The adjectives in English Grammar –

Summary
1. What are adjectives?
Adjectives tell us something about a person or a thing.

2. What do adjectives modify?

Adjectives can modify nouns or pronouns/names.

person thing

Mandy is a careful girl. This is a nice car.

Mandy is careful. The car is nice.

She is careful. It is nice.

3. Where do adjectives go?

An adjective can be put before the noun. Then it is an attribute.

person thing

Mandy is a careful girl. This is a nice car.

An adjective can be put after the verb to be (is). This is called predicative position.

person thing

The girl is careful. This car is nice.

Adjectives can go after the following verbs:

 appear
 become
 feel
 get
  go
 keep
 turn

When we speak about what something looks like, smells, sounds and tastes – we use the
adjective. Mind the difference between adjective and adverb.

 I feel great.
 She looks good.
 It seems impossible.
 The steak smells fantastic.

4. Can adjectives be used without nouns?

Yes, adjectives can be used without nouns. Mind the definite article the:

 the rich = rich people

Here is an example from the fairy tale Cinderella:

 “The good must be put in the dish, the bad you may eat if you wish.”

Here is another example with nationalities in the plural:

 The Scottish live in the North of the United Kingdom.

5. Can two or more adjectives be used together?

Yes, if you use more adjectives you can put them in front of the noun:

 a fat old cat

or you can put them after the verb (e.g. to be). In this case and is placed between the last
two adjectives.

 It was cold, wet and windy.

6. Adjectives, ending in -ing and -ed

There are adjectives ending in -ing and -ed. These are participle constructions, used like
adjectives. Here are some examples:

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 discussion.
 Children get bored very quickly.
 The end of the film was really exciting for me.

Comparison of adjectives in English

Grammatical constructions used for comparing adjectives
There are three forms of comparison:

 positive
 comparative
 superlative

1. Comparison with -er/-est

clean → cleaner → (the) cleanest

We use -er/-est with the following adjectives:

1.1. Adjectives with one syllable

positive comparative superlative

clean cleaner cleanest

new newer newest

cheap cheaper cheapest

1.2. Adjectives with two syllables and the following endings:

1.2.1. Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -y

positive comparative superlative

dirty dirtier dirtiest

easy easier easiest

happy happier happiest

pretty prettier prettiest

1.2.2. Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -er

positive comparative superlative

clever cleverer cleverest

1.2.3. Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -le

positive comparative superlative

simple simpler simplest

1.2.4. Adjectives with two syllables, ending in -ow

positive comparative superlative

narrow narrower narrowest

1.3. Spelling of the adjectives using the endings -er/-est

positive comparative superlative comment

large larger largest leave out the silent -e

big bigger biggest

Double the consonant after short vowel
sad sadder saddest

dirty dirtier dirtiest Change -y to -i (consonant before -y)

 Here -y is not changed to -i.
shy shyer shyest
(although consonant before -y)

2. Comparison with more – most

all adjectives with more than one syllable (except some adjectives with two syllables –
see 2.1. to 2.4.)

positive comparative superlative

difficult more difficult (the) most difficult

3. 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

small smaller smallest

4. 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

Sentences with comparisons in English

1. something is similar A=B
Our car is as fast as Peter's car.

2. something is not similar A≠B

2.1. Use not as ... as (to say that something is not similar)

John's car is not as fast as our car. (A≠B)

2.2. Use than (to say that something is bigger or smaller)

Our car is faster than John's car. (A>B)

John's car is slower than our car. (A<B)

NOTE!

 Peter is taller than me. (informal)

 Peter is taller than I am. (formal)

 Max is as tall as me. (informal)

 Max is as tall as I am. (formal)