisons
Choose the right form in these sentences. In some sentences both forms are right.
Is your house much (further/farther)?
Who is the (oldest/eldest) in the class?
Your driving is (worse/worst) than mine.
It’s the (less/lesser) of two evils.
Have you heard the (last/latest) news?
We have no (further/farther) information.
Jane Sommers writes (good/well).
His (latest/last) words were: “The end”.
This is the town’s (oldest/eldest) house.
My flat is (littler/smaller) than yours.

Comparisons
Choose the right form in these sentences. In some sentences both forms are right.
I’ve got (less/lesser) than you.
Jane is (older/elder) than I am.
This is the (more/most) expensive.
His English is (best/better) than mine.
It’s the (better/best) in the shop.
It’s the (furthest/farthest) point west.
It’s the (oldest/eldest) tree in the country.
She’s my (older/elder) sister.
I’ve got the (least/less)!
You’ve got the (more/most)!

Comparisons
Complete the sentences with the words from the box using the proper degree.
She is easy to deal with. I think she is ___ than her sister.
I suppose the works of this artist are ___ abroad than in his country.
This armchair is ___ of all.
He knows a lot. He is ___ than his schoolmates.
Let’s take this path. It’s ___.
The street you live in is ___ than mine.
Days are getting ___ in July.
He made ___ mistakes in his class.
busy
few
famous
convenient
well-read
kind-hearted
straight
hot
more kind-hearted (kinder-hearted)
more famous
the most convenient
better-read (more well-read)
straighter /the straightest
busier
hotter
the fewest

How to compare things

How to compare things
Make up sentences using ‘as… as’ and the words given.
Model: This book is as interesting as that one.
Jane, Ann, charming.
He, I, tall.
Michael, his brother, strong.
The sitting room, the dining room, large.
The ice-ream, the cake, delicious.
This report, your report, interesting.
Our car, their car, good.
His stories, his jokes, funny.
Your job, his, essential.
Her new hat, her skirt, trendy.

How to compare things
Make up sentences using ‘not so… as’ and the words given.
Model: My mother is not so tall as my father.
The bus, the train, fast.
My flat, her flat, big.
His voice, Caruso’s, brilliant.
The pond, the river, deep.
Your typing, hers, fast.
This lecture, that lecture, interesting.
This garden, that garden, new.
His article, her article, long.
Today, yesterday, warm.
My cat, yours, naughty.

How to compare things
Change the sentences according to the given model.
Model: This book costs $4 and that one costs $2. – This book costs twice as much as that one.
Nick has 8CDs and I have 24 CDs.
This TV model costs $700 and that one $350.
It took me 40 minutes and her 10 minutes to get there.
I earn $2000 and she earns $1000.
This room is 12m2 and that one is 242.
I have three times as many CDs as Nick has.
This TV model costs twice as much as that one.
It took me four times as long to get there as it took her.
I earn twice as much as she does.
This room is twice as little as that one.

How to compare things

How to compare things

How to compare things
Use a bit/a little/much/a lot/far to complete the sentences. Use than where necessary.
It’s ___today ___ it was yesterday. (a little/warm)
You’re driving too fast. Can you drive ___? (a bit/slowly)
I prefer this armchair. It’s ___ the other one. (much/comfortable).
You looked depressed this morning but you look ___ now. (a bit/happy)
This flat is too small for me. I need something ___. (much/big)
It’s ___ to learn a foreign language in the country where it is spoken. (a lot/easy)
… a little warmer today than…
… a bit more slowly
… far more interesting than…
… much more comfortable than…
… a bit happier.
… much bigger.
… a lot easier.

How to compare things

How to compare things

How to compare things
Match two parts (A and B) to make sentences with ‘the… the…’.
The earlier we leave, the sooner we’ll arrive.
The longer he waited, the more impatient he became.
The more I got to know him, the more I liked him.
The more you practise English, the faster you’ll learn.
The longer the telephone call, the more you have to pay.
The more goods you sell, the more profit you’ll make.

Word order
Sometimes we use two or more adjectives together: There was a beautiful large round table in the kitchen.
Adjectives like new, large, round, wooden are FACT adjectives. They give objective information about age, size, colour, etc.
Adjectives like nice, beautiful are OPINION adjectives. They tell us what someone thinks of something.

Word order
Fact adjectives

Word order
opinion
size
age
shape
colour
from where
made of
noun
noun
Example:
An expensive old round Victorian handmade oak table
Summary

Word order
Put the adjectives in brackets in the correct position
an unusual ring (gold)
an old lady (nice)
a good-looking man (young)
a modern house (attractive)
black gloves (leather)
an American film (old)
a large nose (red)
a sunny day (lovely)
a hot bath (nice)
an ugly dress (orange)
a red car (old/little)
a metal box (black/small)
a little village (old/lovely)
long hair (fair/beautiful)
an old painting (interesting/French)
an unusual gold ring
a nice old lady
a good-looking young man
an attractive modern house
black leather gloves
an old American film
a large red nose
a lovely sunny day
a nice hot bath
an ugly orange dress
a little old red car
a small black metal box
a lovely little village
beautiful long fair hair
an interesting old French painting

Word order
Put the following adjectives into the correct order
suede/Italian/new/red/soft/shoes
elderly/tall/Englishman
oval/Venetian/ancient/valuable/glass
shiny/large/expensive/brown/leather/case
square/wooden/old/nice/table
modern/stone/large/beautiful/cottage
porcelain/tea/blue/thin/old/cup
young/blonde/handsome/tall/man
old/several/English/beautiful/castles
pretty/French/young/a lot of/girls
dark blue/best/silk/my/shirt
young/many/factory/German/workers
new soft red Italian suede shoes
a tall elderly Englishman
valuable ancient oval Venetian glass
an expensive shiny large brown leather case
a nice old square wooden table
a modern beautiful large stone cottage
an old thin blue porcelain tea cup
a handsome tall young blonde man
several beautiful old English castles
a lot of pretty young French girls
my best dark blue silk shirt
many young German factory workers

Well done!