Transilvania University of Brașov

Faculty of Economic Sciences and Business Administration

Spring 2021, 2nd year

Lecture 1: The adjective

1. Classification

♦word-formation

– simple: old, warm, empty

– derived: beautiful, unhappy, black-haired, harmless

– compound: homesick, self-taught, well-meaning

♦syntactic function

– attributive (comes before a noun): wooden, total, mere

e.g. He built a wooden house. He is a mere farmer.

– predicative (comes after a verb): alive, awake, asleep, ablaze e.g. When
e.g. I walked into his room, he was awake.

– both attributive and predicative: good, tall, black

e.g. I’m reading a good novel. The novel is good.

2. Position/order

When adjectives are attributes, they are placed:

a) before the noun, from the most general (subjective) to the most particular (objective), as
in the table below:

general (subjective) particular (objective)

opinion size/weight age shape colour pattern origin material NOUN

nice huge young round blue checked English wooden

ugly heavy ancient square green striped Italian woollen

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 e.g. a short, purple, velvet dress, a precious, blue, Venetian, glass lamp, etc.

b) after the noun, as in the following examples:

e.g. court martial, somebody important, a carpet two metres long,

a man difficult to please, all the people present/concerned/involved etc.

3. Degrees of comparison

Adjectives have the following degrees of comparison:

a) positive: tall, good, interesting

b) comparative

– of superiority: taller, better, more interesting (than)

– of equality: as tall as, as good as, as interesting as

– of inferiority: not so tall as, not so good as, less interesting than

c) superlative

– relative: the tallest, the best, the most interesting

– absolute: very tall, extremely good, highly interesting

With the comparative of superiority and the relative superlative, comparison observes the
following rule:
No. of syllables Adjective Comparative Superlative

-er the … -est

1 sweet, fine, dry, big sweeter, finer, the sweetest, the finest,
drier, bigger the driest, the biggest

-er the … -est

2 (ending in: easy, narrow, clever,
-y, -ow, -er, -le) simple easier, narrower, the easiest, the narrowest,
cleverer, simpler the cleverest, the simplest

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 more … the most …
≥2 rapid, beautiful more rapid, the most rapid,
more beautiful the most beautiful

● Irregular comparison

Positive Comparative Superlative

good better the best

bad/ill worse the worst

old older/elder the oldest/eldest

far farther/further the farthest/furthest

little less/lesser the least

much/many more the most

late later/latter the latest/last

near nearer the nearest/next

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 Notes:
- elder/the eldest refer to family members: my elder brother

• further means ‘additional’, ‘more’: further information

• lesser means ‘smaller’, ‘not so important’: the writer’s lesser works

• latter means ‘the second of two’: I like Tom and Jerry; the former is a cat, the latter is a
mouse.

• the latest means ‘the most recent’, the last means ‘final’: the latest fashion, the last chance

• the nearest refers to distance, the next refers to order: Where is the nearest bank? The next
train is at seven.

● Special constructions with the comparative

a) comparative and comparative (din ce în ce mai, tot mai)

e.g. He is getting better and better. His answers are more and more correct.

b) the comparative … the comparative (cu cât mai... cu atât mai...)

e.g. The more we are, the merrier we’ll be.

c) the comparative (when two things/people are compared)

e.g. Mary is the prettier of the two sisters.

Grammar practice

1. Put the adjectives in parentheses in the correct order:

1. For Christmas Granny has knitted two (woolen, bright, red) gloves.
2. It was easy for Jack to spot her out because of her (pink, Dutch, plastic) skis.
3. Nina bought a set of (green, splendid, clay) pots in the bazaar.
4. Although it was quite dark, she immediately noticed the (big, oval, clean, kitchen) table and the
four (little, wooden, round) stools she's known since she was a child.
5. She loved the (bright, gold, Italian) necklace Terry had brought her.
6. The visitors admired the (late-medieval, magnificent, stone) architecture of the monastery.
7. The two travellers followed the (coastal, long, old) road.
8. It was very hot and the glass of (fresh, cold, grapefruit) juice that Thomas brought was
delightful.

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 9. One of the most precious gifts I have ever received is a (Venetian, beautiful, ceramic) mask my
best friend gave me.
10.When he saw her, she was running across the (wide, green, sparkling, grass) lawn in her (white,
long, summer, Tunisian, cotton) dress.

