ADJECTIVES

and
ADVERBS
And how they compare....
 ADJECTIVES
• They describe NOUNS

POSITION

1. attributive: before a noun

The red rose.

2. predicative: after a verb

The rose is red.
 ADJECTIVES

Adjectives: AFRAID, ALIKE, ALIVE, ALONE, ASLEEP,

ASHAMED, ILL, etc.
are NEVER followed by a noun

Adjectives: CHIEF, FORMER, INDOOR, INNER, MAIN,

OUTER, PRINCIPAL, etc.
can only be used BEFORE a noun
 KINDS of ADJECTIVES

1. Adjectives of QUALITY: clever, beautiful, etc.

2. Quantitative: some, any, etc.

3. Possessive: my, your, etc.

4. Demonstrative: this, that, these, those

5. Interrogative: whose, what, etc.

 COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE
• COMPARATIVE:
- adjective + -ER ... + THAN
- MORE + adjective ... + THAN

• SUPERLATIVE:
- THE + adjective + –EST
- THE MOST + adjective
ADJECTIVES - COMPARATIVE
1.Fast fastER
2.Big bigGER
3. Polite MORE polite
Gentle gentleR
4. Angry angrIER
5. Intelligent MORE intelligent
6. Far FURTHER
Good BETTER
Bad WORSE
Little LESS
Much / many MORE
 COMPARATIVE form
• Short adjectives (one-syllable): clean, cheap, etc.
• Two-syllable adjectives ending in –Y or –OW: easy, clever, etc

COMPARATIVE ending: - ER
clean - cleanER

• Long adjectives (three-syllable or longer)

• two-syllable adjectives NOT ending in –Y or –OW: honest,
careful, etc.

COMPARATIVE form: MORE + unchanged adjective

difficult – MORE difficult
 ADJECTIVES - SUPERLATIVE
1. Fast THE fastEST
2. Polite THE MOST polite
3. Good THE BEST
bad THE WORST
little THE LEAST
much / many THE MOST
far THE FURTHEST
 SUPERLATIVE form
• Short adjectives (one-syllable): clean, cheap, etc.
• Two-syllable adjectives ending in –Y or –OW: easy, clever, etc

THE + SUPERLATIVE ending: THE + - EST

clean – THE cleanEST

• Long adjectives (three-syllable or longer)

• two-syllable adjectives NOT ending in –Y or –OW: honest,
careful, etc.

THE + SUPERLATIVE form: THE MOST + unchanged adj.

difficult – THE MOST difficult
 exceptions
• Some adjectives such as:
CLEVER
COMMON
NARROW
STUPID
GENTLE
FRIENDLY
SIMPLE
etc.
can take EITHER FORM (-er/more, the –est/the most)
 ADJECTIVES - SPELLING

1. Silent –e is dropped
(nice – nicER – THE nicEST)

2. Consonant + Y = I + -ER / -EST

(easy – easIER – THE easIEST)

3. Doubling of final consonant after a short/single vowel

(hot – hotTER – THE hotTEST)
 NEUTRUM COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

good better the best

bad / ill worse the worst
little (amount) less the least
little (size) smaller the smallest
much/many more the most
far (place+time) further the furthest
far (place) farther the farthest
late (time) later the latest
late (order) latter the last
near (place) nearer the nearest
near (order) - the next
old (people and things) older the oldest
old (people) elder the eldest
 Order of adjectives
1. DETERMINER (number, article, possessive)
2. OPINION (nice)
3. FACT: a) SIZE (long)
b) AGE (new)
c) SHAPE (thin)
d) COLOUR (blue)
e) PARTICIPLE (broken)
f) ORIGIN (British)
g) MATERIAL (sandy)
h) TYPE (human) + NOUN
i) PURPOSE (alarm) (clock)
 Order of adjectives

A beautiful old Chinese vase

VALUE AGE ORIGIN

A huge black metal box

SIZE COLOUR MATERIAL

 Compound adjectives

• adjectives made up of two or more words

• usually linked together with a hyphen
short-sleeved
blue-eyed
stylishly dressed
 ADJECTIVES used as NOUNS

• THE + ADJECTIVE = groups of people in general

the poor
the blind
the dead
the wealthy
 -ED and –ING ADJECTIVES

• We felt excitED.

past participle describes HOW somebody FEELS

• The match was excitING.

