THE ADJECTIVE

1. POSITION OF ADJECTIVES
 Before a noun: a young man
 After the verb BE; BECOME; SEEM ; STAY It is expensive. She seems happy.
 With transitive verbs, after the object: She keeps her room tidy.
 THE + Adjective = Romanian plural noun: the young; the rich; the English

2. ORDER OF ADJECTIVES PLACED BEFORE A NOUN

describing /
determiner expressing feeling size age colour origin / material NOUN
a/ the splendid young white Arab horse
two fantastic tall middle-aged Canadian actors

3. DEGREES OF COMPARISON
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
(superiority / inferiority)
 - er, - est Peter is taller than Jack. Peter is (not) the tallest in the
- one syllable adj Peter is tall. Pam is luckier than Jane. group.
- two syllable adj Pam is Pam is (not) the luckiest girl I
ending in -y lucky. know.

 more, the most This is This is more difficult This is the most difficult problem.
 less, the least difficult. than I thought.
- long adj. This is less difficult than This is the least difficult problem.
(adj. ending in -ed; I thought.
-ing; ous; -ful; -less)
! Some long adjectives can take either - er, - est or more, the most / less, the least:
able; clever; gentle; common; narrow; handsome; noble; simple; unkind; polite; pleasant;

4. COMPARATIVE OF EQUALITY
 use as + adjective + as to show that something is the same or equal:
Jim is as tall as Peter. I am as worried as you are.
 use not as/so + adjective + as to show that something is the same or equal:
Jim is not as tall as Peter. I am not as worried as you are.

5. INTENSIFICATION OF ADJECTIVES
 For short adjectives: repeat the adjective in the positive degree:
He gets richer and richer every year.
 For long adjectives : more and more + adj. or less and less + adj.
She is more and more beautiful every time I see her.
English is less and less difficult.

6. IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES
good – better – the best; old – older – the oldest;
far – farther – the farthest; – elder – the eldest;
– further – the furthest; little – less – the least;
bad – worse – the worst; much – more – the most;
ill – worse – the worst; many – more – the most;

7. ADJECTIVES OF LATIN ORIGIN form the comparative with to (not with than)!
superior to ; inferior to; senior to; junior to; exterior to; interior to
1. as or than ?
1. Are you as tall _____ your brother?
2. She’s not as clever _____ her sister.
3. Was Joan’s party better _____ Maria’s?
4. I’m studying the same subject _____ Emma.
5. Liz works much harder _____ John.
6. I haven’t got as many cousins _____ you.

2. as _____ as / not as _____ as

ex. Bob is taller than Jack.. Jack is not as tall as Bob.
Bob gets more presents than Jack. Jack doesn’t get as many presents as Bob.
1. Jill is more intelligent than Bill. Bill is not____________________
2. The Sun is hotter than the Moon. The Moon is not ___________________
3. Are you and your husband the same age? Are you ____________________your husband?
4. You can read more quickly than I can. I can’t _______________
5. Harry wins more money than Bill. Bill doesn’t _______________
6. Is Switzerland bigger than Luxemburg? Yes it is. Is Luxemburg_______________ ? No, it isn’t.
7. Eva’s work is better than mine. My work isn’t _______________
8. Dogs are friendlier than cats. Cats aren’t ____________________

3. Complete the sentences with an opposite adjective in its comparative or superlative form.
ex. Robert is the oldest in the family. No, he isn’t. He is the youngest.
1. Bob is more polite than his brother. No, he isn’t. He is __________
2. I’m the tallest in the class. No, you aren’t. You are ______________
3. My homework is worse than yours. No, it isn’t. It is __________
4. The weather today is colder than yesterday. No, it isn’t. It is __________
5. She buys the cheapest watch in the shop. No, she doesn’t. She buys __________
6. Jack is meaner than Alan. No, he isn’t. He is __________
7. Janet arrives later than John. No, she doesn’t. She arrives __________
8. This is the easiest exercise in this book. No, it isn’t. It is __________

4. Adjective formation. Use the suffixes below to form adjectives from nouns.
-y - ed -ing -al -ful -ate -ial -ous -ent -tic
Then complete the sentences with an adjective from your list.
NOUN ADJECTIVE
1. success 1. My dad’s really __________. He’s always buying presents for everyone.
2. luck 2. Before you can get a credit card, you have to provide a lot of _________ details.
3. romance 3. I try to lead a ____________ lifestyle – lots of exercise, fruit, and no junk food.
4. wind 4. The disco was so _____________ that you couldn’t hear yourself speak.
5. difference 5. After the earthquake, the country needed a lot of ________________ equipment
6. happiness to look after the sick and wounded.
7. depression 6. She had a car crash, but she was ______________ to escape with no injuries at all.
8. health 7. Venice is a very __________city. Many people go there to spend their honeymoon.
9. person 8. Here is the _____________ news. Share prices have fallen dramatically.
10. wealth 9. After the heart attack he needed major surgery, but fortunately the operation was
11. generosity ____________________
12. mess 10. I didn’t like the city at all. The streets were so __________________ and the air
13. noise was so __________________.
14. dirt15. pollution
16. finance
17. medicine
18. fortune