2. Choose the correct word or phrase from the ones underlined:

1. This food is hotter/the hottest than I can bear.
2. When the weather becomes less warmer/less warm we’ll be able to start.
3. Lena was the more/the most graceful ballet dancer I’ve ever seen.
4. I must admit that he is as/so stubborn as/like a mule.
5. The fact that Peter didn’t help us is of less/lesser significance now.
6. The business he is involved in is most and most/more and more dangerous.
7. Leopold was the more/the most talented of the two brothers.
8. He is the lazier/the laziest student in the class.
9. She was able to get farther/further information at the station.
10. Her older/elder sister is five years older/elder than you.
11. ‘The Tempest’ is Shakespeare’s latest/last play.

3. Complete the sentences using suitable comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives
given below. Add than or the if necessary, as in the example.

bad/ bored/ dry/ far/ good/ keen/ loose/ pretty/ real/ scared/ tidy/ wet/ wrong

0.  Since we’ve had a cleaner, the house has become a lot ...tidier than.... it used to be!
1.  And now we come to the award for ....................... actor in a leading role.
2.  It’s been raining non-stop. I think this will be ....................... July on record!
3.  The authenticity of dialogue and setting often makes low-budget films seem
....................... the somewhat artificial version of reality in Hollywood movies.
4.  In medieval times people rarely travelled far. For most peasants, ....................... destination
would be the local market town.
5.  This skirt’s much too tight on the hips. I need something with a ....................... fit.
6.  The pianist was awful! I think that’s ....................... performance I’ve ever heard.
7.  I don’t mind the Mediterranean summer because it’s a ....................... heat than you find in the
tropics.
8.  I like all Mozart’s operas but I think Don Giovanni is the one I am ....................... on.
9.  We’ve inherited two paintings. Of the two, I’d say the landscape is ....................... .
10. I know all theft is wrong, but don’t you agree that it’s ....................... to steal from an individual
than from a company?
11.  ....................... I’ve ever been was when Joe and I were flying over the Himalayas and we hit a
storm; it was absolutely petrifying.
12.  That play was so tedious. I was ....................... watching that than I was when I spent three
hours trapped in that lift last year!

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4. Complete the second sentence so it has a similar meaning to the first. Use three to six words in
your answer, including the word in brackets, as in the example.

0  All the other members of the family are younger than Uncle Jacob. (the)
Uncle Jacob ..................................is the oldest member................................... of the family.
1  I live closer to the bus stop than Ivan does. (away)
Ivan lives ................................................................................................................. than me.
2  These apples aren’t as tasty as the ones Lizzie bought. (than)
The apples Lizzie bought ....................................................................................................... .
3  The massacre was among the most despicable episodes in the regiment’s history. (one)
The massacre was ......................................................................... in the regiment’s history.
4  The ending of the film wasn’t as sentimental as I’d expected. (than)
I’d expected the ending of the film to be ................................................................. it was.
5  Mikhail’s essay wasn’t as bad as the others. (the)
Mikhail’s essay ....................................................................................................................... .
6  All the other flights were more expensive than the Easyjet one. (of)
The Easyjet flight ................................................................................................. the flights.
7  That was easily the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard. (by)
That was ....................................................................................................... I’ve ever heard.
8  Of the two sisters, Sophie and Caroline, Sophie is the elder. (than)
Sophie is ........................................................................................................ sister Caroline.

5. Choose the best explanation, AorB.

1  The prices on the menu aren’t nearly as expensive as I expected.

A Prices are a little cheaper than I expected.

B Prices are much cheaper than I expected.

2  It looks as if your new car isn’t any more reliable than the old one!

A Both cars are equally unreliable.

B The new car is slightly less reliable than the old one.

3  I have to say that the hotel wasn’t quite as luxurious as the brochure claimed.

A  The hotel was much less luxurious than the brochure claimed.
B  The hotel was slightly less luxurious than the brochure claimed.

4  She isn’t anything like as snobbish as you said.

A  She is less snobbish than you said.

B  She isn’t snobbish.
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5  I’m afraid your figures are no more accurate than the ones Rachel gave me.

A Your figures are less accurate than Rachel’s.

B Your figures and Rachel’s figures are equally inaccurate.

6  As far as Daniel’s job is concerned, things are about as bad as they can be.

A Daniel’s job could get worse.

B Daniel’s job couldn’t be any worse than it is.

7  Carol’s nowhere near as efficient as my last assistant, Becky.

A  Carol is slightly less efficient than Becky.

B  Carol is much less efficient than Becky.

8  In his new job, Gerhard is working like a slave!

A  Gerhard is an actor in a film about ancient Rome.

B  Gerhard has to work very hard.