Adjectives in English. Adjectives in English. The most beautiful adjectives in English

An adjective in English is a part of speech that answers the questions: “which?”, “which?”, “which?”, “which?” and denoting a feature of an object. An adjective describes a thing or object by color, shape, quality, size, character, origin and properties.

The main difference between English adjectives is that they do not change forms and endings in different cases, numbers, and do not differ when describing nouns of different kinds. Agreement with other words occurs without changing the word form.

Qualitative and relative adjectives

In English there are two types of adjectives:

Qualitative - describe the color, shape, size, taste of an 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 superlative. The comparative and superlative degrees of qualitative English adjectives are formed according to special rules, among which there are exceptions that must be remembered.

Comparative degree

Short adjectives

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:

strong - stronger (strong - stronger);

fast - faster (fast - faster);

If a short English adjective ends in a closed syllable (from the end - consonant, vowel, consonant), the last letter is doubled, and only then the suffix “-er” is added:

big - bigger (big - more);

thin - thinner (thin - thinner);

If a short adjective ends in a consonant + “y”, the last letter “y” is changed to “i” and “-er” is added:

tiny - tinier (tiny - tinier);

crazy - crazier (crazy - crazier);

If a short word ends in “-e”, add “-r”:

nice - nicer (good is better);

safe - safer (safe - safer).

Long adjectives

The comparative degree of long adjectives consisting of 3 or more syllables is formed using the word “more”:

colorful - more colorful (variegated - more colorful);

wonderful - more wonderful (amazing - more amazing).

Superlative degree

Short adjective

To form the superlative degree of a short adjective, you need to use the definite article and add the suffix “-est”:

silly - the silliest (stupid - the stupidest);

short - the shortest (short - the shortest).

Long adjective

The superlative degree of a long adjective is formed by adding “the most”:

powerful - the most powerful (powerful - the most powerful);

attractive - the most attractive (attractive - the most attractive).

Exceptions in comparative and superlative degrees

These English adjectives form comparative and superlative degrees irregularly, completely or partially changing the base of the word.

• good - better - the best (good - better - the best);
• bad - worse - the worst (bad - worse - worst);
• little - less - the least (small - less - smallest);
• much (with uncountables) / many (with countables) - more - the most (many - more - most of all);
• far - farther / further - the farthest / the furthest (far - further - farthest);
• old - older / elder - the oldest / the eldest (old - older / older, the oldest / 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 - watch the film further).

“Older” and “elder” differ in meaning: the first word describes age in the literal sense (the piece of furniture is older - this furniture is older), the second is used for age relationships in the family (my elder brother - my older brother).

There are words whose comparative and superlative degrees 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 (friendly) - friendlier - the friendliest

friendly - more friendly - the most friendly

These also include:

common, cruel, gentle, narrow, pleasant, shallow, simple, stupid, quiet.

Comparative phrases using adjectives in sentences

• twice as ... as - twice ... than;
• 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 - the least / most ... among all;
• the..., the... - than..., the...;
• ... than - than.

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 as much as 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.

San Francisco is smaller than London. - San Francisco is smaller than London.

Classification of adjectives according to the method of word formation

Adjectives of the English language are divided into three groups according to the method of word formation: simple, compound and derivative.

Simple adjectives

Simple adjectives have no suffix or prefix; the word consists only of the root:

• young - young;
• orange - orange;
• slow - slow;
• shy - shy;
• clever - smart;
• safe - safe;
• light - light;
• loud - noisy.

Compound adjectives

Compound adjectives are formed by adding suffixes, prefixes (prefixes), or both morphemes at the same time:

• grateful - grateful;
• benevolent - friendly;
• picturesque - picturesque;
• responsible - responsible;
• impatient - impatient;
• unexpectable - unpredictable;
• extraordinary - extraordinary;
• careless - carefree;
• lucky - lucky;
• immortal - immortal;
• irregular - incorrect;
• independent - independent;
• fantastic - fantastic;
• incomprehensible - unimaginable.

