Continue Learning about English Language Arts
Is serious an adjective?
The word serious, meaning «important» is an adjective.
Is odd an adjective?
The word odd, meaning «peculiar», is an adjective.
Is immediately an adjective?
The word immediate, meaning «at that given moment», is an
adjective.
Is bad an adjective?
The word bad, meaning «of poor quality», is an adjective.
Is separated an adjective?
The word separated can be used as an adjective, meaning
«detached», or as a verb, meaning «broken apart».
Describing someone or something is always a common characteristic of human beings. Being able to use the right adjectives to describe a particular person, animal, place or object is a skill. Sometimes, it so happens that you might require more than a plain adjective to describe it. It is in these scenarios that compound adjectives come to use. Learn all you need to know about compound adjectives and their usage in this article. Take a look at the different types of compound adjectives and the examples given below to have a fair idea of the same.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Compound Adjective?
- Definition of a Compound Adjective
- Types of Compound Adjectives with Examples
- List of Compound Adjectives Examples
- Difference between Compound Adjectives and Compound Nouns
- Test Your Understanding of Compound Adjectives
- Frequently Asked Questions on Compound Adjectives in English
What Is a Compound Adjective?
A compound adjective is a combination of two or more words which can perform the role of an adjective in a sentence. A compound adjective is formed by adding a noun, a present participle, or a past participle to the adjective. In some cases, the adjective is preceded by either of these and in other cases, the adjective is followed by either of them. Compound adjectives are mostly hyphenated.
Definition of a Compound Adjective
A compound adjective, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is “formed of two or more parts.” According to the Collins Dictionary, “in grammar, a compound noun, adjective, or verb is one that is made up of two or more words, for example fire engine, bottle-green, and force-feed.”
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “a compound word is two or more words linked together to produce a word with a new meaning.” So, any other part of speech that is combined with an adjective to mean something else and describe the subject or object in a sentence can be said to be a compound adjective.
Based on the different parts of speech or verb forms that are combined with an adjective to form compound adjectives, we can segregate them into various types. Take a look at the table given below to find out.
Word 1 | Word 2 | Compound Words | Examples |
White (Adjective) | Collar (Noun) | White-collar | Do you have a white-collar job? |
Eye (Noun) | Opening (Present Participle) | Eye-opening | The trek to the Himalayas happened to be an eye-opening experience for many reasons. |
Brand (Noun) | New (Adjective) | Brand-new | Joshua came to college today in his brand-new Audi car. |
Sun (Noun) | Dried (Past Participle) | Sun-dried | Sun-dried tomatoes seem to add a tangy taste to the dish that makes it even more delicious. |
Cruelty (Noun) | Free (Adjective) | Cruelty-free | All these cosmetics are cruelty-free and affordable. |
Ten (Number/Adjective) | Page (Noun) | Ten-page | The students of class VI were asked to write a ten-page assignment which would be considered for internal marks. |
Cold (Adjective) | Blooded (Past Participle) | Cold-blooded | Everyone would think you are too cold-blooded if you continue to behave so. |
Brightly (Adverb) | Lit (Past Participle) | Brightly-lit | The brightly-lit room definitely elevated the mood of the entire gathering. |
Man (Noun) | Eater (Noun) | Man-eater | The tiger that was killed was a man-eater. |
List of Compound Adjectives Examples
Here is a list of compound adjectives that you can make use to make your writing or speech specific and descriptive.
- Blue-collar
- Short-term
- White-washed
- Short-handed
- Ill-minded
- Ice-cold
- Grass-fed
- Home-bred
- East-facing
- Mouth-watering
- Overcooked
- Undercooked
- Deep-fried
- Seasick
- Well-known
- Tightly-wound
- Fifty-storey
- 100-page
- Last-minute
- Full-length
- Heavy-laden
- Short-lived
- Long-distance
- High-quality
- Quick-thinking
- Nail-biting
- Three-hour
- Record-breaking
- Time-saving
- Ready-made
- World-famous
- English-speaking
- Middle-aged
- Densely-populated
- Highly-qualified
- Long-forgotten
- Highly-respected
- Old-fashioned
- Smoke-free
- Waterproof
- Shatterproof
- Break-free
- Four-week
- Good-looking
Difference between Compound Adjectives and Compound Nouns
The main difference between a compound adjective and a compound noun is the kind of role they play when used in a sentence. A compound adjective behaves like an adjective that modifies the noun or pronoun in a sentence whereas, a compound noun behaves like a noun that does or receives the action in a sentence. A bedroom, a water tank, a washing machine, an air conditioner, a bird watcher, a skyscraper, etc. are compound nouns. On the other hand, ill-natured, kind-hearted, Malayalam-speaking, long-lasting, everlasting, densely-populated, old-fashioned, etc., are all examples of compound adjectives.
Test Your Understanding of Compound Adjectives
Identify the compound adjectives in the following sentences and find out the parts of speech which form the compound adjectives.
1. All my students are well-behaved.
2. The villain in that movie seemed to be a cold-blooded man.
3. Gokul works as a part-time trainer.
4. Each one of us were able to make it to the top of the 100-feet high mountain.
5. The three-legged, green-eyed monster in the movie looked really scary.
6. Since you are a diabetes patient, make sure you consume only sugar-free food.
7. Find out if the widely-known singer would be available to be our chief guest for the inter-state musical competition.
8. The marriage and reception were well-planned.
9. The movie about the life of nurses in the Middle East countries had a long-lasting effect on the audience.
10. The ten-hour long journey was worth it.
Let us check if you got your answers right.
1. All my students are well-behaved. (Adverb + Past Participle)
2. The villain in that movie seemed to be a cold-blooded man. (Adjective + Past Participle)
3. Gokul works as a part-time trainer. (Adjective + Noun)
4. Each one of us were able to make it to the top of the 100-feet high mountain. (Adjective + Noun)
5. The three-legged green-eyed monster in the movie looked really scary.Adjective + Past Participle, Adjective + Past Participle)
6. Since you are a diabetes patient, make sure you consume only sugar-free food. (Noun + Adjective)
7. Find out if the widely-known singer would be available to be our chief guest for the inter-state musical competition. (Adverb + Past Participle)
8. The marriage and reception were well-planned. (Adverb + Past Participle)
9. The movie about the life of nurses in the Middle East countries had a long-lasting effect on the audience. (Adjective + Present Participle)
10. The ten-hour long journey was worth it. (Adjective + Noun)
Frequently Asked Questions on Compound Adjectives in English
Q1
What is a compound adjective?
A compound adjective is a combination of two or more words which can perform the role of an adjective in a sentence. A compound adjective is formed by adding a noun, a present participle, or a past participle to the adjective. In some cases, the adjective is preceded by either of these and in other cases, the adjective is followed by either of them. Compound adjectives are mostly hyphenated.
Q2
What is the definition of a compound adjective?
A compound adjective, according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, is “formed of two or more parts.” According to the Collins Dictionary, “in grammar, a compound noun, adjective, or verb is one that is made up of two or more words, for example fire engine, bottle-green, and force-feed.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “a compound word is two or more words linked together to produce a word with a new meaning.” So, any other part of speech that is combined with an adjective to mean something else and describe the subject or object in a sentence can be said to be a compound adjective.
Q3
What are the types of compound adjectives?
Compound adjectives can be categorized into different types based on their combinations. With respect to this, there are compound adjectives which are formed as a result of combining:
- A Noun and a Noun
- A Noun and an Adjective
- A Noun and a Present Participle
- A Noun and a Past Participle
- An Adjective and a Noun
- An Adjective and a Past Participle
- An Adverb and a Past Participle
- A Number and a Noun
Q4
Give some examples of compound adjectives.
Ill-natured, kind-hearted, Malayalam-speaking, long-lasting, everlasting, densely-populated, old-fashioned, etc. are some examples of compound adjectives.