Present participle describes WHAT something is LIKE

 PRONOUNS and ADJECTIVES
• These groups of words can be used as adjectives
(before a noun) or pronouns (on their own):

1. Possessives
2. Relatives (who, whose, whom, which, that, what,
where,
when)
3. Interrogatives (who, whose, whom, which, what;
interrogative adverbs: why, when, where, how)
4. Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)
5. Indefinites / quantifiers
 POSSESSIVES
POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
MY MINE
YOUR YOURS
HIS HIS
HER HERS
ITS ITS
OUR OURS
YOUR YOURS
THEIR THEIRS

Possessive ADJECTIVES are followed by NOUNS.

This is her bag.

Possessive PRONOUNS are not followed by NOUNS.
The bag is hers.
 DEMONSTRATIVES
THIS / THESE are used: THAT /THOSE are used:
For people or things near us: For people or things not near us:

This is my mother. That woman over there is my mother.

These are my cars. Those cars down the road are mine.
For present and future situations: For past situations:

This event is tomorrow. That situation happened years ago!

These demonstrations are happening now. Those wars ended a decade ago.

To introduce people or when we introduce To refer back to something mentioned before:

ourselves on the phone:
Do you remember that car you used to own?
This is my best friend.
This is James Bond speaking.
When speaking on the phone to ask who the
other person is:

Who is that on the other end?

 ADVERBS
• Adverbs normally describe VERBS, ADJECTIVES,
other ADVERBS or whole SENTENCES

KINDS:

1.Manner (how?)
2.Place (where?)
3.Time (when? How often?)
4.Degree (how much? To what extent?)
5.Sentence
 ADVERBS - FORM
FORM: ADJECTIVE + LY

serious + ly = seriousLY

SPELLING:
1. Consonant + Y = ILY (happy=happily)
2. Ending in –IC add –ALLY (drastic=drastically, but
public=publicly)
3. Ending in –LE drop –LE and add –LY (horrible=horribly)
4. Ending in –E add –LY (extreme=extremely, but truly, duly..)
5. Ending in –LY (friendly, silly, ugly, elderly, etc.) change into
in a(n) ....... way/manner (silly=in a silly manner)
6. Ending in –LL add –Y (full=fully)
 ADVERBS - COMPARISON

1. cheaply MORE cheaply

carefully MORE carefully
2. well BETTER
badly WORSE
fast FASTER
hard HARDER
high HIGHER
low LOWER
 ADVERBS - SUPERLATIVES

1. cheaply MOST cheaply

2. well BEST
badly WORST
hard HARDEST
 IRREGULAR ADVERB FORMS
ADVERB COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

WELL BETTER BEST

BADLY WORSE WORST

ILL WORSE WORST

LITTLE LESS LEAST

MUCH MORE MOST

FAR (place+time) FURTHER FURTHEST

FAR (place) FARTHER FARTHEST

LATE (time) LATER LATEST

 ADVERBS – COMPARATIVE/ SUPERLATIVE
COMPARATIVE:
• One-syllable adverbs: add –ER
long – longER

• Two-syllable or compound adverbs: add MORE

patiently – MORE patiently

SUPERLATIVE:
• One-syllable adverbs: add –EST
long – longEST

• Two-syllable or compound adverbs: add MOST

patiently – MOST patiently
 EXCEPTIONS in ADVERBS

• Some adjectives and adverbs have the same

form (back, yearly, best, kindly, etc.)

