Adjectives and adverbs

ADJECTIVES

It’s a lovely day. She’s Swiss. It’s too cold. It’s not hot enough.

A bit of theory

Adjectives	Adjectives tell you more about the size, shape, colour, etc. of nouns. We put them before nouns. They do not have plural s or other changes. It was a lovely day. These are tasty apples. He is tall. She is tall. They are tall. When we use an adjective with a noun, the adjective must come before the noun. Look at my new coat! What a lovely hat! You lucky thing! an old man a young woman It is not possible to say: what a lovely, you lucky, an old, a young
What’s it like?	We use this question when we ask someone to give an opinion about, or describe, something or someone. We use the adjective in the answer. What’s your teacher like? She’s fantastic! What’s Joe’s house like? It’s enormous!
Classes and nationalities	Adjectives can become nouns if we add the. Groups of people in general. the young the old the rich the poor the disabled the deaf the unemployed Young people are full of curiosity./The young are full of curiosity. (refers to young people in general) The young people in our town are planning a concert. (refers to a specific group of young people) Some nationalities the French the Chinese the Japanese the Portuguese the Swiss the British the English the Dutch the Irish the Spanish the Welsh the Danish Some nationalities use noun plurals. the Italians the Turks the Greeks the Germans the Americans
Verbs of sensation	Adjectives with verbs of sensation: feel, look, taste, smell, sound. This tastes good. I feel ill. The washing-machine sounds terrible. It looks great. This cheese smells bad. It feels very soft.

1. Make questions with What … like?

1. …What’s your teacher like..?

My teacher? She’s a very nice person.

2. ……………………………………………………………………………………….?

The end of the film? Wait and see!

3. ……………………………………………………………………………………….?

My parents? When you meet them, you can decide!

4. ………………………………………………………………………………………..?

The weather in my country? It rains a lot.

5. ………………………………………………………………………………………..?

My next door neighbours? They make a lot of noise!

6. ………………………………………………………………………………………..?

Helen’s new boyfriend? I haven’t met him yet.

7. ………………………………………………………………………………………..?

The city centre? There are some shops and a cinema.

8. …………………………………………………………………………………………?

The desks in my classroom? Old and uncomfortable!

2. Put one word in each space.

1. Mm, this tastes …good…. How did you cook it?

2. The …………….. come from Switzerland.

3. The …………….. sometimes feel ill and lonely.

4. You look ………………… . Do you feel all right?

5. The ……………… come from Japan.

6. The ………………. usually live in enormous houses.

7. The ………………. come from China.

8. Your bike sounds ………………….. . Is there something wrong with it?

9. The ……………… come from Turkey.

10. The government is going to give more help to the …………….. .

3. Fill in “the” where necessary.

1. The Government is cutting benefits for …the… unemployed and ………. unemployed people all over the country are organizing protest marches.

2. ………… homeless in our town are being helped by ………. young people, who are organizing a sale to raise money for ……….. needy people in general.

3. A friend of mine works in a school for …………. deaf, where she teaches …………. deaf children.

4. ………… middle-aged people tend to criticise …….. young for their disrespectful attitude.

5. After the earthquake, …………. dead were buried in mass graves while ………… living tried to make shelters for ……………. injured.

4. * Read sentences (a) and then write sentences (b). Use the word in brackets ( ) + a preposition (to/at/with etc.).

1) a) I always got the best mark in History at school.

b) I ..was good at History at school… (good)

2) a) The apples you bought yesterday were green. These are red.

b) These apples ……………………………………………….. . (different)

3) a) Turn the TV off, please. It’s football and I don’t like it.

b) I ………………………………………………………………. . (not interested)

4) a) This is Kate’s husband, Carl.

b) Kate ………………………………………………………. . (married)

5) a) Rain, rain, rain! I’d like some sunshine for a change.

b) I ……………………………………………………….. . (fed up)

6) a) Jim doesn’t like storms. They frighten him.

b) Jim ………………………………………………….. . (afraid)

7) a) Stuart can’t cook. A boiled egg is too difficult for him!

b) Stuart ……………………………………………….. . (not very good)

8) a) Oliver always does the shopping for his elderly neighbours.

b) Oliver ………………………………………………. . (nice)

9) a) You can’t move in my grandmother’s sitting room. She’s got a lot of furniture.

b) My grandmother’s sitting room…………………………………………. .(full)

10) a) Why are you shouting at Liz?

b) Why …………………………………………………? (angry)

Order of adjectives

Problem adjectives

long blonde hair tired, tiring

A bit of theory

More than one adjective	Two adjectives Jim has become happy and rich. Three adjectives Jim has become happy, rich and famous.
Order of adjectives	There are four main groups of adjectives, numbered here 1 to 5. Position: 1 One or more of these types of adjective: 1a Opinion 1b Size 1c Age 1d Shape 1e Temperature beautiful large old round cold Position: 2 Colours green, blue, etc. Position: 3 Origin Italian Position: 4 Material (what it is made of) wooden, plastic, etc. Position: 5 Purpose (what it is for) a running shoe Position: 6 Noun
Examples	1c 4 5 6 An old, leather, football boot. (notice the use of commas) 1c 2 4 5 6 Some new, orange, lycra, cycling shorts. 1a 2 4 6 A beautiful, green, silk shirt A word, usually a noun (e.g. football), can be used as an adjective. football boot tennis racket

When there are two or more adjectives, they normally go in the following order:

It’s a beautiful big old round brown Italian oak dining table.