Adjectives in English. Comparison of adjectives
:
An adjective is a part of speech that denotes a feature of an object and answers the question:
What? (Which?)
RED — red, good — good, interesting — interesting, russian — Russian.
Unlike the Russian language, adjectives in English do not undergo any changes, either by gender or by numbers. Compare:
a good actor — good actor;
a good actress — a good actress;
a large tree — a big tree;
large trees — large trees.
Methods of forming adjectives in English
By the way of education, adjectives in English can be simple (Simple) derivatives (Derivative) and compound (compound).
Simple Adjectives
In simple adjectives, we do not emphasize the prefix, root and suffix:
RED, shorts, good, large, black, little
Derivative Adjectives
In derived adjectives, we distinguish their separate parts — prefix, root and suffix:
Beautiful, useless, wooden
unkind, impolite, untrue
The most common living adjective suffixes are as follows:
Suffix -full, which forms an adjective from a noun and denotes the presence of a quality:
use — useful
hope — hopefully
help — Helpful
Suffix -lessforming an adjective from a noun and denoting a lack of quality:
use — useless
hope — hopeless
help — helpless
Suffix -able, which forms an adjective from a verb and denotes the ability to perform an action or obey it:
change — changeable
comfort — comfortable
breakdance move — moveable
Suffix -y, forming an adjective from a noun and denoting a quality or similarity to this quality:
heart — hearty
sun — sunny
luck — lucky
Suffix -ish, forming another adjective from the adjective, denoting an incomplete degree of this quality (corresponds to the Russian suffix -vat):
RED — reddish
brown — brownish
sweet — sweetish
Less productive, but still very common are the following suffixes
Suffix -most (denoting quality):
wood — wooden
gold — golden
wool — woolen
Suffix -ward (indicating direction):
east — eastward
west — westward
home — homeward
The most common prefixes are prefixes un-, in-forming adjectives of negative meaning:
true — untrue
productively — unproductive
wise — unwisely
correct — incorrect
Sincere — insincere
Compound Adjectives
There is a large group of compound adjectives in English. A compound adjective is usually formed from two words, of which the second is necessarily an adjective and bears the main stress, and the first word can be a noun, adverb, or adjective:
pitch — var, tar; dark — dark; pitch dark — dark as pitch
iron — iron; grey — Gray; iron-gray — iron gray
sky — sky; Blue — blue; sky blue — sky blue
over — over, through; polite — polite; over-polite — overly polite
dark — dark; Blue — blue; dark blue — blue
Compound adjectives include those that are formed from an adjective + noun + suffix -ed:
dark-faced — dark-faced; blue-eyed — blue-eyed; long-tailed — long-tailed
(Separated as adjectives faced, eyed, tailed are not used, as well as the Russian parts of words face, eye, tail.)
Syntactic functions of adjectives
- Definition (precedes the singular and plural noun)We have a good club.We have a good club. They are good swimmers.They are good swimmers.
- Nominal part of the predicate (follows the linking verb, can be separated by an adverb)She is busy today.She’s busy today. He is not very busy.He’s not very busy.
- Substantiated adjectives can act as a subject (used with the definite article), the nominal part of the predicate and the object
Source: https://am-en.ru/adjective.html
10 ways to tell an adjective from an adverb in English
An adjective is easy to recognize in a sentence by how it affects the noun, changing its properties. For example:
«He bought a shirt.» The word shirt is a noun, but it is not clear what kind of shirt it is. All we know is that someone bought a shirt.
«He bought a beautiful shirt.» In this example, the adjective beautiful appears, which changes the noun shirt, which makes it clear which shirt the person bought.
It is not difficult to recognize an adjective in a sentence — it, as a rule, answers the questions “Which one?”, “Which one?”, “Which one?”.
For example:
“The kind woman gave us a tasty cake.” What woman? Kind (kind). What kind of cake? Tasty
«The small boy is playing with a new toy.» The adjectives small (small) and new (new) tell us which boy and what kind of toy we are talking about.
So, the main thing to remember is the questions that the adjective answers in English:
- What is it?
- Which the?
- Which one?
Adverb
If adjectives affect nouns, changing their properties, then the adverb affects verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. You can easily find an adverb in a sentence with the -ly suffix, because most adverbs in English are formed just by adding it to an adjective. It is important to remember that the adverb answers the question «how?» or «how much?» Let’s look at some examples:
«The pair danced gracefully.» (The couple danced gracefully.) The adverb gracefully influences the verb to dance, making it clear exactly how the couple danced.
«That man is very strong.» (That man is very strong.) In this sentence, the adverb very affects the adjective strong and shows how and how strong the man is. Let’s check by asking the question “how much?”: “How strong is he? He is very strong. » (How strong is he? He is very strong.)
«It was an extremely important meeting.» (This was an extremely important meeting.) The adverb extremely changes the adjective important. We ask the question “how much”: “How important was it? Extremely important. » (How important was it? Extremely important.) It is now clear that the meeting was extremely important.
«She smiled amazingly.» (She smiled an amazing smile.) Here the adverb amazingly affects the verb smile, and tells us how the girl smiled.
So, remember the main rule — the adverb most often answers the question «how?» At the same time, it can also answer the questions «when?», «Where?» and why?».
Additional rules
In English, adjectives usually precede the nouns they refer to. However, if the sentence contains one of the following verbs, the adjective will appear after its noun.
- to be
- to feel
- great taste
- to smell
- to sound
- to look
- to appear
- to seem
Consider the following examples:
«The sky is blue.» (The sky is blue.) The adjective blue refers to the noun sky, but follows the verb is in the sentence, which is the form of the verb be.
«Diana looks happy.» (Diana looks happy.) The adjective happy also follows the noun Diana.
«The music sounds loud.» (Music sounds loud.) The adjective loud follows the noun music in the sentence.
«The juice smells great.» (The juice smells great.) Again, we see the noun juice first, followed by the dependent adjective great.
Avoiding common mistakes
There are adjectives and adverbs in English that are difficult to distinguish by spelling. It is even more difficult to understand the difference in their use. Let’s clarify these situations.
1. Is the adjective bad or the adverb badly?
When you want to talk about your feelings or feelings, you should use the adjective bad. So when you feel bad or unwell, you say “I feel bad”. However, if you say “I feel badly,” it means that you feel dull, as if your hands are numb. Compare these examples:
«The horse smells badly.» Here the adverb badly means that the horse has a bad scent, a poor ability to smell in principle.
«The cat smells bad.» Thanks to the adjective bad, the sentence is no longer about scent, but about the fact that the cat is dirty, smells bad and needs bathing.
Note: In English there is also an expression “I feel badly”. It is used when you need to apologize, express regret. Imagine visiting a friend and accidentally breaking his favorite vase. Then you say, “I feel really badly about the vase”.
2. Is the adjective good or the adverb well?
It is easy to remember a simple rule that works in the grammar of the English language — the adjective good should be used with the following verbs denoting feelings and states: feel, look, smell, be. While the adverb well combines with live, do. Compare:
«I do well.» Use the adverb well to say that you are doing well and that you are doing well.
«My grandmother looks good.» The adjective good says that the grandmother looks good, not that the grandmother has good eyesight.
«My cat smells pretty good now.» Again, the adjective good does not mean that the cat has a good scent, but that the cat itself smells good, like after bathing.
Note: In English colloquial speech with verbs of feelings and states, it is allowed to use the adverb well in expressions such as “I feel well”. This is due to the fact that many people confuse the adjective good and the adverb well in conversation. However, when talking about action verbs, you should only use the adverb well. For example:
«He plays football well.» (He plays football well.)
«The whole class did well on the exam.» (The whole class did well on the exam.)