Derived adjectives

Derivative adjectives consist of two words: two adjectives; noun and adjective or adverb and adjective; any two words that, when paired with each other, denote a feature of an object:

• good-looking - attractive;
• sober-minded - reasonable;
• empty-headed - empty-headed;
• self-sufficient - self-sufficient;
• all-rounded - with a broad outlook;
• absent-minded - absent-minded;
• well-paid - well paid;
• ill-sorted - incompatible;
• self-righteous - confident in one’s rightness;
• self-confident - self-confident;
• state-of-art - modern;
• strong-willed - strong-willed;
• pale blue - pale blue;
• two-week - two weeks;
• ill at ease - nervous;
• well-bred - with good manners.

It is important to remember that when translated from English into Russian and vice versa, an adjective in some cases may sound like a participle, and a participle - like an adjective. Among the English, all these words in the meaning of description equally belong to the group “adjectives”.

Derivational suffixes of English adjectives

Suffixes carry different meanings that adjectives take on when forming words:

Adjective prefixes

Prefixes or prefixes of adjectives in English give the word an opposite, negative, or enhancing and changing the degree of expression meaning.

Conversion of adjectives into nouns

Using the definite article “the,” an adjective can become a noun that describes a group of people, animals, or objects with a common characteristic or origin.

They are sure that Norwegian land is the most beautiful part of our planet. - They are sure that Norwegian land- the most beautiful part of our planet.

The Norwegians are usually very reserved people. - Norwegians are very reserved people.

Homeless dogs and cats - it is a result of people’s irresponsibility and cruelty. - Stray dogs and cats- the result of human irresponsibility and cruelty.

The homeless should be given a warm place to live in. - Homeless people need their own warm housing.

Functions and role of adjectives in a sentence

1. In a sentence, an adjective can serve as a definition. In this case, it must appear immediately before the noun being defined:

Laura gave them a stony look and went away: that strange situation really drove her crazy. - Laura looked at them with an icy gaze: this strange situation drove her crazy.

Autumn was slowly beginning: the feathery leaves were flying everywhere, and each usually boring place soon became so noticeable due to them... noticeable thanks to them...

2. An adjective can be part of a compound predicate if it stands immediately after it:

The sky today is frost: thunder is coming soon, and the flashes of lightning over the small empty hills of our village look magnificent, mystique and dangerous. - The sky is gloomy today: thunder is about to start, and flashes of lightning over the low empty hills of our village look attractive, mystical and dangerous.

The dinner smelled delicious: in spite of the fact that we had come home too late, we decided to try it. - The smell of dinner was extraordinary: despite the fact that we returned home too late, we decided to try it.

The order of placement of several adjectives that qualify the same noun

In English, in any sentence, each qualifying adjective must be in its place in the following order:

opinion / attitude - size - quality - age - shape - color - origin - material - purpose

opinion / attitude - size - quality - age - shape - color - origin (country) - material - purpose / application

• a beautiful small good old square green German wooden kitchen cupboard - a beautiful small good old square green German wooden kitchen cupboard;
• a new English ship - a new English ship;
• an unusual round glass framed mirror - an unusual round mirror in a glass frame;
• a large wine red Victorian house - a large wine red house in the Victorian style;
• a favorite cotton school bag - favorite cotton school bag.

If several words denote the same characteristic and belong in their meaning to the same category (for example, age or attitude), the more general characteristic should come first, and the specific one should be in second place:

• the first two decades - the first two decades;
• a nice clever horse - a good smart horse.

Conclusion

Adjectives in English are simplified in many ways: they rarely change form, they do not have case, number and gender. However, despite their apparent simplicity, they introduce expression, emotion into speech and save us from tongue-tiedness. The better you master the rules for arranging adjectives in sentences and degrees of comparison, the more expressive, richer and brighter your speech will be.

In a language, no part of speech exists in isolation, and the adjective is no exception. This part of speech actively interacts with others and is gradually replenished with nouns, verbs and simple adjectives. Today we are talking about the basic rules for forming adjectives in English.

How adjectives are formed in English

Adjective - this is a part of speech that denotes a sign, properties of objects and answers the question What? (Which?). According to their structure, English adjectives are divided into:

• simple (their composition does not imply the presence of suffixes and prefixes): blue (blue), tall (high), flat (flat);
• derivatives (they contain suffixes and prefixes): different (different), dangerous (dangerous), friendly (friendly);
• composite (consist of two words or stems): world-famous (world famous), dark-blue (dark blue), five-star (five-star).

