University of Cuenca

Faculty of Hospitality
Science

hospitality and hospitality

Teacher: Tania Heredia

Name: Ruth Carrillo

Subject: English
 ADJECTIVES
CONCEPT
 ADJECTIVES ARE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE OR MODIFY OTHER WORDS,
MAKING YOUR WRITING AND SPEAKING MUCH MORE SPECIFIC, AND A WHOLE
LOT MORE INTERESTING. WORDS LIKE SMALL, BLUE, AND SHARP ARE
DESCRIPTIVE, AND THEY ARE ALL EXAMPLES OF ADJECTIVES. BECAUSE
ADJECTIVES ARE USED TO IDENTIFY OR QUANTIFY INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE AND
UNIQUE THINGS, THEY ARE USUALLY POSITIONED BEFORE THE NOUN OR 
PRONOUN THAT THEY MODIFY. SOME SENTENCES CONTAIN MULTIPLE
ADJECTIVES.
DEFINITION
ADJECTIVES ARE WORDS THAT GIVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT A NOUN OR
PRONOUN AND CAN GO IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS IN A SENTENCE.

We use adjectives to describe nouns.

Most adjectives can be used in front of a noun:

they have a beautiful house.

we saw a very exciting film last night.

 or after a link verb like be, look or feel:

Their house is beautiful.

That film looks interesting
WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?
ADJECTIVES WITH '-ING ' AND '-ED
A LOT OF ADJECTIVES ARE MADE FROM VERBS BY ADDING -
ING OR -ED:
Examples:
 - ING ADJECTIVES
If you say something
is interesting, you mean
• THE COMMONEST - ING ADJECTIVES ARE:
it interests you:
amusing
frightening I read a very interesting article in the newspaper
annoying
tiring today.
boring
shocking
disappointing If you say something is terrifying, you mean
surprising it terrifies you:
exciting
worrying
interesting That Dracula film was absolutely terrifying.
 -ED ADJECTIVES

THE COMMONEST -ED ADJECTIVES ARE:

EXAMPLES
If something bores you, you can say
annoyed
bored
excited you feel bored.
frightened
closed
tired We
delighted had nothing to do. We were really bored
worried
disappointed
.
If something terrifies you, you can say
you are terrified.
I didn't really enjoy the Dracula film.
Most of the time I was terrified.
ADJECTIVE ORDER
• TWO ADJECTIVES
WE OFTEN HAVE TWO ADJECTIVES IN FRONT OF A NOUN:
 A HANDSOME YOUNG MAN
A BIG BLACK CAR
THAT HORRIBLE BIG DOG

SOME ADJECTIVES GIVE A GENERAL OPINION. WE CAN USE THESE ADJECTIVES TO

DESCRIBE ALMOST ANY NOUN: EXAMPLES
He’s
a good/wonderful/brilliant/bad/dreadful t
awful eacher.
nice
good importa
beautiful That's
bad nt
brilliant a good/wonderful/brilliant/bad/dreadful b
lovely wonderf
excellen ook.
strange ul
t
nasty
SOME ADJECTIVES GIVE A SPECIFIC OPINION. WE ONLY USE
THESE ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE PARTICULAR KINDS OF NOUN,
FOR EXAMPLE
Food Furniture, buildings People, animals
clever
delicious comfortable
intelligent
tasty uncomfortable
friendly

We usually put a general opinion in We usually put an opinion adjective in

front of a specific opinion: front of a descriptive adjective:

nice tasty soup  a nice red dress

a nasty uncomfortable armchair a silly old man
a lovely intelligent animal those horrible yellow curtains
ADJECTIVES AFTER LINK VERBS

We use some Some of the commonest We say:

adjectives only after a -ed adjectives are normally
link verb: used only after a link
verb:
Afraid ill Our teacher was ill.
annoyed
alive ready My
bored
alone sorry uncle was very glad when
finished
asleep sure he heard the news.
pleased
content unable The policeman seemed to
thrilled
glad well be very annoyed.
THREE OR MORE ADJECTIVES

Sometimes we have three adjectives in
front of a noun, but this is unusual:
a nice handsome young man     
a big black American car     
that horrible big fierce dog

It is very unusual to have more

than three adjectives.