3. Adjective sure or adverb surely?
Source: https://skyeng.ru/articles/10-sposobov-otlichit-prilagatelnoe-ot-narechiya-v-anglijskom
English adjectives
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An adjective is a part of speech that denotes a feature of an object and answers the questions «what?», «Whose?» We use an adjective in conjunction with a noun to indicate a sign or property of the latter. Thanks to adjectives, our speech becomes varied and emotionally rich.
Unlike adjectives in the Russian language, adjectives in English do not change either by gender, or by case, or by number. We are very lucky — we will have to memorize less. You just take an adjective and put any noun after it.
- clever boy — smartth boy;
- clever girl — smartth girlsа;
- clever children — smarts detи.
In a sentence, the adjective usually comes before the noun. If there are two or more adjectives, then you need to use them in a certain order. The first will be the adjectives denoting the speaker’s attitude to the subject: beautiful (beautiful), ugly (ugly), expensive (expensive). The second are adjectives describing the parameters of the subject: blue (blue), old (old), big (big).
He has got an expensive red car. — He has an expensive red car.
Types of adjectives
Linguists distinguish between 3 types of adjectives: simple, derivative, and complex adjectives.
- Simple adjectives in English have no prefixes or suffixes.
- small — small;
- big — big;
- nice — cute.
- Derived adjectives contain prefixes and suffixes.
- unhappy — unhappy;
- natureal — natural;
- useful — useful.
- -able: suitable
- -ible: responsible
- -al: central
- -ent: intelligent (smart);
- -ary: elementary
- -ful: careful (attentive);
- -ic: heroic (heroic);
- -ive: aggressive (aggressive);
- -less: useless
- -ous: ambitious
- -y: snowy (snowy).
- un-: unequal (unequal);
- in-: incorrect.
- im-: impolite (impolite).
- Compound adjectives are two-word adjectives.
- snow-white — snow white;
- red-cheeked — red-cheeked.
In English, there is a list of suffixes with which adjectives are formed. If you know these suffixes, then in any text you can easily find an adjective and understand from which word it was formed. A very useful skill if you are reading a text in English that contains a lot of unfamiliar words.
Having disassembled the unfamiliar word «piece by piece», you can guess its meaning. For example, you know the word use means «to use». And in the text you come across an unfamiliar word useful, which consists of two parts: use + ful = «full of usefulness» or «useful».
Here is a list of the most common adjectives:
The most common prefixes:
Use of adjectives
If there is no noun after the adjective, then we do not use the article.
My sister is Beautiful… — My sister is beautiful. BUT
I have beautiful sister… — I have a beautiful sister.
Sometimes we need to use an adjective as a noun: “rich cry too. » The word «rich» answers the question «which?» and is an adjective, however we use it as a noun. And in English, we can also make nouns from adjectives. To do this, we need to add the article the before the adjective, and we get the word in the plural.
The rich also cry. — The rich also cry.
All the doctors examined the sick… — All the doctors examined the patients.
Adjectives in English are one of the easiest grammar topics. In fact, you only need to know the adjective itself, its place in the sentence and the principles of the formation of degrees of comparison. By the way, you can read about this in our article «Degrees of Comparison of Adjectives in English».
I suggest you take a test in which you need to find adjectives in the text:
The test is not available for mobile devices.
Source: https://engblog.ru/adjectives
7 facts you need to know about English adjectives
An adjective or adjective [‘æʤɪktɪv] is a part of speech that performs a descriptive function, describing a noun. Without adjectives, our speech would be much more boring, because it is the adjectives that reflect our emotions and attitudes towards the subject, and characterize the subject.
English textbooks are full of theory, you can familiarize yourself with it there, and in this article — only facts about adjectives in English, which you will not hurt to know in order to delve into the peculiarities of their use.
FACT 1. Adjectives don’t change
We are lucky: in English, adjectives do not change in case, gender and number. Most adjectives in English have degrees of comparison (big-bigger-the biggest) and that’s the only change that can happen to an adjective. So don’t try to «match» an adjective with a noun, such as plural.
FACT 2. Adjectives can answer different questions
In English, adjectives answer the following questions:
Whatkind? — Which? (What type?)
What kind of books do you? — What books do you like?
What kind of person is he? — What kind of person is he? / What kind of person is he?
What is? — What? / What does it look like? (This question may be translated differently depending on the context)
What is your house? — What is your house?
What does she look? — How she looks like?
What color? — What colour?
What color is your coat? — What color is your coat?
What color car do you want to buy? — What color car do you want to buy?
Adjectives can also answer other questions, depending on the context, and the characteristics they convey vary greatly. This allows adjectives to be broken down into several types. For example, qualitative and relative adjectives.
FACT 3. An adjective can come before and after a noun
Usually in an English sentence, an adjective comes before a noun in a sentence (a new car, a big house, clever students), but it can come after a verb to be, as well as the verbs of perception: seem, appear, look, feel, smell, sound, taste:
The weather is fine. — The weather is good. This cake tastes delicious. — This cake is delicious. This song sounds familiar to me. — This song is familiar to me. He seemed worried yesterday. “He seemed worried yesterday. This dish smells awful. — This dish smells awful.
I feel bad today. — I feel bad today.
In Russian, we sometimes use adverbs after the verbs of perception (smell good, feel bad), in English adjectives should be used. Read more about it in the material Adverb or adjective: how to distinguish?
FACT 4. Not all adjectives have degrees of comparison
For some reason, it is generally accepted that all adjectives have degrees of comparison. In fact, very many adjectives in the English language do not have degrees of comparison, because the sign that they express cannot be manifested to a greater or lesser extent.
Depending on this, adjectives can be conditionally divided into those that have degrees of comparison (gradable) and those that cannot be compared (non-gradable). Read more about these two categories of adjectives in dedicated article.
FACT 5. Some English adjectives have no Russian equivalents
In English, there are a number of adjectives that are translated into Russian not as adjectives, but as verbs, nouns, or even expressions with adverbs. Among them:
sleeping — sleeping:
The baby is asleep. — The child is sleeping.
lucky — the one who is lucky, lucky:
You won the lottery, you are lucky! — You’re in luck, you won the lottery.
unlucky — the one who is unlucky, the loser:
He is so unlucky, he lost his passport and his wallet. — He was so unlucky, he lost his passport and wallet.
hot — the one who is hot:
Can you open the window? I am so hot! — Can you open the window? I’m so hot!
cold — the one who is cold:
I was cold, so I wore a scarf. — I was cold, so I put on a scarf.
Afraid — the one who is afraid of something:
I am afraid of spiders. — I’m afraid of spiders.
thirsty — the one who is thirsty:
If you are thirsty, I will bring you some water. — If you are thirsty, I will bring you some water.
As you can see from the examples, it is not always possible to translate an adjective in the same way as you used to speak in Russian. Such adjectives are usually used after verbs. to be (to be), seem (seem), cool (to look like).
FACT 6. Adjectives are combined with prepositions.
There are a number of set expressions adjective + prepositionwhich you have to remember, since there is no separate rule for such combinations. For example, the adjective afraid is combined with the preposition of, and the adjective interested with the preposition in:
She is afraid of darkness. — She’s afraid of the dark.
I am interested in theater. — I’m interested in theater.
Other commonly used stable combinations include:
good at, bad at, responsible for, capable of, keen on and many others. Do not forget to pay attention to them, write them down and memorize them.
FACT 7. Adjectives are placed before a noun in a specific order
And one more difficulty that concerns English adjectives is orderin which adjectives come before a noun. They cannot be arranged as you want, but there is a certain scheme prescribing in what order the adjectives should appear before the noun. You will learn about it in the article The order of adjectives before a noun.
Source: https://enginform.com/article/english-adjectives
Formation of adjectives in English
The formation of adjectives in English is a rather important and interesting topic. Of course, you can speak English at a fairly high level without going into such details, but such information will not be superfluous.