Today the focus is on the adjectives of the last two groups - derivatives and complex ones. They were formed from nouns, verbs and simple adjectives with the help of suffixes, prefixes (prefixes) and compounding.

Suffixes

The suffixal method of forming new words is the most productive in the English language. There are suffixes that form qualitative and relative adjectives from nouns, and suffixes that form adjectives from verbs. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Qualitative adjectives (denote the quality of an object, which can be to a greater or lesser extent) are formed from nouns using the following suffixes:

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• -ful, -ous (indicate the presence of a certain property):

  beauty - beautiful (beauty - beautiful), respect - respectful (respect - respectful), courage - courageous (courage - brave), adventure - adventurous (adventure - enterprising);

• – less (denotes a lack of a certain quality):

  use - useless (use - useless), shame - shameless (shame - shameless, shameless), ruth - ruthless (pity - merciless);

• -ly (denotes a property characteristic of objects and persons):

  coward - cowardly (coward), friend - friendly (friend - friendly), life - lively (life - lively).

Note the suffix -ly. It also ranks first among adverbial suffixes (bad - badly).

Relative adjectives (name the property of an object through its relationship to this object) are formed from nouns using the following suffixes:

• -en (denotes the material from which the item is made):

  wool - woolen (wool - wool), earth - earthen (earth - earthen), wheat - wheaten (wheat - wheat);

• -y, -ic, -al (indicate signs characteristic of other phenomena):

  fun - funny (fun - funny), rain - rainy (rain - rainy), materialist - materialistic (materialist - materialistic), essence - essential (essence - essential), nature - natural (nature - natural, natural);

• -ish (indicates a small, insignificant degree of property of an object or nationality):

  snob - snobbish (snobbish), gold - goldish (gold - golden), Scotland - Scottish (Scotland - Scottish), Britain - British (Britain - British).

Adjectives formed from verbs

The following suffixes help in forming adjectives from verbs:

• -able, -ible (indicate the presence of a certain property):

  to respond - responsible (responsible), to excite - excitable (excite - excitable), to accept - acceptable (accept - acceptable);

• -ent, -ant (denote the quality obtained as a result of the action indicated by the verb):

  to dominate - dominant (to dominate - imperious) to arrogate - arrogant (to boldly demand - arrogant); to persist - persistent (insist - persistent).

Prefixes

The main group of prefixes (prefixes) involved in the formation of adjectives have the meaning of negation, the absence of a certain attribute in an object:

• Un-, dis- :

  honest - dishonest (honest - dishonest), grateful - ungrateful (grateful - ungrateful);

• In-, im-, il-, ir: famous -infamous (famous - notorious), personal - impersonal (personal - impersonal), legible - illegible (legible - illegible), regular - irregular (regular - irregular);
• Non- :

  functional - nonfunctional (functional - non-functional), trivial - nontrivial (trivial - non-trivial)

The negative prefix im- is added to adjectives that begin with the consonants “m” and “p” (mortal - immortal), the prefix ir- is placed before the consonant r (rational - irrational), the prefix il- before consonant l (legal - illegal (legal - illegal).

Word formation

Compound adjectives in English are formed using a process called compounding - the merging of two lexemes into one compound word with a single lexical meaning. The lexemes involved in such a merger can refer to either one part of speech or different ones, and can be written together or with a hyphen. Let's look at the most common cases:

• Noun + noun : part-time - freelance, part-time;
• Adjective + adjective : dark-green - dark green;
• Noun + adjective : worldwide - worldwide;
• Adjective + present participle : hard-working - hardworking;
• Adjective + past participle : light-hearted - careless, weak-willed - weak-willed;
• Adverb + past participle And: well-done - well done, well-balanced - reasonable;
• Numeral + noun : two-way - two-way;
• Numeral + past participle : two-faced - two-faced, deceitful.

What have we learned?

Today we looked at different cases of how to make an adjective from a noun. In this process, the first helpers are suffixes. The suffix method is also useful in forming adjectives from verbs. In addition, common methods of word formation of adjectives in English are prefixing - attaching a prefix to the stem, and compounding - combining two or more words into one lexical unit with a single meaning.