• There are some adverbs with TWO FORMS

and a difference in meaning
 ADJECTIVE ADVERB (meaning) ADVERB (meaning)
DEEP DEEP (a long way down) DEEPLY (greatly)
DIRECT DIRECT (by the shortest route) DIRECTLY (immediately)
EASY EASY (gently and slowly) EASILY (without difficulty)
FREE FREE (without cost) FREELY (willingly)
FULL FULL (exactly, very) FULLY (completely)
HARD HARD (intently, without effort) HARDLY (scarcely)
HIGH HIGH (at/to the high level) HIGHLY (very much)
LAST LAST (after all others) LASTLY (finally)
LATE LATE (not early) LATELY (recently)
MOST MOST (superlative of much) MOSTLY (mainly)
NEAR NEAR (close) NEARLY (almost)
PRETTY PRETTY (fairly) PRETTILY (in a pretty way)
SHORT SHORT (suddenly; off target) SHORTLY (soon)
SURE SURE (certainly) SURELY (without doubt)
WIDE WIDE (full; off target) WIDELY (to a large extent)
WRONG WRONG (incorrectly) WRONGLY (incorrectly, unjustly)
 ADJECTIVE ADVERB (meaning) ADVERB (meaning)
DEEP DEEP (a long way down) DEEPLY (greatly)
DIRECT DIRECT (by the shortest route) DIRECTLY (immediately)
EASY EASY (gently and slowly) EASILY (without difficulty)
FREE FREE (without cost) FREELY (willingly)
FULL FULL (exactly, very) FULLY (completely)
HARD HARD (intently, without effort) HARDLY (scarcely)
HIGH HIGH (at/to the high level) HIGHLY (very much)
LAST LAST (after all others) LASTLY (finally)
LATE LATE (not early) LATELY (recently)
MOST MOST (superlative of much) MOSTLY (mainly)
NEAR NEAR (close) NEARLY (almost)
PRETTY PRETTY (fairly) PRETTILY (in a pretty way)
SHORT SHORT (suddenly; off target) SHORTLY (soon)
SURE SURE (certainly) SURELY (without doubt)
WIDE WIDE (full; off target) WIDELY (to a large extent)
WRONG WRONG (incorrectly) WRONGLY (incorrectly, unjustly)
 Order of adverbs

• Adverbs can be used in:

FRONT (at the beginning of the sentence)
MID (normally before the main verb or after
an auxiliary)
END (at the end of the sentence) position in a
sentence
 Order of adverbs
• The usual adverb ORDER is:

MANNER – PLACE – TIME

He watched TV quietly in his room until 5 am.

 Order of adverbs

• When there is a verb of MOVEMENT in the

sentence the order is:

PLACE – MANNER – TIME

Ann was rushed to hospital suddenly an hour ago.

 Order of adverbs

• TIME adverbs go in END position.

She goes to the gym on foot every day.

• They also go in FRONT position to emphasise the

time.

Every day she goes to the gym.

 Order of adverbs
• When there is more that one TIME adverb, we
usually put the more specific before the more
general one

(time day date year)

He died at 10.15 pm on Friday March 17th, 1960.

 Order of adverbs
• Adverbs of PLACE usually go at the end of
the sentence.

There is a supermarket nearby.

 Order of adverbs

• Adverbs of MANNER go before the main verb, after the

auxiliary verb or at the end of the sentence.

She easily passed the exam.

(before + main verb)
We are eagerly waiting for his letter.
(after+ auxiliary verb)
He acted foolishly. (end of the sentence)
 Order of adverbs
Adverbs of FREQUENCY (often, seldom, never,
ever, usually, always, etc.) come:

• after the auxiliary verb

She is often late.

• before the main verb.

She never comes on time.

 Order of adverbs

• Adverbs of DEGREE (almost, quite, hardly,

etc.) go before the words they modify.

I’ve almost finished.