As in Russian, English adjectives can be derived from other parts of speech. These are usually verbs and nouns. Adjectives are formed using suffixes and prefixes. So, first things first.
Formation of English adjectives using prefixes
Prefixes, or prefixes, are added at the beginning of a word and change its meaning. Usually they change the meaning of the adjective to the opposite, negative. A few examples:
- un— (unlucky)
- in— (invisible)
- dis— (discontent)
- il— (illegal)
- ir— (irrational)
- im— (immovable)
There are several prefixes that change the meaning of a word, but without a negative meaning:
- pre— (pre-emptive)
- hyper— (hypertensive, hyperactive)
Formation of English adjectives using suffixes
There are a lot of varieties of English adjectives formed in the suffix way. As an example, there is a picture with the main suffixes, as well as a few examples of words.
- ful (wonderful, graceful)
- less (pointless, careless)
- able (vulnerable, tolerable)
- ible (terrible, permissible)
- ant (pleasant, hesitant)
- ent (different, patient)
- ic (scientific, iconic)
- ive (active, impressive)
- y (angry, dirty)
- ing (interesting, worrying)
- ed (confused, excited)
- al (general, typical)
- (i) an (Victorian, American)
- You reprise the theme of the (gorgeous, famous)
- ish (childish, Irish)
There is also a classification of English adjectives according to the parts of speech from which they are derived. Adjectives can be formed from nouns, verbs, as well as from other adjectives using various suffixes and prefixes, examples of which have already been considered. The very form of the word may also change. For example, the adjective long is formed from the noun length with a change at the root of the word.
Source: https://english-bird.ru/forming-adjectives/
Grammar Teaching Materials By Degrees Of Comparison Of Adjectives In English
Grammar Teaching Materials By Degrees Of Comparison Of Adjectives In English
SINGLE ADJUSTMENT
The comparative degree of monosyllabic adjectives, or adjectives that consist of one syllable, is formed by adding the suffix -ER
EXAMPLES
green — greener green — greener
small — smaller small — smaller
RULE 2
The superlative degree of monosyllabic adjectives, or adjectives that consist of one syllable, is formed by adding the suffix -EST; the definite article THE appears before the adjective
RULE 3
For adjectives ending in –E –R or –ST is added to form comparative degrees.
RULE 4
In monosyllabic adjectives that consist of consonant-vowel-consonant letters
(big, hot, red) the final consonant is doubled in the formation of a comparative or superlative degree.
RULE 1
The comparative degree of polysyllabic adjectives, or adjectives that consist of more than one syllable, is formed by adding the service word MORE (placed before the adjective).
EXAMPLES
interesting- MORE interesting Interesting- more interesting
beautiful — MOREbeautiful Beautiful is more beautiful
EXCEPTIONS
Incorrect formation of degrees of adjectives is presented in the table. They need to be learned by heart.
Source: https://helloskype.ru/rules/grammar/uchebnye-materialy/
Correct adjective order in English: rules and examples
In English, it is considered normal to use more than one adjective before a noun.
For example, “My parents live in a nice new house «or» In the kitchen there is a beautiful large round wooden table «.
Many English learners find it difficult to get adjectives in the correct order, especially if there are more than two of them.
Today I propose to understand and finally remember what is the correct order of using adjectives in English.
Types of adjectives: objective and subjective
Of course, English is the language of exceptions and all kinds of amendments. But, nevertheless, it still has a certain usual algorithm, according to which all English adjectives have their place in a phrase with a noun.
I would like to note that adjectives can be divided into two large groups — actual (objective — fact adjectives) and adjectives expressing the personal opinion of someone (subjective — opinion adjectives).
The first group provides real-life information about something, that is, something that you cannot argue with. It can be size, color, age, etc.
But the second group of adjectives is responsible for how someone perceives a particular object (person, phenomenon) and what assessment it gives.
Adjectives are usually placed before a noun in the following order
1. Subjective (appraisal) — at expensive antique table; a delicious spicy soup;
2. Objective (actual): description of physical properties
- a big English sheepdog
- handsome tall young man
- the large round backgammon
- my beautiful new wardrobe
- the small RED bag
When in a sentence there are two or more adjectives for a color, we must use the conjunction and:
- a black and blue dress
- yellow, white andgreen socks
There are also some established conventions in the order of color adjectives, such as black and white, (NOT white and black); red, white and blue.
3. Objective (actual): origin — an old Ukrainian song; the latest British film.
4. Objective (actual): material is a large wooden desk; an expensive oval antique silver mirror.
5. Objective (actual): definitions — a beautiful old Italian touring car; several young Americans baseball players.
In principle, the order of adjectives in English may differ slightly, but I suggested you the one that is usually used.
These categories are offered as a guide. They are not set in stone.
You can check how you learned the material here:
Adjective Order Quiz Order of Adjective Test Natural Order of Adjectvies Quiz
Source: https://preply.com/blog/2014/02/18/pravilnyj-poryadok-prilagatelnyh-v-anglijskom-yazyke-pravila-i-primery/
The structure of English adjectives
By their structure, English adjectives are divided into simple, derivative and complex.
Simple adjectives do not include suffixes and prefixes:
green — green
left — left
happy — happy
As part of derivative adjectives there is a suffix and / or a prefix:
helpful — useful
international — international
unreasonable — unreasonable
The following suffixes are typical for English adjectives:
-able: adorable — adorable
-to the: epochal — epochal
-ant: pursuant — appropriate
-and: documentary — documentary
-ed: barbed — sharp
-most: silken — silk
-full: colorful — colorful
-ible: accessible — accessible
-ic: optimistic — optimistic
-ish: Scottish — Scottish
-ive: creative — creative
-ive: innovative — innovative
-less: lifeless — lifeless
—: life — like living
-glass: yearly — yearly
-ous: courageous — fearless
-y: funny — funny
And the following prefixes:
un-: unguarded — unprotected
in-: incomplete — incomplete
he-: illegal — illegal
im-: immoral — immoral
Compound adjectives consist of two or more bases:
red-hot — hot, horny
color-blind — color blind
snow-white — snow white
Types of adjectives in English
By meaning, English adjectives are divided into two types — qualitative and relative.
Qualitative adjectives denote the quality of the object directly:
soft — soft
dark — dark
long — long
Unlike relative ones, they can be expressed to a greater or lesser degree and therefore have degrees of comparison (softer-softest, darker-darkest, longer-longest). Qualitative adjectives can often form a corresponding abstract noun:
softness — softness
darkness — darkness
Relative adjectives describe the qualities of an object through its relation to:
wooden — wooden
leathern — leather
Eastern — eastern
Swedish — Swedish
daily — daily
monthly — monthly
heavenly — divine
motherly — maternal
Relative adjectives have no degrees of comparison.
Sometimes relative adjectives can play the role of quality (iron will — iron will) and vice versa.
English adjectives in detail:
Source: https://www.native-english.ru/grammar/english-adjectives
Adjectives in English: Comparisons, Exercises
As in any other language, in English an adjective describes a noun, that is, it answers the questions «which?», «Which?», «Whose?»
Kingsley Manor is a luxurious residence, located in the picturesque Kent countryside.
Kingsley The Manor is a luxurious residence located in the picturesque suburb of Kent.
The Beautiful gardens and stylish interior make it a highly desirable home for a wealthy person.
Beautiful gardens and stylish interiors make it a desirable home for wealthy people.
Order of adjectives in a sentence
If there are several adjectives in front of a noun, then they should be placed in the following order:
- Opinion
- Size (Size)
- Age
- Shape
- Color
- Origin
- Material
- Purpose (Used for / be about)
- Noun (Noun)
It is a nice small old square white Italian wooden dinner table.
For example:
This is a huge round metal bowl.It is a large, round metal bowl.
he is a silly young English it. He’s a stupid young Englishman.