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Our speech would be extremely sparse if we did not use bright colors and means of expression in it. And perhaps the most popular way is to use adjectives. Adjectives in English allow you to express the characteristics of inanimate nouns and the qualities of animate ones, describe the appearance of a person and the properties of his character, embellish any actions and events, compare two objects or persons, and much more. Today we will find out what properties these parts of speech have, consider their grammatical norms, get acquainted with the types, and learn a list of definitions often used in speech.

Let's start with what even a child knows: this part of speech indicates either the belonging of an 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 almost never change, i.e. do not receive additional endings when changing number, case, gender; do not have short forms.

• Ihavea red jacket- I have a red jacket.
• Weliveinthis red house- We live in this red house.

They can play one of two syntactic roles in a sentence. Words acting as evaluative definitions stand immediately before the object they define, and expressions included in the compound predicate complete the phrase.

• My father bought a blue carMyfatherboughtbluecar.(definition)
• Thecar is beautiful - This car is beautiful.(compound nominal predicate)

In terms of 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. Negative forms of positive definitions are often obtained in this way. Separately, it is worth highlighting complex adjectives in English, formed by merging two simple stems. As a rule, such compound definitions are written with a hyphen.

• Shecookedabigcake- She prepared a big pie.(simple)
• Myparentsgavemeusefuladvice– My parents gave me useful advice.(derivative)
• There was a well-preserved cupboard in that flat –INthatapartmentwasFinepreservedcloset.(complex)

The method of forming comparative and superlative degrees depends on this classification. This is the only transformation possible for an adjective, in which the ending of the word changes. For simple definitions in English, the endings –er, -est are added. In more complex forms, you need to use the words more and most.

• brave boy⟶ braver boy ⟶ the bravest boy —brave boy⟶ the boy is braver⟶ the bravest boy
• practical thing ⟶ more practical thing ⟶ most practical thing -practical thing ⟶ the thing is more practical ⟶ the most practical thing

There are also so-called irregular words that do not raise powers according to the general rules. They are listed separately.

These basic points will be sufficient when using adjectives in simple 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 all possible ways of expressing characteristics and qualities in one sitting. Therefore, we propose to start with the basics and consider a small list of English adjectives that are used in almost every conversation. These expressions will also be useful when conducting foreign language classes for children, since they are the basis of knowledge and do not pose any difficulty in learning. The table contains hundreds of descriptive definitions, distributed into general categories and recorded with transcription * and translation into Russian.

Top 100 simple adjectives
Category	Example words
Popular antonyms	good [ɡʊd]	good	bad	bad
	new	new	old [əʊld]	old
	open [ əʊpən]	open	closed	closed
	simple	simple	difficult	difficult
	clean [ kliːn]	clean	dirty	filthy
	beautiful	beautiful (only about women or objects)	ugly [ʌɡli]	ugly
	big	big	little	small
	slim	slim	thick [θɪk]	thick
	dry	dry	wet	wet
	light	light	dark	dark
	kind	Kind	angry [æŋɡri]	wicked
	rich	rich	poor	poor
	cheap	cheap	expensive [ɪkˈspensɪv]	Expensive
	strong	strong	weak	weak
	hot	hot	cold	cold
	easy	easy	hard	heavy
	tall	high	short [ʃɔːt]	short
	low	quiet	loud	loud
	fast	fast	slow	slow
	happy	glad	sad	sad
Expression of admiration	wonderful	wonderful	great [ɡreɪt]	fabulous
	amazing [əˈmeɪzɪŋ]	amazing	nice	nice
	cute	attractive	fine	beautiful
	tasty	delicious	excellent	great
	perfect	perfect	handsome	Beautiful (about men only)
Description of states	hungry	hungry	thirsty [θɜːsti]	thirsty
	afraid [ə’freɪd]	frightened	excited [ɪkˈsaɪtɪd]	excited
	active [æktɪv]	active	tired	tired
	bored	bored	cheerful	funny
	lonely	lonely	surprised	surprised
Expressing properties and characteristics	successful	successful	important [ɪmˈpɔːtnt]	important
	correct	correct	popular	popular
	large	large	usual	ordinary
	funny	funny	healthy	healthy
	interesting [ɪntrəstɪŋ]	interesting	long	long
	clever	smart	busy	busy
	friendly	friendly	famous	famous
	serious	serious	boring	boring
	lucky	lucky	brave	brave
	unknown [ʌnˈnəʊn]	unknown	answered	responsible
	impossible [ɪmˈpɒsəbl]	impossible	real	real
	bright	bright	careful	caring
	warm	warm	cold	chill
	young	young	free [ friː]	free
	fresh	fresh	wide	wide
	honest [ɒnɪst]	honest	basic	base
	sure [ʃʊər]	confident	quality	qualitative
	fantastic	fantastic	favorite	Darling
	useless	useless	harmful	harmful
	necessary	necessary	accurate [ækjərət]	careful

* If you are not sure of the correct reading of the transcription, you can use the built-in voiceover button to work on pronunciation.