 Order of adverbs
SENTENCE adverbs modify the whole
sentence or clause.
• In affirmative sentences, these adverbs usually
come after the verb BE or after the auxiliary.
I’ll probably be late.

• In negative sentences, they come before the

auxiliary.
I certainly won’t be early.
 Order of adverbs
• Some adverbs often come at the beginning of the
sentence and may be followed by a COMMA.
Clearly, the situation is serious.

• These adverbs can also come before the verb, after

the verb BE or after the auxiliary.

Figures clearly show a drop in sales.

The situation is obviously serious.
COMPARISON of ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS

• Flying is faster THAN driving.

• Bangkok is more polluted THAN Paris.

THAN = comparing TWO things

which are DIFFERENT
COMPARISON of ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS

• Iva is as big as Nina.

• Iva is no bigger than Nina.

AS
+
adjective = TWO things being
+ compared are
AS SIMILAR
COMPARISON of ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS

• The less exciting a book is, the more sleepy I become.

• The more quickly I work, the more easily I make mistakes.

THE
(comparative) = to show TWO things
+ CHANGING
THE
(comparative)
 SUPERLATIVES of ADJECTIVES and
ADVERBS

• Mount Everest is THE HIGHEST mountain in the

world.
• Sven plays the piano BEST of all students.

= to compare two or more

SUPERLATIVE things and show that one
is superior
SUPERLATIVES of ADJECTIVES and
ADVERBS

• This was THE BEST film I have ever seen.

SUPERLATIVE

PRESENT PERFECT
 SO / SUCH + ADJECTIVES + NOUNS

• We use SO / SUCH to say that sth is SIMILAR

to sth we have already mentioned

• SO + ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS

• SUCH + NOUNS
 SO + THAT + ADJECTIVES / ADVERBS
• He was singing SO LOUDLY THAT he didn’t
hear the phone ring.
• He was SO TIRED THAT he couldn’t walk any
further.

SO
+
adjective / adverb
+
THAT
 SUCH + NOUNS + THAT

• It was SUCH a hot day THAT we decided to go

to the beach.
• They were SUCH good students THAT they all
passed the exam.
SUCH
+
NOUN
+
THAT
 TOO, ENOUGH and VERY
This room is TOO hot.
This room is VERY hot.
I can’t understand you - you’re talking TOO
quickly.
You’re talking TOO quickly for me to
understand you.
She isn’t running fast ENOUGH to win the
race.
I didn’t have ENOUGH money to pay for
tickets.
TOO, ENOUGH and VERY

• This room is TOO hot.

TOO
= has a NEGATIVE
meaning
TOO, ENOUGH and VERY

• This room is VERY hot.

VERY
= a lot
 TOO, ENOUGH and VERY
• I can’t understand you - you’re talking
TOO quickly.
• You’re talking TOO quickly for me to
understand you.

TOO
+ TOO + (FOR) + TO =
ADJECTIVES / PROBLEM + RESULT
ADVERBS
 TOO, ENOUGH and VERY
• She isn’t running fast ENOUGH to win the
race.
• I didn’t have ENOUGH money to pay for
tickets.

NOT ENOUGH
+ ENOUGH
adjective / adverb +
+ NOUN
TO
 MORE INTENSIFIERS
• MUCH
• A LOT
• FAR
• A BIT
• A LITTLE + COMPARATIVE
• SLIGHTLY
• ANY
• NO

Let’s go by car. It’s much cheaper.

 LIKE is used: AS is used:
For similarities: To say what sb or sth really is (job
or roles):
She swims LIKE a fish.
She works AS a tour guide.

After FEEL, LOOK, SOUND, SMELL, After ACCEPT, BE KNOWN, CLASS,

TASTE + noun: DESCRIBE, REFER TO, REGARD,
USE:
It feels LIKE silk.
He is known AS the father of
modern medicine
With NOUNS, PRONOUNS or the –
ING forms to express similarity or
contrast:

No one can sing LIKE him.

QUESTIONS?