Careful!

• Afraid, alike, alive, alone, ashamed, asleep, content, ill, glad etc are never followed by a noun. The baby is asleep. (not: the asleep baby)

• Nouns of material, purpose or substance can be used as adjectives. a cotton skirt, a winter dress, a shopping bag.

However, certain adjectives derived from such nouns are used metaphorically. silky hair (hair like silk) but a silk scarf (a scarf made of silk), a stony expression (cold expression) but a stone cottage (a cottage made of stone), golden hair (hair like gold) but a gold pen (a pen made of gold),feathery leaves (leaves which look like feathers) but a feather duster (a duster made of feathers), metallic colour (colour that looks like metal) but a metal chair (a chair made of metal), leathery skin (skin looking/feeling like leather) but a leather wallet (a wallet made of leather), a leaden feeling (an unpleasant feeling) but lead pipes (pipes made of lead), a steely look (a strong, determined look) but steel framework (framework made of steel).

1. Put the words in order.

1. shirt cotton a new lovely ….a lovely new cotton shirt……

2. large wooden old a house …………………………………

3. apples large two green beautiful …………………………………

4. film an new interesting science-fiction …………………………………

5. green vase old a beautiful …………………………………

6. short a coat red plastic …………………………………

7. carpet a old beautiful blue …………………………………

8. puppy little a sweet black …………………………………

2. Make more examples of compound words.

1. a boot for playing football ...a football boot………………….

2. a shoe for running in ………………………………….

3. a road in the country ………………………………….

4. a stadium for athletics ………………………………….

5. a costume for swimming ………………………………….

6. a village on a mountain ………………………………….

7. a student at university ………………………………….

8. a bus for the school ………………………………….

3. Complete the story about Jane’s visit to China. Use the adjectives from the box + a suitable noun.

delicious long famous old big difficult friendly hot busy

Yesterday, Jane Greenwood flew back to London from China. It was a very (1) ..long flight… - 20 hours – and she feels tired today.

She was on holiday in China. she stayed in an (2) ………………. Three hundred years ago an emperor built it. The only problem was that there was no (3) ………………. in the rooms so everybody had cold showers. She visited many (4) ………………., for example, The Great Wall of China. She ate some (5) ……………….. Her favourite was egg fried rice. She met a lot of very (6) ………………… Jane can’t speak Chinese so they spoke to her in English. She tried a few words in Chinese but people said it is a (7) ………………….. to learn.

A lot of things in China surprised her. For example, the (8) ……………………. There were hundreds and hundreds of bicycles on the roads all day and all night. There was never a quiet moment.

Jane wants to go back to China next year. She knows it is a (9) ……………….. and she only saw a small part of it.

4. Rewrite the sentences putting the adjectives into the correct place. Identify what kind of adjectives they are.

1. He was carrying a briefcase. (leather, nice, black, new) ..He was carrying a nice new black leather briefcase. (opinion/age/colour/material)…