Adjectives usually come in this order:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

General Specific Nationali

Size Shape Age Colour Material
opinion opinion ty
ORDER OF EDJECTIVES
WHEN YOU LIST SEVERAL ADJECTIVES IN A ROW, THERE'S A 
SPECIFIC ORDER THEY NEED TO GO IN.
• DETERMINER - AN ARTICLE (A, AN, THE), A NUMBER OR AMOUNT, A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
(MY, HIS, HER, ITS, YOUR, OUR, THEIR), OR A DEMONSTRATIVE (THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE)
• OBSERVATION/OPINION - BEAUTIFUL, EXPENSIVE, GORGEOUS, BROKEN, DELICIOUS, UGLY
• SIZE - HUGE, TINY, 4-FOOT-TALL
• SHAPE - SQUARE, CIRCULAR, OBLONG
• AGE - 10-YEAR-OLD, NEW, ANTIQUE
• COLOR - BLACK, RED, BLUE-GREEN
• ORIGIN - ROMAN, ENGLISH, MONGOLIAN
• MATERIAL - SILK, SILVER, PLASTIC, WOODEN
• QUALIFIER - A NOUN OR VERB ACTING AS AN ADJECTIVE
 ADJECTIVES IN FRONT OF NOUNS

A few adjectives are used only in

front of a noun:

North Northern Countless

Indoor
south southern occasional
outdoor
East eastern lone
 
west western mere
 INFORMATION GATHERERS
HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF ADJECTIVES IN ACTION:
• it's a big table. (size)
• it's a round table. (shape)
• it's an old table. (age)
• it's a brown table. (color)
• it's an english table. (origin)
• it's a wooden table. (material)
• it's a lovely table. (opinion)
• it's a broken table. (observation)
• it's a coffee table. (purpose)
ENGLISH ADJECTIVES END WITH THESE SUFFIXES:
• ABLE/-IBLE: ADORABLE, INVISIBLE, RESPONSIBLE, UNCOMFORTABLE

