CATEGORIES OF

ADJECTIVES
by Ann Antonova
 Pl a n
1. What are adjectives?
2. Categories of adjectives
3. Exercise
 What are adjectives?

An adjective modifies a noun or a

pronoun by describing, identifying, or
quantifying words. An adjective often
precedes the noun or the pronoun which
it modifies.
 Categories of adjectives

There are fifteen major categories of

meaning that are expressed with English
adjectives.
 Categories of adjectives
COLOR: SIZE: SHAPE: FEELINGS:

blue, red, green, big, huge, immense, round (a ball), circle happy, gald, beatific,
brown, yellow, black, enormous, mammoth, (a door knob), blissful, cheerful,
white, purple, pink, massive, vast, large, triangular, rectangular chirpy, content,
etc... wide, spacious, small, (a flag), square (a pleased, satisfied,
little, tiny, high, long, cake), oval (an egg), delighted, ecstatic ,
tall, low , short, same broad, curved, flat, exalted, elated, sad,
as, gigantic, teeny etc... bereft, blue, broken,
(weeny), petite, broken-hearted,
scrawny, etc... broody, bruised,
broody, careworn, etc.
 Categories of adjectives
QUALITIES AND WEATHER AND
CONDITION: QUANTITY:
APPEARANCE: TEMPERATURE:
good,excellent, important, principal, one, two, three, ... first, cold, warm, hot, cool,
brilliant ,splendid, paramount, famous, second, third, ... rainy, windy
fantastic, magnificent, notorious, fictitious, abundant, snowy,foggy, sunny,
bad, terrible, awsome, real, true, false, empty,heavy, light, cloudy, stormy, frozen,
awful, nice, beautiful, imaginary, alive, dead, numerous, substantial, etc...
pretty,gorgeous, cute, odd, weird, unsusual, significant,
glamorous, strange, outsanding, insignificant etc...
impossible,
improbable,easy,
difficult, closed, open,
etc...
 Categories of adjectives
NATIONALITY
TIME: MATERIAL: AGE:
AND ORIGIN:
late, early, punctual, American, Mexican, wooden, woolen, old, ancient, aged,
behindhand, delayed, ill- Moroccan,, African, cottony, fibrous, senile, elderly, ageless,
timed, premature, tardy, Martian, etc... metallic, bronze, etc... oldish, overage,
unearthly, modern, young, juvenile,
traditional, old-fashioned,
young, old, new, slow, adolescent, teenage,
swift,quick, rapid, brief, underage, youthful,
short, long, etc... etc...
 Categories of adjectives
PURPOSE: Taste/Touch: SOUND:

(These adjectives usually bitter, delicious, fresh, cooing, deafening,

end in /ing/) sleeping juicy, ripe, rotten, faint, harsh, high-
bag, frying pan, swinging salty, sour, spicy, stale, pitched, hissing,
door, time-saving gadget, sticky, sweet, tart, hushed, husky, loud,
driving licence, etc...
tasteless, tasty, thirsty, melodic, moaning,
fluttering,
fuzzy,greasy, grubby,
hard, hot, icy, loose,
melted, plastic,
prickly, rough,
 Exercise
1. I was walking along the _______________________street when I saw a crowd
not far from the ______________entrance of a building.

afraid dangerous
angry grey
beautiful large
busy sharp
curious stout

B u s y, b e a u t i f u l
 Exercise
2. I was _____________________to know why people were so nervous.

afraid dangerous
angry grey
beautiful large
busy sharp
curious stout

curious
 Exercise
3. I peeped over the __________ shoulders of a young man and I saw
a ________dog in front of the enormous building. 

afraid dangerous
angry grey
beautiful large
busy sharp
curious stout

large, dangerous
THANK YOU
FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!