ADJECTIVES

Adjectives describe nouns. An adjective is a word that tells you more about a person, an animal or a thing.

Adjectives
In a sentence, we can place an adjective before a noun. Examples:
   

a pretty girl a large mansion a fierce tiger a romantic dinner

Fill in the blanks with suitable adjectives

a _______ boy a _______ girl a _______ car a _______ day an ______ book _______ kittens _______ students _______ questions

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences. Example: The teacher praised the clever student.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10.

The busy tailor worked all night. I bought an expensive dress for my graduation. The talented singer won the first prize in the national contest. The efficient secretary organised the annual meeting. Mother advised Susan to clean up her messy room. Vanessa enjoys studying at a private school. Her grandfather takes a slow walk in the quiet park every day. Mei Lings mother prepared glutinous rice for breakfast. When we arrived at sunny Langkawi, we checked into a comfortable hotel. The angry neighbour scolded the young children for plucking the ripe rambutans.

Adjectives


We can also put an adjective after a be verb and a linking verb

Examples:  Mother Teresa was kind.  The cakes are delicious.  The mechanic appeared tired.  The boss sounded angry.

Fill in the blanks with suitable adjectives. Use a different adjective for each sentence.
1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

The floor is clean. The janitor mops it every day. The soldiers were ______. They died for the nation. The elephants were _______. They damaged the crops. The clown looked _________. He wore big shoes and had a big red nose. The driver of the bus seemed ________. He did not smile. The pizza tasted ________. She did not finish it. Mary looked ________. She had lost her money. The villagers are ________. They help one another. He is ______. He does not have much money. The little girl felt _______. She blushed and ran home. The tailor was _______. He went to bed after midnight.

Underline the adjectives and circle the nouns they describe in the following passage. There are fourteen pairs.
Camels have large humps on their backs. They store precious fat in their humps and on days when food and water are scarce, they live off this fat. A well-fed camel often has a firm upright hump. After a long exhausting journey through the hot desert, the same camels hump becomes floppy and bends over to one side. The Bactrian camel has two lumps while the Arabian camel has only one hump. Camels have broad feet to stop themselves from sinking into the soft desert sand. They also have long eyelashes to keep the sand out of their eyes. Their flared nostrils, which can easily close up, keep sand out of their noses.

Opposite adjectives
Column A Sweet Bad Coarse Wrong Soft True Humble Bright Wide Dry Polite Column B Column A Natural Deep Easy Happy Heavy Innocent Loose Clean Quick Sharp Generous Column B

Nouns as adjectives


You can sometimes use nouns as adjectives to describe other nouns.

Examples:  He went to the university library.  The lorry driver was fined for speeding.  The souvenir shop sells T-shirts.
The words university, lorry and souvenir are nouns. However, they function as adjectives here because they describe the nouns library, driver and shop. But nouns used as adjectives are not written in the plural form, e.g: lorries drivers.

Underline the nouns that function as adjectives.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Syuria disappeared into the shoe shop. We visited the tea plantation in Cameron Highlands. Yaya prepared tuna sandwiches for the party. The groom slipped a gold ring on his brides finger. I will meet you at the train station after work. The old lady slept on the grass mat. The robber hid the money in the paper bag. Zamil bought a toy phone from the supermarket. Nazrul knows the clerk behind the reception counter. Taufik spends hours playing computer games.

Present participle & past participle forms of verbs used as adjectives



The ing / ed / en forms of verbs sometimes function as adjectives as they can be used to describe nouns. These adjectives are placed before the nouns. Study the table given below:
Verb excite injure freeze -ing / -ed / en form -ing (present participle) -ed (past participle) -en (past participle) Adjective exciting injured frozen

Examples:
   

The exciting game thrilled many spectators. (present participle as adjective) She used some cooking oil to fry the onions. (present participle as adjective) The doctor treated the injured man. (past participle as adjective) The children were afraid to enter the haunted house. (present participle as
adjective)

She bought some frozen mutton. (past participle as adjective)

Underline the correct present or past participle forms of verbs that function as adjectives.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9.

10.

The (cleaning / cleaned) lady comes to the office twice a week. The warden was asked to submit a (written / writing) report of the incident. The teacher returned the (correcting / corrected) essays to the students. His (touched / touching) story about his lost child moved us to tears. Dont forget to buy some (frying / fried) chicken from the supermarket. Terrys (spoken / speaking) French is definitely better than mine. You must watch A Beautiful Mind. It is such an (interested / interesting) movie. The principals (opening / opened) address was short and precise. Are my lectures so (boring / bored)? Why do you look so (boring / bored)? asked the professor. The long wait for the bus was very (annoying / annoyed).