• -AL: EDUCATIONAL, GRADUAL, ILLEGAL, NOCTURNAL, VIRAL

• -AN: AMERICAN, MEXICAN, URBAN

• -AR: CELLULAR, POPULAR, SPECTACULAR, VULGAR

• -ENT: INTELLIGENT, POTENT, SILENT, VIOLENT

• -FUL: HARMFUL, POWERFUL, TASTEFUL, THOUGHTFUL

• -IC/-ICAL: ATHLETIC, ENERGETIC, MAGICAL, SCIENTIFIC

• -INE: BOVINE, CANINE, EQUINE, FEMININE, MASCULINE

• -ILE: AGILE, DOCILE, FERTILE, VIRILE

• -IVE: INFORMATIVE, NATIVE, TALKATIVE

• -LESS: CARELESS, ENDLESS, HOMELESS, TIMELESS

• -OUS: CAUTIOUS, DANGEROUS, ENORMOUS, MALODOROUS

• -SOME: AWESOME, HANDSOME, LONESOME, WHOLESOME

IF IT COMES IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A NOUN, IT'S LIKELY AN
ADJECTIVE. BETTER YET, IF IT COMES BETWEEN ANY OF THESE
CONSTRUCTS, IT'S ALMOST DEFINITELY AN ADJECTIVE:
•• AN
AN ARTICLE
ARTICLE (A,
(A, AN,
AN, THE)
THE) +
+ NOUN
NOUN
THE GRASSY FIELD
THE GRASSY FIELD WAS WAS WET
WET WITH
WITH DEW.
DEW.
IN
IN THIS
THIS EXAMPLE,
EXAMPLE, "GRASSY"
"GRASSY" COMES
COMES BETWEEN
BETWEEN AN
AN ARTICLE
ARTICLE (THE)
(THE) AND
AND A
A NOUN
NOUN (FIELD),
(FIELD), SO
SO
YOU
YOU KNOW
KNOW IT'S
IT'S AN
AN ADJECTIVE.
ADJECTIVE.
•• A
A POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
ADJECTIVE (MY,
(MY, HIS,
HIS, HER,
HER, ITS,
ITS, YOUR,
YOUR, OUR,
OUR, THEIR)
THEIR) +
+ NOUN
NOUN
THESE
THESE ARE
ARE MY OLD TROPHIES.
MY OLD TROPHIES.
IN
IN THIS
THIS EXAMPLE,
EXAMPLE, "OLD"
"OLD" COMES
COMES BETWEEN
BETWEEN A A POSSESSIVE
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE
ADJECTIVE (MY)
(MY) AND
AND A
A NOUN
NOUN
(TROPHIES),
(TROPHIES), MAKING
MAKING IT
IT AN
AN ADJECTIVE.
ADJECTIVE.
•• A
A DEMONSTRATIVE
DEMONSTRATIVE (THIS,
(THIS, THAT,
THAT, THESE,
THESE, THOSE)
THOSE) +
+ NOUN
NOUN
DID
DID YOU
YOU SEE
SEE THAT IMMACULATE KITCHEN?
THAT IMMACULATE KITCHEN?
IN
IN THIS
THIS EXAMPLE,
EXAMPLE, "IMMACULATE"
"IMMACULATE" COMES
COMES BETWEEN
BETWEEN A
A DEMONSTRATIVE
DEMONSTRATIVE (THAT)
(THAT) AND
AND A
A NOUN
NOUN
(KITCHEN),
(KITCHEN), SO
SO IT
IT MUST
MUST BE
BE AN
AN ADJECTIVE.
ADJECTIVE.
•• AN
AN AMOUNT
AMOUNT (SOME,
(SOME, MOST,
MOST, ALL,
ALL, A
A FEW)
FEW) +
+ NOUN
NOUN
WE
WE HAD
HAD AA FEW ORDINARY DAYS.
FEW ORDINARY DAYS.
IN
IN THIS
THIS EXAMPLE,
EXAMPLE, "ORDINARY"
"ORDINARY" COMES
COMES BETWEEN
BETWEEN AN
AN AMOUNT
AMOUNT (A
(A FEW)
FEW) AND
AND A
A NOUN
NOUN (DAYS),
(DAYS),
SO
SO IT'S
IT'S DEFINITELY
DEFINITELY AN
AN ADJECTIVE.
ADJECTIVE.
 TYPES OF ADJECTIVES
Possessive Coordinate Numbers Interrogativ Indefinite Attributive
Adjectives Adjectives Adjectives e Adjectives Adjectives Adjectives

possessive coordinate When they’re There are three Like the Attributive
adjectives are adjectives are used in interrogative articles a and a adjectives talk
used to indicate separated with  sentences, adjectives: whic n, indefinite about specific
possession commas or the numbers are h, adjectives are traits, qualities,
word and, and almost always what, and whos used to discuss or features – in
appear one adjectives e. non-specific other words,
after another to things. they are used to
modify the discuss
same noun attributes
My The sign . You can tell Which option Do we real, perfect,
Your had big, bold, that a number is sounds best to have any peanu best,
His and an adjective you? t butter? interesting,
Her bright letters. when it answers beautiful or
Its the question What time Grandfather has cheapest
Our “How many? should we go? been retired measures.
Their for many.
Whose socks
are those?
 V E
T I
R A S
A
P IV E
OM T
C EC
COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES
 We use comparative adjectives to show
change or make comparisons:
This car is certainly better, but it's much more expensive.
I'm feeling happier now.
We need a bigger garden.