Comparative and superlative adjectives in English always come before other adjectives.
For example:
Polotsk is one of the Belarusian oldest towns.
Polotsk is one of the oldest Belarusian cities.
It is the most fashionable Italian suit.
This is the most fashionable Italian dress.
Comparative and superlative degrees of adjectives in English
Source: https://www.enlineschool.com/grammar/adjectives/
Types of adjectives in English
There are two main groups of adjectives in English: qualitative and relative.
Qualitative adjectives indicate a specific property or give an assessment to the subject:
- a loud laugh — a loud laugh,
- a warm weather — warm weather,
- a clean air — clean air.
Words of this group can form degrees of comparison of adjectives and be combined with adverbs «more», «less», etc.
It is very simple to determine whether a word belongs to this group: qualitative adjectives indicate a sign that can be expressed to a greater or lesser extent: the weather may be warmer than yesterday, the air in the city is less clean than in nature.
At the same time, one table cannot be more wooden than another, and one person is slightly less English than another. In such cases, we are talking about relative adjectives.
This group of words indicates those qualities that cannot be expressed to a greater or lesser extent. As a rule, we are talking here about the materials from which certain objects are made, and about the belonging of a person or object to any state or nationality:
- leather jacket,
- a marble statue,
- an English person,
- a Chinese product.
There is another way to classify adjectives in English. According to the structure, the words of this part of speech are divided into:
Simple adjectives | Derived adjectives | Compound adjectives |
Simple ones include those that do not have prefixes or suffixes in their composition and do not come from words of other parts of speech | Derived adjectives are formed from other words using derivational affixes | Compound adjectives in their structure contain two independent words, which together form a new |
red, good, old | nature — natural, wood — wooden, different — indifferent. | red and hot together form red-hot — red-hot, very hot. |
Features of the use of adjectives in English
Each person in the process of speaking is faced with a situation when it is necessary to use several adjectives in a row. For example, say that your favorite chair is comfortable, dark green and made of wood. For this case, there is a special rule in English about word order.
First of all, you should use those adjectives that express your subjective assessment or opinion. In this case, it is «comfortable» — comfortable.
What follows is words that describe factual information about the item. Their order is as follows:
Size — age — color — shape — place of origin — material
Thus, the description from our example will look like this: my comfortable dark-green wooden armchair.
English adjectives — the most important means of giving speech a huge number of shades and emotionality. Neglecting to study them, many mistakenly believe that English is poorer than their native language and does not allow for the same vivid expression of a wide range of impressions.
Indeed, describing our emotions from visiting an ancient castle, we say: beautiful, exquisite, incredible, impressive, stunning, amazing.But when learning English, we often limit ourselves to one beautiful, when we can say: fine, excellent, gorgeous, exquisite, adorable, wonderful, amazing , impressive, stunning
Pay due attention to this important part of speech, and adjectives will help you to make your speech more natural, lively and emotional.
Source: https://doubleyoustudio.org/articles-english/adjectives-in-english/
Definition:
An adjective is a part of speech that denotes a feature of an object and answers the question what? What?
Example: beautiful is beautiful, blue is blue, unpredictable is unpredictable.
Formation of English adjectives:
Like a noun in English, adjectives can be divided into groups:
Read the article «Noun in English»
1) Simple (simple) — adjectives that have no prefixes or suffixes.
Example: long- long, tall- tall, red- red
2) Derived — adjectives that have prefixes and suffixes, or both a prefix and a suffix
Example: wonderful- wonderful, invisible- invisible, unusual- unusual
3) Compound — adjectives that are formed from two words
Example: black-white- black-and-white, cold-hearted- heartless, well-known- known
Derived adjectives can be formed in several ways:
a) Suffix education. Adjective suffixes include:
— able –unpredictable- unpredictable
— ful — beautiful — beautiful
— al — criminal — criminal
— ed — smoked — smoked
— ary — documentary — documentary
— en- wooden- wooden
— ic- optimistic — optimistic
— ive- intensive- intensive
— less- hopeless- hopeless (suffix -less denotes lack of something)
— — woman — feminine
— most- uttermost — most remote
— ly- lonely- lonely
— ous- humorous — humorous
— some- troublesome- restless
— y- doggy- doggy, stylish, fashionable
— id — morbid — painful
— ish- reddish- reddish
— fold- threefold — triple
— que- picturesque- picturesque
— ory- observatory — observant
b) Prefix method. Almost all prefixes that are added to adjectives have a negative meaning:
— un- uncomfortable- uncomfortable
— dis- dishonest- dishonest
— im- impractical- impractical
— ir- irregular- irregular
— il- illegal- illegal
— in — inhuman- inhuman, ruthless
There are also prefixes that do not have a negative meaning:
— pre- pre-arranged — scheduled
— hyper- hyperactive — hyperactive
Word order: adjective plus noun
Read the article «Word order in English»
Sometimes we use two or more adjectives together. For example:
There is a small, brown, round table in the room — there is a small, brown, round table in the room.
In this sentence, the English adjectives small, brown, round are actual adjectives that give objective information about the size, color, shape of an object.
The word order is as follows:
Example: The big, old, round, brown, German, wooden wardrobe.
Comparison of adjectives in English
English adjective has three forms of degree of comparison:
Source: http://enjoyeng.ru/grammatika/prilagatelnyie-v-angliyskom-yazyike-the-adjective
Basic facts about English adjectives
In this category, we will consider the simplest rules and information that characterize an adjective in English.
Let’s start with what is known even to a child: this part of speech indicates either the belonging of the object or its properties, that is, it is the answer to the question of which, which, whose. Unlike their Russian counterparts, adjectives in English behave much more modestly and practically never change, i.e. do not receive additional endings when changing the number, case, gender; do not have short forms.
- I have a red jacket — I have a red jacket.
- We live in this red house — We live in this red house.
One of two syntactic roles can play in a sentence. Words that act as evaluative definitions stand directly in front of the object they define, and expressions that fall into a compound predicate complete the phrase.
- My father bought a blue car — My father bought a blue car. (definition)
- The car is beautiful — This car is beautiful. (compound nominal predicate)
According to its composition, this part of speech is divided into simple (monosyllabic) and long words (polysyllabic), containing two or more syllables. The latter are called derivatives, according to the method of their formation: the addition of suffixes or prefixes.
Often in this way negative forms of positive definitions are obtained. Separately, it is worth highlighting complex adjectives in the English language, formed by merging two simple stems.
As a rule, such compound definitions are written with a hyphen.
- She cooked a big cake — She cooked a big cake. (simple)
- My parents gave me useful advice — My parents gave me useful advice. (derivative)
- There was a well-preserved cupboard in that flat — There was a well-preserved cupboard in that flat. (difficult)
The method of education of a comparative and superlative degree depends on this classification. This is the only possible transformation for an adjective in which the ending of a word changes. Simple English definitions have the endings –er, -est added. In more complex forms, the words more and most must be used.
- brave boy ⟶ braver boy ⟶ the bravest boy — the brave boy ⟶ the braver boy ⟶ the bravest boy
- practical thing ⟶ more practical thing ⟶ most practical thing ⟶ more practical thing ⟶ most practical thing
There are also so-called wrong words that do not build degrees according to general rules. They are listed separately.
These basic points will suffice when using adjectives in the simplest phrases and expressions. Next, we will study the most popular English words in this category and examples of their translation.
Popular adjectives in English
It is impossible to learn in one sitting all the possible ways of expressing characteristics and qualities. Therefore, we propose to start from scratch and consider a small list of English adjectives that are used in almost every conversation.
These expressions will also come in handy when conducting a foreign language lesson for children, since they are the basis of knowledge and do not present any difficulty in learning.
The table contains hundreds of descriptive definitions, categorized into generalized categories and recorded with transcription * and translation into Russian.