Of course, these are not all common adjectives in the English language. , but this is already a pretty solid basis for a basic vocabulary. You should not try to memorize long lists of words: you will only confuse yourself or learn rarely encountered forms of expressions.

If the information provided is not new to you, or you have already mastered this part of the material well, we invite you to study the adjectives that stand out in the English language for their particular specific use.

Difficult grammatical points

To simplify perception and the possibility of studying the topic with a child, in the first section we omitted many important points that beginners do not need to know yet. But, for Intermediate level holders, this information will be extremely important and useful. Now we will get acquainted with a new type of definitions, find out what a graduated adjective is and how it behaves, and also consider the nuances of the transition of words from one part of speech to another.

Possessive aspect

When we studied the popular adjectives and antonyms in English used to describe people and things, they were mostly of the qualitative adjective variety. There are also relative ones, but we will talk about them a little later. Now we are interested in a more interesting form - possessive adjectives in English.

There are a lot of similar words in Russian speech: fox, wolf, Lysin, mother, shepherd and so on. But the British can use only seven such definitions: my,your,his, her, its, our, their. They are often confused with pronouns, violating the norms of lexical combination. Let's try to figure out why these words belong specifically to this section of grammar.

As already noted, the job of adjectives is to determine the properties, characteristics and belonging of the specified objects. Possessiveness is the main category that expresses the connection between an object and a subject. The relation to the class of adjectives is also indicated by the syntactic function of such expressions - definition, i.e. they always appear in a sentence immediately before a noun (or adj+noun group). But the role played by possessive pronouns in English is completely different. They are intended to replace the expressed noun. As a rule, such pronouns are always used at the end of a phrase or at the very beginning. Let's look at examples.

• Usually, Ibring my guitarandwesing our favoritesongs– Usually, I bring my guitar and we sing our favorite songs.(whose guitar? - mine, whose songs? - ours; possessive adj.)
• My smartphone is better than yours – Mysmartphonebetter,howis yours.(whose smartphone? – mine (adj.); what’s yours? implied smartphone (personal location)
• It is not him watch. His he left at home-ThisNothiswatch.He left his watch at home.(whose watch? – his (adj.); what’s your own? watch (local)

Pronouns, with the exception of his, have a different form from adjectives, so they are easy to distinguish in the text. And for independent use, you need to remember the above differences and work them out in practice.

Degrees of comparison and amplification (medium level)

When we looked at the types of adjectives in English, we noted that they depend on the formation of comparative degrees. But an important point was not mentioned: not all representatives of a given class of speech are able to form degrees. This justifies the division of types into qualitative and relative adjectives.

Qualities are expressed in varying degrees, but relativity has only a dictionary form. This category includes characteristics of origin, material, time designation, field of activity and geographical location. Such meanings in themselves have strong positions and do not need exaggeration.

• I bought a wooden chairIboughtwoodchair.(cannot be more/less or the most wooden)
• It was an American train -ThiswasAmericantrain.
• Shewritesa weekly report– She writes a weekly report

The English language allows you to strengthen the characteristic in one more way - by adding an adverb. And here we are again faced with a special factor: not all adverbs can coexist with definitions. So, for example, the popular very, rather, hugely, a bit can only be combined with gradable adjectives, i.e. weak definitions ( most often qualitative adjectives). Often these combinations are synonyms for more expressive words. In this case, amplification is used with both negative and positive characteristics.

• verytasty= delicious; very tasty - delicious;
• abitdirty – filthy; a little dirty - dirty;
• veryunusual – extraordinary; very unusual - most incredible;

Such an adjective, denoting an extreme degree of properties, in turn can only be used with weak adverbs. Thus, combinations of adverbs with definitions always occur according to the principle of merging opposites.