2. He gave her a scarf. (silk, fantastic, French, red) ………………………………………….

3. I bought chairs from an antique shop. (American, three, oak, old) ………………………..

4. She is an actress. (English, intelligent, young, dramatic) ………………………………….

5. The table lamp was broken by the children. (metal, white, small) ………………………...

6. She bought a carpet. (expensive, Persian, antique, woollen) ………………………………

7. He crashed his car yesterday. (sports, brand new, yellow) ………………………………...

8. It was a dress. (hand-made, gorgeous, wedding, lace) …………………………………….

9. I saw a film on TV last night. (Italian, exciting, detective) ………………………………..

10. They live in a house. (big, lovely, country, old-fashioned, brick) …………………………

11. She is a salesperson. (young, computer, successful) ………………………………………

12. I bought a book. (old, poetry, Latin) ……………………………………………………….

13. We watched a programme. (short, English, interesting, educational) ……………………..

14. She bought a raincoat. (plastic, long, cheap) ………………………………………………

15. They found a trunk. (wooden, rectangular, antique, interesting) ………………………….

16. He bought a yacht. (Swedish, second-hand, huge) ………………………………………..

5. Underline the correct adjective.

1. She gave him a stone/stony look when he criticized her daughter.

2. These metal/metallic chairs are suitable for outdoor use as they are weatherproof.

3. The sky was full of light feather/feathery clouds.

4. She is admired for her gold/golden hair and metal/metallic blue eyes.

5. The old farmer had dark leather/leathery skin.

6. This new body milk gives you smooth, silk/silky skin in a matter of days.

7. She had a lead/leaden expression on her face.

8. The gold/golden candlesticks were very expensive so we bought some silver/silvery ones instead.

9. He wears woolly/woollen suits and expensive leather/leathery shoes.

10. She has a steel/steely manner towards her colleagues.

6. Put the adjectives in the correct order.

Dear Louisa,

We’ve nearly finished furnishing the cottage, and I must say I’m very pleased with it. Yesterday they delivered an (1) …antique French oak… (oak, antique, French) cupboard which Peter had bought as a surprise for me. It looks lovely in the (2) …………………. (upstairs, front, big) bedroom. We’ve put up (3) ………………………… (plain, linen, off-white) curtains and I found two (4) …………………….. (woollen, old, beautiful, flower-patterned) carpets for the sitting room. We’ve made friends with our (5) ……………………….. (new, charming, next-door) neighbours. He is a (6) ……………………… (well-known, fiction, popular) writer, and she is a garden designer. I’m hoping she’ll help us with our (7) ……………………. (old, overgrown, big) garden. There’s a (8) ………………………. (thirty-year old, beautiful, cherry) tree at the bottom of the garden and we’re planning to build a (9) ……………………. (stone, small, square) patio so we can sit outside in the summer. You must come over soon and enjoy a (10) ………………………… (home-made, delicious) meal in our new home.

Best wishes,

Natalie

A bit of theory

Adjectives describe nouns and are the same in singular and plural.

They are close friends. (What kind of friends? Close.)

They can be factual (small, round, yellow etc) or opinion (awful, ugly etc).

Note that after appear, be, become, get, feel, look, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste we use adjectives, not adverbs.

It tastes awful. (not: awfully)

Most common adjectives (long, late etc) do not have a particular ending.

However, there are certain common endings for adjectives which are formed from nouns and verbs.

These are:

-able	fashionable	-ent	persistent	-ical	mechanical			-like woman-like
-al	magical	-esque picturesque		-ious	rebellious			-ly deathly
-ant	hesitant	-ful	successful	-ish	stylish			-ory sensory
-ar	spectacular	-ian	Iranian	-ist	racist			-ous humorous
-ary	disciplinary	-ible	terrible	-ive	selective			-some bothersome
-ate	considerate	-ic	melodic	-less	faultless			-y sandy
-ial	artificial

The most common prefixes used with adjectives are:
a	- asexual		im	- immoral		pre	- prearranged
ab	- abnormal		in	- inactive		pro	- pro-war
anti	- antisocial		ir	- irresponsible	sub		- sub-zero
dis	- disinterested		mal	- maladjusted		super		- superhuman
hyper	- hyperactive		non	- non-existent		un		- unavailable
il	- illegible		over	- overweight		under		- understaffed

Compound adjectives are formed with:

1. present participles. A long-playing record, a fee-paying student

2. past participles. Cut-off jeans, undercooked meat, a rolled-up carpet

3. cardinal numbers + nouns. A three-year contract, a ten-minute journey, a two-week course

4. prefixes and suffixes. A modern-day costume, an open-ended discussion

5. well, badly, ill, poorly + past participle. A poorly-kept garden, a well-timed joke, a badly-furnished room

Present and past participles can be used as adjectives. The lecture was boring. We were exhausted.

1. Use the words in capitals to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.

The Benefits of Exercise

Working full-time can be a very (0) .... experience for most people; long hours and the pressure to be (1) .... in a (2) .... society both contribute to the build-up of anxiety. If you're feeling (3) …., there's no better way to relax than to exercise. However, many people return from work too (4) .... to move. People are criticised for being lazy and (5) ….., and for watching too much television which is not (6) .... to our health. Taking regular exercise can be both relaxing and (7) .... and people who feel healthy often also feel more (8) ….. You don't need to be especially (9) .... to take up a sport; simply choose one that is (10) .... to your character.

STRESS

SUCCESS

COMPETE

NERVE

EXHAUST

ACTIVE

BENEFIT

PLEASURE

CONFIDENCE

ENERGY

SUIT

0	stressful
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

2. Use the words m capitals to form a word that fits in the space in the same line

For an (0) .... holiday destination, few cities can compare to New York. From (1) .... Fifth Avenue to the run-down and (2) .... ghettos of the Bronx, New York is a city of (3) .... contrasts. However (4) .... it may seem, it is worthwhile wandering the streets on your own to get a feeling for the (5) .... areas of the city. Of course it is (6)… to use your common sense. You should be (7) ....when approached by strangers, and always keep in mind that violence is (8) .... and that acting (9) .... is the best protection against attack. Keeping this in mind, you can be assured of having a (10) .... time.

EXCITE

FASHION

FRIGHT

SPECTACLE

ALARM

CHARACTERISE

ADVISE

CAUTION

PREVAIL

AFRAID

MARVEL

0	exciting
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

3. Write the opposites of the following adjectives.

1 active	..inactive..	4 legible	……………..	7 available	……………..
2 existent	……………	5 religious	……………..	8 responsible	……………..
3 well-adjusted	……………	6 moral	……………..	9 respectful	……………..

4. Make compound adjectives to describe the following:

1. An award that is well deserved. ...a well-deserved award…

2. A product that lasts a long time.

3. A suit that isn't made well.

4. A story that never ends.

5. A meal that has three courses.

6 An employee who isn't paid well. ...............

7. A house that has two storeys.

8. An office that isn't organised well. .