Top 100 Simple Level Adjectives | ||||
Category | Word examples | |||
Topantonyms | good [ɡʊd] | good | bad [baed] | bad |
new [njuː] | new | old [əʊld] | old | |
open [əʊpən] | open | closed [kləʊzd] | закрытый | |
tailored [sɪmpl] | simple | difficult [dɪfɪkəlt] | difficult | |
clean [kliːn] | чистый | dirty [dɜːti] | dirty | |
Beautiful [bjuːtɪfl] | beautiful (only about women or objects) | ugly [ʌɡli] | ugly | |
big [bɪɡ] | large | little [lɪtl] | small | |
slim [slɪm] | slim | thick [θɪk] | fat | |
dry [draɪ] | dry | law [wet] | wet | |
and «light», too [laɪt] | light coloured | dark [dɑːk] | dark | |
child [day] | good | angry [æŋɡri] | evil | |
rich [rɪtʃ] | rich | poor [pɔːr] | poor | |
cheap [tʃiːp] | cheap | expensive [ɪkˈspensɪv] | expensive | |
strong[strɒŋ] | сильный | weak [wiːk] | weak | |
hot [scissing] | hot | cold [kəʊld] | cold | |
easy [iːzi] | easy | hard [hɑːd] | heavy | |
tall [tɔːl] | tall | shorts [ʃɔːt] | low | |
low [laʊ] | quiet | loud [laʊd] | loud | |
solid [fɑːst] | fast | slow [sləʊ] | slow | |
happy [hapi] | glad | sad [sæd] | sad | |
Expression of admiration | wonderful[wʌndəfl] | great | great[ɡreɪt] | great |
amazing[əˈmeɪzɪŋ] | astonishing | nice[naɪs] | pleasant | |
cute [kjuːt] | attractive | end [faɪn] | beautiful | |
tasty [teɪ.sti] | delicious | excellent [eksələnt] | a great | |
fits[pɜːfɪkt] | perfect | handsome[haen.səm] | handsome (men only) | |
Description of states | hungry [hʌŋɡri] | hungry | thirsty [θɜːsti] | thirsty |
Afraid[ə’freɪd] | scared | excited [ɪkˈsaɪtɪd] | excited | |
active [æktɪv] | active | tired [taɪəd] | tired | |
bored [bɔːd] | bored | cheerful [tʃɪəfl] | cheerful | |
lonely[ləʊnli] | alone | surprised [səˈpraɪzd] | surprised | |
Expression of properties and characteristics | successful[səkˈsesfl] | successful | important[ɪmˈpɔːtnt] | important |
correct [kəˈrekt] | right | popular[pɒpjələr] | popular | |
large [lɑːdʒ] | large | usual [juːʒuəl] | ordinary | |
funny [fʌni] | funny | healthy [helθi] | healthy | |
interesting[ɪntrəstɪŋ] | interesting | long [lɒŋ] | long | |
clever [klevə] | smart | busy [bɪzi] | busy | |
Friendly[friendli] | friendly | famous [feɪməs] | famous | |
serious [sɪəriəs] | serious | boring [bɔːrɪŋ] | boring | |
lucky [lʌki] | lucky | Brave [breɪv] | brave | |
unknown[ʌnˈnəʊn] | unknown | responsible[rɪˈspɒnsəbl] | responsible |
Source: https://speakenglishwell.ru/prilagatelnye-v-anglijskom-yazyke/
Adjectives in English: points of theory and examples of popular words
Find out your level of English!
Adjectives in English (adjective) is a part of speech that describes a noun, giving additional information about it. An English adjective can describe form, quality, age, quantity, size, condition, etc.
:
Types of adjectives
Adjectives in English (adjectives) are divided into five types, depending on what characteristic of the noun they describe. Note that some of these types of adjectives in Russian stand out as a separate part of speech (numerals and possessive pronouns).
Adjective qualities
This is the most abundant adjective in the English language. They describe the activity, state, or quality of the nouns to which they relate.
examples:
Adjective quantities
Such adjectives in English describe the number and volume of objects. This, by the way, includes numerals.
examples:
Demonstrative adjectives
This includes the adjectives this (this), that (that), these (these), those (those). In Russian they refer to pronouns, but in English they are also adjectives.
examples:
Possessive adjectives
What Russian is called possessive pronouns are called possessive adjectives in English.
Single number The many number
My — my | Our — our |
Your — is yours | Your — your |
His — himHere — herTheir — them — his | Their — them |
examples:
Types of adjectives
In English, there are three types of adjectives in accordance with their structure: simple, derivative and compound (or complex).
- Simple adjectives in English consist of one stem, not burdened with suffixes and prepositions: big, fat, nice, yellow, etc.
- Derived adjectives in English are formed using stems + preposition / suffix: beautiful, unfair, fearful, beloved, etc.
- Compound adjectives in English are formed from several stems:white-stone, good-looking, well-paid, etc.
Articles before adjectives
Technically, articles in English are placed not in front of an adjective, but in front of a noun to which an adjective can be attached. Therefore, if the article comes before a noun, it remains in the event that an adjective appears between it and the noun:
If the adjective in English comes after the noun to which it refers, the article is not placed before it:
Popular adjectives
Table of the 60 most popular English adjictives:
English adjectiveTranscriptionTranslation to Russian
different | [ˈDɪfrənt] | different |
Used | [just] | used |
important | [ɪmˈpɔːrtnt] | important |
every | [ˈEvri] | each |
large | [lɑːrdʒ] | large |
available | [first] | available |
popular | [ˈPɒpjələ (r)] | popular |
able | [eɪbl] | capable |
basic | [ˈBeɪsɪk] | primary |
Known | [nəʊn] | famous |
various | [ˈVɛərɪəs] | different |
difficult | [ˈDɪfɪkəlt] | complicated |
several | [ˈSevrəl] | some |
united | [ˈJʊˈnaɪtɪd] | combined |
historical | [hɪsˈtɔrɪkəl] | historical |
hot | [hɔt] | hot |
useful | [ˈJuːsfʊl] | useful |
mental | [mentl] | mental |
scared | [skɛəd] | terrible |
additional | [əˈdɪʃənl] | additional |
emotional | [ɪˈməʊʃənl] | emotional |
old | [əʊld] | old |
political | [pəˈlɪtɪkəl] | political |
similar | [ˈSɪmɪlə] | similar |
healthy | [ˈHelθɪ] | healthy |
financial | [faɪˈnænʃəl] | fynansovыy |
medical | [ˈMedɪkəl] | medical |
traditional | [trəˈdɪʃənl] | traditional |
federal | [ˈFedərəl] | federal |
entire | [ɪnˈtaɪə] | whole |
strong | [strɔŋ] | сильный |
present | [ˈÆkʧʊəl] | actual |
significant | [sɪgˈnɪfɪkənt] | significant |
successful | [səkˈsesfʊl] | successful |
electrical | [ɪˈlektrɪkəl] | electric |
expensive | [ɪksˈpensɪv] | expensive |
pregnant | [ˈPregnənt] | pregnant |
intelligent | [ɪnˈtelɪʤənt] | smart |
interesting | [ˈꞮntrɪstɪŋ] | interesting |
poor | [pʊə] | poor |
happy | [ˈHæpɪ] | happy |
responsible | [rɪsˈpɔnsəbl] | responsible |
cute | [kjuːt] | cute |
Helpful | [ˈHelpfʊl] | useful |
recent | [riːsnt] | last |
willing | [ˈWɪlɪŋ] | ready |
nice | [naɪs] | beautiful |
wonderful | [ˈWʌndəfʊl] | great |
Source: https://crownenglishclub.ru/baza-znanij/prilagatelnye-v-anglijskom-yazyke-momenty-teorii-i-primery-populyarnyh-slov.html
English Adjectives — Sentence Order and Comparison
An adjective in English is a part of speech that answers the questions: «what?», «What?», «What?», «What?» and denoting a sign of an object. An adjective describes an object or object in terms of color, shape, quality, size, character, origin, and properties.
