Forming English adjectives

We can create adjectives from nouns, verbs or even other

adjectives by using suffixes (endings) and prefixes (letters
placed before the word).

Examples:
child → childish (noun + suffix)
inform → informative (verb + suffix)
possible → impossible (prefix + adjective)

Although there are many common prefixes and suffixes, there

are no fixed rules that tell us when to use which one. The
best way to learn is through repetition and practice – which is
why Lingolia offers plenty of online exercises to help you
master English adjectives.
Making adjectives with suffixes

Many adjectives are formed by adding suffixes (endings) to nouns and verbs.
Many suffixes only fulfil a grammatical role and simply indicate that the word is now
an adjective, but there are some suffixes that carry their own meaning:

•The suffix -less means without something, whereas the suffix -ful usually means to have something.
Example:

hopeful ≠ hopeless
•However, only few adjectives can be made into opposite pairs like this.
Examples:

Homeless but not: homeful

Beautiful but not: beautiless
•We can add the suffix -ish to nouns and adjectives to change their meaning to like something.
Examples:

Don’t be childish.= like a child

The jacket is a bluish colour.= like blue
•For some materials, we can add the suffix -en to create adjectives that mean made of.
Examples:

A wooden chair.
A woollen jumper.
•When added to a verb, the suffix -able creates adjectives that express ability.
Examples:

Is the water drinkable?= can you drink it?

Spelling rules

Usually, we just add the suffix to the end of the verb or noun.
Examples:
drink → drinkable
success → successful
However, sometimes we must add, remove or change letters before adding a suffix.
•We double the final consonant after a short stressed vowel.
Example:

sun → sunny
•A -y at the end of a word becomes -i.
Example:

beauty → beautiful
•We remove the final -e if the suffix begins with a vowel, but -ee, -oe and -ye stay the same.
Example:

fortune → fortunate
but: agree → agreeable
The table below shows a list of common suffixes we
can add to nouns to form adjectives
Country Adjectives
Adjectives that describe nationality are always written with capital letters.
•We usually form country adjectives by adding -n to the end of the word.

Example:
America → American
Russia → Russian
Australia → Australian
•But we can also use -ese, -i, -ian and -ish to build country adjectives.

Example:
Japan → Japanese
Iraq → Iraqi
Ukraine → Ukrainian