This rule must be remembered in order to avoid making gross speech errors.

Substantivization

English adjectives are characterized by such a phenomenon as substantivization. Through this process, definitions are given functions and meanings specific to the noun. The most striking examples of such transformations are the names of languages ​​and nationalities.

• Her German is perfect –Her German is perfect.
• Yesterday I made friends with two Russians – YesterdayImade friendsWithtwoRussians.

As the examples show, substantivized adjectives play the role of subject or object in a sentence, and denote persons and objects. Moreover, they can be presented in both singular and plural.

• abstractness: good – good; mysterious – mysterious; useful – useful; unreal – unreal;
• generality: greens - greenery; valuables – values; chemicals – chemicals;
• social groups: young - the youth; rich - rich people; elderly – elderly; poor - poor people;
• social characteristics: liberals – liberals; mariners – sailors; theunemployed – unemployed;

A more detailed list of such words can be found in a separate section.

English adjectives for intermediate level

Let's look at more complex English adjectives with Russian translation.

Intermediate adjectives
alone [əˈləʊn]	lonely	different	various
civilian	civil	pleasant	nice
deaf	deaf	quiet	calm; quiet
even	smooth	convenient	comfortable
dangerous	dangerous	fearful	scary
narrow	narrow	dreamy	dreamy
guilty [ɡɪlti]	guilty	hurt	offended
various	different	fancy	bizarre
strange	strange	wholesale	whole
rare	rare	natural	natural
far	far	wrong	wrong
medical	medical	worried	concerned
political	political	foreign	foreign
strict	strict	historical	historical
financial	financial	unhappy [ʌnˈhæpi]	unhappy

Good luck in improving your language!

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An adjective in English is called adjective. As in Russian, English adjectives answer the questions “what?”, “what?”, “what?” and indicate the characteristics of objects.

In English, adjectives are not declined for cases, genders, numbers, and do not have short forms, but they play an important role, making speech and texts more colorful, understandable and detailed.

Let's start looking at English adjectives with their classification.

Classification of adjectives

By meaning, adjectives are divided into relative and qualitative.

Relative adjectives denote characteristics of objects or phenomena that cannot be expressed to a greater or lesser extent, that is, they do not have degrees of comparison. Also, relative adjectives are not combined with words such as very (very), enough (quite).

Adjectives of this type include adjectives that mean:

• location. For example: southern (southern), top (upper), middle (central).
• materials, composition. For example: gold (golden), glass (glass), iron (iron).
• origin. For example: Russian (Russian), American (American).
• temporary characteristics. For example: daily (daily), monthly (monthly).
• industry affiliation. For example: political (political), economic (economic).

Qualitative adjectives describe a specific feature of an object. Sometimes they are also called descriptive adjectives.

Qualitative adjectives include:

• color. Red (red), white (white), yellow (yellow).
• size and shape. Small (small), big (large), huge (huge), long (long), round (round).
• opinion and assessment. Beautiful (wonderful), excellent (excellent), nice (beautiful), terrible (terrible).
• sensations and emotions. Cold (cold), tasty (delicious), awful (terrible), happy (happy), sad (sad).

Please note that depending on the context and meaning, the same adjective can simultaneously fall under different categories of adjectives.

In addition, English adjectives can be divided into 3 groups according to the composition of the word.

• simple adjectives that consist only of the root. For example: short (short), long (long), young (young), nice (pleasant), cold (cold).
• derived adjectives that have a prefix and/or suffix as part of a word. For example: useful (useful), interesting (interesting), unhappy (unhappy), dangerous (dangerous), impossible (impossible).
• compound or compound adjectives consisting of several words that can be separated by a hyphen. For example, hard-working (hardworking), good-looking (pretty), well-educated (well-educated), short-tempered (unrestrained).

As we have already noted, qualitative adjectives can have degrees of comparison. Let's look at this in more detail.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives

Adjectives can have 2 degrees of comparison: comparative, when two or more objects, persons or phenomena are compared with each other, and superlative, when one or more objects are distinguished from a group of similar ones on some basis.

Let us give examples of comparative degree in Russian.

This boy in the gray hatolderthe guys he's playing with now.

Red maples usually standexpensivethan regular green varieties.