The main difference between adjectives in the English language is that they do not change forms and endings in different cases, numbers, do not differ when describing nouns of different kinds. Coordination with other words occurs without changing the word form.
Qualitive and relative adjectives
There are two types of adjectives in English:
Qualitative — describe the color, shape, size, taste of the object: beautiful, weak, green, powerful, square, happy;
Relative — describe the origin of the object, what it is made of: wooden, stone, clay, cherry, grape, glass (wooden, stone, clay, cherry, grape, glass). Such adjectives do not have degrees of comparison.
Degrees of comparison of adjectives
Adjectives have three degrees of comparison: positive (initial), comparative, and excellent. The comparative and superlative degrees of quality English adjectives are formed according to special rules, among which there are exceptions that must be remembered.
Comparative degree
The comparative degree of short adjectives consisting of two or fewer syllables is formed by adding the suffix «-er» to the end of the word:
If a short English adjective ends in a closed syllable (from the end — a consonant, vowel, consonant), the last letter is doubled, and only then the suffix «-er» is added:
If a short adjective ends in a consonant + «y», the last letter «y» is changed to «i» and «-er» is added:
If the short word ends in «-e», add «-r»:
The comparative degree of long adjectives consisting of 3 or more syllables is formed using the word «more»:
Superlative degree
To form the superlative of a short adjective, it is necessary to put the definite article and add the suffix «-est»:
The superlong adjective is formed by adding «the most»:
Comparative and superlative exceptions
These English adjectives form a comparative and superlative degree not according to the rules, completely or partially changing the basis of the word.
- good — better — the best (good — better — best);
- bad — worse — the worst (bad — worse — the worst);
- little — less — the least;
- much (with uncountable) / many (with countable) — more — the most (many — more — most);
- far — farther / further — the farthest / the furthest
- old — older / elder — the oldest / the eldest.
“Father” and “further” differ in that the first word implies distances (go farther — go further), the second — has a figurative meaning (watch the film further — see the film further).
«Older» and «elder» differ in meaning: the first word describes age in the literal sense (the piece of furniture is older), the second is used for age relations in the family (my elder brother is my older brother).
There are words, the comparative and superlative degrees of which can be formed in both ways:
clever (smart) — cleverer (smarter) — the cleverest (the smartest)
clever — cleverer — the most clever
polite (polite) — politer — the politest
polite — politer — the most polite
friendly — friendlier — the friendliest
friendly — more friendly — the most friendly
They also include:
common, cruel, gentle, narrow, pleasant, shallow, simple, stupid, quiet.
Comparative expressions using adjectives in sentences
- twice as as — twice as;
- three times as as — three times than;
- half as as — half of something (twice)
- the same as — the same as;
- less than — less than;
- the least / most of all — least / most of all;
- the, the — what, so;
- than — what.
Your bag is twice as heavy as mine. “Your bag is twice the size of mine.
Mary’s copybook costs half as little as ours. — Mary’s notebook costs half ours.
Your dream is the same as important as theirs. “Your dream is as important as theirs.
This flower is less beautiful than that one growing in the garden. “This flower is less beautiful than the one that grows in the garden.
The more careful you are, the easier it is. “The more careful you are, the easier it will be to deal with it.
This exercise is the least difficult of all. — This exercise is the least difficult of all.
Source: https://englishbro.ru/grammar/adjectives-common-rules
Qualitative adjectives
In terms of meaning, adjectives are qualitative or relative. Qualitative adjectives are described directly — designating shape, size, color and other general characteristics.
pretty, low, complete, round, good
Some quality adjectives are amplifiers. They emotionally enhance the meaning of objects and are defined only by the adverbs absolutely / really:
certain, sure, pure, sheer, real, undoubted, complete, extreme, great, perfect, mere, close, utter, entire, wonderful, terrible, astonished, delicious, amazing, hilarious
Relative adjectives
Relative adjectives describe objects indirectly — through relationships.
woolen, wooden, silver
They are not rankable, namely, they are not defined by the adverbs very, too, enough. Amplifiers are also non-rankable.
weekly, unconscious, dead, legal, medical, empty, full
Attributive adjectives
Syntactically, adjectives are divided into attributive and predicative. The first as definitions stand before nouns.
intelligent young woman
Some adjectives are historically attributive:
chief, main, only, particular, principal, sole
Predicative adjectives
Predicative adjectives in the predicate are separated from nouns and stand after verbs, especially bundles (be, get, seem, appear, keep, look, feel, make, smell, sound, taste, become, grow, remain, stay, turn).
Chicken made this way tastes more delicious — Chicken made this way tastes more delicious
Some adjectives are historically predicative:
Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/rules/424-english-adjectives
Adjectives are used to modify nouns or pronouns in a sentence. There are many different types of adjectives; each one has a slightly different purpose. Sometimes, adjectives may even be made up of more than one word. These types of adjectives are known as compound adjectives.
Compound adjectives are a type of neologism — referring to the coining and creation of new words. They are formed by combining two or more words together.
Compound adjectives: definition
What are compound adjectives? Take a look at the definition below:
Compound adjectives are adjectives made up of more than one word (usually two, but sometimes three). They are used to modify the noun or pronoun in a sentence, so they have the same function as single-word adjectives.
Compound adjectives do not have to be made up of only adjectives; other word forms can combine to form compound adjectives (such as nouns and adjectives, adverbs and past participles, etc.).
The word «single-word» is an example of a compound adjective!
Fig. 1 — Snow could be described as «ice-cold.» This is an example of a compound adjective.
Compound adjectives: rules
Compound adjectives are used to modify nouns or pronouns. They can be placed before the noun/pronoun in a sentence. For example:
«My long-term goal is to stay happy.»
In this sentence, the compound adjective «long-term» is used to modify the noun «goal.»
Alternatively, they can also come after the noun/pronoun. For example:
«This playground is child-safe.«
In this sentence, the compound adjective «child-safe» is used to modify the noun «playground.»
Compound adjectives: using the hyphen
Compound adjectives often use hyphens to let the reader know they should be read as one unit instead of two different words. In particular, compound adjectives are usually hyphenated when they come before a noun or pronoun in a sentence. For example:
«I’m baking a gluten-free cake.»
However, compound adjectives do not always need to be hyphenated if their meaning is still clear without one. They’re usually not hyphenated when they come after a noun or pronoun. For example:
«This cake is gluten-free» VS. «This cake is gluten free.»
Both of these sentences can be understood regardless of the use of a hyphen.
Keep in mind that when using hyphens, it is often a matter of personal preference. But, in some instances, it is easier to hyphenate compound adjectives if the meaning could be misunderstood. These misunderstandings may be more common among non-native speakers of English, as they may mistake a compound adjective for two separate words, which can change the meaning of a sentence.
Take the sentence, «I saw a fish eating bear.»
Without the hyphen, it could seem as though the fish is eating a bear.
When a hyphen is used, the meaning of the sentence is made clearer:
«I saw a fish-eating bear.»
It is clear that the sentence is referring to a bear that eats fish.
Compound adjective: examples
There are different types of compound adjectives made with words from different word classes. It is important to know that just because they are called compound adjectives, this does not mean they only contain adjectives.