 We use than when we want to compare one thing

with another:
She is two years older than me.
New York is much bigger than Boston.
He is a better player than Ronaldo.
France is a bigger country than Britain.
WHEN WE WANT TO DESCRIBE HOW SOMETHING OR
SOMEONE CHANGES WE CAN USE TWO
COMPARATIVES WITH AND:
The balloon got bigger and bigger.
Everything is getting more and more expensive.
Grandfather is looking older and older. 

 We often use the with comparative adjectives

to show that one thing depends on another:

faster you drive, the more dangerous it is. 

(= When you drive faster, it is more dangerous.)
The higher they climbed, the colder it got. 
(= When they climbed higher, it got colder.)
SUPERLATIVE
ADJECTIVES
Weuse the with superlative
We use the with superlativeadjectives:
adjectives:

It was the happiest day of my life.

Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
That’s the best film I have seen this year.
I have three sisters: Jan is the oldest and Angela is the
youngest. 
 We use the with superlative adjectives:

usually add –er and –est to one-syllable words to make comparatives and sup

n adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:

old older oldest

long longer longest

If an adjective ends in –e, we add –r or –st:

nice nicer nicest

large larger largest

 if an adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant:

big bigger biggest

fat fatter fattest

n adjective ends in a consonant and –y, we change –y to –i and add –er or –es

happy Happier Happiest

silly Sillier silliest

we use more and most to make comparatives and
superlatives for most two syllable adjectives and for all
adjectives with three or more syllables:

careful more careful  most careful

more
interesting most interesting
interesting 

However, with these common two-

syllable adjectives, you
can either add –er/–r and –est/–st or
use more and most:
common narrow He is certainly handsomer than his brother
cruel pleasant His brother is handsome, but he is more
gentle polite handsome.
handsome simple
She is one of the politest people I have ev
likely stupid
met.
The adjectives good, bad and far have irregular comparatives and superlatives

good better best

bad worse worst
farthest/furthes
far farther/further 
t
EDJECTIVES
TEST
• WE VISITED THE MUSEUM, WHERE WE SAW ____________ ARTIFACTS.

• A LOT OF
• ANCIENT
• JOHN’S
• A ROOM FILLED WITH

• I RECEIVED ______________ AWARDS AT THE CEREMONY TODAY.

• THE MANAGER’S
• TWO
• INFORMATION ABOUT
• MOTIVATION AT THE

• PLEASE GET ME A BAG OF ____________ APPLES.

• INTERESTING
• RIPE RED
• ORANGES AND
• REAL
• THE PRESIDENT SAT IN A _______________ CHAIR.
• IMPORTANT
• BARBER’S
• FUNNY
• LEATHER

• ________________ WEATHER IS THE NORM IN SAN FRANCISCO.

• BLUE
• BIG
• FOGGY
1.A– We visited the museum, where we
• THE BEST saw ancient artifacts.
2.B – I received two awards at the ceremony today.
3.B – Please get me a bag of ripe red apples.
4.D – The sat in a leather chair.
5.C – Foggy weather presidentis the norm in San
Francisco.
I

ADJECTIVES

Are the sentences correct or

wrong?
I saw a programme really good on TV last night.

 Correct

 Wrong

didn't know your mother French was.

 Correct

 Wrong
• I enyoyed the film but it was really
 frightening
Frightened

• What is your favourite football team? B: Iam not really….. Football

Interesting in
Interested in
MATCH THE PHRASES TO MAKE TEN
SENTENCES.
• HTTPS://LEARNENGLISH.BRITISHCOUNCIL.ORG/ENGLISH-GRAMMAR-REFEREN
CE/COMPARATIVE-AND-SUPERLATIVE-ADJECTIVES
• HTTPS://WWW.GINGERSOFTWARE.COM/CONTENT/GRAMMAR-RULES/ADJECTIV
ES/LISTS-OF-ADJECTIVES/
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ES/LISTS-OF-ADJECTIVES/