Living room in our housemore than the bedroom.

The comparative degree of adjectives in English is formed using:

• adding the suffix er to words consisting of 1 or 2 syllables.
• using the word more before an adjective in a neutral degree if the word consists of more than two syllables.

Usually the word than is used with the comparative degree.

Let's look at comparative English adjectives with translation.

My sister is younger me. My sister is younger than me.

It's harder than you think. It's harder than you think.

My daughter says that Math is more interesting than other subjects. My daughter says that mathematics is more interesting than other subjects.

The red dress is more expensive than the black one. A red dress is more expensive than a black one.

The second degree of comparison of adjectives is superlative. It is used when some characteristic is expressed to the greatest extent. Then the adjective is usually translated with the addition of the word “most”. Examples in Russian:

This Boy the cleverest in class.

Lunch is readythe best cook

The most deliciouswatermelons in September.

The superlative degree is formed by adding the suffix est and the definite article the before the word when talking about adjectives consisting of 1-2 syllables.

Adjectives with more syllables are preceded by the most (and the form of the adjective itself remains unchanged).

Let's look at adjectives in the superlative form in English with translation:

I work in the largest business center in my town. I work in the largest business center in my city.

My grandmother was the youngest child among fifteen children in her family. My grandmother was the youngest of fifteen children in the family.

Yesterday I finished reading the most interesting book in my life. Yesterday I finished reading the most interesting book of my life.

Birthday is the happiest celebration of the year for many people. Birthday is the happiest holiday of the year for many people.

Separately, we would like to draw your attention to some features of word formation of short adjectives consisting of 1-2 syllables.

• if a word ends with the letter e, then only -r is added to the comparative degree, and -st to the superlative degree.

large - larger- the largest (large - larger - largest)

nice - nicer - the nicest (nice - nicer - the most pleasant)

• If a word ends with a consonant preceded by a vowel, the consonant is doubled.

big - bigger - the biggest (big - bigger - the biggest)

hot - hotter - the hottest (hot - hotter - the hottest)

• in words ending with the letter y, adding -er and -est changes it to i. Happy - happier - the happiest (happy - happier - the happiest), easy - easier - the easiest (simple - simpler - the simplest), tasty - tastier - the tastiest (tasty - tastier - the most delicious).

In addition, there are exception words, the degrees of comparison of which are not formed according to the rules. Here is a list of such adjectives in English with translation.

• good - better - the best (good - better - the best)
• bad - worse - the worst (bad - worse - worst)
• little - less - the least (small - less - smallest)
• far - farther / further - the farthest / the furthest (far - further - the farthest)

Further is used figuratively. For example, read further.

• much - more - the most (much - more - most of all)
• old - elder / older - the eldest / the oldest (old - older - the oldest / eldest)

Older is used to indicate age in a general sense. For example: This picture is the oldest thing in our house. This painting is the oldest thing in our house.

Elder is used when talking about age relationships in a family. For example: My elder brother always helps me. My older brother always helps me.

For a number of adjectives, comparative and superlative degrees can be formed using both the suffixes er, est, and more, the most.

simple - simpler / more simple - the simplest / the most simple (simple - simpler - the simplest)

clever - cleverer / more clever - the cleverest / the most cleverest (smart - smarter - the smartest)

And also adjectives: polite (polite), narrow (narrow), gentle (gentle), quiet (quiet), stupid (stupid), friendly (friendly).

Place of adjectives in a sentence

1. An adjective as a definition is placed before the noun whose attribute it denotes.

I like my red dress. I like my red dress.

I will never forget that wonderful sunny day in Paris. I will never forget that beautiful sunny day in Paris.

1. If the adjective refers to a component of the predicate, then it is placed after the auxiliary verb to be.

Our grandparents are wise. Our grandparents are wise.

This building is new. This building is new.

1. If there are several adjectives in a sentence that refer to one noun, then the word order is determined based on the following sequence:

• assessment or opinion
• size
• age
• form
• color
• origin (country)
• material, composition
• purpose, purpose

I bought a nice little silver steel kitchen knife. Yesterday I bought a nice, small, silver steel kitchen knife.

He is my good old American friend. He is a good old American friend of mine.