Comparative Form of Adjectives

The comparative form of adjectives is used when one noun is compared to another noun. Comparative adjectives can be informed in two ways:


Adding er to an adjective (e.g. older, younger, taller) Adding more in front of an adjective (e.g. more expensive, more beautiful, more confident)

Comparative form of adjectives



Examples: Kathy attends the primary school. Sue attends the secondary school. Sue is older than Kathy. Linda bought her watch for RM60 while Mia bought hers for RM200. Mias watch is more expensive than Lindas.

Remember: -er and more are both forms of the comparative adjective. DO NOT USE THEM TOGETHER.
   

Incorrect: Her voice is more better than him. Correct : Her voice is better than him. Incorrect: Lizas watch is more cheaper than mine. Correct: Lizas watch is cheaper than mine.

Study the following table.

Adjectives small long short lazy dirty pretty difficult terrible useful interesting good bad far Comparatives smaller longer shorter lazier dirtier prettier more difficult more terrible more useful more interesting better worse farther/further Explanation Add er to one syllable adjectives

If an adjective end in y, change the y to ier More is used in front of adjectives that have two or more syllables and adjectives ending in ful, less, ing and ed Adjectives such as good, bad and far have irregular comparative forms.

For some adjectives, both the er and more forms of the comparative can be used. Examples:

Adjective silly polite clever shallow gentle narrow

-er sillier politer cleverer shallower gentler narrower

more more silly more polite more clever more shallow more gentle more narrow

Write the comparative form of each of the following adjectives in the space provided.
Adjective sharp bright quick quiet wet happy easy good careful sensible Comparative sharper Adjective expensive healthy long slow enjoyable bold pleasant convenient forgetful new Comparative

Activity
 

Construct a sentence by comparing between two nouns Use comparative adjectives to compare them.

Examples:  The moon is smaller than the Earth.  Mount Everest is higher than Mount Kinabalu.

Superlative form of adjectives

The superlative form of adjectives is used to compare three or more nouns. The superlative form of an adjective is formed in different ways.
 

Adding est to an adjective (e.g. longest, eldest, biggest) Adding most in front of an adjective (e.g. most intelligent, most loving, most expensive)

Examples:  Today is the happiest day of my life.  Aishwarya Rai is the most beautiful movie star in Bollywood.
Note: The definite article the is always used before the superlative form of the adjective.

Remember:  -est and most are both forms of superlative adjectives. DO NOT USE THEM TOGETHER. Incorrect: Lizas watch is the most cheapest. Correct: Lizas watch is the cheapest.

Study the following table.

Adjectives
Adjectives with one syllable sweet wise kind pretty silly funny wonderful boring crowded Irregular forms good bad far

Superlatives
Sheila is the sweetest girl in my class. King Zulu was the wisest king in the land. Ms Lily is the kindest teacher who has ever taught me. Kristin Kreuk is the prettiest actress in that movie. Ronnie is the silliest boy I have ever met. Mr Bean is the funniest person in the university. Living in a hostel was the most wonderful experience during my college days. That is the most boring storybook that I have ever read. The cafeteria is the most crowded place on campus during lunch time. Zarif is the best student in his class. This is the worst grade that I have ever got for an English test. Lily was standing in the farthest corner of the classroom.

Adjectives that end in -y

Adjectives with two or more syllables and adjectives ending in ful, less, ing, and ed

Fill in the blanks with the superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.
1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

9. 10.

In my opinion, Kuala Lumpur is the ___________ (exciting) city in Asia. Ranis Curry House serves the _________ (spicy) fish curry in town. Melaka is considered the ________ (interesting) historical city in this country. The trekker got lost in the _______ (thick) part of the jungle. Tom bought his bride ________ (expensive) ring that he could afford. Holly is the _____________ (amusing) person in her family. He is only a farmer but he is the ________ (generous) person I have ever met. Joey is very good with children. He is the _______ (good) teacher in the school. Exercising is the _______ (fast) way to lose weight. Mount Kinabalu is the _________ (high) mountain in Southeast Asia.

Activity


Construct a sentence by comparing three or more nouns. Use superlative form of adjectives.

Examples:  The sun is the hottest star in the universe.  Zarif is the cutest guy in BMD1D3.