Compound adjectives simply act as an adjective in a sentence, but they can consist of words from other word classes. Take a look at some examples of different types of compound adjectives below:
Adjective Noun
Example | Sentence |
Last-minute | «I’m planning a last-minute trip to New York.» |
Long-distance | «The long-distance flight was tiring.» |
High-quality | «The TV played high-quality videos.» |
Short-term | «Think about your short-term plan.» |
Adjective Present Participle (verb form ending in «ing»)
Example | Sentence |
Good-looking | «He’s a good-looking guy.» |
Easy-going | «Some would say I’m easy-going.» |
Tight-fitting | «I want to buy some tight-fitting jeans.» |
Long-running | «Les Miserables is a long-running theatre show.» |
Adjective Past Participle (verb form usually ending in «ed»)
Example | Sentence |
Old-fashioned | «The clothes she wore were quite old-fashioned.» |
Open-minded | «My family is open-minded.» |
Quick-witted | «Her quick-witted sense of humor makes people laugh.» |
Short-lived | «That idea was short-lived.» |
Noun Adjective
Example | Sentence |
Family-friendly | «This resort is family-friendly.» |
Child-free | «Enjoy a child-free trip away.» |
World-famous | «The Beatles were a world-famous band.» |
Sugar-free | «The sugar-free brownies are surprisingly good.» |
Noun Present Participle
Example | Sentence |
Mind-numbing | «After another mind-numbing conversation, I was ready to go to sleep.» |
Record-breaking | «The fastest car in the world went a record-breaking 763 miles an hour.» |
Time-consuming | «Writing essays can be time-consuming but very rewarding.» |
Thought-provoking | «He asked a thought-provoking question.» |
Noun Past Participle
Example | Sentence |
Middle-aged | «A middle-aged man crossed the street.» |
Sun-dried | «The sun-dried tomatoes are the best.» |
Wind-powered | «Many boats are wind-powered.» |
Tongue-tied | «I was tongue-tied when I met a celebrity.» |
Adverb Past Participle
Example | Sentence |
Well-behaved | «The puppy is well-behaved.» |
Brightly-lit | «The brightly-lit room felt uninviting.» |
Highly-respected | «The highly-respected university professor has been working for many years.» |
Well-known | «Germany is well-known for its beer and sausages.» |
Number Noun
Fifteen-minute | «You need to do a fifteen-minute presentation.» |
Four-story | «I live in a four-story building.» |
Ninety-page | «She had to memorize a ninety-page monologue.» |
Five-star | «We were staying at a five-star hotel.» |
Note that compound adjectives with numbers must only include a singular noun. For example, saying «I live in a four-story building» is grammatically correct, but «I live in a four-stories building» is not. This is because «story» is singular, and «stories» is plural.
Fig. 2 — You may write a «ten-page» essay, but not a «ten-pages» essay!
Three-word compound adjectives with hyphens
Although they are not as common, some compound adjectives contain three words. In this case, the conjunctions «and» or «of» are usually used between two other words. All three words must be hyphenated to show they are one unit of meaning instead of three separate words. For example:
Three-word compound adjective | Example sentence |
Matter-of-fact | «She spoke in a matter-of-fact way about politics.» |
Salt-and-pepper | «His salt-and-pepper hair was attractive.» |
Happy-go-lucky | «He’s a happy-go-lucky person.» |
It is worth mentioning that compound adjectives are not the only type of compound word. For example, another type of compound word is a compound noun.
Compound nouns function as nouns in a sentence and are made up of two or more words. A few examples are:
- bedroom
- raincoat
- toothpaste
Compound nouns are often written as one word without hyphens (but not always).
Compound Adjectives — Key takeaways
- Compound adjectives are adjectives made up of more than one word (usually two, sometimes three).
- Compound adjectives are used to modify the noun or pronoun in a sentence.
- Compound adjectives can comprise different word classes. Some different types of compound adjectives are:
- adjective + noun, adjective + present participle, adjective + past participle
- noun + adjective, noun + present participle, noun + past participle
- adverb + past participle
- number + noun
- Compound adjectives often use hyphens (especially if they come before the noun), as this lets the reader know that they are a single unit of meaning and not two separate words. Hyphens are not always needed and often aren’t used when the compound adjective comes after the noun.
- Although not as common, compound adjectives can also consist of three words. Three-word compound adjectives always use hyphens.
The Standard Definition of an Adjective
The simplest way to define an adjective is to say that an adjective is a word that describes something. An example of an adjective is the word green in the phrase “the green grass.” An adjective can give many kinds of information about a noun, such as its color, size, and shape.
To think of adjectives simply as “describing words,” however, can lead people to misidentify an adverb or a determiner as an adjective. The purpose of this article is to show you how to accurately identify which descriptive words are adjectives and which ones are not.
A distinguishing feature of adjectives is that they can describe only nouns and not words from any other word class. To illustrate, I have included two examples below, both of which use the descriptive word late
Adjective: Jim was late for the meeting.
In this sentence, late is an adjective because it is used to describe Jim, which is a proper noun.
Adverb: Jim arrived late to the meeting.
In this second example, late isn’t telling us directly about Jim. Instead, it is telling us about the way he arrived somewhere. Because arrive is a verb, late is an adverb in this example.
If a descriptive word (e.g., late) describes a verb rather than a noun, it is not an adjective. It is an adverb.
If you know the difference between nouns and verbs, you can differentiate between adjectives and adverbs. However, it is not so straightforward to differentiate adjectives from determiners. This is because determiners, like adjectives, can be used to describe nouns. For example, the word two in the sentence “Two birds flew overhead” describes to us something about the noun birds.
So why isn’t two an adjective if it describes a noun? The answer is not exactly straightforward. Understanding why two is not an adjective requires a relatively deep understanding of what makes an adjective an adjective, which is covered in the following section.
The Characteristics of Adjectives
The word two is not an adjective in the phrase “two birds” because it does not have the characteristics of an adjective.
Most adjectives can (i) build off of each other, (ii) be intensified by words like very, and (iii) be written in a comparative or superlative form to make comparisons.
Adjectives build off each other indefinitely before the noun is introduced.
We can use a single adjective to give a simple description of something.
He drives a small car.
We can add more adjectives as we please to give more description. To the example above, the adjective new can be inserted, either in front of the word small or after it.
He drives a new, small car
He drives a small, new car.
Countless other adjectives can be inserted without resulting in an ungrammatical sentence.
He drives a small, new, clean, shiny, comfortable, speedy car.
Now, what happens when we try to insert the word two? Our first indicator that two is not an adjective is that it can be placed only in front of a list of adjectives, not within it and not after it.
Correct: He drives two small, new, clean, shiny, comfortable, speedy cars.
Incorrect: He drives small, new, clean, two, shiny, comfortable, speedy cars.
(Most) adjectives can be intensified by words such as really and too.
The word two does not meet this requirement, either.
Correct: He drives a very new car.
Correct: He drives a remarkably clean car.
Incorrect: He drives really two cars.
The word two would need to come before the intensifier if there are adjectives in the phrase.
He drives two really small, new cars.
This isolates two from the adjectives, further solidifying its role as a determiner rather than an adjective.
Absolute adjectives
Note that some adjectives lack this characteristic. However, this is not because it breaks the rules of English grammar. Certain adjectives–called absolute adjectives–just don’t make sense if they are intensified. An example of an absolute adjective is stolen. Either something is stolen, or it isn’t, and no one would ever say that something of theirs was “very stolen” from them. Therefore, even though such words lack this characteristic of adjectives, they are still classified as adjectives.
To reinforce this idea, notice how, unlike two, stolen gets placed after the intensifier — not before it — if it is part of a list of adjectives.
Correct: He drives a really small, new, stolen car.”
(Most) adjectives can take plain, comparative, and superlative forms.
In other words, adjectives can take the suffixes -er and –est, or they can have the words more and most placed in front of them. (Absolute adjectives are again an exception.)
Correct: He drives a newer car than I do.
Correct: He drives the most comfortable car I’ve ever been in.
The word two does not have this characteristic because nothing can have more “two-ness” than something else.
Incorrect: He drives twoer cars than I do.
Incorrect: He drives more two cars than I do.
Reference:
Aarts, B. (2011). Oxford modern English grammar. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.