So, we have looked at the main points related to the use of adjectives in English. Remember that adjectives make speech more colorful and interesting. Use them often!

the Adjective

Before memorizing a colossal number of adjectives, you need to figure out: how adjectives are formed, what they are degrees of adjectives in English, and also know the word order. All this knowledge will help you use English adjectives correctly. Now let's find out what an adjective is.

Definition:

An adjective is a part of speech that denotes an attribute of an object and answers a question Which?What?

Example: beautiful - beautiful, blue - blue, unpredictable - unpredictable.

Formation of English adjectives:

Like noun in English, adjectives can be divided into groups:

1) Simple (simple) - adjectives that have neither prefixes nor suffixes.

Example: long - long, tall - high, red - red

2) Derivatives (derived) - adjectives that have prefixes and suffixes, or both a prefix and a suffix

Example: wonderful - wonderful, invisible - invisible, unusual - unusual

3) Composite (compound) - adjectives that are formed from two words

Example: black-white - black and white, cold-hearted - heartless, well-known - known

Derivative adjectives can be formed in several ways:

a) Suffix formation. Adjective suffixes include:

Able -unpredictable- unpredictable

Ful - beautiful - wonderful

Al - criminal - criminal

Ed - smoked

Ary - documentary

En- wooden- wooden

Ic- optimistic - optimistic

Ive- intensive- intense

Less- hopeless - hopeless (the suffix -less denotes a lack of something)

Like- womanlike - feminine

Most- uttermost - most distant

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) Add-on 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, merciless

There are also prefixes that do not have a negative meaning:

Pre- pre-arranged - planned

Hyper-hyperactive - hyperactive

Word order: adjective plus noun

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 factual 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.

Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English

Adjective in English has three forms of degree of comparison:

• Superlative degree

Let's look at examples:

* Positive degree of comparison - this is the initial form of the adjective (big, wonderful)

* Comparative degree formed from the initial form of the adjective in one of the following ways:

1) For one-syllable adjectives

Definition: monosyllabic adjectives - adjectives consisting of one syllable. Example:big

To form the comparative degree for monosyllabic adjectives, you need to add the suffix - er to the initial form of the adjective.

2) For two-syllable adjectives

Definition: Disyllabic adjectives have two syllables.

Example:clever

* Two-syllable adjectives ending in -y, -er, -ow, -ble , form

comparative degree by adding to the initial form of the adjective

suffix - er.

3) Other two-syllable adjectives and adjectives with three or more syllables form the comparative degree by adding to the initial form of the adjective

- more

* Superlative degree

1) For one- and two-syllable adjectives ending in

(-y, -er, -ow, -ble).

To form the superlative degree, the suffix - est is added to the initial form of the adjective.

2) For other two-syllable adjectives and adjectives with three or more syllables

the most is added to them

We have looked at examples of the formation of degrees of comparison of adjectives, but we must not forget that there are exceptions. Let's look at the table:

	Comparative degree	Superlative degree
		the farthest/the furthest
		the oldest/eldest

You need to know these exceptions by heart.

Now let's take a closer look:

1) - farther and further are used to indicate distance:

Example: Parisis ten miles farther/further-ParisVtenmilesfurther.

Also to indicate further, additional

Example: There was no further instruction

2) elder/eldest used before nouns, namely family members:

Example:Myeldersister - my older sister.He is the eldest child in the family. He is the eldest child in the family.

3) The value less corresponds to:

Less - when the value less is a comparative degree of few:

Example:Ihavelesstimethanshe- I have less time than her

Smaller - in the meaning of comparative degree from small :

Example: My car is smaller than hers- Minecarless, howher

4) The value is more consistent with:

More- is the comparative degree of a lot of:

Example:Ihavemoretimethanshe- I have more time than she does

Bigger or larger are comparative degrees of big:

Example: My car is larger than hers- Minecarmore, howher.

5) For the meaning of a smaller and lowest degree of quality compared to other items, it is used less- less, theleast- least :

Example: interesting- less interesting- the least interesting

interesting - less interesting - least interesting

Designs for comparison

To compare two objects or persons, use:

1). Design as...as - the same...as, just...as

Example:Sheisbeautifulasmymother- She is as beautiful as my mother.

In negative sentences, the first as is replaced by so. It turns out so...as

Example:Yourcarisnotsooldashers- Your car is not as old as hers.

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